DO NOT CALL LIST WILL PREVAIL (10-2003)

U.S. District Judge Lee R. West of Oklahoma City has made the most unpopular decision since
his counterpart out in California ruled last year that the Pledge of Allegiance couldn't be recited
in classrooms because it violates the principle of separation of church and state.

West ruled that the national do-not-call list, scheduled to have taken effect last week, was
illegally implemented by the Federal Trade Commission. The judge ruled that the list should
actually be implemented by the Federal Communications Commission.

But members of Congress were outraged at Judge West's ruling, saying that Congress made it
perfectly clear that the FTC had the authority to develop and implement the do-not-call list.

So, two days after West's ruling, the House of Representatives acted as fast as any government
body its size can act. It overwhelmingly passed legislation that would have allowed the
do-not-call list to take effect as scheduled.

Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La, said that in order to drive home the point to the judge, the legislation
should rightfully be called the "'This Time We Really Mean It Act." He said the bill left no doubt
as to the intent of Congress.

The House vote was 412 to 8 in favor of passage. A day later, the Senate voted unanimously in
favor of the same legislation and Pres. Bush signed it into law within three days. It was lightning-
fast action, underscoring the desire for representatives to give their constituents what they desire
freedom from unwanted telephone solicitations.

The reason Congress has moved so quickly on this matter is due to the sheer volume of phone
numbers that have already been added to the list. To date, 51 million people have put their phone
numbers on the list. The FTC estimates that the do-not-call list will be effective in stopping 80
percent of those pesky telemarketing calls.

Indiana and several other states already have do-not-call lists of their own. Some states have
already transferred the numbers on their lists to the national list.

But another federal judge in Colorado dealt the worst blow to the do-not-call list by far, ruling
that its implementation would be unconstitutional on free speech grounds. No law passed by
Congress or signed by the president could reverse that ruling. It will have to be handled in the
courts, perhaps going all the way to the Supreme Court.

One way or the other, however, the U.S. will have a national do-not-call list. It's inevitable
because of the vast majority of telephone subscribers who can't stand to be bothered by those
annoying sales calls. 

Federal judges may have been dealing with esoteric judicial technicalities when they rendered
their decisions. But that doesn't make the list any less popular or any less likely that it will be
instituted one way or another. One congressman jokingly held up a piece of paper with the
judge's phone number on it and threatened to disseminate it publicly. 

With most legislative bills, Congress behaves in a very lethargic manner. It often takes weeks,
months, even years to pass legislation. The speedy passage of the anti-telemarketing legislation
highlights just how fed up the public is with this practice.

Telemarketers say the list would devastate their industry and lead to the loss of thousands of jobs.
Maybe so, but when a job depends upon calling and annoying anonymous individuals, then the
job should never have been created in the first place. Thankfully, the Direct Marketing
Association has recommended that its members abide by the do-not-call list, regardless of the
court's ruling.

We'll see if the DMA's recommendation is followed by its membership. A reduction in those
irritating sales pitches during the dinner hour will be a positive sign.