Reps. Farhat, Huizenga, Bisbee, Milosch, Garfield, Nofs, Casperson, Bradstreet, Palsrok, LaJoy, Stahl, DeRoche, Woodward, Rivet, Accavitti, Acciavatti, Adamini, Bieda, Brandenburg, Daniels, Ehardt, Farrah, Gieleghem, Gillard, Gleason, Hager, Hardman, Hummel, Jamnick, Koetje, Kooiman, LaSata, Meyer, Middaugh, Minore, Pappageorge, Pastor, Sak, Shackleton, Sheltrown, Shulman, Spade, Stakoe, Tobocman, Vagnozzi, Vander Veen, Voorhees, Waters, Wojno, Woronchak and Phillips offered the following resolution:

            House Resolution No. 62.

            A resolution to memorialize the Congress of the United States and the Federal Trade Commission to address the issue of unsolicited commercial email, otherwise known as spam, on a national basis.

            Whereas, Unsolicited commercial email, which is generally referred to as "spam," is becoming an increasingly burdensome problem for many Americans and both private and public sector enterprises.  Unlike other forms of unsolicited marketing, spam imposes little cost to the sender.  Because of this, there are few forces to limit the volume of these emails being sent; and

            Whereas, The cumulative effects of spam are staggering.  According to reports cited by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), spam accounts for between one-third and one-half of all emails sent each day.  The skyrocketing growth in the volume of unsolicited commercial emails is a burden upon those receiving these unwanted messages.  As volume increases, so does the worry over the potential for fraudulent activities; and

            Whereas, The nuisance of unsolicited email has turned into a problem spiraling out of control, not only for individuals but also costing businesses millions of dollars every year in lost productivity.  Reports indicate that dealing with spam costs United States corporations nearly $9 billion and accounts for at least $4 billion in lost productivity each year.  Even our troops in the Persian Gulf region have reported frustrations with unsolicited email messages impeding efforts to communicate with family back home; and

            Whereas, The FTC has just completed a three-day forum to address the proliferation of unsolicited commercial email and to explore the technical, legal, and financial issues associated with it.  In 2001, the FTC received 10,000 messages a day through its spam database; the agency now receives about 130,000 spam messages a day.  In reviewing these messages, the FTC has found that 66% of the spam analyzed contained false “From” lines, “Subject” lines, or message text; and

            Whereas, The FTC forum clearly demonstrated a need for actions at the federal level.  Numerous options are being discussed, in Congress and in the states and among business and community leaders, on how best to address the issue of spam.  It is becoming increasingly clear to many that a federal approach, coupled with individual state actions, offers the greatest potential for meaningful results in dealing with this complex issue; now, therefore, be it

            Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we memorialize the Congress of the United States and the Federal Trade Commission to address the issue of unsolicited commercial email, otherwise known as spam, on a national basis; and be it further

            Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the members of the Michigan congressional delegation, and the United States Federal Trade Commission.