Senate votes to make Do-Not-Call Registry permanent

The Senate passed a bill making the Do-Not-Call Registry permanent on December 17. The House of Representatives passed a similar bill last week.

The Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007 was introduced last March by Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND). Before the bill passed, consumers on the list had to renew their registration every five years.

A second bill passed Monday that permanently authorizes the FTC to administer the registry while capping fees that marketers pay to access the list.

“Congress intended that once you signed up for the Do-Not-Call registry you were on it until you asked to be taken off,” Dorgan said in a statement. “That's what this bill intends to re-establish. Without it, millions of Americans will either need to start re-registering on October 1, 2008, or get ready to hear their telephones ring during supper time again with unwanted commercial solicitation calls.”

Dorgan also said he expects the Act to quickly move to the White House for the President to sign into law.

According to a statement, the DMA supports the bill. “The public has voiced its strong support for the registry, and DMA wants to help consumers make informed decisions on how they can be contacted by businesses selling valuable products and services,” said Jerry Cerasale, SVP of government affairs. “Those legitimate marketers who rely on the FTC's no-call registry as a means of keeping their own lists as accurate as possible will greatly benefit from the new provisions that will be implemented as a result of the final legislation.”

To date, the DNC list has approximately 145 million registrants.