Congressman Chris Smith (R-Hamilton) made the following statement on yesterday’s federal court ruling invalidating the National Do-Not-Call registry and today’s subsequent action by Congress to ensure the registry can be implemented. Smith voted in support of the measure, which passed 412 to 8.

    Smith has sponsored legislation in past Congresses that would help protect email users from “spam” – junk email, some of which is pornographic in content – that floods email boxes.

    “The courts have tried time and again to legislate against the will of the people.  In yet another egregious incident, one judge in Oklahoma attempted to overturn the will of 50 million Americans, including myself, who do not want our family time and privacy to be constantly interrupted by telemarketers.

    “Thankfully, this bad ruling will be quickly overruled by Congress, which today passed legislation in the House – a bill which I proudly supported – that gives the Federal Trade Commission implicit authority to implement a Do-Not-Call registry.

    “The American public has made their desire known – 50 million of us have signed up to be placed on the Do-Not-Call list, and I’m pleased legislation securing this right will soon become law.”