[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 113 (Tuesday, September 10, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H6142]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       INTELSAT IPO EXTENSION ACT

  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 2810) to amend the Communications Satellite Act of 1962 
to extend the deadline for the INTELSAT initial public offering.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                S. 2810

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. EXTENSION OF IPO DEADLINE.

       Section 621(5)(A)(i) of the Communications Satellite Act of 
     1962 (47 U.S.C. 763(5)(A)(i)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``October 1, 2001,'' and inserting 
     ``December 31, 2003,''; and
       (2) by striking ``December 31, 2002;'' and inserting ``June 
     30, 2004;''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Upton) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton).


                             General Leave

  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 
5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 2810 and urge swift 
passage of this noncontroversial legislation. Prior to adjourning in 
August, the Senate passed legislation, S. 2810, to extend the deadline 
by which INTELSAT is required to conduct its IPOs. I commend my 
colleagues in the other body and thank them for addressing this 
important issue.
  Under the Open-Market Reorganization for the Betterment of 
International Telecommunications (ORBIT) act, INTELSAT is required to 
privatize, and as part of that effort, INTELSAT is to conduct an IPO by 
December 31 of this year. As detailed by the FCC, INTELSAT has made 
significant progress in its privatization efforts. Moreover, INTELSAT 
has made substantial preparations to conduct its statutorily mandated 
IPO.
  However, volatility in the financial markets in general, and the 
telecommunications sector specifically, make this statutory deadline 
unrealistic. Indeed, one is hard-pressed to select a worse time for a 
satellite company IPO. Equally important, such an ill-timed IPO runs 
counter to one of the central policy objectives of ORBIT, dilution of 
foreign government ownership. If this IPO is forced to take place now, 
it is very likely that the foreign governments holding nonstrategic 
investments in INTELSAT will decide not to sell in this unattractive 
market. Rather, they will decide to hold on to their investments until 
a more attractive market price is available. The end result: no foreign 
government dilution in the near future.
  S. 2810 would therefore give INTELSAT another year in which to 
conduct its IPO. It also provides the FCC authority to allow an 
additional extension of time if warranted by market conditions. 
Congress provided identical relief last year to Inmarsat. I urge all of 
my colleagues to support this important yet noncontroversial 
legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the legislation before us is unopposed, and I support 
House passage of this bill today, as does the gentleman from Michigan 
(Mr. Dingell) and all of the members of the Committee on Commerce who 
sit on the Democratic side.
  This legislation simply extends the date by which INTELSAT may have 
an IPO and offer advanced satellite services to U.S. customers. The IPO 
was put into the law to induce INTELSAT to diversify its ownership and 
vastly diminish the international governmental ownership and control of 
the organization, with all of the advantages and disadvantages such 
international governmental ownership brings. The new date for an IPO 
will now be December 31, 2003, rather than the end of this year.
  I want to commend the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton) for his 
work on this bill and urge Members to support the legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Quinn). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 2810.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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