[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 149 (Monday, October 19, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2235]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPE- TITION AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT OF 1998

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. BOB GOODLATTE

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 12, 1998

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this 
important legislation to address the growing problem of telephone 
slamming. As the sponsor of an earlier version of anti-slamming 
legislation with Congressman Bass of New Hampshire, I was pleased to 
work with the gentleman from Louisiana, Mr. Tauzin, to move this bill 
through the Congress.
  As we are all aware, the problem of slamming has become an epidemic 
that has affected millions of American consumers. According to the 
Federal Communications Commission, tens of thousands of Americans are 
slammed each year. Among telephone users, this is by far their number 
one complaint. For many folks, telephones and e-mail are more than just 
communications devices. They can be the only links between a parent and 
a child halfway across the globe, or a way for old friends separated by 
the miles to relive old times. Many of our nation's seniors also rely 
on the telephone as a window to the world around them. It can be a 
vital connection that enables them to celebrate life with family and 
friends.
  Telephone slammers don't just rob these folks of their hard-earned 
dollars. They rob them of a source of happiness, a lifetime to family 
and friends, and replace it with a feeling of anger and frustration at 
being swindled. The unsavory characters who commit this crime deserve 
swift and strong purnishment. Consumers are in need of stronger 
protections from these criminals. The passage of H.R. 3888 will help 
law enforcement put an end to the crime of long distance slamming and 
e-mail spamming.
  Congress gave the FCC significant authority to eliminate slamming as 
part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Unfortunately, little 
action was taken by the FCC to exercise this new authority. The 
legislation we are considering today will remove a significant portion 
of the flexbility originally given to the FCC. Instead, the bill 
outlines a more detailed and instructive plan for eliminating the 
practice of slamming.
  The bill gives telephone carriers two choices. The first option is 
for carriers to regulate themselves. The carriers have said that they 
want to eliminate slamming, and we will see if they can live up to 
their word.
  For those carriers that cannot responsibly regulate themselves, they 
will be subject to the heavy hand of FCC enforcement. I join my 
colleagues in expressing optimism that carriers will be able to agree 
on regulations for themselves and stop slamming on their own. I 
strongly support giving the industry an opportunity to lead on this 
issue, having long opposed the imposition of burdensome regulations 
that raise the cost of doing business and serve as a barrier for 
competition.
  For those companies that choose to violate the law, H.R. 3888 
provides for significant penalties, including fines as high as $150,000 
for repeat offenders. In addition, slammers will be forced to reimburse 
their victims for any extra charges incurred as a result of the 
slamming. This will achieve a balance between the need to give 
companies the ability to standardize their business practices and the 
need to allow State officials to enforce State statutes against 
consumer fraud.
  The bill also addresses the growing problem of ``spamming,'' which is 
the mass distribution of unsolicited commercial E-mail messages to 
private computers. This annoying practice, which has become more widely 
used as the use of E-mail grows, is not only disruptive but highly 
intrusive. H.R. 3888 expresses the sense of the Congress that the 
private sector should promptly adopt, implement, and enforce measures 
to deter and prevent the improper use of unsolicated commercial 
electronic mail.
  The characters who commit the crime of telephone slamming are 
striking at one of our most basic human freedoms--communication. Our 
ability to communicate with others, free from interruption and through 
our choice of services, must be protected. H.R. 3888 gives law 
enforcement the ammunication they need to defend consumers against 
telephone slammers, and will help bring an end to this private 
pervasive crime. I want to thank the hard work of the Chairman of the 
Subcommittee on Telecommunications, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. 
Tauzin), and also my colleague from New Hampshire (Mr. Bass), who has 
long taken an interest in this important issue. I urge my colleagues to 
support this important legislation.

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