News from Congressman Steve Buyer

For Immediate Release:                                                                         January 30, 2003

Congressman Buyer Co-Sponsors Do-Not-Call Legislation

Washington, D.C.-Today, Congressman Steve Buyer became a co-sponsor of H.R. 395, the “Do-Not-Call Implementation Act,” legislation that provides a five-year authorization for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to collect offsetting fees from telemarketers to pay for a national “do-not-call” registry.

“Back home in Indiana, our state’s “no call” list has been met with enormous success. Over 1.1 million telephone lines have been registered to stop unwanted calls. For those states that do not offer “no call” registries, this bill will allow all consumers to opt-out of unwanted telemarketing calls,” Buyer said.

From the beginning of the debate on the creation of a federal do-not-call registry, Congressman Buyer has been an important participant. Knowing that in some cases, federal law does pre-empt state law, in July 2002, Buyer wrote to FTC Chairman Timothy J. Muris, asking that any federal law would in no way pre-empt state law.

“The success of Indiana’s “no call” list is due to the law’s strict nature, which allows few exemptions to telephone solicitors. In addition, telephone customers who choose to participate in the list do not incur a cost when their number is placed in the Statewide Telephone Privacy list. Any federal law should in no way pre-empt state law,” Buyer added.

Earlier this week, Congressman Buyer, along with the other eight members of the Indiana delegation, signed a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell, asking the FCC to include a clause in its rules ensure that federal law will in no way pre-empt any state law “which may be stronger than the impending federal mandate.”