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Statement of Congressman John D. Dingell House Commerce Committee, Ranking Member on FCC’s E-Rate Funding Proposal May 5, 1999
The FCC Chairman seems curiously devoted to building on his predecessor's legacy of higher telephone bills. The FCC Chairman wants to nearly double the so-called "e-rate" subsidy to $2.25 billion, with most of the money going to internal connections, or inside wiring. The unfortunate reality is that this money must come from someone. That someone is the American telephone consumer, who will pay higher telephone bills so that the FCC can dole out money for plainly illegal purchases never approved by the Congress. I fail to see why the phone customer in inner city Detroit or Southeast Washington, D.C. should subsidize the wiring of classrooms in Grosse Pointe or Chevy Chase. The FCC has succeeded in making the e-rate a tempting target for its opponents, who will continue to characterize it as the "Gore tax." The e-rate is worthwhile, but its implementation must be defensible. 78% of American schools had Internet access before the first e-rate dollar was ever spent. The Federal Communications Commission would be well-advised to set as its highest priority the deregulation of the U.S. telecommunications market so that competition can bring consumers lower prices and greater choice.
Contact: Dennis Fitzgibbons, (202) 225-3641
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