Measure would make Do Not Call permanent

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Oct 31, 2007 | by Jennifer C. Kerr Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- Congress took the first steps Tuesday to ensure that people who registered for the national Do Not Call list won't be inundated next year with telemarketing calls at dinnertime.

At separate House and Senate committee sessions, lawmakers passed legislation that makes most of the 145 million phone numbers on the list permanent by eliminating a five-year expiration date established by the Federal Trade Commission, which administers the program.

The Associated Press reported last month that millions of phone numbers on the registry would start dropping off beginning next summer unless people re-registered.

Reversing course, the FTC announced last week that it would not purge expired numbers while Congress considers making the phone listings permanent.