[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 83 (Thursday, June 14, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6347-S6348]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Mrs. Boxer, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. 
        Kennedy, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Schumer):
  S. 1056. A bill to authorize grants for community telecommunications 
infrastructure planning, and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation to 
help rural and underserved communities across the country get connected 
to the information economy.
  Today I am introducing the Community Telecommunication Planning Act 
of 2001. I am proud to have Senators Boxer, Landrieu, Kennedy, 
Cantwell, and Schumer as original cosponsors. This bill will give small 
and rural communities a new tool to attract high speed services and 
economic development.
  I am especially proud at how this legislation came about. Since last 
year, I've been working with a group of community leaders in Washington 
State to find ways to help communities get connected to advanced 
telecommunications services.
  I want to take a moment to thank the members of my Rural 
Telecommunication Working Group for their hard work on this bill. The 
members include: Brent Bahrenburg, Gregg Caudell, Dee Christensen, Dave 
Danner, Louis Fox, Tami Garrow, Larry Hall, Rod Fleck, Ray King, Dale 
King, Terry Lawhead, Dick Llarman, Jim Miller, Joe Poire, Skye 
Richendrfer, Jim

[[Page S6348]]

Schmit, Fred Sexton, Ted Sprague, Barbara Tilly, Terry Vann, Ron 
Yenney.
  We met as a working group, and we held forums around the State that 
attracted hundreds of people. We've tapped the ideas of experts, 
service providers and people from across the State who are working to 
get their communities connected. The result in this legislation, which 
I am proud to say is part of Washington State's contribution to our 
national effort to wire all parts of our country.
  This bill addresses a real need in many communities. While urban and 
suburban areas have strong competition between telecommunications 
providers, many small and rural communities are far removed from the 
services they need. We must ensure that all communities have access to 
advanced telecommunications like high speed internet access. Just as 
yesterday's infrastructure was built of roads and bridges, today our 
infrastructure includes advanced telecom services. Advanced 
telecommunications can enrich our lives through activities like 
distance-learning, and they can even save lives through efforts like 
telemedicine. The key is access. Access to these services is already 
turning some small companies in rural communities into international 
marketers of goods and services.
  Unfortunately, many small and rural communities are having trouble 
getting the access they need. Before areas can take advantage of some 
of the help and incentives that are out there, they need to work 
together and go through a community planning process. Community plans 
identify the needs and level of demand, create a vision for the future, 
and show what all the players must do to meet the telecom needs of 
their community for today and tomorrow. These plans take resources to 
develop. This bill would provide those funds.
  Providers say they're more likely to invest in an area if it has a 
plan that makes a business case for the costly infrastructure 
investment. Communities want to provide them with that plan, but they 
need help developing it. Unfortunately, many communities get stuck on 
that first step. They don't have the resources to do the studies and 
planning required to attract service. So the members of my Working 
Group came up with a solution: have the federal government provide 
competitive grants that local communities can use to develop their 
plans. I took that idea and put it into this bill.
  When you think about it, it just makes sense. Right now the federal 
government already provides money to help communities plan other 
infrastructure improvements--everything from roads and bridges to 
wastewater facilities. The bill would provide rural and underserved 
communities with grant money for creating community plans, technical 
assessments and other analytical work that needs to be done.
  With these grants, communities will be able to turn their desire for 
access into real access that can improve their communities and 
strengthen their economies. This bill can open the door for thousands 
of small and rural areas across our state to tap the potential of the 
information economy. I urge the Senate to support this bill and I look 
forward to working with my colleagues to see it passed.
                                 ______