[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 141 (Friday, October 9, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1999]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1999]]


   MULTICHANNEL VIDEO COMPETITION AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT OF 1998

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. TOM BLILEY

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 7, 1998

  Mr. BLILEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2921. I would like 
to begin by commending both Mr. Tauzin, the Chairman of the 
Subcommittee on Telecommunications, and Mr. Coble, the Chairman of the 
House Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property. They have both 
worked hard to bring this legislation to the floor today, and I thank 
them for their efforts.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation represents a crucial first step in 
Congress' efforts to reform the laws governing the provision of direct-
to-home satellite television and will bring immediate relief to 
millions of satellite consumers.
  More specifically, this legislation addresses the level of copyright 
royalty fees paid by consumers of satellite services. Aside from the 
staggering size of these fee increases, the rate levels do not compare 
favorably to what the cable industry currently pays for identical 
signals.
  At a time when we are counting on the competition that satellite 
services can bring to consumers, it seems senseless to create 
additional differences in the costs of programming between these two 
industries.
  The rates that satellite subscribers pay for certain popular 
programming will certainly rise unless Congress takes action on this 
legislation. Although the royalty fee increase is already in effect, 
many satellite carriers have not passed on the full amount of the 
increases to consumers in anticipation of congressional intervention.
  Further, if this situation is not addressed soon, superstations, 
which remain popular with many consumers, could well be dropped from 
satellite-delivered programming packages.
  Swift action on H.R. 2921 is particularly necessary for the millions 
of satellite subscribers who, because they reside in rural areas and 
can receive the affected programming from no other source, will be 
captive to the rate hikes resulting from higher royalty fees.
  This legislation also clarifies the satellite broadcasters' legal 
standing to sue those who pirate satellite broadcast signals. Signal 
theft--be it cable or satellite signals--is a serious problem. This 
provision will help promote the long-term viability of satellite 
television service.
  Mr. Speaker, the Commerce and Judiciary Committees recently joined 
our counterparts in the Senate in one last effort to gain adoption of a 
set of more comprehensive changes in the underlying satellite laws this 
year. I regret to say that this effort failed for both lack of time 
remaining in this Congress and lack of consensus among the industry 
players.
  But this exercise did create a large degree of agreement on many 
significant points on which I believe we can build next year. I just 
would like to state for the record, my firm commitment to revisiting 
and resolving these issues in a comprehensive manner early next year 
with the assistance and participation of my good friends and colleagues 
on the Judiciary Committee, Mr. Tauzin and Mr. Coble in particular.
  I have confidence that the two committees can and will work together 
to enact these important reforms. I can only urge the affected 
industries to work diligently in the months before the beginning of the 
next Congress to bury their differences and to lend their cooperation 
to us.
  Mr. Speaker, the reforms contained in H.R. 2921 are a downpayment on 
the more comprehensive package of changes we hope to bring to the full 
House early next year. It is a worthy beginning.
  I urge the adoption of the bill.

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