By JENNIFER C. KERR - October 30, 2007 WASHINGTON (AP)

Washington, Oct 30, 2007 - 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. The House committee also approved a bill, sponsored by Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., that extends the authority of the FTC to collect fees from telemarketers. That authority expired last month. 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.

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