U.S. SENATE SETS A HEARING ON TCPA!: Testimony on Protecting Americans From Robocalls Set for Next Week– Czar is NOT on Witness List

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So I have been hinting for a few weeks now that a hearing was likely to be held in the Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Media and Broadband on the TCPA and–no surprise–I was right.

The hearing is set for next Tuesday at 7:00 am pacific (that’s 10:00 am for you on the east coast!)

The witness list is all made up and, unfortunately, the Czar did not make the cut this time. And that’s actually a pretty bad thing for those hoping to keep the lead generation business, well, in business.

Testimony is expected from

  • Margot Saunders, Senior Attorney, National Consumer Law Center
  • Megan Brown, Partner, Wiley Rein, U.S. Chamber of Commerce representative
  • Josh Bercu, Executive Director, Industry Traceback Group; Vice President Policy and Advocacy, USTelecom
  • Mike Rudolph, Chief Technology Officer, YouMail

We know what Margot will say– domestic telemarketing calls are the result of lead generators abusing consumers. She will advise that they are working with the FCC to assure consent cannot be transferred. She will mention the FTC has already held as much. Heads will nod. And no one will be there to rebut. Really unfortunate.

She will also claim to be testifying on behalf of the NCLC’s “low income clients” while omitting to mention the millions in revenue NCLC brings in from TCPA class action settlements and judgments.

Gross.

Even though the Czar will not be on stage his influence will loom large over the proceeding–as it always does. Puja and I just hung out with Josh at some length this week, Mike’s boss is Alex Quilici who was on our podcast last month, Megan Brown’s partner Kevin was just on a panel with Puja, and–of course–Margot is always thinking of me.

Its incredible how much influence Troutman Amin, LLP has out there right now. Tons of fun. We really occupy a unique position in the telecom world–and its all thanks to our many friends. 🙂

But most importantly, will the hard work of R.E.A.C.H. to stop unwanted calls be mentioned? We’ll have to tune in to find out.

We will be watching very carefully–and you should be too. The hearing will stream live on the Committee website, Twitter and YouTube.

We may try to set up some sort of live feed on Troutman Amin, LLP as well–perhaps with some live coverage from Queenie and I. We’ll see if we can get that set up.

And even though I will not be there testifying, hopefully the good folks on the Subcommittee will keep my remarks before the FTC in mind. The lead generation industry is a superpower for this country. Getting rid of it wholesale would be a real mistake:

Enjoy! And follow our incredible You Tube channel!

Chat soon.

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Published by Eric J. Troutman

The Czar of TCPAWorld Eric Troutman is one of the country’s prominent class action defense lawyers and is nationally recognized in Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) litigation and compliance. He has served as lead defense counsel in more than 70 national TCPA class actions and has litigated nearly a thousand individual TCPA cases in his role as national strategic litigation counsel for major banks and finance companies. He also helps industry participants build TCPA-compliant processes, policies, and systems. Eric has built a national litigation practice based upon deep experience, rigorous analysis and extraordinary responsiveness. Eric and his team feel equally at home litigating multibillion dollar telecommunications class actions in federal court as they do developing and executing national litigation strategies for institutions facing an onslaught of individual TCPA matters. They thrive in each of these roles – delivering consistently excellent results – while never losing sight of the client experience. While many firms now tout TCPA expertise, Eric has been there from the beginning. He built one of the country’s first TCPA-only defense teams and began serving as national TCPA counsel for his clients nearly a decade ago. This perspective allows him to swiftly develop the right litigation strategies for dealing with recurring problems, without wasting time on tactics that are bound to fail. Eric’s rich historical perspective and encyclopedic knowledge of the TCPA landscape also make him an invaluable resource to institutional compliance teams struggling to comply with the shifting regulatory landscape. No task is too small – or too big. Indeed, Eric and his team have helped build TCPA-compliant systems and processes for some of the largest and most complex corporate entities in the country. He commonly works with in-house compliance counsel to build and implement enterprise and business-line specific TCPA solutions, performs TCPA audits and drafts and reviews proposed TCPA policies and procedures. He and his team also have the technical expertise necessary to assist call centers seeking to develop TCPA-resistant call path architecture or to modify existing telephony and software integration to better insulate from potential TCPA exposure. Eric has built a reputation for thought leadership. An avid blogger and speaker, he has been at the forefront of the industry’s effort to push for clarity and a return to sanity for the TCPA for years. He was selected to advocate for the financial services industry on important TCPA issues before the Federal Communications Commission and co-authored the nation’s only comprehensive practice guide on TCPA defense. In his spare time, Eric leads defense teams representing banks and other financial services companies in consumer finance litigation matters. He has experience representing clients in UCC, TILA, RESPA FCRA, CCRA, CLRA, FDCPA, RFDCPA and FCCPA claims, as well as in fraud and bank operations issues.

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