[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 49 (Thursday, April 8, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4052-S4053]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BURNS:
  S. 2315. A bill to amend the Communications Satellite Act of 1962 to 
extend the deadline for the INTELSAT initial public offering; to the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
  Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I rise to introduce a bill that would make 
a

[[Page S4053]]

technical change to the ORBIT Act's IPO provision.
  As you may recall, I sponsored the ORBIT Act in 1999 with strong 
bipartisan support. Since that time, I have worked with Senators 
McCain, Hollings and others to pass technical amendments to the Act by 
unanimous consent when needed. And it is my hope and expectation that 
we can pass this small technical change as quickly as before.
  Congress passed the ORBIT Act to enhance competition in the global 
satellite communications market. I am proud to say that ORBIT has 
achieved all of its objectives. Since its enactment, the FCC has found 
that positive change has occurred in the satellite services market as a 
result of the ORBIT Act. The FCC has declared that the pro-competitive 
objectives of the ORBIT Act have been achieved--including the complete 
transformation of Intelsat from what used to be a highly bureaucratic, 
intergovernmental organization into a fully privatized, U.S. licensed 
company that is headquartered and operates in the U.S., and is now 
subject to U.S. laws and U.S. regulations.
  Another important benefit produced by the ORBIT Act has been the 
infusion of U.S. capital and other private investment into the former 
intergovernmental organizations. American and other private investors 
have made significant investments in Intelsat and Inmarsat following 
enactment of the ORBIT Act. The only piece of unfinished business from 
the ORBIT Act that remains is the requirement that an IPO occur by a 
date certain.
  I have always had serious reservations with the very idea that 
Congress would impose a date certain for an IPO, rather than letting 
market forces determine the appropriate time for such an event. If I 
had my preference, we would get rid of the mandatory IPO requirement 
altogether. But since the Intelsat IPO deadline is June 30, 2004, we 
don't have a lot of time to get back into the substance of that issue.
  The pressing matter at hand is that Intelsat's IPO deadline is fast 
approaching, and the market is simply not conducive for a successful 
IPO. This is the same situation we encountered in 2002 when my good 
friend Senator Hollings and I worked together to provide a time 
extension for conducting the IPO. I would say to my colleagues that the 
telecom market isn't much better now than it was in 2002. So we again 
need to provide Intelsat with an extension on its IPO deadline because 
market conditions are not favorable at this time.
  If Congress does not quickly pass legislation extending the June 30, 
2004 IPO deadline, several U.S. entities who are major investors in 
Intelsat stand to lose hundreds of millions of dollars because the 
telecom market for IPOs is far from ideal. This will be extremely 
harmful to U.S. interests and it will damage Intelsat, an important 
communications asset for the U.S.
  For these reasons, I urge my colleagues and the leadership to quickly 
move the passage of this legislation. The bill would simply extend 
Intelsat's IPO deadline for 12 months and give the FCC discretionary 
authority to further extend this deadline another 6 months if market 
conditions warrant.
  I urge my colleagues to support quick passage of this legislation so 
that it can be enacted into law well before June 30, 2004.
  I ask by unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in 
the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Reord, as follows:

                                S. 2315

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. EXTENSION OF IPO DEADLINE.

       Section 621(5)(A)(i) of the Communications Satellite Act of 
     1962 (47 U.S.C. 763(5)(A)(i)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``December 31, 2003,'' and inserting ``June 
     30, 2005,''; and
       (2) by striking ``June 30, 2004;'' and inserting ``December 
     31, 2005;''.
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