adminMore than a dozen bipartisan members of Congress wrote to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai Monday asking for CUNA-requested clarifications of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). CUNA filed a petition with the FCC in September, which was opened for comment. A majority of comments received supported CUNA’s position.
“We thank the members of Congress for their letter highlighting CUNA’s concerns with the TCPA and our efforts to secure relief for credit unions,” said CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle. “The FCC’s quick release of our petition for comment, the overwhelmingly supportive comments the petition received and this letter show that policymakers share our concerns and the need for a solution to facilitate credit union-member communications.”
Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) circulated the letter, stressing to his colleagues the importance of providing clarity, “otherwise, an increasing number of credit unions will continue to be impeded from sending important financial information to their members because of both the lack of clarity in how to comply and out of fear of excessively costly litigation, due to the uncertainty surrounding the TCPA.”
CUNA’s petition outlines two ways the FCC can provide credit unions with regulatory relief when contacting members: adopt an established business relationship exemption for credit union informational messages to cell phones; and utilize its express authority to exempt calls that are without charge to the called party.
Signers of the letter include: Reps. Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Steve King (R-Iowa), Robert Pittenger (R-N.C.), John Garamendi (D-Calif.), David McKinley (R-W.V.), Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), Susan Brooks (R-Ind.), David Cicilline (D-R.I.), Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.), Billy Long (R-Mo.), Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) Bill Posey (F-Fla.), and Andy Biggs (R-A.Z.).
