U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

1 

69–010 

" ! SENATE 110TH CONGRESS

1st Session 

REPORT

2007

110–246 

Calendar No. 539 

DO-NOT-CALL IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2007 

R E P O R T 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND 

TRANSPORTATION 

ON

S. 2096 

DECEMBER 12, 2007.—Ordered to be printed 


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(II) 

SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION 

ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii, Chairman 

TED STEVENS, Alaska, Vice-Chairman 

JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West Virginia 

JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts 

BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota 

BARBARA BOXER, California 

BILL NELSON, Florida 

MARIA CANTWELL, Washington 

FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey 

MARK PRYOR, Arkansas 

THOMAS CARPER, Delaware 

CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri 

AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota 

JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona 

TRENT LOTT, Mississippi 

KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas 

OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, Maine 

GORDON H. SMITH, Oregon 

JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada 

JOHN E. SUNUNU, New Hampshire 

JIM DEMINT, South Carolina 

DAVID VITTER, Louisiana 

JOHN THUNE, South Dakota 

MARGARET CUMMISKY, Staff Director and Chief Counsel 

LILA HELMS, Deputy Staff Director and Policy Director 

JEAN TOAL EISEN, Senior Advisor and Deputy Policy Director 

CHRISTINE KURTH, Republican Staff Director and General Counsel 

PAUL J. NAGLE, Republican Chief Counsel 

MIMI BRANIFF, Republican Deputy Chief Counsel 


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Calendar No. 539 

110TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 1st Session 110–246 

DO-NOT-CALL IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2007 

DECEMBER 12, 2007.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. INOUYE, from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 2096] 

The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to 

which was referred the bill (S. 2096) to amend the Do-Not-Call Implementation Act to eliminate the automatic removal of telephone 

numbers registered on the Federal ‘‘do-not-call’’ registry, having 

considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment 

(in the nature of a substitute) and recommends that the bill (as 

amended) do pass. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

S. 2096, as amended, would prevent the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from removing telephone numbers for the Do-Not-Call 

(DNC) Registry that have been on the DNC Registry for 5 years, 

an action that would have forced consumers who placed those numbers on the DNC Registry to re-register. Under the Telemarketing 

Sales Rule adopted by the FTC, telephone number registrations remain valid for 5 years. Consequently, unless altered by legislation, 

the DNC telephone numbers registered in the summer of 2003 will 

begin to expire during the summer of 2008. In anticipation of the 

first expirations, FTC staff has indicated that they intend to manage an education campaign dedicated to disseminating re-registration information to consumers, during the spring of 2008. 

In order to avoid confusion, and to protect consumers from receiving unwanted telemarketing calls upon the expiration of their 

registrations, S. 2096 would forestall the FTC from automatically 

expiring numbers and removing them from the registry. 


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BACKGROUND AND NEEDS

On March 11, 2003, President George W. Bush signed the DoNot-Call Implementation Act (DNC Act) into law. The DNC Act 

makes it illegal for telemarketers to call consumers with whom 

they do not have a prior business relationship. It also limits the 

times of day when telemarketers can call, the use of auto-dialing 

technology, and the area codes accessible to telemarketers. The enforcement provisions of the DNC Act include severe fines for calling 

numbers on the DNC Registry, and the Act requires telemarketers 

to keep their own in-house call lists up-to-date with the DNC Registry. 

The FTC opened the DNC Registry on June 27, 2003, and telemarketers were required to comply by October 1, 2003. Nearly 

5,000 telemarketers purchased all or parts of the list and removed 

the phone numbers on the DNC Registry. 

A telemarketer who ignores the DNC list is subject to an $11,000 

fine for each call to a phone number on the DNC Registry. The fine 

is levied by the FTC; no private right of action is available to individual consumers or State attorneys general. The law requires telemarketers to search the registry and synchronize their call lists on 

a regular basis. The registry has logged more than 144 million telephone numbers since its inception. 

In its Annual Report to Congress for FY 2006, the FTC stated 

that the DNC Registry was effectively serving its fundamental purpose by maintaining high registration volumes and reducing unwanted phone calls from telemarketers. The FTC also concluded 

that the registry was successfully recording consumer complaints 

and consumer preferences to avoid telemarketing phone calls, permitting businesses to access the registry, and sharing information 

and tools with State and Federal law enforcement personnel so 

that they could conduct investigations into complaints and take appropriate action. In short, the FTC affirmed in its report to Congress that the DNC Registry constitutes an effective consumer protection program. 

