[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 108 (Wednesday, September 6, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S9036]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 2006

  Mr. MARTINEZ. Mr. President, I would like to bring to the attention 
of my colleagues a bill that could have a significant impact on the 
family budgets of millions of American households. H.R. 5252, the 
Communications Act of 2006, passed by the Senate Commerce Committee in 
June is that bill.
  H.R. 5252 is an important piece of proconsumer legislation. It 
reforms the cable franchising process to permit competition to 
incumbent cable companies. The result will be competition in the 
delivery of cable television services to all our constituents.
  While prices for Internet access and wireless service continue to 
fall, cable bills continue to climb and climb--in fact, according to 
the Federal Communications Commission, those bills have shot up more 
than 86 percent over the past decade. Millions of Americans have no 
choice when it comes to their video provider.
  H.R. 5252 will change that by bringing real competition and giving 
consumers the ability to choose who provides their video programming. 
This is something consumers want and deserve. Competition brings lower 
prices and consumers win. Competition brings improved customer 
service--and consumers win. Competition results in service providers 
seeking to serve narrower segments of the marketplace--and consumers 
win.
  It is not an exaggeration to say that the enactment of this 
legislation will save consumers billions of dollars a year. In the few 
markets where video providers have successfully negotiated franchise 
agreements--for instance, in parts of Florida, Texas and Virginia--
consumers have benefited greatly.
  According to a recent Bank of America study, in those aforementioned 
areas, cable bills have fallen by 28 to 42 percent--a savings of as 
much as $264 per year for cable customers.
  And a recent Phoenix Center report estimates that each year Congress 
delays cable franchise reform, it costs American consumers $8.2 billion 
in unrecoverable losses from increased cable rates. This is 
unacceptable.
  Furthermore, according to the same report, this means that Florida 
consumers are losing $626 million each year. That is a significant 
amount of money coming out of the pockets of my fellow Floridians. We 
have the power to change this. Consumers in every State will continue 
to lose money if we do not act now.
  This issue is too important for us to ignore. We all know and 
understand that technology is changing each and every day--and yet our 
Nation's telecom laws have not been updated in 10 years.
  The United States is the world leader in creating new and innovative 
technologies and we are at the forefront of bringing these new 
technologies to the marketplace. Sadly though, when it comes to 
broadband deployment, the U.S. currently ranks 16th in the world.
  We need to act today to update our Nation's telecom laws and bring 
more choice and competition to the marketplace. Our economy needs it 
and consumers are demanding it.
  I know the Senate Calendar is packed with important legislation which 
we must complete prior to adjourning. But the video choice legislation 
will affect every single household in America. It will bring 
competition to the video programming marketplace, and bring the 
benefits of competition to all of our constituents, whether or not they 
subscribe to cable.
  I urge my colleagues to support the efforts of Senator Stevens to 
bring this legislation before us.
  As far as this legislation is concerned, time is money. Change is 
long overdue, and we are eager to help our fellow Americans keep more 
of their hard earned money.
  We in this Chamber have a responsibility to get this legislation 
passed sooner, rather than later, so that our constituents can start 
saving more today, not tomorrow.

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