[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 38 (Wednesday, March 10, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S2502]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             DECEPTIVE MAIL PREVENTION AND ENFORCEMENT ACT

  Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I'm here to announce my strong support of 
Senator Collins' bill S. 335, the ``Deceptive Mail Prevention and 
Enforcement Act.'' I chose to be an original co-sponsor of this bill 
after hearing from several constituents who were confused, irritated, 
and even outraged by the deceptive language that is all too often found 
in sweepstakes and other promotional mailings.
  I think every one of us has received at least a few junk mailings 
which brazenly inform us that we have just won millions of dollars or 
that we are about to receive a car, a luxury cruise, or some other 
prize that sounds too good to be true. Well, the sad truth is that it 
almost always IS too good to be true.
  To many of us, these promotional mailings represent nothing more than 
a minor annoyance and are easily tossed into the garbage without a 
second thought. But for many others, these mailings are nothing more 
than a cruel hoax, a trap designed to play on the hopes and dreams of 
trusting folks who were raised in a time when most people meant what 
they said and said what they meant.
  As an example of the misleading and downright dangerous content found 
in many of these mailings, I'd like to read into the record a portion 
of a letter that was sent to me last year by a constituent of mine who 
resides in Columbia Falls, Montana. This gentleman writes,

       My father is a resident in a nursing home. He is 84, and 
     suffers from mild dementia aggravated by high-powered 
     medications which treat his incessant headaches. (The 
     magazine he subscribes to) endlessly sends him these 
     misleading and deliberately-designed ``You've Won!!!'' 
     bulletins that he cannot understand except to believe 
     fervently that he's just got to go pick up his check for 
     hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.
       I believe these kinds of letters are deliberately designed 
     to prey on the infirmities of old people, and of course get 
     them to sign things that obligate them to free trials and 
     unneeded products. Every episode brings my father increased 
     stress, more headaches, and the need for additional 
     medication. I am sure there are hundreds of thousands of 
     people like Dad who want nothing to do with these phony 
     promotions, but who can't get the mailers to remove them from 
     the lists. Many, like Dad, don't have the daily clarity of 
     thought to deal with mass-mailed deceptive come-ons like 
     this.

  Mr. President, I believe that the Deceptive Mail Prevention and 
Enforcement Act will go a long way towards preventing this kind of 
abuse of our senior citizens and other trusting individuals. Senator 
Collins' bill would not only establish strict new standards for honesty 
and disclosure in promotional mailings, but would provide strong new 
financial penalties for those who continue to violate these standards. 
It is my hope that the Committee on Governmental Affairs will be able 
to approve this legislation quickly, on a bi-partisan basis, so that we 
can bring an end to this plague of deceptive sweepstakes mailings which 
prey on our most vulnerable citizens.

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