[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 6 (Wednesday, February 4, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H243]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         FCC SHOULD SAFEGUARD RURAL TELEPHONE SERVICE CONSUMERS

  (Mr. SHIMKUS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, it is time for the Federal Communications 
Commission to do something to safeguard the telephone rates that people 
living in rural America pay.
  When the Telecommunications Act of 1996 passed, there was one thing 
Congress wanted to ensure: that rates for residential and rural 
customers did not skyrocket. To protect against that, the FCC was 
directed to come with a ``competitively neutral'' support program.
  The law required them to take action by May of last year. We have yet 
to see action. They announced possible rules, but also stated a whole 
new round of administrative proceedings. Right now, the FCC is debating 
which computer model will give them the right answers. Some of the 
smaller telephone companies have seen their support programs frozen in 
place; others are still up in the air.
  This is not acceptable, Mr. Speaker. I urge the FCC to resolve this 
issue and resolve it soon. For rural Americans, telephone service at 
affordable rates is not a luxury, it is essential.

                          ____________________