The DMA Testifies At Today s Senate Subcommittee Hearing
Hearing Focused on Reauthorization Of The FTC to Amend The Telemarketing Sales Rule
NEW YORK, July 17, 2002 - Direct Marketing Association (DMA) President & CEO H. Robert Wientzen today appeared before the Senate Subcommittee on Communications of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation during a hearing on the Telemarketing Sales Rule.
"We are pleased at this opportunity to speak on behalf of the thousands of companies who are concerned about the Federal Trade Commission’s most recent proposals," said Wientzen. "By proposing these changes to the Telemarketing Sales Rule, the FTC is not only overstepping its jurisdictional boundaries by initiating the creation of a national do-not-call list, it is also putting unnecessary pressure on companies that are already under mounting economic pressures."
"We are committed to working with the FTC on combating fraud and making our industry safer and more consumer-friendly," Wientzen told the Senators. "However, we do not agree that a national do-not-call registry is the best response to perceived problems with our industry."
Wientzen’s testimony covered among other things, The DMA’s Telephone Preference Service, the association’s position on exemptions to the FTC-proposed do-not-call registry, and the industry’s current position on proposed amendments to the Telemarketing Sales Rule.
The DMA is the leading trade association for businesses interested in interactive and database marketing, with nearly 5,000 member companies from the United States and 53 other nations. Founded in 1917, its members include direct marketers from every business segment as well as the nonprofit and electronic marketing sectors. Included are catalogers, Internet retailers and service providers, financial services providers, book and magazine publishers, book and music clubs, retail stores, industrial manufacturers and a host of other vertical segments, including the service industries that support them. According to a DMA-commissioned study, direct and interactive marketing sales in the United States exceeded $1.86 trillion in 2001, including $118 billion in catalog sales and $30 billion in sales generated by the Internet. The DMA's Web site is
www.the-dma.org, and its consumer Web site is www.shopthenet.org.###