Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE – December 11, 2007
Contact: BRIAN PERRY: 601-932-2410

US HOUSE PASSES DOYLE-PICKERING DO NOT CALL EXTENSION LEGISLATION
Legislation approved by the House removes 5-year expiration on Do Not Call

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation introduced by Congressman Michael Doyle (D-Pennsylvania) and Congressman Chip Pickering (R-Mississippi) to eliminate the existing Federal Trade Commission policy of removing phone numbers from the national Do Not Call Registry five years after addition to the list.

“By signing up with the National Do Not Call Registry, more than 130 million Americans have told telemarketers ‘Don’t call us – we’ll call you.’  Let’s save them the hassle of having to sign up time and time again,” said Doyle, sponsor of the bill.

Pickering, the lead Republican cosponsor said, “Today we approved a common sense solution to a challenge jeopardizing the popular Do Not Call Registry.  This legislation makes a do not call request permanent unless the person chooses to remove it, or the number is reassigned.  I hope the Senate moves swiftly to approve our legislation, so families who already rejected the annoyance of telemarketers will not have to do so again.”

The federal Do Not Call Registry is one of the most popular government initiatives enacted with over 132 million home and mobile telephone numbers added since its inception on June 27, 2003.  Unfortunately, the regulations written by the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission require the registry to delete individuals’ numbers after 5 years, creating a situation where people would have to sign up again every five years. 

The Doyle-Pickering bill, referred to as the Do Not Call Improvement Act of 2007 (HR3541), eliminates the existing expiration of listings on the federal Do Not Call Registry, preventing millions of Americans from returning to telemarketers’ lists as of June 2008.  The Do Not Call Improvement Act of 2007 does not change existing law allowing individuals to take their names off the registry if they wish to do so.

Senator Byron Dorgan introduced identical legislation in the Senate (S2096) which was approved by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in October.  “I suspect the Senate will move on this legislation quickly now that the House has approved it,” Doyle said today after the House passage.  “I mean, who wouldn’t want to make one of the most popular federal services even better?”

Pickering noted this common sense solution does not add any additional costs to government, “I hope the Senate will look favorably upon this measure for quick action.”

Congressman Chip Pickering represents Mississippi’s Third Congressional District and serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.  This is his sixth term.