Political Quotes

“over the course of recent months, I have taken to this floor in support of one of the critical elements of the 1996 Telecommunication Act, which was an agreement that was forged between Congress and the telecommunications industry for the benefit of our schools and libraries. It was decreed that the concept of universal service, which has been employed since 1934 to subsidize the cost of extending service to rural areas, areas that provide very high costs, would be extended to include the Internet access for our schools and libraries through a mechanism known as the E-Rate. It was determined that the E-Rate would be paid for by the savings that would be received by the telecommunication industry as a result of deregulation. Over the course of this last year and a half, 30,000 schools and libraries across America are seeking to capitalize on this provision in the agreement. They have put tens of thousands of dollars into developing technology plans and applying for the discounts on services they need to give America's school kids access to the information highway. This is an important opportunity to remedy the fact that barely a quarter of America's classrooms have Internet access today. Through a mechanism that would provide discounts ranging from 20 to 80 percent based on the cost of providing service and the poverty level in the individual community, this access would be provided.”