William Tauzin: “Let me say in conclusion that this bill is but one step. I want to make a point that I think all Members of Congress…”

“Let me say in conclusion that this bill is but one step. I want to make a point that I think all Members of Congress should be aware of, and that is there is nothing in our policy that in any way denigrates from the great work that cable has done in bringing new programming, in bringing extensive and delightful varieties of programming to America. Indeed, we are very grateful for that. We are simply saying in this policy that for those who decide to receive that programming on a satellite transmission rather than over a cable, or over the air, as in New Orleans, or in Atlanta in a terrestrial air distribution system, those consumers are entitled to equal treatment. We should not be putting copyright fees that are three times and nine times as high on a consumer simply because they choose to receive that wonderful programming one way or another. Secondly, we are saying that, in the end, this Congress will be faced with the choice of either reregulating cable, because it does not have a competitor, or we will have successfully provided for Americans the chance to regulate that marketplace by themselves deciding which of the methods of transmission they prefer, whether satellite, terrestrial wireless, or cable, or several cable systems in their community.”