Howard Metzenbaum: “I come to the floor to congratulate the Federal Communications Commission for ordering a further reduction in cable…”

“I come to the floor to congratulate the Federal Communications Commission for ordering a further reduction in cable rates. But I warn all cable consumers that you will not see that reduction unless you or a local official in your community file a formal complaint with the FCC quickly. The FCC today did deliver very good news to cable customers. It ordered an additional 7 percent reduction in cable rates, added to the 10 percent already ordered. That is good news and the FCC is to be commended. The reason for this action is that not enough Americans saw the promised decreases in their cable bills after the 1992 Cable Act became law. As a matter of fact, too many of them saw increases. They were supposed to get decreases; they got increases. Too many cable companies looked for and found loopholes in the Cable Act and used those loopholes to raise the cost of cable service. So today the FCC did something about it: It modified its rules governing the regulation of cable television service under the 1992 Cable Act to close those loopholes and make sure that all Americans get the rate reduction we, in Congress, promised.”