Thomas Daschle: “last week the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing on Universal Service, taking…”

“last week the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing on Universal Service, taking testimony from Michael Powell, the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. I want to commend the committee for examining issues affecting the preservation and advancement of universal service. This is a discussion that is of great interest to me and great importance to my State. We have long sought to ensure that telephone service is available in rural America, through direct infrastructure programs like those of the Rural Utilities Service, through internal telephone company cross-subsidies and, more recently, through the universal service fund. The low population density in so much of our Nation makes some assistance necessary; the costs of wiring such areas is simply too high. Phone service is simply too important to our social fabric to ignore this challenge. We must keep it affordable for all Americans. That is why we need universal service. Access to modern telecommunications services is vital to the economy of my home State of South Dakota and in rural areas throughout the Nation. It helps new businesses develop, even if they are far away from their customers or clients. Telecommuting is already allowing many of my constituents to remain in, or move back to, their home towns rather than having to leave in search of employment. That is a trend we need to encourage and build upon.”