Congress Approves Doyle ‘Do Not Call’ Bill
Sends bill to President Bush for his signature

Washington, DC – February 7, 2008 – Last night, the U.S. Senate gave its final approval to legislation introduced by Representative Mike Doyle (PA-14) that would eliminate the existing Federal Trade Commission policy of removing phone numbers from the national Do Not Call Registry five years after they are added to the list.  This legislation will now be sent to President Bush to be signed into law.

“Last year, Senator Dorgan and I introduced legislation to protect more than 150 million Americans from a renewed onslaught of telemarketing calls,’” Congressman Doyle said today.  “Today we can claim victory on behalf of these savvy consumers.”

“The millions of Americans who signed on to the “Do Not Call” registry will be able to continue sitting down at dinner knowing that their phones won’t be ringing off the hook,” Senator Dorgan said. “I’m pleased with the overwhelming support in Congress for this program and look forward to the President signing this bill.”

The federal Do-Not-Call Registry put in place by the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission in 2003 is one of the most successful government programs ever created.  Over 150 million home and mobile telephone numbers have been added to the National Do Not Call Registry since its inception on June 27, 2003. 

Unfortunately, the regulations written by the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission require that the registry delete individuals’ numbers after 5 years, so that people have to sign up again every five years.  Consequently, as of June 2008, millions of people will begin to receive telemarketing calls again.  Many of them may not realize that their listing has expired and that they need to resubmit their information to the registry if they want to keep blocking telemarketers’ phone calls. 

The Doyle-Pickering bill, referred to as the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007 (H.R. 3541), would eliminate the existing expiration of listings on the federal Do Not Call Registry.  If this bill is enacted, individuals wouldn’t have to worry about signing up for the Do Not Call list every five years.  The Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007 would not change the existing law allowing individuals to take their names off the Do Not Call list if they wish to do so.  Identical legislation was introduced in the Senate (S 2096) by Senators Byron Dorgan and Ted Stevens.  In response to the introduction of this legislation, the Federal Trade Commission announced in October that it would put its plans to start purging names from the list on hold until Congress had made its will known on the issue or it could conduct a new rulemaking.  If the bill is signed into law, the FTC will have to throw out its plans to take names off after five years.

“The folks who signed onto the Federal Do Not Call Registry fully expected that they’d never have to deal with cold calls from business pitchmen in their own homes again,” Congressman Doyle observed.  “Today we can say that Congress has heard them and delivered the goods.”

Passage of the Do Not Call Improvement Act was hailed by consumer advocate groups.

“If Congress hadn’t taken this action, millions of consumers would once again be barraged with annoying telemarketing calls at the dinner table,” added Christopher Murray, Senior Counsel of Consumers’ Union.  “Thanks to the efforts of Congressman Doyle and Senator Dorgan, consumers will get some more peace and quiet.”

“The Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007 is common sense legislation that would protect consumers and improve their quality of life,” said Tom Nelson, Chief Operating Office at AARP. “Senator Dorgan, Senator Stevens and their colleagues understand that the "Do Not Call" rule not only protects families from dinnertime disruptions, but also protects consumers against predatory telemarketers.  By extending the Do Not Call registry, without requiring individuals to repeatedly sign up, this act will save consumers from needless hassle - and potential fraud.”

Congressman Chip Pickering (MO-3), the lead Republican cosponsor in the House said, “People want a government of results that works.  When we first offered the Do-Not-Call Registry, it was wildly popular and millions of Americans signed up – but they were on the verge of having their evenings and family dinners once again disturbed by phone solicitations.  They would have wondered ‘What broke? Why do I have to sign-up again when I haven’t changed my mind from the first time?’  So, we offer to the American people this bipartisan example of a commonsense reform.”

 “Passage of the Do Not Call Improvement Act is proof that consumers can win out over the special interests,” Congressman Doyle said today at the press conference.  “Today, Congress has made one of the most popular federal services even better.”