[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 52 (Tuesday, April 1, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H2556]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  ON THE NEED TO REVITALIZE AMERICA'S ECONOMY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS 
                                 SECTOR

  (Mr. GREEN of Texas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak on the need 
to revitalize our economy, and particularly the telecommunications 
sector.
  The telecommunications industry has been in a severe decline. Part of 
it was an investment bubble, but a big part of the decline was due to 
regulatory uncertainty. The Federal Communications Commission had a 
chance to give the industry some certainty, and instead, created even 
more chaos. They avoided making the tough decisions and have punted the 
responsibility to our States.
  In fact, they have succeeded in pleasing no one and punishing every 
sector of the telecommunications industry. Unlike Solomon in the Old 
Testament, the SEC actually did cut the telecom baby in half.
  This chaos immediately struck Wall Street as the telecom stocks 
plummeted, wiping out over $15 billion in market capital. When the 
telecommunications companies are already hurting, devaluing their stock 
makes matters much worse because they do not have that money to invest 
in upgrades.
  Madam Speaker, it has been more than a month since the FCC released 
their decision on the Triennial Review, and we still have not seen the 
details. The FCC needs to take actions that foster investments by all 
parties, not create artificial competition.
  I hope their final order accomplishes its goals, but I am concerned 
that it may fall far short.

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