[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 176 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 176

 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that in order to 
   continue aggressive growth in our Nation's telecommunications and 
technology industries, the United States Government should ``Get Out of 
                   the Way and Stay Out of the Way''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 13, 2009

Mr. Latta submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 
   the Judiciary, 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

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that in order to 
   continue aggressive growth in our Nation's telecommunications and 
technology industries, the United States Government should ``Get Out of 
                   the Way and Stay Out of the Way''.

Whereas the technology and communications industries in the United States have 
        historically been some of the most competitive in the world and devoid 
        of burdensome government regulations;
Whereas cable, wireline, and wireless companies have invested more than 
        $765,000,000,000 thanks to deregulatory policies adopted by Congress and 
        the Federal Communications Commission between 1996 and today;
Whereas the United States has approximately 70,000,000 wireline broadband 
        subscribers, more than Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom combined;
Whereas wireless auctions are the reason the United States has 35,000,000 
        wireless broadband subscribers, which represents an increase of more 
        than 200 percent in a year;
Whereas the Universal Service Fund has, in recent years, been plagued with 
        mismanagement, a bloated budget, and out-of-date initiatives;
Whereas public-private partnerships, like those piloted by organizations such as 
        Connected Nation, have raised broadband subscription rates, especially 
        in rural areas, by increasing both broadband supply and demand without 
        having to rely on regulation;
Whereas the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued an average of 
        179,909 patents per year from 1999 to 2007, and in 2007 issued a total 
        of 182,930 patents which represents a decrease of 6 percent from the 
        previous year;
Whereas deregulatory policies and free-market competition consistently yield a 
        higher rate of economic growth, a greater standard of living for all 
        Americans, and an enhanced capacity for the United States to be 
        competitive in the global marketplace;
Whereas the digital age not only expands an individual's reach and ability to 
        connect with family and friends, provides new and exciting educational 
        opportunities, and opens up the global economy to entrepreneurial 
        initiatives, but it also exposes an individual to a myriad of new 
        threats such as identity theft, scams, and other methods of online 
        victimization; and
Whereas we should continually strive to advance this rapidly growing source of 
        social and economic benefit to our Nation: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
in order to continue aggressive growth in our Nation's 
telecommunications and technology industries, the United States 
Government should ``Get Out of the Way and Stay Out of the Way'' by--
            (1) promoting investment through deregulation and free-
        market competition;
            (2) reforming the Universal Service Fund, and encouraging 
        broadband deployment in both rural unserved and underserved 
        areas through the use of public-private partnerships;
            (3) making additional spectrum available for commercial 
        usage through unencumbered auctions;
            (4) establishing a national goal of transmitting high-
        quality, real-time voice, data, graphics, and video at 
        increasingly higher speeds to all people in the United States;
            (5) reforming our national patent and trademark system to 
        protect the intellectual property of those on the leading edge 
        of innovation; and
            (6) ensuring individual privacy protections without 
        compromising marketplace efficiencies.
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