Thursday’s planned hearing on two bills seeking tighter controls over the direct mail sweepstakes industry by the House postal subcommittee has been postponed for a week while panel chairman Rep. John McHugh (R-NY) scrambles to get his postal reform bill to the full House.
McHugh has rescheduled hearings on the Honesty in Sweepstakes Act (HR-170), sponsored by Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), and the Sweepstakes Protection Act (HR-237), sponsored by Rep. James Rogan (R-CA), for Wednesday, Aug. 4.
Representatives of the direct marketing, direct mail sweepstakes and magazine industries are scheduled to defend the use of sweepstakes as a legitimate marketing tool in much the same way they did earlier in the year at a Senate hearing on the Deceptive Mail Prevention and Enforcement Act (S-335), sponsored by Senator Susan Collins (R-ME).
Earlier in the month the Senate Commerce Committee approved and sent the measure to the full Senate for consideration. So far it has not appeared on the Senate calendar for action.
Both the LoBiondo and Rogan bills would require conspicuous notices on the envelope and enclosed materials that the mailing piece is an offer to participate in a game of chance or sweepstakes. The measures would also increase the authority of the USPS to investigate and seize alleged deceptive mailings as well as raise the civil and criminal penalties faced by deceptive mailers.
However, states would be permitted to adopt more stringent controls under LoBiondo’s bill. Rogan’s measure is silent on that issue.
Last week McHugh reportedly ordered the sweepstakes bill hearing date be put off so he and Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) chairman of the panel’s parent, the House Government Reform Committee, could have more time to line up the enough votes to get McHugh’s postal reform bill out of the Republican controlled committee for action by the full House.
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