Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 5252 - Communications Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement Act of 2006

STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY

(House)

(Rep. Barton (R) Texas and 55 cosponsors)

The Administration supports House passage of H.R. 5252 and looks forward to continuing to work with Congress as the bill proceeds through the legislative process.

The Administration strongly supports efforts to promote competition in both video and voice markets, and therefore supports this bill's language on video franchising. The Administration believes that legislation enabling video service providers to gain a national franchise in order to speed rollout of their infrastructure not only will benefit consumers by increasing competition in the video TV market, but also will improve high-speed broadband penetration.

The Administration supports the broadband policy statement of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and appreciates the bill's sponsors' efforts to incorporate these concepts into the legislation. However, the Administration believes the FCC currently has sufficient authority to address potential abuses in the marketplace. Creating a new legislative framework for regulation in this area is premature.

The Administration has serious reservations about the bill's current language on enhanced 911 (E911). The bill's current language would prevent or delay the FCC from enforcing its rules requiring Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service to deliver 911 calls directly to public safety agencies. The Administration believes that E911 services should be broadly available on a timely basis. The Administration supports the FCC's actions to require that E911 is available wherever technically feasible. The Administration believes the bill should reflect the FCC's prior actions on the issue. The Administration looks forward to working with Congress in order to craft language that is consistent with the FCC's actions.