[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 78 (Tuesday, June 16, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H4569-H4570]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          BRINGING OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM INTO THE 21ST CENTURY

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, an important step was taken last week in 
our efforts to assure that America's schools and libraries share in the 
full power of the Internet. The Federal Communications Commission made 
its E-rate decision on Friday June 12. To their great credit the 
commissioners withstood tremendous pressure to end the program and 
decided to continue funding the discounted rate, the E-rate, but at a 
reduced level from what was anticipated. The new funding level is an 
almost 50 percent reduction from what schools and libraries anticipated 
and planned for based on what the Congress had previously decided.
  Organizations from around the country are understandably 
disappointed. Thirty thousand schools and libraries took Congress at 
its word and submitted significant effort through their applications to 
the FCC. But in fairness I think the FCC did the best it could with 
this difficult situation.
  There are several reasons why the political climate has become so 
charged. Yes, there is considerable confusion, but the solution is 
clearly not to end or put a hold on the program. We must

[[Page H4570]]

recognize that much of this controversy is manufactured based on 
misunderstanding.
  It is a misunderstanding about the origin of the program. It did not 
come from the FCC, it was not an invention of the Vice President, 
although he was clearly an advocate for Internet access to schools and 
libraries. This is an element that was part of the Telecommunications 
Act of 1996 passed by a Republican controlled Congress and supported 
with overwhelming bipartisan votes.
  There is some confusion over whether adding subsidies into the 
telephone rate is actually a new idea. In fact it is not. The E-rate is 
simply an expansion of the existing universal service program which has 
been around for 60 years and which was an important tool to assure that 
rural America had telephone service at affordable rates.
  There is some confusion as to the actual cost that is borne by the 
phone companies, although it is quite clear that as a result of the 
benefits of deregulation the phone companies have saved in the 
neighborhood of $3 billion as a result of deregulation to date, far 
more than is contemplated by keeping Congress' commitment to our 
schools and libraries.
  There appears to be some confusion over this surcharge on the 
telephone bills. Is this simply an effort to recoup some of the costs 
of the E-rate, or are they trying to layoff some of those costs that 
the phone companies have, in fact, borne since 1934?
  There is confusion over what the E-rate can be used for. It is, in 
fact, very narrowly drafted to include only a few services, not new 
computers and the so-called goldplating.
  There is even confusion on the part of some as to whether or not this 
program is needed. Well, the allegation is made that most of our 
schools are already hooked up to the Internet. This, of course, misses 
the point completely since those connections in the vast majority of 
cases are simply to an administrator, a principal's office. Fully 
three-quarters of our classrooms are yet to be hooked up to the 
Internet.
  We in Congress need to make sure that we fulfill this commitment.
  I agree that legislation may be needed, but that is why I have 
introduced a Truth in Billing Act, H.R. 4018, to have a GAO study to 
clarify exactly what the telephone companies have saved, how much has 
been passed on to consumers and what additional costs, if any, have 
resulted from the Telecommunications Act. We in Congress will provide 
that information to those who need it in order to make the informed 
decisions. And under my legislation companies that want to put extra 
line item charges on the telephone bills could do so, but they would 
also have to fully disclose all the savings that have resulted.
  This is not a debate about over whether or not phone bills are going 
to go high, because in fact telephone bills are at their lowest point 
in history as a result of deregulation. What this debate is about is 
whether we as a Nation are going to meet the commitment we made to 
share the benefits of the deregulated telecommunication industry with 
the education system and our libraries and keep the commitment to those 
30,000 schools and libraries.

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