[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 27 (Thursday, March 4, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H843]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 COURT RULING UPHOLDS INTENT OF CONGRESS IN PASSING TELECOMMUNICATIONS 
                              ACT OF 1996

  (Mr. SHIMKUS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, like many of my colleagues, I was delighted 
to see that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia 
issued a ruling yesterday that upholds the intent of Congress in 
passing the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The court found that the 
FCC did not comply with the Telecom Act when it voted 3 to 2 last year 
to adopt its highly controversial Triennial Review Order. This marks 
the third time since 1996 that the FCC's rules have been rejected by 
U.S. courts.
  In its ruling, the appeals court pointed to the commission's failure, 
after 8 years, to develop lawful unbundling rules and its apparent 
unwillingness to adhere to prior judicial rulings. FCC Chairman Michael 
Powell, who was one of the two commissioners to oppose the Triennial 
Review Order, has voiced his opposition to any appeal of the court's 
decision and has said, appropriately, that the FCC should expeditiously 
get to work to produce a set of judicially sound rules once and for 
all. I fully support the position taken by Chairman Powell and urge the 
commission to prepare rules to provide the needed clarity and guidance 
to restore the health and economic vitality of our Nation's 
telecommunications sector.

                          ____________________