"Do Not Call List" is BACK!!!
09-25-2003 | 02:40 PM
#1
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"Do Not Call List" is BACK!!!
House Votes to Reinstate 'Do Not Call' List
2 hours, 42 minutes ago Add Top Stories - Reuters to My Yahoo!
By Andy Sullivan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congress moved quickly on Thursday to reinstate a popular "do-not-call" telemarketing list that millions had signed up for before it was blocked by a U.S court two days ago.
Reuters Photo
AFP
Slideshow: National 'Do Not Call' List
The House of Representatives voted 412-8 to give the Federal Trade Commission authority to run the national "do not call" registry of phone numbers, which telemarketers would be prohibited to call. The Senate was expected to vote on a nearly identical measure later in the afternoon.
The flurry of activity on Capitol Hill underlined the program's tremendous popularity among voters, who have placed 50 million home and mobile phone numbers on the list since it was launched this summer.
"This Congress has often been called a slow and cumbersome beast, but I think you can see how fast this Congress is prepared to move when 50 million Americans are angry," said bill sponsor Rep. Billy Tauzin in debate on the House floor.
After an Oklahoma City judge ruled late Tuesday that the FTC did not have authority to oversee the list, at least 11 lawmakers introduced bills that would give the FTC the necessary authority.
The Senate will take up a bill sponsored by Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan (news, bio, voting record) of North Dakota and Republican Sen. John Ensign (news, bio, voting record) of Nevada that is nearly identical to the House bill, an aide to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said.
The White House signaled its support as well.
"These calls can be very annoying and intrusive," White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said.
The FTC asked the court on Wednesday to allow the program to go forward while it appeals the decision.
The Direct Marketing Association, which filed the lawsuit in February, instructed its members to avoid calling those who had signed up for the list.
In debate on the House floor, lawmakers condemned both the Oklahoma judge who issued the ruling and the telemarketers who pester Americans at home with unwanted sales calls.
"Unwanted telemarketing calls are less popular than a skunk at a church picnic, and they are more persistent and obnoxious than athlete's foot," said Rep. John Dingell (news, bio, voting record), the top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee and a co-sponsor of the bill.
Michigan Republican Rep. Fred Upton (news, bio, voting record) brandished Judge Lee West's phone number, while others thanked him for temporarily uniting a Congress that is frequently split along ideological lines.
"I want to thank the judge for making us all love each other," New York Democratic Rep. Eliot Engel (news, bio, voting record) said.
2 hours, 42 minutes ago Add Top Stories - Reuters to My Yahoo!
By Andy Sullivan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congress moved quickly on Thursday to reinstate a popular "do-not-call" telemarketing list that millions had signed up for before it was blocked by a U.S court two days ago.
Reuters Photo
AFP
Slideshow: National 'Do Not Call' List
The House of Representatives voted 412-8 to give the Federal Trade Commission authority to run the national "do not call" registry of phone numbers, which telemarketers would be prohibited to call. The Senate was expected to vote on a nearly identical measure later in the afternoon.
The flurry of activity on Capitol Hill underlined the program's tremendous popularity among voters, who have placed 50 million home and mobile phone numbers on the list since it was launched this summer.
"This Congress has often been called a slow and cumbersome beast, but I think you can see how fast this Congress is prepared to move when 50 million Americans are angry," said bill sponsor Rep. Billy Tauzin in debate on the House floor.
After an Oklahoma City judge ruled late Tuesday that the FTC did not have authority to oversee the list, at least 11 lawmakers introduced bills that would give the FTC the necessary authority.
The Senate will take up a bill sponsored by Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan (news, bio, voting record) of North Dakota and Republican Sen. John Ensign (news, bio, voting record) of Nevada that is nearly identical to the House bill, an aide to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said.
The White House signaled its support as well.
"These calls can be very annoying and intrusive," White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said.
The FTC asked the court on Wednesday to allow the program to go forward while it appeals the decision.
The Direct Marketing Association, which filed the lawsuit in February, instructed its members to avoid calling those who had signed up for the list.
In debate on the House floor, lawmakers condemned both the Oklahoma judge who issued the ruling and the telemarketers who pester Americans at home with unwanted sales calls.
"Unwanted telemarketing calls are less popular than a skunk at a church picnic, and they are more persistent and obnoxious than athlete's foot," said Rep. John Dingell (news, bio, voting record), the top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee and a co-sponsor of the bill.
Michigan Republican Rep. Fred Upton (news, bio, voting record) brandished Judge Lee West's phone number, while others thanked him for temporarily uniting a Congress that is frequently split along ideological lines.
"I want to thank the judge for making us all love each other," New York Democratic Rep. Eliot Engel (news, bio, voting record) said.
09-25-2003 | 08:09 PM
#4
Ginger or Mary Ann?
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 11,030
Likes: 9
From: L
Not so fast.
Seems a 2nd judge has now ruled the Do Not Call List illegal, right after Congress ruled to reinstate the list.
Seems a 2nd judge has now ruled the Do Not Call List illegal, right after Congress ruled to reinstate the list.
__________________
Some people are like Slinkies - Not really good for anything, but they
bring a smile to your face when pushed down the stairs.
Some people are like Slinkies - Not really good for anything, but they
bring a smile to your face when pushed down the stairs.
09-25-2003 | 10:27 PM
#6
Banned
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 25,191
Likes: 1
From: Deland, Florida
That's the crux of the problem with Federal Judges! They want to make the law instead of interpret it. They overstep their constitutional authority constantly, and have to answer to no one!
Ooh, don't get me started on this.
Ooh, don't get me started on this.
