[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 189 (Tuesday, December 11, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H15267-H15269]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  DO-NOT-CALL IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2007

  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (H.R. 3541) to amend the ``Do-not-call'' Implementation Act to 
eliminate the automatic removal of telephone numbers registered on the 
Federal ``do-not-call'' registry, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3541

       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 ``Do-Not-Call Improvement Act 
     of 2007''.

     SEC. 2. PROHIBITION OF EXPIRATION DATE FOR REGISTERED 
                   NUMBERS.

        The Do-Not-Call Implementation Act (15 U.S.C. 6101 note) 
     is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``SEC. 5. PROHIBITION OF EXPIRATION DATE.

       ``(a) No Automatic Removal of Numbers.--Telephone numbers 
     registered on the national `do-not-call' registry of the 
     Telemarketing Sales Rule (16 C.F.R. 310.4(b)(1)(iii)) since 
     the establishment of the registry and telephone numbers 
     registered on such registry after the date of enactment of 
     this Act, shall not be removed from such registry except as 
     provided for in subsection (b) or upon the request of the 
     individual to whom the telephone number is assigned.
       ``(b) Removal of Invalid, Disconnected, and Reassigned 
     Telephone Numbers.--The Federal Trade Commission shall 
     periodically check telephone numbers registered on the 
     national `do-not-call' registry against national or other 
     appropriate databases and shall remove from such registry 
     those telephone numbers that have been disconnected and 
     reassigned.   Nothing in this section prohibits the Federal 
     Trade Commission from removing invalid telephone numbers from 
     the registry at any time.''.

     SEC. 3. REPORT ON ACCURACY.

        Not later than 9 months after the enactment of this Act, 
     the Federal Trade Commission shall report to Congress on 
     efforts taken by the Commission, after the date of enactment 
     of this Act, to improve the accuracy of the ``do-not-call'' 
     registry.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Stearns) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from North Carolina.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from North Carolina?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  The bill that we now consider on the floor is related to the previous 
bill that we just adopted. H.R. 3541, the Do-not-call Improvement Act 
of 2007, ensures that Americans who signed up to be on the do-not-call 
list remain on the do-not-call list. As the law currently stands, 
consumers are automatically purged from the registry after a 5-year 
period and they are forced to re-register their phone numbers with the 
FTC. Consequently, if we do nothing, of the 132 million telephone 
numbers that are currently listed on the do-not-call registry, almost 
52 million of those numbers will expire and once again be fair game for 
telemarketers.
  I guarantee you, Mr. Speaker, that the vast majority of these 
consumers are unaware that they must relist their phone numbers. As was 
the case with the previous bill, I don't think Members of Congress want 
to incur the wrath of millions of angry constituents and family members 
who thought they were safe from the nuisance of telemarketers, but are 
once again getting their pestering phone calls every evening. I might 
also add that September 28, the date in which 52 million numbers will 
expire, is right before election day. Need I say more?
  The authors of the bill, my good friend Mr. Doyle, who will speak in 
just a few moments, the gentleman from Pennsylvania, and my friend Mr. 
Pickering from Mississippi, are both valued members of the Energy and 
Commerce Committee, and they are to be commended for their bipartisan 
cooperation. On October 30 the bill was amended at the full committee 
markup to require the FTC to periodically scrub the do-not-call 
registry to remove phone numbers that have been disconnected or 
reassigned and further requires the commission to report to Congress on 
the accuracy of the registry. As such, H.R. 3541 ensures that the do-
not-call list is fair and accurate and that only those American 
consumers who do not wish to be called by telemarketers are on the 
registry.
  This is a thoughtful, bipartisan piece of legislation, and I urge its 
adoption.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1615

  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill, H.R. 3541, 
the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act, and I thank my colleagues from 
Pennsylvania and Mississippi for their initiative here of making a good 
bill even better. This legislation simply removes the requirement from 
the Federal Trade Commission to automatically remove consumers' phone 
numbers from the registry.
  My colleagues, the original act would have required consumers to re-
register their phone number every 5 years and was intended, in part, to 
keep the list accurate and up to date. This will result in tens of 
millions of Americans being dropped off the list each year contrary to 
their intention. Millions of Americans would have to re-up, so to 
speak, to stay on the list. Most of them, in their day-to-day life, 
would be unaware that their number is about to expire.
  So, this bill does a great service. This bill corrects this and would 
make numbers on the registry permanent, but at the same time require 
the Federal Trade Commission to keep the list accurate by simply 
removing invalid and disconnected phone numbers. As further assurance 
of this, the Federal Trade Commission must study and report to Congress 
on the accuracy of these numbers. I think that's important. And we 
mentioned that earlier in the bill, that we're going to have the 
Federal Trade Commission come back with a report to us. And this is a 
good area for the Federal Trade Commission to come back and talk about 
the accuracy of these millions and millions of numbers. So, I applaud 
my two colleagues for doing that.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I would like to yield 4 
minutes to my good friend from Pennsylvania, a gentleman who works so 
hard for his constituents, Mr. Doyle.
  Mr. DOYLE. I thank my friend from North Carolina.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to approve H.R. 3541, 
the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007.
  The national do-not-call registry was established in 2003 and is 
managed by the Federal Trade Commission and enforced by the FTC, the 
Federal Communications Commission, and State law enforcement officials. 
Most telemarketers are not allowed to call your number once it has been 
on the registry for 31 days. If they do, you can

