Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, in the last few months more than 175 Members of Congress from both parties and both Chambers have expressed concerns about the FCC's proposed set-top box rules. Even the Small Business Administration has weighed in with concerns about how these rules could burden small operators. Last month, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Schrader) and I authored a bipartisan letter signed by 59 of our colleagues that says, in part: ``the proposal threatens the economic welfare of small pay-TV companies providing both vital communications services to rural areas and competitive alternatives to consumers in urban markets.'' Mr. Speaker, if continued innovation in the video industry is the goal, then this proposed rule is the wrong direction. In fact, it is estimated that this rule could cost up to a million dollars or more per system. Now, a million dollars may not be a lot to a big company, but to most of the companies in rural North Dakota, it could be the difference between staying in business or going out of business. I also have strong concerns that the proposed rules are outside the Commission's legal authority. Instead of getting into another lengthy legal battle with Congress, I urge Chairman Wheeler and the FCC to drop these proposed rules because of the harm it could inflict on small rural operators. ____________________”