September 25, 2003
Yesterday, a federal judge in Oklahoma ruled that the FTC commission that created the Federal Do-Not-Call Registry overstepped its bounds. Today Congress is taking action to ensure that the judiciary knows that such authority has been granted to the FTC by the Congress:
Lawmakers are moving swiftly to defend the popular national do-not-call list from a court ruling that may jeopardize the promise of peace and quiet for people fed up with telemarketers.
If you are not already signed up, do it before October 1st. The telemarketers are only required to check the list every three months, so missing the deadline could be costly as far as time goes. The phone here received roughly 5 telemarketing calls per day. Assuming one minute of lost time per phone call over a period of three months comes out to 7.5 hours of wasted time.
The Senate and House were expected to consider legislation Thursday that would ensure the free government service goes into effect as scheduled next week, deflecting unwanted sales pitches to more than 50 million registered phone numbers.
A flood of congressional proposals defending the list came only hours after an announcement Wednesday that a federal judge in Oklahoma City had ruled the Federal Trade Commission overstepped its authority by creating the registry. Telemarketers who sued to block the list stopped short of declaring victory because there was uncertainty about how the ruling would affect the FTC's plans.
Consumers may continue signing up for the list despite the ruling, FTC spokeswoman Cathy MacFarlane said.
