Stupak Co-Sponsors Legislation to Make Do-Not-Call List Permanent
Press Release
Stupak Co-Sponsors Legislation to Make Do-Not-Call List Permanent
WASHINGTON - Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) has co-sponsored legislation to make permanent the popular "Do-Not-Call Registry," which prevents telemarketers from calling consumers' homes.
"The Do-Not-Call' list is an important protection to ensure consumers are not harassed in their homes by telemarketers," Stupak said. "It is important that we make the Do-Not-Call' list permanent, so the burden is not placed on consumers to re-register if they do not want to receive telemarketing calls."
Congress authorized the federal Do-Not-Call Registry in 2003. The system is one of the most popular government programs ever created. Since the registry's inception, consumers have registered over 132 million home and mobile telephone numbers to the list. However, in implementing the program, the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission required that consumers re-register five years after the program's creation.
"Unless the program is updated, starting in June of 2008, millions of consumers will begin receiving telemarketing calls again," Stupak said. "Many consumers may not realize that their listing has expired and that they need to re-submit their information to the registry if they want to keep blocking telemarketers' phone calls."
The legislation Stupak co-sponsored, the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007, or H.R. 3541, would eliminate the expiration provisions of the federal Do Not Call Registry. If the bill is enacted, individuals would not have to worry about re-registering 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 wished to do so.
Stupak serves on the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Federal Trade Commission. He also serves on the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, which has jurisdiction over the Federal Communications Commission.
Source