[[Page H15268]]

file a complaint against them with the FTC and they can be forced to 
pay a fine.
  The Federal do-not-call registry is one of the most successful 
government programs ever created. Over 132 million telephone numbers 
have been added to the registry since its creation. Unfortunately, 
current regulations require that the registry remove individuals' 
numbers after 5 years. Consequently, starting in June of 2008, millions 
of people will begin receiving telemarketing calls again. Many of them 
don't realize that their listing has expired and that they need to add 
their number to the do-not-call list again if they want to block 
telemarketers' phone calls.
  It makes no sense to force people to sign up every couple of years. 
Unfortunately, that's just what will happen if action isn't taken. And 
that's why I introduced this legislation along with my good friend from 
Mississippi, Chip Pickering, to make registration with the Federal do-
not-call list permanent.
  My legislation, the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007, would make 
the numbers on the Federal do-not-call registry permanent. Under this 
legislation, someone would only have to sign up for the do-not-call 
registry once. Without passage of this act, over 50 million phone 
numbers will be purged from the registry within the next year. The 
hassle for consumers will be tremendous, with no real payoff.
  Now, when a consumer signs up for the do-not-call list, they expect a 
roach motel where their numbers go in and the telemarketers can't check 
them out. But for those few individuals who are worried that they might 
change their mind at some future date, I want to make clear that this 
bill will still allow individuals to take their names off if they 
choose to, and it gives the FTC explicit authority to scrub numbers 
that are invalid or don't belong on the list.
  There is no need to risk Americans being removed from the do-not-call 
list unless they want to be removed, and the best way to deal with this 
nightmare is to end it before it starts. As I said when I introduced 
this legislation, I suspect there are very few people saying, ``Gee, I 
really miss those telemarketing calls at dinnertime. I wish the 
Government would just take me off that do-not-call list.'' Well, if 
this bill is enacted, individuals won't have to worry about signing up 
for the do-not-call list every 5 years.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the AARP, the Consumers Union, the 
Center for Democracy and Technology, Consumerist.com, and the American 
Teleservices Association for endorsing this bill. It's a great day when 
consumer groups, senior groups, privacy groups, and yes, even 
telemarketers, can agree on making the do-not-call list better.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in passing this legislation. By 
signing up with the national do-not-call registry, over 130 million 
Americans have told telemarketers, ``Don't call us; we'll call you.'' 
Let's save them the hassle of having to have sign up time and time 
again.
  In closing, I want to thank my friend Chip Pickering. I want to thank 
Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Dingell, Ranking Member Barton, 
Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Bobby 
Rush and my good friend Cliff Stearns. And I also want to thank several 
staffers who have worked so hard on this bill: Gregg Rothschild, 
Consuela Washington, Shannon Weinberg, Brian McCullough, Will Carty. 
And finally, I want to thank Hugh Carroll of Mr. Pickering's staff and 
Kenneth DeGraff of my staff for all of their hard work.
  I encourage my colleagues to join me in passing this bill and making 
one of the most popular Federal services even better.
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished 
Member from Mississippi (Mr. Pickering).
  (Mr. PICKERING asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3541. I, too, 
want to join in commending my colleagues, Mr. Butterfield, Mr. Stearns, 
and my good friend Congressman Doyle from Pennsylvania. I thank the 
leadership of the committee, Chairman Dingell and Congressman Joe 
Barton. Joe has been a good friend, and he has provided the support on 
our side, and Cliff Stearns, the leadership on our side.
  Mike Doyle has been a tireless champion on this, a bulldog, and a 
great advocate for keeping peace and goodwill through the Christmas 
season for the citizens of our country as we do something that is 
common sense and pretty straightforward and simple, and that is to 
extend the do-not-call.
  We do not want the cold calls to fill the stockings. We simply want 
the good cheer that will come from the time around the dinner table and 
the Christmas tree and the holiday season that all of us who want to be 
protected in that sanctuary of home will be, and this bill will do 
that.
  The other great benefit, if we're watching our budget around 
Christmastime as a country and in the Congress, this has no cost. And 
so for our friends on the Senate side who are known to be frugal, we 
can tell you this has no cost. It can be passed quickly. It should be 
passed quickly as a Christmas present for the citizens of the country.
  This is good government. It is time. And we can do this together, 
House and Senate, on a bipartisan basis. It is one of the most widely 
popular programs that we've had in this country; over 150 million 
people have signed up. I'm proud to be part of this effort, and I'm 
proud that I've worked with friends on the other side of the aisle to 
achieve this.
  This is good news, good legislation, and a good effort. And I do wish 
to commend the committee for their work. I thank Mr. Doyle again for 
his good leadership.
  As I previously stated, the Do Not Call legislation is extremely 
popular and has been effective in largely eliminating the unwanted 
intrusions associated with commercial telemarketing calls to the home. 
We should all be proud of the success of the legislation and I want to 
commend both the FCC and FTC for their efforts in this area. I am 
confident that this language will benefit both the American people and 
industry. FTC and industry concerns were well vetted and fully 
considered as the bill moved through normal process. We added the 
reporting requirement to ensure we are providing an accurate database 
to the telemarketing industry so they are not hindered by making 
registration permanent.
  Since the Do Not Call registry falls within the jurisdiction and 
enforcement of both the FCC and FTC, I hope there is continued 
consistent application, direction, and enforcement by both agencies. We 
have all worked hard to develop and implement the Do Not Call 
legislation, and we must be cautious in protecting its integrity and 
enforceability, particularly as it applies to charities and nonprofits. 
Inconsistent direction or enforcement ultimately will weaken the 
enforceability of the restrictions and undermine the statutory intent 
of this successful Government program. Again, I thank the committee and 
look forward to passage of this legislation.
  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, this has been a good debate on this 
issue, and I want to thank both the gentlemen who have authored this 
bill for their passion and for their leadership and what they do for 
the Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I just want to 
add to Mr. Pickering's comment about the frugality of the Senate. I 
think certainly if Mr. Pickering was in the Senate, we wouldn't have 
that frugality.
  Mr. PICKERING. Would the gentleman yield?
  Mr. STEARNS. I would be glad to yield.
  Mr. PICKERING. I would be regretful if I did not mention the good 
work of the staff, as did Mr. Doyle. And for me, on my staff, Hugh 
Carroll has been tireless and has worked hard, and I appreciate his 
good work on this effort.
  Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3541 the 
``Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007''. This bill enjoys wide 
bipartisan support. Along with H.R. 2601, legislation considered by the 
House immediately before this bill, these measures will strengthen and 
ensure the continued operation of one of the most popular Federal 
consumer protection programs ever adopted by the Congress, the registry 
that allows consumers to list their phone numbers and thereby protect 
themselves from unwanted telemarketing phone calls.
  Current rules provide that telephone numbers be removed from the list 
after 5 years, thus requiring consumers to re-register their numbers in 
order to fend off pesky telemarketing calls. Most consumers are unaware

