[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 12 (Tuesday, February 4, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E148-E149]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           THE NATIVE AMERICAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1997

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BILL RICHARDSON

                             of new mexico

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 4, 1997

  Mr. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, today, I am introducing a bill designed 
to promote greater telecommunications service to native Americans, 
including Alaskan Natives.
  There is great optimism in this Chamber about last year's 
Telecommunications Act, particularly the provisions on universal 
service. While I join my colleagues in that optimism, I am concerned 
that these policies will prove insufficient for native Americans.
  For too long, native Americans have fallen through the cracks of our 
national telecommunications policy. My bill will ensure that the 
universal service mechanisms designed by the Telecommunications Act of 
1996 will benefit carriers designated to serve Indian lands.
  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.
  In conjunction with this report and President Clinton's Executive 
order to require all Federal agencies to adopt specific policies to 
ensure responsible representation of the interests of native Americans 
my bill will direct the FCC to:
  Establish an Indian telecommunications policy that takes into account 
the unique government-to-government relationship between the tribes and 
the Federal Government, the trust obligations of the United States.
  Promote opportunities for meaningful participation and comment in FCC 
proceedings.
  Obtain and maintain a database of reliable statistics concerning the 
extent of subscribership to, and the affordability of, 
telecommunications and information services on Indian lands.
  The legislation will promote the exercise of sovereign authority of 
tribal governments over the establishment of communications policies 
and regulations within their jurisdictions. Furthermore, the bill will 
promote native-American participation in the consumption and provision 
of telecommunications services.
  To focus Federal infrastructure development policy, the legislation 
that I have introduced today requires the National Telecommunications 
and Information Administration [NTIA] to encourage investment in, and 
the deployment of, telecommunications systems on Indian lands.
  We currently operate without any policy towards these sovereign 
entities, many of which retain great physical and geographical barriers 
to proper infrastructure. This lack of direction creates greater 
polarization between the technological haves and have-nots.
  Many rural tribes are caught in a jurisdictional ``catch 22'' due to 
the existing lack of policy at both the Federal and State level. While 
many States require telecommunications carriers to serve rural areas in 
America as part of a larger overall regulatory agreement, the States 
are not compelled to extend these services onto Indian lands. 
Consequently, many rural Indian reservations fail to receive adequate 
service.

[[Page E149]]

  My bill does not seek to mandate States or telecommunications 
carriers to provide services. Instead, it asks the Federal Government 
to live up to the obligations it has as reflected in the Constitution, 
treaties, Federal statutes, and the course of dealings of the United 
States with Indian tribes. Where States and market forces fall short in 
providing adequate services at reasonable and affordable rates, it is a 
Federal responsibility that should be provided by means of the Federal 
support mechanisms established under the universal service provisions 
of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
  The most important issue at stake here is economic development and 
prosperity on Indian lands. As the fiscal constraints of balancing the 
Federal budget here in Washington continues, we must counter spending 
cuts on programs that benefit native Americans with greater economic 
opportunity.
  The future of American economic prosperity in rural America lies 
squarely on the back of the telecommunications infrastructure 
throughout the land. Already we are seeing industry sprout up in rural 
America where fiber optic cables have been installed; the second coming 
of the railroad to many of these communities. It is imperative that we 
include native Americans in the prosperity of the technological 
revolution.
  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.

                          ____________________