Rod Blum: “I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is…”

It is imperative--imperative--that we identify and help mitigate the difficulties identified by small, rural carriers in deploying broadband so we can begin to close the urban and rural digital divide.

To me, it is almost like legalized extortion, in that you can get a letter--and we have, our company has--get a letter that says, you know: You are violating this innocuous patent we have never heard of because you--I will use an extreme…

We do not need tariffs to compete. We need just the opposite. We need to engage in more free trade agreements.

I would like to make the gentleman from Virginia aware that I have no further speakers and I am prepared to close. I enjoy my colleague from Virginia's rather dry sense of wit and humor. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.