Barton Foresees No Congressional Action on Telecom in 2004

As the nation enters the presidential election cycle, Congress most likely will not consider any major new telecommunications legislation, said Congressman Joe Barton (R-Texas), speaking at USTA Telecom 03 in Las Vegas. Barton, who sits on the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, said it is obvious that we need to revisit the Telecom Act of 1996. Whereas many people anticipated that the Telecom Act would lead to extensive facilities-based competition, Barton said FCC policies had instead led to the mess of UNE-p. Barton suggested that we "may need a legislative fix" for other industry issues, such as the challenge of how to increase broadband penetration rates in the U.S. and what to do about the Universal Service Fund.


Barton is a veteran member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the committee with primary jurisdiction on telecom issues.http//www.convergedigest.com