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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. John Hornaman |
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Hornaman voices support for effort to stop political robo-calls
HARRISBURG, Jan. 28 – State Rep. John Hornaman, D-Erie, announced at a news conference today that he supports Sen. Michael O’Pake, D-Berks, along with Reps. Mike McGeehan, D-Phila., and Eugene DePasquale, D-York, in their effort against unwanted automated phone calls from political candidates.
Hornaman applauded the legislation the three lawmakers introduced, which would add automated political messages to the state’s “Do Not Call” law. They urged their colleagues to sign a pledge to not use the robo-calls.
A victim of smear campaigning through robo-calls, Hornaman said that he knows all too well how automated calls can be abused.
“I was the target of a malicious robo-call, and many Pennsylvanians are swarmed by these calls in election cycles,” Hornaman said. “Representative DePasquale’s bill to require the call makers to identify themselves before their message is key. If constituents are receiving these calls, they need to know who is paying for them if they give false information.”
The requirements of DePasquale’s bill (H.B. 293) would elevate robo-calls to the same level of identification already required by paid television and radio commercials.
Legislation introduced by O’Pake (S.B. 70) and McGeehan (H.B. 295) would place political robo-calls under the state’s Do Not Call law. Under Do Not Call, people can add their telephone numbers to a list that commercial telemarketers are prohibited from calling.
Hornaman became one of the first lawmakers to sign the “Pennsylvania Pledge,” which legislators and other candidates can sign to promise to refrain from the use of robo-calls. O’Pake, McGeehan and DePasquale were the first to sign the pledge at today’s news conference.
“It’s important that lawmakers support this legislation and sign this pledge,” Hornaman said. “Smear campaigning has already begun in this election year. To save our constituents’ privacy and sanity, we should ensure that they aren’t abused by this tactic.”
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