[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2120 Introduced in House (IH)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2120
To ensure the application of the antitrust laws to local telephone
monopolies, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 12, 2001
Mr. Cannon (for himself, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Issa, and Mr. Nadler)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce,
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of
the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To ensure the application of the antitrust laws to local telephone
monopolies, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Broadband Antitrust Restoration and
Reform Act''.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO THE CLAYTON ACT.
The Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12 et seq.) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
``SEC. 28. COMPETITION IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES.
``(a) Application Prerequisite To Providing High Speed Data Service
or Internet Backbone Service; Attorney General Reinstatement of Pro-
Competitive Regulations.--
``(1) Requirement to file application with attorney general
of the united states.--A Bell operating company or an affiliate
of a Bell operating company may not provide any interLATA
service in any of its in-region States under the authority of
any amendment to section 271 of the Communications Act of 1934
(47 U.S.C. 271) enacted after June 13, 2001--
``(A) unless it files with the Attorney General of
the United States an application to provide such
service; and
``(B) until the Attorney General--
``(i) approves such application before the
expiration of the 90-day period beginning on
the date such application is filed; or
``(ii) fails to approve or to disapprove
such application during such 90-day period.
``(2) Authority of attorney general.--The Attorney General
of the United States--
``(A) may issue rules to establish requirements
applicable to the form and contents of applications
filed under paragraph (1);
``(B) may make recommendations to an applicant
regarding--
``(i) withdrawal of an application filed
under paragraph (1); or
``(ii) filing of an application under
paragraph (1), with or without modifications,
subsequent to the withdrawal of an application
filed under such paragraph; and
``(C) may not approve an application filed in
compliance with this subsection if the Attorney General
determines that the applicant--
``(i) has monopoly power in the local
exchange market; and
``(ii) is using or is likely to use its
monopoly power in order to engage in
exclusionary or other anticompetitive conduct.
``(3) Withdrawal of application.--An application filed
under paragraph (1) may be withdrawn by the applicant at any
time before the Attorney General approves or disapproves such
application, but may not be modified after being filed.
``(4) Reinstatement of regulation.--If the Attorney
General, sua sponte, determines that the conditions specified
in paragraph (2)(C) have been met with respect to a Bell
operating company or an affiliate of a Bell operating company,
then the Attorney General may reinstate, as to such company or
such affiliate, any Federal regulation in effect as of June 13,
2001, which the Attorney General determines was designed to
protect against exclusionary conduct or other abusive monopoly
power.
``(5) Exclusion.--Nothing in this subsection shall apply to
two-percent carriers.
``(b) Continuing Operation of the Antitrust Laws.--The rights,
obligations, powers, and remedies provided under the antitrust laws are
in addition to, and are--
``(1) not preempted by;
``(2) not inconsistent with; and
``(3) not incompatible with;
any of the rights, obligations, powers, and remedies provided under the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.), under the
Telecommunications Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-104; 110 Stat. 56), or
under any law amended by either such Act, regardless of the progress of
competition in any market.
``(c) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
``(1) Affiliate.--The term `affiliate' means a person that
(directly or indirectly) owns or controls, is owned or
controlled by, or is under common ownership or control with,
another person. For purposes of this paragraph, the term `own'
means to own an equity interest (or equivalent thereof) of more
than 10 percent.
``(2) Bell operating company.--The term `Bell operating
company' has the meaning given such term in section 3 of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153).
``(3) In-region state.--The term `in-region State' has the
meaning given to such term in section 271(i) of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 271(i)).
``(4) InterLATA service.--The term `interLATA service' has
the meaning given such term in section 3 of the Communications
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153).
``(5) Two-percent carrier.--The term `two-percent carrier'
means an incumbent local exchange carrier within the meaning of
section 251(h) of the Communications Act (47 U.S.C. 254(h))
whose access lines, when aggregated with the access lines of
any local exchange carrier that such incumbent local exchange
carrier directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by, or
is under common control with, are fewer than two percent of the
Nation's subscriber lines installed in the aggregate
nationwide.''.
<all>