Congress is about to pass the Bipartisan Budget Agreement of
2015. The budget agreement includes significant amendments to the
Telephone Consumer Protection Act. As proposed, the TCPA will soon
permit autodialed calls to cell phones, without the called
party's prior express consent, if the call is made solely to
collect a debt owed to or guaranteed by the United States. This
would seem to cover Federal Direct Student loans, Perkins loans,
Federal Housing Administration ("FHA") loans and Veterans
Administration loans. The budget agreement also would authorize the
Federal Communications Commission, in conjunction with the
Department of the Treasury, to issue rules and regulations to
protect consumers from being harassed or contacted unreasonably,
such as restricting or limiting the number and duration of
calls.
