[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 26 (Thursday, February 29, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E261-E262]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO ROSE ZUZWORSKY

                                 ______


                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 29, 1996

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend Dr. Rose Zuzworsky for 
combining personal and community activism with her deep religious 
convictions. Rose has been a resident of Cypress Hills for 30 years. 
She began her community involvement in Blessed Sacrament Parish. She 
serves on several advisory committees including the pastor's advisory 
council, and is the chairperson of the environment subcommittee of the 
Cypress Hills Community Coalition.
  Rose's interest in environmental concerns is both personal and 
professional. Dr. Zuzworsky has worked closely with a number of 
religious organizations and coalitions, and has been a guest lecturer 
to academic and community groups. In recent years she has volunteered 
in the recycling division of the department of sanitation. In 1992 she 
participated in the Earth Summit in Rio De Janeiro.
  There is no doubt that Rose's theological training greatly influences 
her philosophy relative to the environment, as evidenced by her 
doctoral dissertation which examined the theological and practical 
dimensions of environmental concerns. The world needs more people to 
take up the cause of environmental protection, and I am pleased to have 
her as an ally in that cause.

[[Page E262]]


      CONFERENCE REPORT ON S. 652, TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1996

                                 ______


                               speech of

                            HON. BILL PAXON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, February 1, 1996

  Mr. PAXON. Mr. Speaker, the conference agreement provides that, in 
order for a Bell operating company to receive in-region interLATA 
relief, either the company must have entered into an interconnection 
agreement contemplated under section 271(c)(1)(A) with a facilities-
based carrier or, if there has been no request for such an agreement, 
must have provided the statement of interconnection terms contemplated 
under section 271(c)(1)(B) (approved by a State under section 252(f)). 
Either the agreement or the statement must meet the requirements of 
section 271(c)(2)(B), which itemizes the competitive checklist, and 
must include each of the items in the checklist.
  The purpose of these provisions is to ensure that a new competitor 
has the ability to obtain any of the items from the checklist that the 
competitor wants. It is very possible that every new competitor will 
not want every item on that list. In such cases, the legislation would 
not require the Bell operating company to actually provide every item 
to a new competitor under the agreement contemplated in section 
271(c)(1)(A) in order to obtain in- region relief.
  Under these circumstances, the Bell operating company would satisfy 
its obligations by demonstrating, by means of a statement similar to 
that required by section 271(c)(1)(B), how and under what terms it 
would make those items available to that competitor and others when and 
if they are requested. It would be entirely appropriate under this 
legislation for the Federal Communications Commission to determine 
under section 271(d)(3)(A) that the Bell operating company has fully 
implemented the competitive checklist.
  Quite simply, Congress did not intend to permit the Bell operating 
companies' competitors to delay their entry into the in-region 
interLATA market by refusing to include checklist items in the 
interconnection agreements. Refusal for such reasons would not 
constitute good-faith negotiations by the competitors. Where the Bell 
operating company has offered to include all of the checklist items in 
an interconnection agreement and has stated its willingness to offer 
them to others, the Bell operating company has done all that can be 
asked of it and, assuming it has satisfied the other requirements for 
in-region interLATA relief, the Commission should approve the Bell 
operating company's application for that relief.

                          ____________________