roundtable: FINS SPECIAL REPORT (S.4)

roundtable: FINS SPECIAL REPORT (S.4)

FINS SPECIAL REPORT (S.4)

Vigdor Schreibman - FINS (fins@access.digex.net)
Fri, 11 Mar 1994 16:54:28 -0500 (EST) 

Date: Fri, 11 Mar 1994 16:54:28 -0500 (EST)
From: Vigdor Schreibman - FINS <fins@access.digex.net>
Subject: FINS SPECIAL REPORT (S.4)
To: Vigdor Schreibman - FINS <fins@access.digex.net>
Message-Id: <Pine.3.89.9403111526.A29090-0100000@access2.digex.net>

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FINS SPECIAL REPORT                                        MARCH 11, 1994
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FILIBUSTER THREATENS DEFEAT OF SENATE BILL (S.4)
Information Technology Applications Program Under Fire

Washington, DC Debate in the U.S. Senate on the National Competitiveness
Act of 1994 has proceeded for for five days without progress.  On monday,
Mar 7, Sen. Danforth recommended that the Republicans "should defeat this
bill."  The threat was backed up during subsequent proceedings when it
appeared that the republican faction had assembled a 40-vote block that
would act to defeat the bill.  By thursday, Mar 10, Sen. Mitchell, the
majority leader announced that after 4 days without progress, "he was
advised that it would be necessary to file a cloture motion to bring this
bill to a conclusion."  Mitchell added that "Stated in simple English: 
Our Republican colleagues have indicated that they will use their rights
under the rules to filibuster this bill and prevent a vote from occurring
on it."  Mindfull that the cloture motion might fail, Democrats have been
scrambling to find an acceptable alternative.  Not having found one, by
friday afternoon, at around 4:00 p.m., the majority leader notified the
Senate that cloture proceedings would begin next tuesday morning, Mar 15,
1994.

  Ironically what has primarily animated the Republican decision to defeat 
S.4,  are provisions negotiated with other countries by the Clinton 
administration as a part of the GATT agreement, which impact upon the 
idea of "industrial policy."  According to the interpretation of this 
agreement advanced by Sen. Danforth, "if the GATT agreement is agreed to, 
henceforth research subsidies of up to 75 percent of their cost and 
development subsidies up to 50 percent of their cost can be subsidized by 
governments without any countervailing duties being possible."  The 
result, according to Danforth, would spawn competition between nations to 
engage in ever larger industrial subsidies.  Control over "industrial 
policy" by government choice of meritorious development so as to defeat 
efforts to allow the marketplace to decide such matters.  Subsidies 
included in the Competitiveness Act that would allow the Government to 
make decisions that private enterprise should be allowed to make, was a 
sample of the objectional result of such an "industrial policy."

  Notwithstanding the heated debate focused on the subsidy question,
another issue of considerable importance to the library and education
community was buried in the substitute bill.  As originally reported by
the Senate Commerce Committee, S.4, title VI, "Information Technology
Applications," contained revisions to the National Research and Education
Network (NREN) program that would limit the provision of connections to
"network capabilities not available from commercial networks operated by
the private sector."  (sec. 611(a)(2)(B)) However, the substitute bill
eliminated all limitations of the use of the network and merely provides
that sec. 102(a)(2)(B) of the NREN program would "provide connections and
associated network services for purposes consistent with this Act."  The
implication to be drawn from this alternative, which FINS has not been
able to confirm for the moment, is that the full use of the NREN as it is
now operated to serve the public interest, would be safeguarded.  This
measure would also conceivably override the policy decision of the
National Science Foundation and provisions in a similar measure passed by
the House during the last session [H.R. 1757], which would terminate use of 
the NREN test bed for services provided by commercial networks. 
 
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