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137 Cong.Rec. S13180-03

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By Mr. SPECTER:

S. 1719. A bill to protect consumers by regulating prerecorded telephone advertising; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
PRERECORDED SOLICITATION CONSUMER RIGHTS ACT

Mr. SPECTER.

Mr. President, today I am introducing the Prerecorded Telephone Advertising Consumers Rights Act of 1991. This bill will restrict telephone solicitations that are made through automatic dialing message systems and those with artificial or prerecorded voices. This legislation calls for the creation of a national database which will collect the phone numbers of those citizens who do not wish to receive unsolicited phone advertising. Furthermore, these automated and prerecorded phone calls would be banned from emergency telephone lines of any hospital, medical physician or services office, health care facility, fire protection, or law enforcement agency.

In the past 10 years, there has been an enormous increase in the usage of the telephone as a marketing tool. Expenditures in the United States on telemarketing have increased from $1 billion in 1980 to $60 billion presently. In 1990 alone, telemarketing sales reached $435 million.

Yet, the success of the telemarketing industry has been accompanied by numerous problems. In particular, the automatic dialing systems have invaded the privacy of every telephone owner in the country. Today, over 300,000 telemarketing agents make 18 million calls a day to citizens throughout the country. It goes without *S13182 saying that among the 18 million unsolicited calls there are many that are unwanted and possibly harmful to the community.

With the new automatic dialing technology, many of the dialing machines sequentially deliver prerecorded messages to thousands of phone numbers. Many of the numbers that are called have been those of hospitals, police stations, and firehouses. The phone lines, which are intended for emergency use are rendered inoperable. Citizens are unable to contact those officials who could possibly stop a crime or save a life. This proposed legislation would make it illegal for the automatic dialing systems and prerecorded messages to call these vital emergency telephone lines.

Furthermore, many telephone owners simply do not want to be contacted by unsolicited recorded phone advertising. Those phone owners with unlisted numbers are contacted just as frequently by the random autodialers as those with listed numbers. These calls are not only a nuisance but an invasion of privacy.

I have received numerous letters from constituents complaining about early morning phone calls from telemarketers. Many phone owners have been forced to screen their phone calls through the use of their answering machines. One gentleman, in particular, Mr. William A. Grundy from Ambler, PA, informed my staff that phone calls from telemarketers are extremely troubling. Mr. Grundy explained that as an older gentleman he has difficulty walking. In one instance, he fell down the stairs in his home attempting to answer the telephone. On the other line was, of course, a prerecorded telephone solicitation. In addition, many businesses are called by the telemarketers, making their work lines unreachable to the public and affecting the owner's ability to effectively run his business.

This bill calls for the creation of a national database which would contain a list of those individuals who do not want to receive phone calls from automatic dialing message systems. The list would be available for both consumers and business owners and would be free.

The telemarketers would be required to respect the wishes of those on the list and cease calling them. It is true that there already exists a service which has a restricted telephone list, but this option is not widely publicized and only has 400,000 names on it. Moreover, use of this list among the telemarketers is only optional and there is no penalty for ignoring it.

It is important to note that this bill does not ban all automated calls. Those calls which are manned by live attendants where the person who receives the telephone call can simply ask the caller to hang up are not restricted by this bill. It restricts only automatic dialing message systems with artificial or prerecorded voices that are sent to hospitals, health care facilities, fire houses, and police stations.

I have recognized that a complete ban on automatic dialing systems is impractical. In fact, such a ban could be detrimental to a community. Police Officer Jim Howell of the Mt. Lebanon, PA, Police Department has told my staff that automatic dialer is vital to his city's Neighborhood Watch Program for it allows quick and easy exchange of important crime watch information. Without the use of the autodialer, crimes could not prevented and criminals could evade law enforcement officials.

I am introducing this bill in response to concerns that have been voiced by the community. Prerecorded telephone solicitations have affected every aspect of our society and must be regulated. I believe this legislation will rectify this problem in a fair and balanced manner.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the full text of the bill I am introducing today be printed in the RECORD.

There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, AS FOLLOWS:

S. 1719

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the "Prerecorded Telephone Solicitation Consumer Rights Act".

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds that:

(1) Over 300,000 telemarketing agents make 18 million telemarketing calls a day.

(2) An automatic dialing recorded message program can make sixty random sales calls in an hour.

(3) Unrestricted telemarketing is an intrusive invasion of privacy, and a risk to public safety when an emergency or medical assistance is called.

(4) There already exists a service which has a restricted telephone list, but this option is not widely publicized, only has 400,000 names on it, and lacks enforcement mechanisms.

