Less than a week after opposing funding for a federal do-not-call list, Rep. William J. "Billy" Tauzin (R-LA), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, abruptly reversed his position, The Washington Post reported.
His initial opposition would have effectively killed the list’s implementation, keeping millions of consumer phone numbers available to telemarketers. Why the sudden reversal? I reckon some varmint got hold of Tauzin and convinced him there was room for only one "Killer" from The Pelican State – rocker Jerry Lee Lewis.
According to the Post, Tauzin agreed to push the plan through after a meeting with Federal Trade Commission chairman Timothy J. Muris. The $16 million the FTC requested for the do-not-call program should be approved by the end of the month, and it could be operational by the end of the year, a Tauzin spokesman told the Post.
Tauzin did say that Congress should have a chance to review the program in a few years.
Remember Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL), who cheerfully accepted PAC money from the Direct Marketing Association and then wrote the Shelby Amendment to the Drivers Privacy Protection Act of 1994? His actions rendered useless state Departments of Motor Vehicles as sources of consumer information.
Tauzin’s actions remove one more direct marketing weapon from the industry’s arsenal. It makes one wonder how much clout the direct marketing industry has with Congress.
Now that Tauzin favors funding the list, the nickname "Killer" is out. "Billy the Kid" is too obvious – and besides, the man is 59. The only cowpoke on the Hill who could legitimately call him "Kid" is Strom Thurmond.
Age considerations aside, the Western theme works. Since Tauzin’s no stranger to switching his positions (up until 1995 he was a Democrat), how ‘bout "The Lone Re-arranger"? As he rides off into the sunset, baffled direct marketers can look down and see that he has left them only with a single silver telephone slug.
Thanks for nothing, masked man.
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