[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 163 (Wednesday, November 17, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S14692]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          THE MICROSOFT RULING

  Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, two core principles guide our economy, 
competition and the rule of law. In the absence of competition there is 
no innovation or consumer choice. For over 100 years the anti-trust 
laws have served as an indispensable bullwark to ensure that unfettered 
competition does not result in monopoly power that stifles innovation 
and denies consumers a choice.
  So it is curious that a veritable who's who of ``conservative'' 
politicians and think tanks unleashed a barrage of faxes attacking 
Federal Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson's decision in United States v. 
Microsoft.
  Based on a voluminous record, Judge Jackson found that Microsoft had 
succeeded in ``stifling innovations that would benefit consumers, for 
the sole reason that they do not coincide with Microsoft's self-
interest.''
  The factual findings of the District Court held that ``Microsoft will 
use its prodigious market power and immense profits to harm any firm 
that insists on pursuing initiatives that could intensify competition 
against one of its core products.''
  According to the District Court, Microsoft ``foreclosed an 
opportunity for PC makers to make Windows PC systems less confusing and 
more user-friendly as consumers desired.''
  The record included the testimony of numerous high tech entrepreneurs 
who felt the lash of Microsoft's monopolistic wrath. From IBM's 
inability to gain support for its OS2/Warp operating system to Apple's 
inability to effectively compete with Windows to threats to cut off 
Netscape's ``oxygen supply,'' Microsoft engaged in a pernicious pattern 
of anticompetitive behavior, openly flaunting the rule of law. Perhaps 
the most damning of all was the evasive testimony of Microsoft founder 
William Gates.
  It is, frankly, a record that is quite embarrassing. But rather than 
show remorse, Microsoft has embarked on a vendetta to punish the 
outstanding group of Justice Department lawyers who bested its minions 
of high-payed lawyers and spin doctors.
  So, Mr. President, let me take this opportunity to praise the Justice 
Department's Antitrust Division and its leader Joel Klein. It is well 
known that I had my doubts about Mr. Klein, but I am pleased to say, 
and not too proud to admit, that I misjudged him. He is doing an 
outstanding job.
  In the long run, failure to promote competition and innovation will 
undermine our preeminence in the high tech arena.

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