(5) Forty-two states introduced some type of legislation affecting how telephone sales operations do business and twenty-one states have passed laws restricting auto-dialed telephone solicitations, but many telemarketers can circumvent these restrictions through interstate operations, and thus Federal legislation is necessary to control prerecorded telephone advertising.

SEC. 3. RESTRICTIONS ON THE USE OF PRERECORDED COMMERCIAL TELEPHONE CALLS.

(A) AMENDMENT.-Title II of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 201) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new section:

"SEC. 228. RESTRICTIONS ON THE USE OF PRERECORDED COMMERCIAL TELEPHONE CALLS.

"(a) DEFINITIONS.-As used in this section-

"(1) The term 'automatic dialing recorded message programs (ADRMP's)' means equipment which has the capacity-

"(A) to store or produce telephone numbers to be called, using a random or sequential number generator;

"(B) to dial such numbers; and

"(C) to transmit a voice-recorded message.

"(2) The term 'unsolicited prerecorded telephone solicitation' means a prerecorded telephone call by a person for the purpose of encouraging the purchase or rental of, or investment in, property, goods, or services, or for other commercial purposes, which is transmitted to any person without that person's prior express invitation or permission. Such term does not include calls or messages made by or on behalf of a tax exempt nonprofit organization.

"(b) RESTRICTIONS.-It shall be unlawful for any person within the United States-

"(1) to make any call using any automatic dialing recorded message program system (ADRMP's) or an artificial or prerecorded voice-

"(A) to any emergency telephone line or pager of any hospital, medical physician or services office, health care facility, or fire protection or law enforcement agency;

"(B) to any telephone number assigned to paging or cellular telephone service; or

"(C) to any restricted telephone number on the national database list, as provided in subsection (c).

"(c) PROTECTION OF SUBSCRIBER PRIVACY RIGHTS.-

"(1) RULEMAKING PROCEEDING REQUIRED.-Within 120 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Commission shall initiate a rulemaking proceeding concerning the need to protect residential telephone subscribers' privacy rights to avoid receiving unsolicited prerecorded telephone solicitations to which they object. The proceeding shall-

"(A) further define 'unsolicited prerecorded telephone solicitation' consistent with subsection (a)(2);

"(B) compare and evaluate alternative methods and procedures, including the use of telephone electronic databases, telephone network technologies, special directory markings, industry and company based 'do not call' systems, and any other alternatives, individually or in combination, for protecting such privacy rights, in terms of their cost effectiveness and their other advantages and disadvantages;

"(C) evaluate the categories of public and private entities that would have the capacity to establish and administer such methods and procedures;

"(D) consider whether such methods and procedures may apply for local telephone solicitations, such as those of small businesses or holders of second class mail permits; and

"(E) develop proposed regulations to implement the methods and procedures that the Commission determines are most effective and efficient to accomplish the purposes of this section.

"(2) REGULATIONS.-Not later than 240 days after the date of enactment of this section the Commission shall conclude the rulemaking proceeding initiated under paragraph (1) and shall prescribe regulations to implement methods and procedures for protecting the privacy rights described in such paragraph in an efficient, effective and economic manner and without the imposition of any additional charge to telephone subscribers.

"(d) TECHNICAL AND PROCEDURAL STANDARDS.-

"(1) PROHIBITION.-It shall be unlawful for any person within the United States-

"(A) to initiate any telephone call using any automatic telephone dialing system that does not comply with the technical and procedural standards proscribed under this subsection, or to use any automatic telephone system (to transmit prerecorded telephone *S13183 solicitations) in a manner that does not comply with such standards.

"(2) ARTIFICIAL OR PRERECORDED VOICE SYSTEMS.-The Commission shall prescribe technical and procedural standards for system that are used to transmit any artificial or prerecorded voice message via telephone. Such standards shall require that-

"(A) all artificial or prerecorded telephone messages (i) shall, at the beginning of the message state clearly the identity of the business initiating the call, and (ii) shall, during or after the message, state clearly the telephone number or address of such business; and

"(B) any such system will automatically release the called party's line within 5 seconds of the time the system receives notification that the called party hung up, to allow the called party's line to be used to make or receive calls.

"(e) STATE LAW NOT PREEMPTED.-Nothing in this section or in the regulations prescribed under this section shall preempt any State law that imposes more restrictive intrastate requirements or regulations on, or which prohibits-

"(1) the use of automatic telephone dialing systems to transmit prerecorded telephone solicitations; and

"(2) the use of artificial voice or recorded messages.

"(f) PREEMPTION OF INCONSISTENT INTERSTATE COMMUNICATION LAWS.-This section preempts any provisions of State law concerning interstate communications that are inconsistent with the interstate communications provisions of this section."

(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.-Section 2(b) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 152<b>) is amended by striking "and 225" and inserting in lieu thereof ", 225, and 228".

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