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BOYDA SIGNS PLEDGE TO HONOR NATIONAL POLITICAL "DO NOT CALL" REGISTRY

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Thomas Seay (Boyda), (785) 234-8111

Shaun Dakin (NPDNC), (703) 201-1146

March 11th, 2008

BOYDA SIGNS PLEDGE TO HONOR NATIONAL POLITICAL "DO NOT CALL" REGISTRY

BOYDA BECOMES SECOND MEMBER OF CONGRESS TO PLEDGE NOT TO "ROBO" CALL CONSTITUENTS WHO SIGN UP FOR NATIONAL REGISTRY

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Nancy Boyda (Kansas Second District) today announced her pledge not to conduct “robo” calls to voters in her district who have registered their phone number with the National Political Do Not Contact (NPDNC) registry at StopPoliticalCalls.org. Congresswoman Boyda is the second Member of Congress to take the “Do Not Robo Call” pledge since the non-profit Citizens for Civil Discourse launched the list last October.

“The foundation of our democracy is the belief that voters should be in control," Congresswoman Boyda said. "Voters choose our president, voters choose our Congress, and voters should be able to choose not to receive political 'robo' calls.”

“We are extremely pleased that Representative Boyda has agreed not to robocall constituents that sign up on the National Political Do Not Contact Registry,” said Shaun Dakin, founder and CEO. “She has taken the first decisive step in what I believe to be the crucial effort of giving voters back their privacy and peace and quiet in their own homes. Her constituents are fortunate to have her fighting for this cause in Washington.”

The NPDNC fills a void in the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) National Do Not Call (DNC) registry. Because the First Amendment protects political speech, political calls are specifically excluded from the DNC. While Americans have registered nearly 150 million phone numbers with the DNC, Georgetown University research determined that 3 out of 4 voters do not know that political calls are exempt from the DNC. In fact, The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found that 81 percent of Iowa caucus voters received automated (or “robo”) calls during November 2007.

“I started the registry to give voters back their sanity during election season,” said Dakin. “Many voters consider their homes to be a sanctuary and consider calls – especially the automated ‘robo’ calls – from politicians and political groups to be invasive.”

About Congresswoman Nancy Boyda:

Congresswoman Nancy Boyda represents the Kansas Second Congressional District, which includes Topeka, Leavenworth, Manhattan, and most of northeast and southeast Kansas.

Nancy graduated with honors from William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri, where she received dual degrees in chemistry and education. She began her career in 1978 working as an analytical chemist and field inspector for the Environmental Protection Agency. Over the next two decades, she held management positions in several pharmaceutical companies, including Marion Laboratories.

Nancy has developed a reputation as a common-sense fiscal conservative willing to reach across party lines to solve today's most pressing problems.

The Kansas City Star described her as "an outspoken advocate for reform at home and wiser policies abroad" who "speaks forcefully against wasteful federal spending."

The Parsons Sun wrote, “All of a sudden the 2nd District of Kansas [has gone] from having obscure representation to being up front in the national news on a regular basis. The impact of Congresswoman Boyda is impressive to the point of being staggering.”

About the National Political Do Not Contact Registry – StopPoliticalCalls.org:

The National Political Do Not Contact Registry is a program of Citizens for Civil Discourse (CCD), non-partisan, non-profit organization (federal 501(c)(3) status pending) dedicated to elevating political discussion in the United States. CCD is based on the premise that the decline of civility in American political dialogue has diminished our nation’s capacity to address urgent problems. Founder and CEO Shaun Dakin believes that citizen action is required to restore decency, respect and common sense to public debate in this country.

CCD created the National Political Do Not Contact registry as a first step towards its goal by reducing unwanted political phone calls, particularly automated messages (“robo” calls). Because the U.S. Constitution protects political speech, CCD advocates addressing this issue not by enacting new legislation but by encouraging voters to take back control of the political conversation and make free speech a two-way exchange. Learn more at www.StopPoliticalCalls.org <http://www.stoppoliticalcalls.org/> .

Shaun Dakin, CEO and Founder, recently testified at the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration hearings on Robocalls. You can read his testimony and obtain a video at: http://rules.senate.gov/hearings/

To date Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Nancy Boyda have taken the “do not robo call” pledge.