The Report underscored other issues reflecting the program’s efficacy. Concerning agency harmonization, in 2006, the FTC coordinated closely with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) 

to share enforcement priorities and avoid duplicative action. Regarding consolidation and efficiency, the FTC worked with States 

to advance its objective of forming a single registry to provide businesses and consumers with a single point of contact. Finally, concerning enforcement, while compliance with the DNC Registry was 

high, the FTC continued to prosecute violators of the DNC Act and 

worked closely with the Department of Justice, the FCC, and the 

individual States. Under the Telemarketing Sales Rule adopted by 

the FTC, telephone number registrations remain valid for 5 years. 

The DNC telephone numbers registered in the summer of 2003 will 

begin to expire during the summer of 2008. Without Congressional 

authorization, the telephone numbers that were placed on the Registry and have not been re-registered within the 5-year period will 

be deleted. 


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SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS

S. 2096 would mandate that a telephone number on the DNC 

Registry would not expire at the end of any specified period. The 

bill would reinstate any number removed from the DNC Registry 

before the date of enactment due to the 5-year expiration policy set 

forth in the Telemarketing Sales Rule. The FTC would be required 

to check telephone numbers against national databases, and remove numbers that have been both disconnected and reassigned. 

The Committee encourages the FTC to develop new methods to ensure the accuracy of the Registry. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

On September 26, 2007, Senator Dorgan introduced S. 2096, 

which was referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation (Committee). Several members of the Committee cosponsored the measure, including Vice Chairman Stevens and Senators Kerry, Nelson, Snowe, and Ensign. On April 10, 2007, all five 

FTC Commissioners testified before the Committee on several 

issues as part of general oversight of the FTC, and included testimony on the DNC Registry. On July 31, 2007, the Committee held 

a hearing on telemarketing practices and received testimony on the 

number expiration issue. 

On October 30, 2007, the Committee met in open executive session to consider an amendment in the nature of a substitute offered 

by Senator Dorgan that made several substantive changes to the 

bill as introduced. The Committee adopted the Dorgan substitute 

amendment to the bill by voice vote and ordered the bill reported 

favorably with the amendment in the nature of a substitute. 

ESTIMATED COSTS

In accordance with paragraph 11(a) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate and section 403 of the Congressional Budget 

Act of 1974, the Committee provides the following cost estimate, 

prepared by the Congressional Budget Office: 

NOVEMBER 26, 2007. 

Hon. DANIEL K. INOUYE, Chairman, 

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, U.S. Senate, 

Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 2096, the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Susan Willie. 

Sincerely, 

PETER R. ORSZAG. 

Enclosure. 

S. 2096—Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007 

S. 2096 would prohibit the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) 

from removing phone numbers from its ‘‘do-not-call’’ registry at the 

end of specific time periods. The ‘‘do-not-call’’ registry contains a 

list of consumers whom telemarketers are prohibited from calling. 

When the registry was created in 2003, the FTC developed rules 


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that required consumers to register their phone numbers every five 

years and required the FTC to remove disconnected phone numbers 

periodically. 

S. 2096 would prohibit the FTC from removing numbers from the 

registry at the end of this five-year period or any other specified 

period. The bill also would authorize the FTC to continue to purge 

the registry of disconnected and reassigned phone numbers. Based 

on information from FTC, CBO estimates that implementing the 

bill would have no significant impact on the federal budget because 

the commission is already complying with the bill’s provisions. 

S. 2096 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Susan Willie. This estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director 

for Budget Analysis. 

REGULATORY IMPACT STATEMENT

In accordance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides the following evaluation of the regulatory impact of the legislation, as reported: 

NUMBER OF PERSONS COVERED

The legislation would apply to all American consumers who have 

placed or choose to place their telephone numbers on the DNC Registry. 

ECONOMIC IMPACT

S. 2096 is not expected to change the economic impact of the 

DNC Registry on the telemarketing industry, in that the FTC 

would still be obligated to remove disconnected and reassigned telephone numbers from the DNC Registry. 

PRIVACY

S. 2096 would increase the privacy of consumers by assuring the 

continuation of the protections of DNC Registry to the consumers 

that elected to place their numbers onto the Registry. 

PAPERWORK

It is expected that the legislation would not increase the paperwork requirements beyond what is currently required to comply 

with the DNC Registry. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title. 

This section would provide that the Act may be cited as the ‘‘DoNot-Call Improvement Act of 2007.’’

Section 2. Prohibition of expiration date for registered telephone 

numbers. 

This section would mandate that the registration of a telephone 

number on the DNC Registry of the Telemarketing Sales Rule may 

not expire at the end of any specified time period. 


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Reinstatement.—The bill would reinstate any number removed 

from the DNC Registry before the date of enactment due to the 5- 

year expiration policy set forth in the Telemarketing Sales Rule. 

Registry Maintenance.—The FTC would be authorized to check 

telephone numbers against national databases, and remove numbers that have been both disconnected and reassigned. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee states that the bill as reported 

would make no change to existing law. 

Æ 


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