Orrin Hatch: “telecommunications technology is evolving at a speed that is unprecedented, and it has been and will continue to be…”

“telecommunications technology is evolving at a speed that is unprecedented, and it has been and will continue to be difficult to keep up with these revolutionary developments. However, without a vehicle that allows us to at least attempt to keep pace with these changes, we cannot even hope to take full advantage of the benefits that today's technology potentially affords us. That is why I am pleased to support the telecommunications conference report that we are considering today. It has been a very long and difficult process over a number of years in order to get to this point today. There have been many hearings held in several committees, long debates in both houses of Congress, and extensive hours spent in conference meetings. And, as is always the case with legislation that is as important and far-reaching, the conference report we will vote on shortly is not perfect. As we have already heard on the floor today during this final debate, there are still a number of issues upon which total consensus has not been reached. In fact, we can expect to be revisiting a number of issues in the not too distant future, and I look forward to that. Nevertheless, I believe we can all agree that this legislation establishes some basic principles that will provide a gateway to the future of communications in our country.”