Bob Kerrey: “I support the Hollings-Daschle technology amendment, which I am pleased to cosponsor. In particular, this amendment adds…”

“I support the Hollings-Daschle technology amendment, which I am pleased to cosponsor. In particular, this amendment adds $32 million for the Telecommunications Information and Infrastructure Assistance Program [TIIAP] under the National Telecommunications and Information Administration [NTIA], which I strongly support. When TIIAP was slated for elimination in the fiscal year 1996 Commerce-Justice-State-Judiciary appropriations bill (H.R. 2076), I offered an amendment with Senators Snowe, Daschle, Leahy, Lieberman and Jeffords that restored $18.9 million for this valuable program. The motion to table my amendment was defeated overwhelmingly by a bipartisan vote of 64 to 33, reversing a death sentence for a competitive, merit-based program that empowers people by linking rural and underserved communities to advanced telecommunications technologies. Mr. President, the Federal seed money from TIIAP is generating partnerships and matching investments that are helping communities in my State of Nebraska and across the Nation join the information revolution.”