[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 29 (Tuesday, March 9, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E329]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA RULING CONCERNING 
                                THE FCC

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                        HON. SUE WILKINS MYRICK

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 9, 2004

  Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to take note of the 
decision recently issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District 
of Columbia that upholds the intent of Congress in passing the 
Telecommunications Act of 1996. In the years since the Telecom Act was 
passed we have seen many important advances in the telecom sector, both 
technologically and in terms of lower prices for consumers. The Appeals 
Court found that the FCC did not comply with the Telecom Act when it 
voted 3-2 last year to adopt its Triennial Review Order. This marks the 
third time since 1996 that the FCC's rules have been rejected by U.S. 
Courts. The FCC's failure to get the rules right once again is damaging 
to consumers, the economy, and the industry. The seemingly never ending 
intra-industry legal and regulatory battles are resulting in continued 
uncertainty in the telecommunications and technology sectors. What is 
at stake is consumer choice, deployment of new and advanced technology, 
and the livelihood of tens of thousands of workers whose jobs have been 
lost in this telecommunications recession.
  I urge not only the FCC but also the industry itself to end these 
battles and to devise rules that make sense and which will provide the 
certainty and incentives needed to free up major investment in the 
telecommunications sector. Consumers and workers will win only when 
this happens.

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