I wish that somehow, if you saw fit in your good judgment, Mr. Clark, you would have a talk with these people about this. Mr. CLARK. We would be very happy to talk with them. Senator PASTORE. I tell you frankly, I know you, I know you well, and I know your dedication and your devotion. I know your talent. And the sincerity of your position, and I don't want to dispute it. But I hope you equally as well understand mine. Mr. CLARK. Certainly, sir. Senator PASTORE. Thank you very much. STATEMENT BY REPRESENTATIVE CORNELIUS E. GALLAGHER Mr. Chairman, First, I wish to thank you and the other members of this distinguished Subcommittee for allowing me the opportunity to testify on problems with which I have been concerned now for almost a year. On August 5, 1965, I introduced a bill to protect members of the Armed Forces and their families from threatening and harassing communications. On August 17, 1965, I presented legislation to increase the penalties for obscene and crank telephone calls made in the District of Columbia. This bill, I might add, was unanimously passed by the House on October 11, 1965, and the Senate District Committee is presently considering my proposal. Because of my previous interest in the problems presented by obscene and harassing phone calls, I am encouraged that this Subcommittee has seen fit to delve more deeply into the issues involved. I think it unnecessary for me to go into lurid examples of obscene telephone calls received by private persons, mainly defenseless women. It is also unnecessary for me to relate examples of the senseless and perverted calls that have been directed at the families of our servicemen, particularly those serving or killed in Vietnam. This Subcommittee has received ample testimony to dramatize the need for corrective regulation. With all due respect for Senator Long, I tend basically to favor the legislation introduced by the Chairman, Senator Pastore. I think the need for Federal regulation and enforcement is presented by inter-state, as opposed to intra-state, calls. As previously presented to the Subcommittee, 38 states currently have laws dealing with obscene and harassing telephone calls. I believe that there is much the individual states can contribute to the prohibition of these calls. These state statutes have been effective in the past, and I think they have the potential to remain as effective deterrents to future commission of these crimes. I further believe that there is a lack of an all-pervasive need for the Federal Government to preempt the states in this area. It is only in the case of inter-state calls and calls made within the District of Columbia where this Federal enforcement is necessary and desirable. I might interject here that I commend the Bell Telephone Systems for their efforts and success in developing scientific and accurate devices to trace and apprehend offenders. This action will do more than anything else to discourage the pranksters and perverts who violate a person's right to privacy in this manner. To demonstrate my support, I introduced Wednesday a slightly amended version of S. 2825. My bill will include calls made within the District under the Federal law. This legislation will supercede my present bill. Testimony and statistics given this Subcommittee have indicated the clear and pressing need for increased penalties for obscene phone calls made within the District of Columbia. The aim of my former bill, H.R. 10497, was to accomplish this effect. I am certain that most of the members of this Subcommittee have heard of numerous instances, many times from women working on your own staffs, of obscene telephone calls. Washington with its large number of single women is particularly in need of effective deterrent regulation. I think this purpose can be effectively accomplished within a bill which would make all inter-state obscene and harassing telephone communication subject to Federal prosecution. Mr. Chairman, we are dealing with an act, in many cases an act of a perverted mind, which sinks to the very core of our lives. It invades our right to privacy. As Chairman of the Special Inquiry on Invasion of Privacy of the House Government Operations Committee, I am especially concerned with this. I think this legislation will result in an effective and helpful tool for protection of this basic right. These unwanted calls result in damage, both physical and mental. I am hopeful that this Subcommittee will adopt my bill, and I think I can safely predict that the House will act quickly to complete the job. The peace of mind of a great number of citizens rests on our action. Again, my thanks for this opportunity to appear, and my congratulations for the intelligent light you are shining on a very real problem. (Thereupon, at 10:12 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.) COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE EIGHTY-NINTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION ON S. 1054 A BILL TO MAKE CLEAR THAT FISHERMEN'S ORGANIZATIONS, REGARDLESS OF THEIR TECHNICAL LEGAL STATUS, HAVE A VOICE IN THE EX-VESSEL SALE OF FISH OR OTHER AQUATIC PRODUCTS ON WHICH THE LIVELIHOOD OF THEIR MEMBERS DEPEND |