[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 178 (Thursday, December 20, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13971-S13972]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DODD (for himself and Mr. Miller):
  S. 1881. A bill to require the Federal Trade Commission to establish 
a list of consumers who request not to receive telephone sales calls; 
to the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, today I am introducing legislation along 
with my friend and colleague from Georgia, Senator Miller, to help 
individuals whose personal time is interrupted by the constant 
annoyance of telephone solicitors. Our bill, modeled after a 
Connecticut statute, would require the Federal Trade Commission to 
establish a ``no-call'' list of consumers who do not wish to receive 
unsolicited telemarketing calls.
  A Department of Labor survey reports that 84 percent of Americans 
would trade income for more free time. People want to spend more time 
in the evening with their families, whether it be sitting down to 
dinner together, relaxing in front of the television, helping children 
with homework, or catching up with household chores. I suspect most 
people do not want to be inconvenienced with intrusive, unsolicited 
telemarketing calls during the evening or anytime throughout the day.
  Telemarketing revenue increased from $492.3 billion in 1998 to $585.9 
billion in 2000, which translates into millions of phone calls every 
year. While many sales pitches are made on behalf of legitimate 
organizations and businesses, consumers still lose more than $40 
billion a year to fraudulent sales of goods and services over the 
telephone. It is time to empower consumers with the ability to stop 
most unsolicited calls, legitimate or otherwise, from entering their 
homes and disturbing their lives.
  In Connecticut, people now have the right to place their name on a 
``do not call'' list and more than 225,000 households have contacted 
the Department on Consumer Protection to take advantage of the new law. 
All telemarketers are required to consult that list and are prohibited 
from contacting households on the list. Other states, including 
Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Missouri, 
New York, North Carolina, Oregon, and Tennessee, have enacted similar 
laws.
  States are taking this action because a 1994 Federal law to curb 
unsolicited telemarketing, while a good beginning, has not fully 
succeeded in protecting families' privacy. In fact, individual 
consumers must keep track of every telemarketer they have contacted to 
determine if a solicitation call was made in violation. There are 
numerous exemptions to the Federal law, as well, as because there are 
no penalties for calls made in ``error,'' it has proved difficult to 
enforce.
  Direct Marketing Association members do not oppose the Connecticut 
law. It is their belief that consumers placing their name on a list 
would never buy a product from a telemarketer anyway, and thus the list 
saves telemarketers time and resources.
  Our legislation would take much of the burden off of consumers. At 
the same time, a comprehensive and universal law actually could help 
telemarketers by streamlining the process. The legislation we are 
introducing today would require the Federal Trade Commission to 
establish a ``no sales solicitation calls'' listing of consumers who do 
not wish to receive unsolicited calls. Although certain types of calls 
would be exempt, including calls from any company with whom a consumer 
currently does business, non-profits looking for donations, pollsters, 
and those publishing telephone directories, a violation of the ``no 
call'' list would be deemed an unfair or deceptive trade practice and 
the telemarketer could be fined.
  I urge my colleagues to cosponsor this important consumer legislation 
and I ask that the bill be printed in the Record.
  I think the chair and ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill 
be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1881

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Telemarketing Intrusive 
     Practices Act of 2001''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Caller identification service or device.--The term 
     ``caller identification service or device'' means a telephone 
     service or device that permits a consumer to see the 
     telephone number of an incoming call.
       (2) Chairman.--The term ``Chairman'' means the Chairman of 
     the Federal Trade Commission.
       (3) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
     Trade Commission.
       (4) Consumer.--The term ``consumer'' means an individual 
     who is an actual or prospective purchaser, lessee, or 
     recipient of consumer goods or services.
       (5) Consumer goods or services.--The term ``consumer good 
     or service'' means an article or service that is purchased, 
     leased, exchanged, or received primarily for personal, 
     family, or household purposes, including stocks, bonds, 
     mutual funds, annuities, and other financial products.
       (6) Marketing or sales solicitation.--
       (A) In general.--The term ``marketing or sales 
     solicitation'' means the initiation of a telephone call or 
     message to encourage the purchase of, rental of, or 
     investment in, property, goods, or services, that is 
     transmitted to a person.
       (B) Exception.--The term does not include a call or 
     message--
       (i) to a person with the prior express invitation or 
     permission of that person;
       (ii) by a tax-exempt nonprofit organization;
       (iii) on behalf of a political candidate or political 
     party; or
       (iv) to promote the success or defeat of a referendum 
     question.
       (7) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
     States of the United States and the District of Columbia.
       (8) Telephone sales call.--
       (A) In general.--The term ``telephone sales call'' means a 
     call made by a telephone solicitor to a consumer for the 
     purpose of--
       (i) engaging in a marketing or sales solicitation;
       (ii) soliciting an extension of credit for consumer goods 
     or services; or
       (iii) obtaining information that will or may be used for 
     the direct marketing or sales solicitation or exchange of or 
     extension of credit for consumer goods or services.
       (B) Exception.--The term does not include a call made--
       (i) in response to an express request of the person called; 
     or
       (ii) primarily in connection with an existing debt or 
     contract, payment, or performance that has not been completed 
     at the time of the call.
       (9) Telephone solicitor.--The term ``telephone solicitor'' 
     means an individual, association, corporation, partnership, 
     limited partnership, limited liability company or other 
     business entity, or a subsidiary or affiliate thereof, that 
     does business in the United States and makes or causes to be 
     made a telephone sales call.

     SEC. 3. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION NO CALL LIST.

