roundtable: Ralph Nader on HR 1555 - asks Clinton to stand firm on veto (fwd)

roundtable: Ralph Nader on HR 1555 - asks Clinton to stand firm on veto (fwd)

Ralph Nader on HR 1555 - asks Clinton to stand firm on veto (fwd)

James Love (love@Essential.ORG)
Fri, 4 Aug 1995 18:31:05 -0400 (EDT) 

Date: Fri, 4 Aug 1995 18:31:05 -0400 (EDT)
From: James Love <love@Essential.ORG>
To: Telecomreg <telecomreg@relay.adp.wisc.edu>,
Subject: Ralph Nader on HR 1555 - asks Clinton to stand firm on veto (fwd)
Message-Id: <Pine.SUN.3.91.950804183038.23043I-100000@essential.essential.org>


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TAXPAYER ASSETS PROJECT - INFORMATION POLICY NOTE

   the following letter was sent by Ralph Nader to President Clinton, 
asking the President to stand firm on his promise of a veto on HR 1555.
for more information, James Love, work 202/387-8030; or 703/522-4380; 
love@tap.org


August 4, 1995

President Bill Clinton
president@whitehouse.gov

Dear Mr. President:

Today's passage of HR 1555, the telecommunications measure, is a
major blow to consumers.  In passing HR 1555, the House of
Representatives has:

1.   stripped state governments of many of their traditional
     powers to regulate telephone rates, even when consumers are
     served by monopolies;

2.   deregulated cable television rates, even when consumers are
     served by monopolies;

3.   provided for much greater concentration in the ownership of
     telecommunications and media outlets, by 

     -    raising or eliminating many existing national and local
          ownership limits for broadcast radio and television,

     -    eliminating many existing limits on cross-ownership of
          broadcast licensees and non-broadcast
          telecommunications or media businesses,

     -    allowing telephone companies to acquire a huge chunk of
          the cable systems in their own service areas, and

     -    allowing incumbent broadcast television license owners
          to control up to 6 new digital broadcast television
          channels in the same market;

4.   turned its back on more open access to telecommunications
     networks by:

     -    limiting the FCC's ability to require interoperability
          or open architecture for the new broadband networks,

     -    failing to include last year's "open platform," which
          would have required telephone companies to provide a
          low cost switched digital service over the existing
          telephone infrastructure, and

     -    allowing telephone companies to offer video services as
          a closed "cable system" rather than under the common
          carrier video dialtone concept.

I urge you to hold fast to your commitment to veto this anti-
consumer legislation.


Sincerely,


Ralph Nader    

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