From: frank.kennedy@u2u.lonestar.org (Frank Kennedy)
Newsgroups: rec.video.satellite
Subject: CSC5
Date: 3 Sep 92 16:52:00 GMT
Reply-To: frank.kennedy@u2u.lonestar.org (Frank Kennedy)
Organization: USER-TO-USER PCBoard (214)492-6565 (USR DS v32bis)


 From : Al Stahl                    1:325/1201              01 Sep 92  02:35:00
 To   : All                                                 03 Sep 92  11:10:04
 Subj : Congress doubts Cable

                +------------------------------+
                | Consumer Satellite Coalition |
                |     Informational Update     |
                +------------------------------+

Washington Post daily newspaper  August 29, 1992  (Combined 2 articles)

* Cable Flier With Bills Draws Heavy Flak
* House Probing Cable TV Cost Data -
  U.S. Government Commerce Dept. Accused of Presenting
  Industry Analysis as its own.  (SCB)

Two House subcommittees yesterday launched an investigation of the
Commerce Department amid charges that department officials passed off
as their own, an analysis of a cable TV bill that actually consisted
of figures supplied by the cable TV industry.

U.S. Representatives Johm Dingell (D-Mich.) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.)
who chair subcommittes with oversight over commerce, also asked the
Commerce Department inspector general to launch a separate inquiry.

At issue is a letter sent to House member last month by Gregory Chapados,
the Commerce Departments assistant secretary for communications and
information, just as the House was about to vote on a bill re-regulating
the cable industry.

Mr. Chapados's letter said approval of the cable bill "would be very
costly." We included documents estimating that the new legislation
would impose additional regulatory and industry operating costs of
$1.27 billion to $2.81 billion a year. The cost data, Chapados wrote,
was "prepared by" a unit of the Commerce Department, the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) which
analyses telecommunication issues.

In fact, NTIA officials told the Washington Post this week that they did
not conduct their own study. The departments' estimate was based almost
entirely on data produced by the National Cable Television Association
(NCTA), a cable industry trade group that has been lobbying heavily
aganist the "Cable Protection and Competition" bill, and by a consulting
firm hired by the NCTA trade group.

The NCTA last week began mailing fliers to millions of cable subscribers
warning of big price hikes if the (cable) bill becomes law. The fliers
cite the Commerce projections of the estimated price increase...
projections based on slanted information the NCTA supplied to the Commerce
Department in the first place.

Both the NCTA and NTIA declined commentary yesterday.

In a letter to Commerce Secretary Barbara hachman Franklin, Representatives
Dingell and Markey - who wrote the House cable bill - asked the Commerce
Department to supply information on the source and validity of the estimate.
"We believe serious questions are raised by Commerce Department officials
use of industry supplied conclusions when the industry-supplied data on
which these conclusions are based have not been independently verified,"
Representatives Dingell and Markey wrote in a separate letter to Frank
DeGeorge, Inspector General of Commerce.

The Department of Commerce and its oversear, the Bush Administration are
opposed to the cable bill. President Bush said earlier this month he will
veto it, potentially setting a show down with Congress.
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Folks, I want to review this information before publishing an opinion
and any possible suggested response. I will post a followup soon.

With respect,

Al
--- FMail 0.90

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