FTCs Do Not Call Team Receives Service to America Medal

The Federal Trade Commission was honored yesterday for its work in creating and implementing the National Do Not Call Registry. FTC managers Eileen Harrington, Lois C. Greisman, Lawrence DeMille-Wagman, Allen Hile, Carolyn Shanoff, David Torok, and Stephen Warren received the 2004 Service to America Medal, an award recognizing inspiring achievements in public service. The award was presented by Commissioner Thomas B. Leary at a ceremony at Washington’s Union Station.

“I am extremely proud of our Do Not Call Team, whose tireless efforts on this pro-consumer initiative made it a remarkable success,” said FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras. “It is a tremendous honor for the agency to receive this prestigious award.”

The National Do Not Call Registry opened to consumers in June 2003 and went into effect in October 2003. The Registry now contains 64 million telephone numbers, and telemarketer compliance remains high. A 2004 Harris Interactive survey indicated that more than half the U.S. adult population – 57 percent – said they had registered their number, with 92 percent reporting less telemarketing calls. Twenty-five percent of the consumers surveyed said they had stopped receiving telemarketing calls altogether.

“When consumers said they wanted a Do Not Call program, the FTC listened,” Chairman Majoras said. “The National Do Not Call Registry has had a direct and positive impact on millions of consumers.”

The Service to America Medals were created in 2002 by the Partnership for Public Service, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization committed to revitalizing federal government service, and the Atlantic Media Company (publisher of Government Executive, National Journal and The Atlantic Monthly). Profiles of the awardees are available at www.ourpublicservice.org.