[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 3387-3388]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         APPLAUDING DECISION ORDERING NEW WHOLESALE AND UNBUND-
                               LING RULES

  (Mr. MEEKS of New York asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to applaud 
the D.C. Circuit Court's decision on Tuesday ordering the FCC to come 
up with new wholesale and unbundling rules that can pass legal 
approval. This decision sets U.S. telecom policy on the correct path as 
envisioned by both Chambers of Congress when we passed the Telecom Act 
of 1996.
  This requirement that the regulated local phone companies lease their 
phone lines to competitors at below-cost rates, ensuring constant 
financial losses, as witnessed over the past 3 years, has severely 
hindered investment and service quality to many communities, both large 
and small.
  The time for the FCC to act is now, and with the same sense of 
urgency the agency displayed after the Super Bowl half-time show. Quick 
action by Chairman Powell will help spur investment and job creation at 
a time when our Nation and this sluggish economy certainly need a 
boost.

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