[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 52 (Thursday, April 15, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E675]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             MERGER BETWEEN AMERITECH AND SBC COMMUNICATION

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOHN SHIMKUS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 15, 1999

  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, there are a number of developments 
regarding the proposed merger of Ameritech and SBC Communication that 
merit our attention, specifically recent actions taken by the Federal 
Communication Commission. While I have not taken a position on the 
merger and do not plan to do so at this time, I find the process the 
FCC is proposing to be arbitrary and inconsistent decisionmaking.
  The FCC has proposed to add an additional 90-day process that 
includes staff discussions, another Commission en banc hearing and 
another round of public comment to help in reviewing this merger. I 
find this unprecedented additional process quite worrisome since the 
Commission has already held a public proceeding which took nine months 
and generated 12,000 pages of written submissions from over 50 parties. 
It is hard to believe that the Commission might need more information 
to determine what sort of conditions it should impose on these 
companies. I am also puzzled by the fact that Chairman Kennard has not 
seen fit to use such a process with any other mergers he has considered 
recently in the communications industry.
  Mr. Speaker, this merger was announce 11 months ago. During this 
time, the Department of Justice reviewed the proposal extensively and 
just ruled on April 8, that it is not anti-competitive--however, the 
FCC continues to drag it's feet in deciding on this matter. I firmly 
believe that the FCC has a duty to uphold in the strongest possible 
terms the ``public interest'' when looking at a merger. However, I do 
not believe that it gives them cover to devise a unique, convoluted 
process which applies a different standard and much stricter burden of 
proof than what was acceptable for similar cases.
  At this time, Ameritech and SBC still remain in the regulatory swamp 
which unfairly disadvantages the competitive positions of both 
companies. I strongly encourage the FCC to consider the Ameritech-SBC 
merger with the same speed, efficiency and fairness that it has 
considered other recent mergers in the telecommunications industry. For 
the FCC to do otherwise is something we should all find intolerable.

                          ____________________