'Do Not Call' Battle:  Lawmakers Challenge Ruling
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Up first this hour, the hang-up over telemarketers and the lightening speed of the United States Congress. A day after a federal judge in Oklahoma put a hold on the national "do not call" list, lawmakers here in Washington up on Capitol Hill are reacting very quickly, introducing legislation to make this service a reality sooner rather than later. The House, in fact, has already begun debate on a bill. Our financial news correspondent, Greg Clarkin, is joining us live in New York, and he's got the latest developments, as we show live pictures of Congressman Ed Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, talking about this legislation -- Greg.</s>GREG CLARKIN, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Wolf. You know, you're right. It was about a day ago or so, right around this time, that the federal judge in Oklahoma ruled that the FTC had overstepped their authority and basically overstepped their boundaries in creating the "do not call" list. Now, legislators promised quick action. They really have snapped into action. As Wolf mentioned, you are looking at debate in the House right now on a bill that basically would clarify the FTC's authority and make sure that it is very clear that they can indeed create this "do not call" list. Now, a parallel bill is expected to be discussed in the Senate a little bit later today, and then that would move along to the White House, where a spokesman has said that the president does support the "do not call" list. As a matter of fact, in a Rose Garden ceremony a little bit earlier this year, about mid-summer or so, that list was talked about and discussed. So, what is expected here is that the "do not call" list eventually will stand. The public sentiment is obviously very much in favor of it. About 50 million people have signed up already to block those calls, and it was scheduled to take effect on October 1, this coming Wednesday. And most folks believe that indeed it will stand as it was proposed. Now, there are some ways around it for telemarketers. There are a number of exemptions, including political calls. They are exempt. Non-profits are exempt, and survey firms, firms calling up to survey you on various topics, they are all exempt. And then also, too, if you buy a good or a service from a company, that company can call you for 18 months. And then also, if you even call a company to inquire about a good or a service, that company is allowed to call you for a three-month span. So, there are ways that those calls would continue to come into your home. They won't be eliminated entirely. And one person we spoke to who has his own firm to combat telemarketers and the teleservicing industry says that, by his estimate, 20 to 25 percent of the call volume should be reduced. But still, some of those calls will be coming in from various entities. Wolf, right now, as you mentioned, the Congress really snapping into action on this and trying to capitalize on the public sentiment for this bill, and the FTC stressing that against all of this political jockeying, you can still sign on for that list -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: It's very interesting, Greg, because, as you point out, 50 million Americans have already signed up on the "do not call" list. That sends a powerful message to Democrats and Republicans in the House and the Senate. Normally, they don't work this quickly. But within hours, both chambers of the United States Congress could pass this legislation, very simple legislation, simply saying that the Federal Trade Commission does indeed have the authority to go forward next Wednesday in effect with this "do not call" list and invite other Americans to sign go ahead and sign on board. This is highly unusual for the speed of the Congress, but it's not surprising, given the popularity of this action by the Federal Trade Commission.</s>CLARKIN: Absolutely, Wolf. There was across-the-board support for this obviously. And over the summer, we saw a number of demonstrations in various cities with steamrollers crushing piles of phones to demonstrate the public outrage with being inundated with telemarketing calls. So, public sentiment obviously is strongly, strongly in favor of this, and Capitol Hill is looking to capitalize on that quickly. And we're hearing reports that, you know, both the House and the Senate could have this thing wrapped up, for their part at least, by the close of business today, is what we're being told.</s>BLITZER: And you better believe the president of the United States will want to sign this bill into law very, very quickly -- popular legislation. I don't know of anybody on the Hill who is opposing it, but I assume there will be one or two members -- contrarians who will decide they don't want to support this legislation, but we shall see. Greg Clarkin will be monitoring this for us all day today up on Capitol Hill. We'll get the word to our viewers as soon as some definitive action is taken. Greg, thanks very much for that report. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.