The FCC is considering a call authentication report and order Tuesday and the CFPB is seeking stakeholder input for its Taskforce on Federal Consumer Financial Law, Editor’s note: This article is for members only.
3/27/2020 16:00
ACA's advocacy team is working with legislators and regulators on Capitol Hill and tracking the following topics for the coming week.
Cares Act Stimulus Package Signed into Law
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the $2 trillion stimulus bill, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) , Friday morning, an action followed by President Donald Trump's signature on the bill designed to provide emergency aid to small businesses and consumers. The U.S. Senate agreed on the package for late in its proceedings March 24 and voted 96-0 to approve the bill. The final agreement DOES NOT include the harmful directives to the accounts receivable management industry that would have crushed businesses and their ability to operate. There are also several provisions aimed at helping small businesses, including $350 billion in aid and support for the community financial institutions and hospitals that ACA International members serve.
Read more from ACA here and view a summary of the CARES Act.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a request for information (RFI) to assist the Taskforce on Federal Consumer Financial Law with recommendations on harmonizing, modernizing, and updating the federal consumer financial laws.
The taskforce seeks input from the public at this time to help identify areas of consumer protection on which it should focus its research and analysis during the balance of its one-year appointment. The RFI will be one of multiple opportunities for the public to provide feedback directly to the taskforce and thus to help inform its recommendations. More specifically, the RFI seeks comments and other information on the following topics:
- Expanding access to consumer financial products and services; protection and use of consumer data;
- Regulations the bureau writes and enforces; federal and state coordination;
- Improving the market for consumer financial products and services.
The comment period for the RFI will close 60 days after the date of its publication in the Federal Register. The comment deadline will be provided on the bureau’s website.
Read the complete announcement from the CFPB here.
Federal Communications Commission
The FCC will consider a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on mandating adoption of STIR/SHAKEN by voice service providers and additional measures to combat spoofed calls at its meeting on March 31. Comments to the FCC are due May 15, 2020 and reply comments are due May 29, 2020. ACA International previously submitted comments to the FCC on STIR/SHAKEN in July 2019 and will respond to the latest proposal on behalf of the industry and members.
As required by the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act signed into law in 2019, the FCC is seeking nominations for a "Hospital Robocall Protection Group." The group will focus on issuing best practices on how phone companies can better combat unlawful robocalls made to hospitals, as well as how hospitals can better protect themselves from such calls, according to a news release from the FCC. The creation of this group is a result of the TRACED Act, which gave the FCC additional tools and flexibility to combat malicious spoofing and scam robocalls.
Federal Trade Commission
Federal Trade Commission Chairman Joe Simons issued a statement on the agency’s continuing efforts to protect consumers during the coronavirus pandemic.
In addition, Simons noted that the FTC will remain flexible and reasonable in enforcing compliance requirements on companies that may hinder the provision of important goods and services to consumers, and will consider good faith efforts to provide needed goods and services in making enforcement decisions, according to a FTC news release.
"The FTC is ready to assist businesses that may seek guidance about compliance obligations on consumer protection issues during this unprecedented time," Simons said.
Daily Huddle
For additional daily federal and state updates, members may join ACA’s advocacy team including Vice President and Senior Counsel of Federal Advocacy Leah Dempsey, Corporate Counsel Colin Winkler and Vice President, State Government and Unit Affairs Andy Madden for a Daily Huddle at 11 a.m., Central Standard Time weekdays through Tuesday, April 14. The Daily Huddle is sponsored by Collectors Insurance Agency. More information including state compliance, federal advocacy and ACA online education is also available on the ACA News COVID-19 Updates webpage.
For more information on how the ACA Licensing staff can assist with your licensing needs, please contact us at [email protected] or call (952) 926-6547.