...... ,... July 22, 1994 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS 17749 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS SAVE THE 800 NUMBER­ ion, where the original call to the 800 number that 250 of those children are coming to the COSPONSOR H.R. 4802 of the dial-a-porn service was made from the State of New Jersey. Under the very capable business' telephone. direction of John and Joan Hughes, area coor­ HON. BART GORDON Another problem has arisen from young dinators, the Clifton Chapter, which is the larg­ OF TENNESSEE people using their parents'-or a friend's par­ est in the State of New Jersey, received 42 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ents'-phone to call dial-a-porn numbers. children this year. Many parents have blocked 900 numbers from I would like to extend a warm welcome to all Friday, July 22, 1994 being called from their phones to avoid this of our guests from Northern Ireland, espe­ Mr. GORDON. Mr. Speaker, I have just in­ kind of problem, but calls to an 800 number cially, Emma Murphy, Lisa Toner, Jerrod troduced a bill that will close a regulatory loop­ are much more difficult to block at this time. In Toner, Seadhna Billings, Cailin McKnight, hole that has allowed misuse of 800 telephone addition, other services avoid 900 blocking by Thomas Tracey, John Hoey, Keith Rea, and numbers. moving off shore, to The Netherlands Antilles, Padraig O'Hara. The events of -the past few It may come as a surprise to many of my for example. months have given these children and their colleagues, but 800 numbers are not always One of my constituents who wanted to block friends and family reasons to hope. The free for the caller. In fact, a major national international calls was told it would cost her Downing Street declaration, which was pro­ problem is apparently developing that could $53. posed in December, could be a step in the cause the public to lose faith in 800 numbers I have just introduced a bill, H.R. 4802, that right direction, toward peace in Northern Ire­ and seriously damage the multi-billion-dollar should help stop these problems. This bill sim­ land. For their sake, I certainly hope so. business that has built up around them. ply bans charging for 800 calls on a telephone I would also like to thank the host families Businesses throughout the country depend bill. who have opened their hearts and their homes on 800 numbers to bring them customers over The FCC probably could have taken care of to these children, especially Kevin and Kath­ the telephone lines. If we don't move to make this problem under its broad existing authority leen Drennan, Robert and MaryAnn sure that 800 toll free numbers really are just to regulate the telecommunications industry McAdams, Brian and Lorri McGorty, Richard that-free to the caller-then customers may and to stop misleading practices in this indus­ and Carolyn Malizia, Joseph and Marie grow wary of calling businesses. try, including the pay-per-call industry. In addi­ Masterson, John and Mary Brunn, Thomas Many people may even start blocking 800 tion, AT&T, Bell South and other telephone and Peggy Dreker, and James and Beverly numbers, so that 800 numbers cannot be companies have taken steps to stop charges Aibel. called from their telephones. Obviously, this for calls to 800 numbers. I am sure my colleagues join me in wishing would be an expensive disaster that would But the FCC has not acted to stop this prob­ these children and their families the best in cause major losses to businesses and the lem. Something needs to be done now, and the future. We also commend their host fam i­ telecommunications industry as well as incon­ this bill will do it. lies for their caring and generosity. Further­ venience to consumers. I ask my colleagues for support in trying to more, we hope that in the coming year, they My legislation simply closes a loophole left move this legislation quickly to stop the will no longer have to endure the kind of vio­ in current law by preventing 800 number abuses and save the 800 number. lence they have been living with for so many charges from appearing on a telephone bill. years. Two years ago, after years of hard work es­ pecially by Congressmen MARKEY, SWIFT and IN HONOR OF THE VOLUNTEERS TRIBUTE TO WISCONSIN DINGELL, and myself, Congress passed the AND PARTICIPANTS OF PROJECT Telephone Disclosure and Dispute Resolution CHILDREN FOR PROVIDING COM­ ENTREPRENEURS OF THE YEAR Act, a bill that protected consumers from fraud FORT TO THE CHILDREN OF and misleading practices by marketers of 900 NORTHERN IRELAND HON. TOBY ROTH numbers. The FCC and the FTC issued regu­ OF WISCONSIN lations that put the law into effect this year. HON. ROBERT MENENDFZ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES One of the goals of the 1992 law was to OF NEW J ERSEY Friday, July 22, 1994 stop scams where people were induced to call IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Mr. ROTH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 800 numbers, only to be switched to a 900- Friday, July 22, 1994 praise two of the most successful and dy­ type pay-per-call number that could cost $1 O namic businessmen I know on the 25th anni­ or more a minute. In order to make sure that Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I would like versary of a remarkable partnership. legitimate information providers were not shut to take this opportunity to recognize the work It is only fitting that Wally Hilliard and Ron out, we allowed for an exemption where credit of some very special people who have given Weyers were recently honored as Wisconsin cards or presubscription agreements were in so much of themselves and their time to an Entrepreneurs of the Year. place. organization known as Project Children. These Wally and Ron, as they are known by all of But ever creative scam artists have devised people open their homes to children from their employees at American Medical Security, a scheme that allows people to put their ex­ Northern Ireland in order to provide them with first met as rival insurance agents over 25 pensive calls, such as to dial-a-porn lines, on some respite from the fighting which takes years ago. However, they recognized imme­ others' bills. place in their homeland. I also commend the diately that they shared the same vision of A caller calls an 800 number advertised young people from Northern Ireland who have what it takes to make a successful business­ somewhere. The caller says they want to use the courage and strength to endure living in originality, hard work, perseverance, and a the service. The caller is given a numerical such a hostile environment. willingness to take risks. PIN code. But here's the catch. The dial-a­ Project Children was founded in 1975 by They launched Wisconsin Employers Group porn or psychic line or other information pro­ Denis Mulcahy. Since then, the organization in 1970 from the kitchen of Wally's house. In vider will bill all future calls using that PIN has continued to grow and prosper. Thanks to 1988, after selling their company, ;ne entre­ code to the telephone used to make the first the many volunteers and contributors, Project preneurial spirit still burned bright. call, even if the caller is calling from another Children has been able to bring 9,000 children So Wally and Ron founded th eir second telephone number. to the United States. This year, Project Chil­ health insurance company, American Medical The result is that some businesses report dren has flown 840 youngsters from Northern Security, and now serve as its president and receiving large bills for calls made in this fash- Ireland to the United States. I am proud to say vice president, respectively. e This "bullet" symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. 17750 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS July 22, 1994 American Medical Security is a remarkable bottom of the income distribution, and the ity. In fact, Jencks and Mayer's research success story, growing almost 5,000 percent poor, on the whole, have tended to get richer documents that for more than a quarter of a in the last 5 years. over time." In other words, Reaganomics century, America's poorest households have In fact, AMS is the fastest growing em­ worked. This is only a brief summary of the spent far more each year than the total in­ ployee benefits company in the world. Inc. come they have reported receiving, and the valuable information in the article. I strongly gap between consumption and reported in­ magazine, one of the national sponsors of the urge my colleagues to read this article, and I come has grown in recent decades. In '1988-89, Entrepreneur of the Year Award, has listed have inserted it for your perusal. the poorest 10th of all households with chil­ American Medical Security as the 21st fastest [From U.S. News & World Report, July 25, dren reported a mean income of $5,588, but growing company in the U.S. 1994] Jencks and Mayer's analysis of government AMS has also been recognized for its ac­ THE POOR AREN'T POORER data shows that the same group of house­ complishments by the Wall Street Journal, (By David Whitman) holds acknowledged spending an average of $13,558--more than twice their reported in­ Forbes magazine, the Washington Post, and America, land of opportunity, is fast be­ National Public Radio.