Shays Seeks Campaign Robo-Call Blocks

01/15/2007

Connecticut Post

If Rep. Christopher Shays has his way, those dreaded campaign robo-calls may become a thing of the past.

Americans can block most commercial telemarketing calls by enrolling in the National Do Not Call Registry, but not those from politicians. Shays, R-4, has co-sponsored legislation that would end the exemption that allows campaigns to flood voters with automated telephone solicitations.

"If people say they don't want to receive unsolicited calls from telemarketers, and they don't want political robo-calls, they shouldn't have to get them."

Nearly two-thirds of registered voters -- 64 percent -- received recorded telephone messages in the final stages of the 2006 midterm election, according to a survey conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

"We didn't ask 'Were you annoyed?' but we heard from a lot of people independently that they were not fond of these," said Lee Rainie, the project director.

Rainie, however, said political consultants are convinced they work, and there are people who say they like hearing from celebrity politicians such as President Bush or Sen. Hillary Clinton, even if it is only a recording.

Gary Rose, a professor of politics at Sacred Heart University, said Shays "can't go wrong" by proposing a ban on robo-calls.

"Throughout the campaign, people were just inundated -- myself included," he said. "People are angry enough about politics, let alone automated calls. A lot of people feel it is an invasion of their privacy."

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3, said she would support the bill.

"I support the placement of certain limits on robo-calls in order to respect the privacy of those who have made it explicitly known they do not want to receive recorded telephone messages," DeLauro said. "I also believe the source of the call should be identified at the outset of the conversation so that voters know who is responsible for its content."

Shays is co-sponsoring a bill proposed by Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., that would direct the Federal Trade Commission to revise its regulations to prohibit politically oriented recorded messages made to telephone numbers listed on the Do Not Call Registry.

"Citizens should be allowed to stop automated political calls from coming to them just as they can stop telemarketing calls," she said. "These calls often interrupt family dinners and gatherings, fill up answering machines and are seemingly nonstop as Election Day draws closer."

During the latest campaign, Shays and his opponent, Democrat Diane Farrell, complained about robo-calls that flooded the 4th District. Groups working independently of their campaigns, including the National Republican Campaign Committee, paid for the calls.

The NRCC spent at least $2.1 million on robo-calls in 53 House races and sparked a series of complaints from Democrats who claimed the GOP was engaged in dirty tricks by misleading voters into thinking the calls came from Democrats. Shays also complained that he was the victim of misleading robo-calls, including one that misstated his support for stem-cell research.

Shays claimed some robo-calls made into the 4th District appeared to display his name and office telephone number to people with caller identification.

"I think it is just outrageous," he said.

Shays said he wants to make sure every campaign telephone solicitation identifies the person or group sponsoring it and includes a telephone number for people to call back if they have any questions.

"And if people don't want these calls they should be able to opt out," Shays said.

Whether or not Congress acts may not matter. State legislators are lining up to pass their own laws.

Jennie Drage Bowser at the National Conference of State Legislatures said she has been inundated by calls from state lawmakers seeking information about the issue.

"I don't think robo-calls are necessarily a new technology -- they've used them on the commercial side for a while -- but there was a real surge in use in the campaigns and apparently people were really irritated," she said. "Based on the number of calls I've received on the topic, virtually every state will have a bill on this."

Four states -- Arkansas, Indiana, New Hampshire and South Carolina -- have laws that restrict campaign robo-calls to telephone numbers on the Do Not Call Registry. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana upheld the Indiana law in October, but FreeEats, a robo-call vendor, plans to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, according to Bowser.