[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 2 (Thursday, January 9, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E80]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  UNIVERSAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES MUST MEET THE NEEDS OF NATIVE 
                               AMERICANS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BILL RICHARDSON

                             of new mexico

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 9, 1997

  Mr. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, today, I introduced a House Resolution 
expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that universal 
telecommunications service can only be met if the needs of Native 
Americans are addressed and policies are implemented with the 
cooperation of tribal governments. It is important that we keep 
pressure on decision makers within the Federal Communications 
Commission [FCC] to address the needs of Native Americans.
  As the FCC prepares to adopt a policy on universal service, the 
implementation process of the Telecommunications Act reaches a critical 
stage. I believe it is important to make it perfectly clear that the 
intent of Congress can only be fulfilled if the universal service 
policies or procedures established to implement the Act address the 
telecommunications needs of low-income Native Americans, including 
Alaskan Natives.
  While I concur with many of the universal service recommendations 
made by the Joint Federal-State Board, there are many questions left 
unanswered.
  A genuine universal service policy will only take hold if it can be 
implemented at reasonable costs. These cost-effective solutions are 
best developed with the cooperation of tribal governments.
  When congress enacted the Telecommunications Act in February, great 
emphasis was placed on ensuring the delivery of telecommunications 
services, including advanced telecommunications and information 
services, to all regions of the Nation. This principle of universal 
service is designed to address the exceptional needs of rural, insular, 
and high-cost areas and make sure those services are available at 
reasonable and affordable rates.
  This policy was established in the belief that telecommunications 
services have become essential to, education, public health, and public 
safety of all people within the United States.
  Indian and Alaskan Native people live in some of the most 
geographically remote areas of the country, with 50 percent of Indian 
and Alaskan Native people living in Oklahoma, California, South Dakota, 
Arizona, New Mexico, Alaska, and Washington.
  Indian poverty in reservation areas in 3.9 times the national average 
rate. The average phone penetration rates for rural Native Americans is 
only 50 percent. The actual penetration rates are often much lower than 
50 percent--for example, the Navajo Nation estimates that 65 percent of 
its citizens do not have telephones. What phone service there is in 
Indian country is often sub-standard and prohibitively expensive.
  there is a continuing need for universal service in Indian country 
and for tribal governments to be directly involved in providing these 
services.
  Among the recommendations in the 1995 Office of Technology Assessment 
Report, ``Telecommunications Technology and Native Americans'' is a 
strengthened Federal/tribal government partnership in the 
telecommunications field to provide better services to persons in 
Indian country and to enable tribes to be direct providers of 
telecommunications services.
  Now is the time to recognize the critical role that tribal 
governments can and must play in the implementation of universal 
service objectives.
  The FCC has 4 months to implement the recommendations made by the 
Joint Federal-State Board. With the input of tribal leaders, I intend 
to introduce legislation that will codify the positive recommendations 
of the Board. This will encourage the FCC to implement a strategy of 
universal service that truly addresses the needs of tribes.

                          ____________________