[[Page H15269]]

of this requirement. And I would observe that it places a particular 
burden on the elderly, the group most often victimized by telemarketing 
frauds.
  The FTC testified before our Committee last month that they would not 
remove any expiring numbers from the Do-Not-Call Registry, that is, 
phone numbers will stay registered, pending action by Congress to 
address this issue.
  To that end, H.R. 3541 will eliminate the automatic removal of 
telephone numbers registered on the Registry, subject to certain common 
sense exceptions, such as at the request of the individual to whom the 
number is assigned. To maintain the accuracy of the Registry, H.R. 3541 
directs the FTC to ``periodically'' check telephone numbers on the 
Registry against national or other appropriate databases, and remove 
from such Registry telephone numbers that have been disconnected and 
reassigned. The Committee intends for the FTC or any subcontractor to 
check these numbers at least once a month and preferably more 
frequently as technology allows. Nothing in this bill prohibits the FTC 
from removing invalid telephone numbers from the Registry at any time. 
The Committee expects the FTC to work with industry and technology 
experts to ensure the accuracy of the Registry. The legislation directs 
the FTC to report to Congress, not later than 9 months after date of 
enactment, on efforts taken by the agency to improve the accuracy of 
the Registry. I commend Representatives Doyle and Pickering for their 
strong bipartisan leadership on this legislation.
  I urge my colleagues to vote for this strong package of important 
consumer protections. Let us hope for swift action on H.R. 3541, as 
well as on the legislation establishing a permanent funding mechanism, 
leading to quick enactment so that Americans are not once again 
inundated with unwanted calls from telemarketers.
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield) that the House suspend 
the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3541, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  The title was amended so as to read: ``A Bill to amend the Do-not-
call Implementation Act to eliminate the automatic removal of telephone 
numbers registered on the Federal `do-not-call' registry''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________