[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 25 (Thursday, February 11, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H588]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  FEDERAL GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION IN HIGH TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY MAY BE 
                        DETRIMENTAL TO CONSUMERS

  (Mr. INSLEE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. INSLEE. Madam Speaker, my district includes Redmond, Washington, 
the home of Microsoft.
  Madam Speaker, the true beneficiaries of the Internet explosion are 
consumers. They know it. A recent Wirthlin poll found that 81 percent 
of the public believes that Microsoft has benefited consumers. The 
reasons are clear. Microsoft is the leader and perhaps the most 
dynamic, creative, and productive industry in the history of the world. 
Technology is improving, prices are falling, and more people own a 
computer today than ever have before. The innovative people in 
Microsoft are a major reason for this.
  The Federal Government should be cautious before it intervenes in 
this enterprising industry. The American people are reluctant to allow 
the government to control the industry because it provides cheaper, 
more useful products every day without government intervention.
  We must not forget that the goal of our laws ought to be protecting 
the consumer, not the competition. If we focus on what is good for the 
consumer, the industry will continue to harness the genius of American 
innovation, and Microsoft will continue to serve as an engine of 
invention, to our mutual benefit.

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