Larry Pressler: “a major priority for the 104th Congress involves giving American private enterprise a fuller and fairer chance. Right…”

“a major priority for the 104th Congress involves giving American private enterprise a fuller and fairer chance. Right now, we just have too many rules and too many of them just do not make any sense. Remember, bad rules are not just expensive and foolish, they represent far more than a dead-weight loss for the economy; they are obstacles to progress. One of the challenges we face today concerns channels that have been earmarked for advanced television. Not only has the FCC set aside a significant number of channels for the broadcast television industry, it has also placed severe restrictions on additional uses of those channels. Mr. President, technologically speaking, these channels could be used to provide extensive new and competitive offerings, in addition to more TV. Due to advances in digital technology, they could be used for new mobile radio services, for wireless loops that could make the local telephone business more competitive, and for many other services as well. Legally speaking, however, these channels currently are dedicated to one specific use: High-definition television, or HDTV. In effect, the Washington bureaucracy has defined and limited the future.”