Outage Refund Protection Act
Sen. Lujan Introduces Bill Requiring Automatic Refunds for Internet and Cable Outages
This bill is currently in the early stages of the legislative process after being sent to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation for review. It is still active, but there are no upcoming votes or hearings scheduled at this time. The bill is waiting for the committee to decide if it should move forward.
Legislative Progress
While popular with consumers, this bill faces strong opposition from major telecommunications companies and currently lacks the bipartisan support needed to pass a divided Congress.
Key Points
Impact Analysis
Personal Impact
Life & Work
Gig workers who rely on home internet or phone service for their income would get automatic bill credits during outages. While the refund amount is modest, the real value is not having to spend time fighting with customer service when they could be working once service is restored.
Disabilities
Milestones
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Introduced in Senate
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
Related News
3 articlesLuján Bill Requires Telecoms to Make Refunds for 4-Hour-Plus Service Outages
Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Ben Ray Luján filed the Outage Refund Guarantee Act. The bill responds to major network failures by mandating automatic compensation and requiring providers to maintain call recordings for one year while banning 'skip waiting' fees.
Refunds for Network Outages Required in Luján Bill
The Outage Refund Guarantee Act would require telephone, internet, and cable providers to issue automatic credits for outages exceeding four hours. It also mandates the FCC to set new customer service standards, including accessibility requirements and a ban on fees for representative callbacks.
Sen. Ben Ray Luján wants telecom customers automatically refunded when their service goes dark
The proposed Outage Refund Guarantee Act targets cable, DBS, internet, and telephone providers, requiring them to credit consumers for any outage lasting more than four hours. The credit equals one-thirtieth of a monthly bill for every four-hour block, applied automatically to the account.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Outage Refund Protection Act
Data Sources
Sponsor
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