Bill Would Add Politcal Telemarketing to Do-Not-Call List Restrictions

The National Do Not Call Registry has been a godsend to folks at dinner who don?t want to hear about fabulous vacation destinations or exciting magazine subscription opportunities that could be theirs for the taking.

For those who have opted in to the Do Not Call Registry, gone, too, are the weekend morning calls querying answerers on the state of their windows, hardwood floors, or carpeting.

In short, bliss.

But what about those equally intrusive ? and oftentimes equally annoying ? phone calls from political candidates the wash over constituents round about election time every year? Since the Do Not Call Registry?s inception, those calls, as well as fundraising calls for non-profits, have been exempt from the ?do not? part of the Call Registry. House Republican Conference Secretary John T. Doolittle, however, has other ideas.

Doolittle has introduced legislation that will allow citizens to apply the National Do-Not-Call Registry to politically-oriented calls. Doolittle?s bill (HR 5325) will enable a person to choose whether he wants to opt out of political calls in addition to the business-related calls already covered.

Why would a politician find himself supporting a bill of this kind in the first place?

?Many of my constituents are fed up with how frequent and intrusive these political calls have become,? Doolittle said. ?I agree with them and want to empower people to decide for themselves whether they want to continue to have their lives interrupted in this manner.?

Doolittle?s legislation treats all political calls the same regardless of whether they originate from Members of Congress, candidates running for local office, or 527 political organizations like MoveOn.org.

?Congress never should have exempted political calls in the first place. My bill closes this loophole and gives consumers the choice they should have had all along,? Doolittle concluded.