Begich wants to limit super-PAC calls

Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) is taking a departing shot at super-PACs following his defeat in the Alaska Senate race. 

Begich introduced legislation Thursday that would add super-PACs and other outside groups to the list of groups that must comply with the National Do Not Call Registry. 

{mosads}His legislation, titled The Do Not Disturb Act, would also keep people on the list from receiving robocalls and “push polls,” which are surveys that attempt to get a desired result with leading questions. 

“I have long been an advocate for protecting Alaskans’ privacy and for limiting the ability of outside groups to spend endless amounts of money on our elections,” said Begich, a member of the Commerce Committee. 

“I heard from Alaskans all across the state during the campaign, and enough is enough. My bill will allow individuals to opt out of receiving these sorts of pestering phone calls from super-PACs and similar groups,” he added. 

Political calls are not covered under the do-not-call list because they are not meant to encourage the purchase of a product. The Federal Communications Commission already restricts political organizations and others from making pre-recorded or autodialed calls to people’s cellphones. 

Begich’s legislation comes a little more than a month before he leaves Congress following his loss to Republican Dan Sullivan, who will take over the seat in January. 

The Alaska race was one of the closest in the nation. Begich conceded Monday, nearly two weeks after the election. 

About $40 million in outside spending was poured into the Alaska race, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. A little more than $13 million was spent against him, while more than $15 million was used to attack Sullivan. 

Since 2003, phone customers have been able to add their name to the registry, which restricts commercial telemarketers from calling phone numbers.