[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15039]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            MEDICARE REFORM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 7, 2003, the gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. Capito) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, both houses of Congress are continuing the 
difficult task of drafting comprehensive Medicare reform legislation 
this week.
  I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to keep moving 
forward in the spirit of compromise on this extremely important issue.
  Mr. Speaker, as time passes, the expectations of our constituencies 
continue to grow. We cannot return to our respective districts on the 
Fourth of July without some news of progress in the halls of Congress 
on a prescription drug plan for our seniors through Medicare.
  Our colleagues in the other body have set the goal of reaching an 
agreement by the next recess, and I strongly urge my colleagues in this 
body to work on a bipartisan basis in order to reach a compromise.
  Mr. Speaker, this is not a partisan issue and we can not allow it to 
fail because of partisan differences.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Boozman).
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Lincoln Echo 
Newspaper for 10 years of service to Fort Smith, Arkansas.
  Last week, the Lincoln Echo celebrated its 10-year anniversary. It 
began with the mission of unifying Fort Smith's African-American 
community. When the paper was sold in 2001, its mission statement 
changed to reflect the changes in Fort Smith. Their new aim became to 
unify Fort Smith's diverse communities.
  Their work has been noticed not only in Fort Smith but around the 
country, reaching over 25,000 readers in 29 different States. This 
paper has preached the importance of unity in our neighborhoods and 
continuously relays a positive message to all of its readers.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to commend Napoleon Black, Allen Black, Jr., 
Cecil Greene, Jr., and everyone involved in the Echo's success. I look 
forward to many more years of success for the Lincoln Echo.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Schrock).
  Mr. SCHROCK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding to me.
  Mr. Speaker, the capital markets do not much care for indecision. 
When a company or industry is in regulatory flux, the industry is 
basically forced to be at a standstill. That is what is happening today 
with the telecommunications industry.
  The Federal Communications Commission voted on February 20, 2003 to 
make changes to the way it regulates telecommunications carriers. Many 
of the changes were very significant, but the FCC is dragging its feet. 
These decisions will drive the short and long term future of the 
telecom industry. The industry, however, is stymied because the FCC, 
while having voted on the issue, has yet to issue the rules. This is 
quite unusual as texts of orders are issued usually within weeks or 
even days of the date that the item is voted on.
  Here we are, almost 4 months later, and we still have no rules 
issued. It takes less time for a pig from time of conception to time of 
birth than it has taken the FCC to give birth to the written words 
embodying the agreements voted on in February.
  The FCC needs to stop this nonsensical delay and issue its orders so 
the industry can get back to the business of building infrastructure 
and serving the telecommunications users of this Nation.

                          ____________________