[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 50 (Thursday, March 27, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H2405]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




REVIEWS IN ON FCC DECISION REGARDING RULES GOVERNING TELECOMMUNICATIONS 
                                INDUSTRY

  (Mr. TERRY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TERRY. Mr. Speaker, the reviews are in on the February 20 FCC 
decision on the rules governing the Nation's telecommunications 
companies, and they are not good. Specifically, the reviews state that 
the requirements to make the RBOCs networks and systems available on an 
unbundled and subsidized basis are unsound.
  For many Members of this Chamber, economists, and industry observers, 
the FCC's proceeding was an opportunity to provide clear rules and 
regulatory rationality to an industry sector that has tumbled in recent 
years with job losses and reduced capital investments, which has 
affected a manufacturer in my district.
  Unfortunately, from these reviews on this decision, the FCC has 
failed miserably in their attempt to revitalize this necessary 
industry.
  Has this industry not suffered enough? Two trillion dollars of market 
cap, half a million telecommunications jobs lost, and $800 billion in 
debt have gone away. Hardware equipment and software manufacturers are 
stumbling.
  The FCC has taken a mess and made it harder to clean up. Somebody has 
to fix this: Congress, the courts, maybe even a miracle itself from the 
FCC.

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