THE DMA APPLAUDS PRESIDENT BUSH AND CONGRESS FOR EXTENSION OF FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT
NEW YORK, December 5, 2003 – The Direct Marketing Association (The DMA) today applauded President Bush and Congress for extending key provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). This important step continues to ensure a national credit-reporting standard (which is the envy of the world) and makes it easier for people to obtain credit cards, loans and mortgages, and also gives Americans access to free copies of their credit histories and new weapons against identity theft.
"The extension of FCRA benefits all Americans, but is also of critical importance for the direct and interactive marketing industry," said Jerry Cerasale, senior vice president, government affairs, The DMA. "We are especially pleased that the legislation pre-empts the states from enacting a patchwork quilt of disparate and confusing privacy laws that would throw up roadblocks to the vital information-sharing processes among businesses that directly benefits consumers in the form of highly targeted and competitive offers that cross state political boundaries."
The DMA is the leading trade association for businesses interested in interactive and database marketing, with nearly 4,700 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 economic-impact study, direct and interactive marketing sales in the United States are projected to have surpassed $1.7 trillion in 2003, including $133 billion in catalog sales and $41 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.
###