A bipartisan effort is advancing in Congress to give the Federal Communications Commission updated and tougher tools to stop the epidemic of spam that now comprises almost half of all phone calls made in the United States.

The Senate is expected to take up a measure co-written by Senate Majority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., and one of the Senate’s most progressive members, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., that would broaden the FCC’s authority to impose fines of up to $10,000 per call against those who violate telemarketing restrictions.