Louise Slaughter: “I oppose this rule. I also have very strong concerns about the underlying bill because this body is once again beating…”

“I oppose this rule. I also have very strong concerns about the underlying bill because this body is once again beating the drum to remove what nominal protection our constituents might have in the face of powerful monopolies. I do not know about your region of the country, but where I am from, every time Congress dismantles a regulatory scheme and hands it over to the private monopolies, my constituents take it on the chin. Airfares, cable rates, utilities, you name it, all have skyrocketed in recent years after Congress or legislatures decided that unregulated monopolies, rather than ratepayers, know best. This bill poses a real threat to what meager competition we have been able to squeeze out of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Competitors simply would not have had the ability to compete against the Bells' sheer financial power without that, but it never happened. Their infrastructure continues to dominate telecommunications today. I have no doubt that passage of this legislation could put over a hundred small companies out of business.”