Anti-robocall bill likely as House, Senate reach compromise

It’s looking like an anti-robocall bill will get sent to President Donald Trump this year.

House and Senate leaders said Friday they’ve reached an agreement in principle on merging their bills.

The final bill will require phone companies to verify phone numbers are real and to block calls for free. It will also give government agencies more ability to go after scammers.

The House bill went further than the Senate one. Details about what’s in the final bill are still to come.

Phone companies have been rolling out verification tools after prompting from regulators. They are also offering call-blocking apps for smartphones and many home phones, although not always for free.

Robocalls have become an infuriating problem in the U.S. Tech vendor YouMail says there were 5.7 billion in October.