Background Check Point of Contact Act of 2025

House Bill

H.R. 4224

119th Congress

Background Check Point of Contact Act of 2025

In Committee

Introduced:Jun 27, 2025

Primary Sponsor

Doris O. Matsui

Representative

Democratic

CA-7

Cosponsors

7

Quick Stats

Policy Area

Science, Technology, Communications

Summary

This bill gives the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the ability to sue companies that don't pay fines for violating a law that bans certain types of automated telemarketing calls without people's consent. Currently, the Department of Justice handles these unpaid fines, but the bill allows the FCC to step in if the DOJ doesn't act within a certain timeframe.

Latest Action

Referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.

SponsorDoris O. Matsui (D-CA)

Introduced6/27/2025

StatusReferred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

ChamberHouse

Data from Congress.gov

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Vote Prediction

Background Check Point of Contact Act of 2025

This bill gives the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the ability to sue companies that don't pay fines for violating a law that bans certain types of automated telemarketing calls without people's consent. Currently, the Department of Justice handles th

Community Breakdown

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This bill gives the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the ability to sue companies that don't pay fines for violating a law that bans certain types of automated telemarketing calls without people's consent. Currently, the Department of Justice handles these unpaid fines, but the bill allows the FCC to step in if the DOJ doesn't act within a certain timeframe.

Bill Number: 4224
Sponsor: Doris O. Matsui (D-CA)
Introduced: 6/27/2025
Status: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Policy Area: Science, Technology, Communications

Data from Congress.gov

AI-generated summary

Fact Sheet

Title: Background Check Point of Contact Act of 2025
Bill Number: 4224
Sponsor: Doris O. Matsui (D-CA)
Status: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced: 6/27/2025
Summary: This bill gives the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the ability to sue companies that don't pay fines for violating a law that bans certain types of automated telemarketing calls without people's consent. Currently, the Department of Justice handles these unpaid fines, but the bill allows th

Data from Congress.gov

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

This bill gives the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the ability to sue companies that don't pay fines for violating a law that bans certain types of automated telemarketing calls without people's consent. Currently, the Department of Justice handles these unpaid fines, but the bill allows the FCC to step in if the DOJ doesn't act within a certain timeframe.

Last updated: 12/30/2025

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

<p>This bill gives the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) authority to pursue specified unpaid fines for violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) via litigation. The TCPA prohibits certain telemarketing calls made without the recipient’s consent and using automatic dialing technology or artificial and prerecorded voice messages. </p><p>Under current law, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has authority to pursue unpaid fines for violations of the TCPA. Under the bill, if DOJ does not pursue an unpaid fine within a specified time period, the FCC may do so. The bill directs the FCC to prioritize the collection of unpaid fines over $25 million. </p>

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

Allows the FCC to sue companies that don't pay fines for violating a law that bans certain automated telemarketing calls
Gives the FCC this authority if the Department of Justice doesn't pursue the unpaid fines within a specified time period
Directs the FCC to prioritize collecting unpaid fines over $25 million

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

If this bill becomes law, it would impact telemarketing companies that violate rules around automated calling and don't pay the resulting fines. The FCC would be able to take these companies to court to try to collect the unpaid fines, which could lead to more enforcement of the telemarketing law and fewer unwanted automated calls for the general public.

Policy Areas

Primary Policy Area

Science, Technology, Communications

Related Subjects

Civil actions and liability

Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

Telephone and wireless communication

Scope & Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction Level

federal

Congressional Session

119th Congress

Citation Reference

4224, 119th Congress (2025). "Background Check Point of Contact Act of 2025". Source: Voter's Right Platform. https://votersright.org/bills/118-hr-4224