[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 64 (Thursday, May 1, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H3574]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND THE ECONOMY

  (Mr. ENGEL asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I would like to comment on telecommunications 
and the economy. The telecommunications industry, Mr. Speaker, is in a 
state of crisis. Telecom jobs continue to shrink and capital continues 
to flow away from the industry.
  When given the opportunity to help lead the telecommunications 
industry back on the road to health and fitness, the Federal 
Communications Commission failed miserably. I completely agree with the 
Communication Workers of America that the FCC ``missed an opportunity 
to set out an effective national policy that would promote facilities-
based competition in telecommunications.''
  Instead, the FCC left in place rules that require carriers to lease 
their network, or pieces of it, to competitors for below-cost rates. 
This policy has had a disastrous effect on the industry. Over half a 
million telecom jobs have been lost and investors have lost billions of 
dollars. The industry is in crisis, and some of that crisis can be 
traced directly to bad policy at the FCC. It is clear to me that the 
FCC did not adopt the right rules to promote telecommunications 
investment.
  I sincerely hope that the FCC fixes this mess, or Congress will have 
to fix it.

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