Doyle ‘Do Not Call’ Bill Approved by
House Energy and Commerce Committee

Washington, DC – October 30, 2007 – Today, the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved 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.

“The national Do Not Call Registry has given Americans the opportunity to tell telemarketers ‘Don’t call us, we’ll call you,’” Congressman Doyle said in a statement today.  “Most folks who’ve signed up with the registry don’t even realize that their names will be automatically removed after five years.  I don’t think they should even have to worry about it.” 

“My bill will give 150 million Americans a little much-needed peace and quiet,” Congressman Doyle added.  “It takes one more hassle off their plate.”

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 132 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 in the Senate (S 2096, introduced by Senator Byron Dorgan) was approved by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation today as well.

“It’s my hope that we can get this bill considered by the full House in the near future,” Congressman Doyle said after the hearing.  “There’s no reason why Congress couldn’t fast-track this legislation and have it signed into law by the end of the year.”

Just last week, the Federal Trade Commission announced 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.

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