[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 35 (Thursday, March 1, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E440-E441]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          INTRODUCTION OF THE PUSH POLL DISCLOSURE ACT OF 2007

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                          HON. THOMAS E. PETRI

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 1, 2007

  Mr. PETRI. Madam Speaker, today, along with six of my colleagues, I 
am introducing legislation to increase the disclosure requirements for 
telephone ``push polls.'' As many candidates for Federal office have 
learned through personal experience, these push polls are not 
legitimate telephone surveys, but ``smear polls,'' campaign devices 
designed to smear a candidate under the guise of a standard opinion 
poll.
  Legitimate polls are designed to gather information helping 
candidates to focus their campaigns and refine their messages. Smear 
polls, on the other hand, are intended to spread information damaging 
the reputation of one's opponent without public debate or discussion.
  Imagine a voter, who has been identified as a supporter of candidate 
X, being asked in a survey if such support would continue if it was 
learned that candidate X was guilty of a terrible indiscretion or an 
outright crime. It doesn't matter whether the allegations are true 
because the idea that candidate X is somehow unfit for office has been 
planted successfully. This is a telephone ``smear'' poll.
  My legislation, the Push Poll Disclosure Act of 2007, combats this 
practice by exposing it to the light of day. Specifically, the bill 
requires that each participant in a Federal election poll be told the 
identity of the survey's sponsor whenever at least 1,200 households are 
included. It also requires further disclosures when a survey's results 
are not to be released to the public. In this case, the cost of the 
poll and the sources of its funding must be reported to the Federal 
Election Commission, along with a count of the households contacted and 
a transcript of the questions asked.
  The Push Poll Disclosure Act of 2007 is a simple bill. It will not 
hinder legitimate polling, nor will it burden polling firms with 
excessive regulations. What this bill does do, however, is regulate 
smear polls for what they are--campaign activities, and questionable 
ones at that. This legislation is noncontroversial and should be 
bipartisan, and its passage will make campaigns for Federal office a 
little bit cleaner. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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