McCain Statement on Passage of Spam Bill

December 8, 2003

Washington, DC – Senator John McCain, Chairman of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, today made the following statement regarding the passage of the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, S. 877, in the House of Representatives: “I applaud the adoption of the CAN-SPAM Act today by Congress and commend my colleagues in responding to millions of American consumers by passing what will be the first federal law to regulate the sending of unwanted spam. The bill retains many of the key provisions contained in legislation twice passed by the Senate such as the Do-Not-Spam registry and the requirement that senders of e-mail containing sexually explicit material clearly label them as pornographic or face criminal penalties, including jail time.” “Senators Burns (R-MT) and Wyden (D-OR) also deserve credit for their tremendous dedication over the past four years to pass this legislation, and my colleagues in the House for working diligently with us to improve the final version of the bill. While legislation alone will not provide a silver bullet solution to solving the spam problem in America, it is a good first step for consumers.”