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Schumer Targets Bill That Allows Telemarketers To Call Personal Cell Phones

NEW YORK (WCBS 880)Sen. Charles Schumer says he'll do everything he can stop a bill in the House of Representatives that would allow telemarketers to flood personal cell phones.

"There's nothing more intrusive than telemarketers calling in the middle of dinner or when you're in the middle of a heavy conversation with somebody," Schumer says.

LISTEN: WCBS 880's Mike Xirinachs reports

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Schumer is accusing some lawmakers of trying to sneak the Mobile Information Call Act through the legislative process, calling it a Trojan horse for companies to take advantage of an untapped market.

The bill would revoke a two-decade-old prohibition on automated calls to consumer cell phones—that prohibition being the 1991 Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

The House began hearings on the bill two weeks ago, but Schumer says he vows to block the bill in the Senate.

"The floodgates would be open to telemarketers who could call you on your cell phone during breakfast, lunch, dinner, no matter if you're at home, at school or at the office," Schumer says, adding that the bill must be stopped now. "The calls are annoying, unwanted, repetitive."

Do you agree with Schumer? Sound off in our comments section below...

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