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WASHINGTON – Reps. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., and David Jolly, R-Fla., have introduced legislation to stop the intrusion of political robocalls in homes across America.  

The Robo Calls Off Phones Act, or Robo COP Act, would expand the types of unsolicited calls restricted by the national Do Not Call Registry to include political robocalls, giving the American people the opportunity to opt-out of the bothersome campaign season interruption. 

“Every campaign season, like clockwork, families are bombarded by an endless stream of political robocalls,” said Foxx, who does not use political robocalling. “Though citizens are able to stop receiving telemarketing calls, politicians made sure to exempt political robocalls from the power of the Do Not Call Registry. Removing that exemption through the Robo COP Act is a matter of fairness.”

“Political speech is a fundamental right but not beyond the reach of reasonable regulation. Elected officials should not be placed above others, which is why they should be included on the Do Not Call registry,” said Jolly. “Bottom line, many consider the bombardment of political robocalls to be an invasion of privacy and this legislation protects that privacy.”

The Robo COP Act would direct the Federal Trade Commission to revise its regulations regarding the National Do Not Call registry to prohibit pre-recorded campaign messages from being sent to telephone numbers on the national registry. 

The legislation applies strictly to unsolicited, political robocalls where a live person is not available to speak with the individual answering the phone.

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U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx is currently serving her sixth term as the representative of North Carolina’s 5th Congressional District and is the elected Republican Conference Secretary. Dr. Foxx is the chair of the House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Higher Education and serves as Vice Chair of the House Rules Committee.