The Honorable Dirk Kempthorne
United States Senate
SD-367 Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senator Kempthorne:
I am contacting you regarding an issue that will have a significant adverse effect on small businesses and rural America. This is the recently released proposed decision on telephone universal service support for rural areas. The proposed decision singled out rural businesses and other rural institutions for significantly higher telephone rates by proposing to eliminate over time most of the support systems that have kept rates affordable for rural small businesses over the years. This proposal was made by the FCC-State Joint Board on Universal Service in its Recommended Decision reforming universal service support mechanisms.
As I indicated in my letter to Chairman Reed Hundt:
The proposed decision is likely to result in significant telephone rate increases for small rural businesses. This would discourage growth and economic development in rural areas. Such rate increases would tend to further isolate rural America. Many small rural institutions' access to advanced telecommunications services would be constrained, distancing them from the benefits of the information revolution - an outcome contrary to the Joint Board's other efforts to encourage access to advanced telecommunications services. Significant rate increases could lead some small rural businesses to leave rural areas and others to drop off the network entirely. Ultimately, the Joint Board's actions on this issue could have an adverse impact on the economic structure of rural America.
I am attaching a copy of my correspondence with Chairman Hundt as well as the relevant portion of the universal service decision. My office also filed detailed comments with the FCC on this matter which I would be happy to send you on your request. Let me know if I can be of any further assistance. If you have any questions, please call me or David Zesiger of my staff at 205-6532.
Sincerely,