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Tauzin-Dingell Passes House

Posted by michael on from the baby-bell-bonus-bill dept.

TheMatt writes: "The House has just passed the Tauzin-Dingell telecom deregulation bill. This was previously discussed here yesterday." All of the reports seem to agree that there are enough Senators opposed to it that it's not likely to pass this session.

10 of 18 comments (clear)

  1. Of course the senate won't pass it... by leviramsey · · Score: 1

    ... they're too with the SSSCA to bother with Tauzin-Dingell.

  2. Minor Error in article... by leviramsey · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The article says:

    The House did come together to vote 427-1 in favor of an amendment that would increase fines for telecom companies that violate competition law.

    But, according to this page, the vote was 421-7. By the way, the seven who are firmly in the Bell's pockets are:

    • Richard Baker (LA)
    • Joel Hefley (CO)
    • Jones (NC)
    • Butch Otter (ID)
    • Ron Paul (TX)
    • Mike Simpson (ID)
    • Joe Skeen (NM)
    1. Re:Minor Error in article... by Detritus · · Score: 3, Informative

      Considering that Ron Paul ran for President on the Libertarian Party ticket, I doubt that his opposition to the amendment was based on financial support from the Bell companies.

      --
      Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
    2. Re:Minor Error in article... by ahde · · Score: 2

      Hooray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      Only seven corrupt politicians in the House of Representatives. Yeah. I'm sure that's what that is.

    3. Re:Minor Error in article... by Ab0rtRetryFail · · Score: 1

      Richard Baker (LA) Joel Hefley (CO) Jones (NC) Butch Otter (ID) Ron Paul (TX) Mike Simpson (ID) Joe Skeen (NM) Idaho has two congressmen? I thought nobody lived there! :-D

  3. A possible ray of light... by Masem · · Score: 3, Informative
    A late-added amendment that was included in the bill says that the ILECs still must offer access to the equipment and COs to CLECs at rates that the FCC sets. In addition, a second amendment ups the penalties for the ILECS in not cooperating with CLECs and other necessary groups up to $1mill from $100k per incident. While this does not necessarily prevent the ILECs from trying to monopolize the lines, it does still offer a chance for CLECs to play fair. Of course, concern over what those rates are that the FCC sets is in question.

    But again, this has a strong battle in the Senate, and Hollings was very loud-spoken in stating that this bill won't get through the Senate in a form close to the House version, and he's the one right now with the most power on the Senate treatment of the bill.

    --
    "Pinky, you've left the lens cap of your mind on again." - P&TB
    "I can see my house from here!" - ST:
    1. Re:A possible ray of light... by leviramsey · · Score: 1
      But again, this has a strong battle in the Senate, and Hollings was very loud-spoken in stating that this bill won't get through the Senate in a form close to the House version, and he's the one right now with the most power on the Senate treatment of the bill.

      My joke post (though the moderators apparently didn't see it as such...) has proven to be more accurate than I thought...

  4. Telcom Bill is a good idea. by Guru1 · · Score: 1

    Truthfully, the bill is a good idea. While the telcoms are always looking out for their own pockets, we have to realize that progress is not made without profit. If we want global internet access to all people with infinate bandwidth (sounds good to me), then we need someone to build that bandwidth. Why would they build it? Because they see a profit in it. Why would they see a profit in fixing cable, laying more lines, etc? Because they have control over their new additions, so they're able to charge more. A company has one purpose, to make money. If we don't allow companies to make profits on their actions, then we won't see progress.

    I don't see much likelyhood of a opensource fiberoptic laying company coming anytime soon.. "Honey, I'm going out for a few hours, the local ACM is going to lay a few miles of cable today.". If we want big progress, we need to let big business do what it does best.. big projects.

  5. How did your rep vote? by shofmann · · Score: 2, Informative

    See how your representative voted here. Fortunately, my representative (The Honorable James Moran of Virginia's 8th District - that is, northern Virginia) voted against Tauzin-Dingell. If you don't know who your congresscritter is, you can find out here.

  6. The battle ahead by 10Brett-T · · Score: 1

    Here's a good piece on the battle this bill faces in the Senate. Those of us in the broadband industry don't expect T-D to survive.

    --
    10Brett-T
    Oh, bother.