Olympia Snowe: “I hope this hearing represents a turning point in NMFS' direction and helps us plot the course that we need to take.”

Thank you. I will be a fast talker. And I want to thank all of you for your very impressive testimony.

Due in no small part to the leadership of Senators Rockefeller and Snowe, the E-Rate program from its inception focused on providing high-capacity transmission services to libraries and schools.

In closing, libraries are vital community technology hubs, and we simply cannot allow inadequate bandwidth to be the limiting factor for what our students and our nations can achieve.

What is needed is honest, fact-based discussion and a genuine bipartisan commitment to solutions.