News release: “Buried in President Obama’s deficit reduction plan (see page 28) is a proposal to allow debt collectors “to contact delinquent debtors via their cellular phones” when collecting debts owed to or guaranteed by the federal government. The proposal will not help reduce the deficit and is harmful for consumers, the National Consumer Law Center warned…Currently, debt collection calls to cell phones are limited because collectors must check their phone number lists against a list of known cell phones and cannot call those numbers unless the consumer has provided that number as a way of reaching them. Though the proposal is limited to debts owed or guaranteed by the federal government, millions of consumers will be affected, including graduates who can’t pay their loans due to the terrible job market, homeowners who are behind in mortgages, and people who are in tax disputes with the Internal Revenue Service. Families who have lost their homes to foreclosure could be exposed to cell phone calls for years if the delinquency on their mortgage is sold to debt buyers.”