       (a) In General.--The Commission shall--
       (1) establish and maintain a list for each State, of 
     consumers who request not to receive telephone sales calls; 
     and
       (2) provide notice to consumers of the establishment of the 
     lists.
       (b) State Contract.--The Commission may contract with a 
     State to establish and maintain the lists.
       (c) Private Contract.--The Commission may contract with a 
     private vendor to establish and maintain the lists if the 
     private vendor has maintained a national listing of consumers 
     who request not to receive telephone sales calls, for not 
     less than 2 years, or is otherwise determined by the 
     Commission to be qualified.
       (d) Consumer Responsibility.--
       (1) Inclusion on list.--Except as provided in subsection 
     (d)(2), a consumer who wishes to be included on a list 
     established under subsection (a) shall notify the Commission 
     in such manner as the Chairman may prescribe to maximize the 
     consumer's opportunity to be included on that list.
       (2) Deletion from list.--Information about a consumer shall 
     be deleted from a list upon the written request of the 
     consumer.
       (e) Update.--The Commission shall--
       (1) update the lists maintained by the Commission not less 
     than quarterly with information the Commission receives from 
     consumers; and

[[Page S13972]]

       (2) annually request a no call list from each State that 
     maintains a no call list and update the lists maintained by 
     the Commission at that time to ensure that the lists 
     maintained by the Commission contain the same information 
     contained in the no call lists maintained by individual 
     States.
       (f) Fees.--The Commission may charge a reasonable fee for 
     providing a list.
       (g) Availability.--
       (1) In general.--The Commission shall make a list available 
     only to a telephone solicitor.
       (2) Format.--The list shall be made available in printed or 
     electronic format, or both, at the discretion of the 
     Chairman.

     SEC. 4. TELEPHONE SOLICITOR NO CALL LIST.

       (a) In General.--A telephone solicitor shall maintain a 
     list of consumers who request not to receive telephone sales 
     calls from that particular telephone solicitor.
       (b) Procedure.--If a consumer receives a telephone sales 
     call and requests to be placed on the do not call list of 
     that telephone solicitor, the solicitor shall--
       (1) place the consumer on the no call list of the 
     solicitor; and
       (2) provide the consumer with a confirmation number which 
     shall provide confirmation of the request of the consumer to 
     be placed on the no call list of that telephone solicitor.

     SEC. 5. TELEPHONE SOLICITATIONS.

       (a) Telephone Sales Call.--A telephone solicitor may not 
     make or cause to be made a telephone sales call to a 
     consumer--
       (1) if the name and telephone number of the consumer appear 
     in the then current quarterly lists made available by the 
     Commission under section 3;
       (2) if the consumer previously requested to be placed on 
     the do not call list of the telephone solicitor pursuant to 
     section 4;
       (3) to be received between the hours of nine o'clock p.m. 
     and nine o'clock a.m. and between five o'clock p.m. and seven 
     o'clock p.m., local time, at the location of the consumer;
       (4) in the form of an electronically transmitted facsimile; 
     or
       (5) by use of an automated dialing or recorded message 
     device.
       (b) Caller Identification Device.--A telephone solicitor 
     shall not knowingly use any method to block or otherwise 
     circumvent the use of a caller identification service or 
     device by a consumer.
       (c) Sale of Consumer Information to Telephone Solicitors.--
       (1) In general.--A person who obtains the name, residential 
     address, or telephone number of a consumer from a published 
     telephone directory or from any other source and republishes 
     or compiles that information, electronically or otherwise, 
     and sells or offers to sell that publication or compilation 
     to a telephone solicitor for marketing or sales solicitation 
     purposes, shall exclude from that publication or compilation, 
     and from the database used to prepare that publication or 
     compilation, the name, address, and telephone number of a 
     consumer if the name and telephone number of the consumer 
     appear in the then current quarterly list made available by 
     the Commission under section 3.
       (2) Exception.--This subsection does not apply to a 
     publisher of a telephone directory when a consumer is called 
     for the sole purpose of compiling, publishing, or 
     distributing a telephone directory intended for use by the 
     general public.

     SEC. 6. REGULATIONS.

       The Chairman may adopt regulations to carry out this Act 
     that shall include--
       (1) provisions governing the availability and distribution 
     of the lists established under section 3;
       (2) notice requirements for a consumer who requests to be 
     included on the lists established under section 3; and
       (3) a schedule for the payment of fees to be paid by a 
     person who requests a list made available under section 3.

     SEC. 7. CIVIL CAUSE OF ACTION.

       (a) Action by Commission.--
       (1) Unfair or deceptive trade practice.--A violation of 
     section 4 or 5 is an unfair or deceptive trade practice under 
     section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45).
       (2) Cumulative damages.--In a civil action brought by the 
     Commission under section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission 
     Act (15 U.S.C. 45) to recover damages arising from more than 
     one alleged violation, the damages shall be cumulative.
       (b) Private Right of Action.--
       (1) In general.--A person or entity may, if otherwise 
     permitted by the laws or the rules of court of a State, bring 
     in an appropriate court of that State--
       (A) an action based on a violation of section 4, 5, or 6 to 
     enjoin the violation;
       (B) an action to recover for actual monetary loss from a 
     violation of section 4, 5, or 6, or to receive $500 in 
     damages for each violation, whichever is greater; or
       (C) an action under paragraphs (1) and (2).
       (2) Willful violation.--If the court finds that the 
     defendant willfully or knowingly violated section 4, 5, or 6, 
     the court may, in the discretion of the court, increase the 
     amount of the award to an amount equal to not more than 3 
     times the amount available under paragraph (1)(B) of this 
     subsection and to include reasonable attorney's fees.

     SEC. 8. EFFECT ON STATE LAW.

       Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit a State 
     from enacting or enforcing more stringent legislation in the 
     regulation of telephone solicitors.

     SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as 
     necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.
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