Statement of Timothy J. Muris
Regarding the Do Not Call Registry

The President has signed the Omnibus appropriations bill into law, providing funding to allow the Federal Trade Commission to begin to develop a national Do Not Call registry. Additional authorizing legislation for the registry is expected to be signed shortly. I am delighted that the FTC can now respond to consumers' pleas to end unwanted telephone intrusions into their homes, and I appreciate the support and confidence of the Congress and the President and the efforts of my fellow Commissioners to make the Do Not Call registry a reality.

During the next few days, the Commission will start building the Do Not Call registry. Consumers will have the opportunity to sign up for the registry sometime this summer, and the registry should be fully functional and available to telemarketers by September. By fall, consumers should begin to notice fewer unwanted telemarketing calls.

Additional details about how consumers can sign up for the registry and how telemarketers can access the registry will be announced later this spring. General information about the Do Not Call registry is available at www.ftc.gov/donotcall.