| April
27, 2004 The
Honorable George W. Bush
President
of the United States
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
The National
Grange, this nation's oldest general farm and rural public interest organization,
applauds the commitment you recently made pledging universal, affordable access
to broadband technology for all Americans by the year 2008. For farmers and other
rural Americans, access to universal, affordable broadband technology in the 21st
Century will be as important to their continued economic prosperity as the national
commitment to universal mail delivery and universal telephone service was during
the 20th Century. In order to achieve the goal of universal and affordable access
to broadband technology for all Americans, the National Grange strongly urges
your Administration and the Federal Communications Commission not to appeal the
March 2, 2004 federal district court decision that struck down part of the FCC
Triennial Review Order. Instead we urge your Administration to work with Chairman
Powell and the other members of the FCC to craft new regulations under the Triennial
Review Order process that address the objections clearly outlined in the district
court's well-reasoned opinion. Achieving
universal, affordable access to broadband technology for rural America will require
appropriate implementation of the pro-competition telecommunications regulatory
structure that was envisioned by the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Since the
passage of that landmark act, the Federal Communications Commission has struggled
to adopt regulatory programs that fully implement the facility-based competitive
environment that Congress carefully crafted into law. Special interests in the
telecommunications sector have petitioned the FCC repeatedly to preserve existing,
but failing, business and regulatory models, to the detriment of innovation and
expanded consumer service. They have sought to shackle incumbent telecommunications
companies from fully serving underserved areas, such as rural communities, in
order to cherry pick the perceived lucrative markets in upscale urban and suburban
communities. The results of these efforts by defenders of the status quo has been
a series of FCC regulatory decisions that delay, rather than accelerate, the investment
and deployment of advanced telecommunications technology in rural and other underserved
areas. However,
as these regulatory decisions have been reviewed by the federal courts in recent
years, they have received sharp scrutiny from federal judges who can read the
plain language of the 96 Telecommunications Act and who have demonstrated little
reluctance to interpret the clear intent of Congress. The recent decision by the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is yet another attempt by the
court to guide the FCC toward full implementation of the 96 Telecommunications
Act. For example, in that decision the court correctly recognized and affirmed
the FCC's decision to exempt builders of new broadband networks from having to
share facilities with competitors. There
are those who advocate that the FCC and your Administration appeal the district
court decision. If that happens, it will tie up telecommunications and broadband
deployment for years. Uncertainty in the implementation of the final rules would
freeze investment, especially in rural areas. Your goal of universal access to
broadband services within four years would become impossible under those circumstances.
Instead, immediately setting out to craft new regulatory guidelines under the
Triennial Review Order process that meet the objections of the district court
would bring stability to the investment decisions of the telecommunications industry.
It would bring the hope of swift deployment of broadband services to rural areas.
Minimizing regulation of broadband deployment would spur its progress, yield more
investment, create competition and consumer choice, and allow rural communities
to better compete for telecommunications service jobs currently being outsourced
to foreign nations. Rural
America's ability to contribute to our nation's prosperity is dependent on access
to advanced telecommunications services on par with those available in our urban
and suburban communities not to mention in many foreign nations. Since the district
court has given the FCC clear guidance toward crafting a successful regulatory
program that will facilitate the construction of universal broadband networks,
we should move ahead now and not risk additional job losses while questionable
appeals are pursued. The
National Grange asks that your Administration and the Federal Communications Commission
not to appeal the March 2, 2004 federal district court decision that struck down
part of the FCC Triennial Review Order. Instead we urge your Administration to
work with Chairman Powell and the other members of the FCC to craft new regulations
under the Triennial Review Order process that address the objections clearly outlined
in the district court's well-reasoned opinion that will facilitate the deployment
of broadband for all Americans. Encouraging the FCC to bring the power of broadband
to all Americans while stimulating economic growth and job creation is the single
most important action that you can take to realize our shared goal of achieving
universal, affordable access to broadband technology for all Americans by the
year 2008. Sincerely,
Leroy Watson, Director of Legislative Affairs
The National Grange of the
Order of Patrons of Husbandry | 
