[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 47 (Wednesday, March 24, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E553]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TELECOMMUNICATIONS MERGERS

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. TOM DeLAY

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 24, 1999

  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend the antitrust 
division of the Department of Justice for approving the SBC-Ameritech 
merger. As the telecommunications industry continues to evolve in the 
aftermath of the Telecommunications Reform Act of 1996, the promise of 
that act can be fulfilled only if regulatory agencies remove the eye 
shades of New Deal regulation and begin to view the competitive 
landscape of tomorrow with a fresh look. This is precisely what the 
Department has done this week.
  However, I was not pleased to learn that, unlike mergers in other 
competitive industries, telecommunications mergers such as the SBC-
Ameritech venture must jump through several hoops before the deal is 
done. Not only does the Department of Justice conduct its traditional 
antitrust review, these mergers often must receive the blessing of 
multiple local and state agencies as well as the Federal Communications 
Commission. A reasonable person might assume that once the Department 
of Justice has issued a clean bill of antitrust health for a proposed 
merger, that venture has passed the smell test. I hope that same 
reasonable person would share the concern that I have after reading 
this week that the FCC may hold this merger, and others like it, 
hostage under some ransom-guided interpretation of the so-called 
``public interest'' standard.
  Mr. Speaker, the underlying premise of the Telecommunications Reform 
Act we passed in the 104th Congress was to break down the artificial 
barriers of regulation so that the marketplace would choose the winners 
and losers in this vital industry. We appear to be a long way from the 
realization of that promise when regulatory bodies handcuff the 
invisible hand of our free market system.
  I would strongly urge the FCC to follow the lead of the DOJ and 
quickly approve this merger.

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