[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 14 (Thursday, February 1, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S686-S687]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1996--CONFERENCE REPORT

  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I now ask unanimous consent that 
notwithstanding the absence of the official papers--they are somewhere 
else--the Senate now turn to the consideration of the conference report 
to accompany S. 652, the telecommunications bill, and the conference 
report be considered read.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? The Chair hears none, and 
it is so ordered.
  The report will be stated.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the 
     two Houses on the amendments of the House to the bill S. 652, 
     to provide for a procompetitive, deregulatory national policy 
     framework designed to accelerate rapid private sector 
     deployment of advanced telecommunications and information 
     technologies and services to all Americans by opening all 
     telecommunications markets to competition, and for other 
     purposes, having met, after full and free conference, have 
     agreed to recommend and do recommend to their respective 
     Houses this report, signed by a majority of the conferees.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate will proceed to the consideration 
of the conference report.
  (The conference report is printed in the House proceedings of the 
Record of January 31, 1996.)
  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. PRESSLER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Thompson). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. PRESSLER. Mr. President, it is with a sense of relief and pride 
that we bring to the Senate floor the conference report on the 
telecommunications bill. I wish to commend my colleague, Senator 
Hollings, for his outstanding leadership and bipartisan spirit 
throughout this debate. This long debate has brought us to the point 
today where we have a conference report that is very positive. It is 
procompetitive and deregulatory. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 
will get everybody into everybody else's business.
  The purpose of this bill is to update the 1934 Communications Act. 
This is the first complete rewrite of the telecommunications law in our 
country. It is very much needed.
  I predict that this will be succeeded someday as we get into the 
wireless age by another act, maybe in 10 or 15 years. But this 
Telecommunications Act will provide us with a road map into the 
wireless age and into the next century.
  Mr. President, what has occurred in our country is that through court 
decisions and through the 1934 act we have developed an economic 
apartheid regarding telecommunications, that is, the regional Bell 
companies have the local telephone service, the long-distance companies 
have the long-distance service, the cable companies have their section, 
the broadcast companies have their section.
  This bill attempts to get everybody into everybody else's business 
and let in new entrants. For example, at President Clinton's recent 
White House conference on small business many small business people 
wrote and said, we want the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to pass 
because it will allow small business people to get into local telephone 
service, it will allow small business people to get into different 
segments of telecommunications.
  Mr. President, this conference report we bring here today is a vast 
bill. It covers everything from the rules of entry into local telephone 
service by other competitors--it deals with long distance, it deals 
with cable, it deals with broadcast, it deals with the public utilities 
getting into telecommunications, it deals with burglar alarm issues, it 
deals with the authority of State and local governments over their 
rights of way, and it deals with the rules of satellite communication.
  It will result in many things for consumers. For example, I believe 
it will accelerate an explosion of new devices, an explosion of new 
investment. What has happened in our country is that we have forced our 
regional Bell companies to invest overseas because we limit what they 
can manufacture. We have limited many of our companies in what they can 
do in our country. This legislation unleashes them, makes them 
competitive and is deregulatory in nature.
  It will do a great deal for consumers. For example, and specifically, 
it will lower prices on local telephone calls 

[[Page S687]]
through competition. It will lower prices on long-distance calls 
through competition. It will lower cable TV rates through competition. 
It will provide an explosion of new devices, services and inventions.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, will the distinguished Senator from South 
Dakota yield? I hate to interrupt.
  Mr. PRESSLER. I do yield.

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