Congress cuts spam flow but allows House e-mail

WASHINGTON -- Even as Congress was unanimously approving a law to reduce the flow of junk e-mail, members were sending out thousands of unsolicited messages to constituents.

The mailings are aimed at attracting voluntary subscribers to e- mail lists, which would not be subject to House rules that normally impose a 90-day blackout before an election for taxpayer-supported congressional mass communications.

In September, the House Administration Committee voted 5-3 along party lines to allow e-mail messages to the subscribers to be sent in the blackout period, but maintained the ban on free postal mail from House members to voters. The policy change affected only House rules and was not part of the junk e-mail legislation.

Many members of Congress praise the new policy for allowing cheaper and more effective communications with constituents. But consumer advocacy groups say the policy may unfairly give an advantage to incumbents over challengers because it allows elected officials to use government resources to communicate with voters right up to Election Day.

In addition, the consumer advocates say, sending bulk e-mail messages to constituents who have not agreed to receive it is essentially electronic junk mail, or spam.

For 30 years, advocacy groups have tried to close loopholes and stop abuses of the congressional privilege of sending mail to constituents at taxpayer expense.

Critics say the policy has created a significant new loophole.

"The core value is that you don't want to leverage technology to increase incumbent advantage," said Celia Viggo Wexler, research director at Common Cause, a group that has sued to limit franking. "What is troubling is that essentially the House is saying, 'OK, you can communicate with the constituency up to an election, and we're not really going to check what you are saying with them.' The point is without that kind of oversight, it's ripe for abuse."

Before the change, e-mail was subject to the same treatment as regular postal mail. Correspondence sent to more than 500 constituents had to obtain approval from the franking commission and was subject to a 90-day blackout before an election. But individual responses were not subject to the restrictions.

The new policy says that lawmakers can freely send messages to voters who have agreed to subscribe to their e-mail lists. To build such lists, House members are sending huge amounts of unsolicited bulk e-mail messages to their districts in the hope that some voters will respond and subscribe.

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