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BILL AIMS TO HANG UP 'TELENUISANCE'

WASHINGTON-Congress is being asked to pull the plug on a national " telenuisance."

Tapping into an apparent wellspring of annoyance, the communications panel of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee Wednesday heard senators and witnesses recount a litany of complaints about computerized phone solicitations.

Labeling the practice everything from a "telenuisance" to "the modern form of telephone terrorism," the annoyed urged the panel to approve legislation by Sen. Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., that would ban computerized solicitations to residential phones, unless the user gives prior consent.

Hollings' bill is being considered by the subcommittee along with companion legislation, written by Sen. Larry Pressler, R-S.D., which also would curtail " junk fax" transmissions. The Pressler bill would direct the Federal Communications Commission to develop a national list of people who do not want solicitation calls.

Machine-generated telephone calls represent "the fastest growing category" of consumer complaints nationwide, according to Steven Hamm, South Carolina's consumer affairs director speaking for the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators.

"Computer calls are now the modern form of telephone terrorism," Hamm said.

He urged the subcommittee to "put some teeth" into both the Hollings and Pressler proposals by imposing stiff penalties for violators.

Telemarketing industry representatives said they favored some regulation of computerized solicitations, but opposed an outright ban.

Direct Marketing Association Senior Vice-President Richard Barton said his industry group would favor prohibitions on "line seizure" by computer callers, as well as restricting calls to critical social services such as hospitals, both features of a House proposal.

"We are noting more than sources of revenue to an industry that has lost its moral compass," said Robert Bulmash.

"This out-of-control industry will summon us by using our conditioned response to answer the phone as if we were nothing more than Pavlovian dogs with wallets," he said.

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