IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 176 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that in order to continue 

aggressive growth in our Nation’s telecommunications and technology 

industries, the United States Government should ‘‘Get Out of the Way 

and Stay Out of the Way’’. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 13, 2009 

Mr. LATTA submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 

the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

in order to continue aggressive growth in our Nation’s 

telecommunications and technology industries, the United 

States Government should ‘‘Get Out of the Way and 

Stay Out of the Way’’. 

Whereas the technology and communications industries in the 

United States have historically been some of the most 

competitive in the world and devoid of burdensome government regulations; 

Whereas cable, wireline, and wireless companies have invested 

more than $765,000,000,000 thanks to deregulatory poliVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:58 Feb 14, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR176.IH HR176

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•HRES 176 IH 

cies adopted by Congress and the Federal Communications Commission between 1996 and today; 

Whereas the United States has approximately 70,000,000 

wireline broadband subscribers, more than Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom combined; 

Whereas wireless auctions are the reason the United States 

has 35,000,000 wireless broadband subscribers, which 

represents an increase of more than 200 percent in a 

year; 

Whereas the Universal Service Fund has, in recent years, 

been plagued with mismanagement, a bloated budget, and 

out-of-date initiatives; 

Whereas public-private partnerships, like those piloted by organizations such as Connected Nation, have raised 

broadband subscription rates, especially in rural areas, by 

increasing both broadband supply and demand without 

having to rely on regulation; 

Whereas the United States Patent and Trademark Office 

issued an average of 179,909 patents per year from 1999 

to 2007, and in 2007 issued a total of 182,930 patents 

which represents a decrease of 6 percent from the previous year; 

Whereas deregulatory policies and free-market competition 

consistently yield a higher rate of economic growth, a 

greater standard of living for all Americans, and an enhanced capacity for the United States to be competitive 

in the global marketplace; 

Whereas the digital age not only expands an individual’s 

reach and ability to connect with family and friends, provides new and exciting educational opportunities, and 

opens up the global economy to entrepreneurial initiaVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:58 Feb 14, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR176.IH HR176

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•HRES 176 IH 

tives, but it also exposes an individual to a myriad of new 

threats such as identity theft, scams, and other methods 

of online victimization; and 

Whereas we should continually strive to advance this rapidly 

growing source of social and economic benefit to our Nation: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that in order to continue aggressive growth 

3 in our Nation’s telecommunications and technology indus4 tries, the United States Government should ‘‘Get Out of 

5 the Way and Stay Out of the Way’’ by— 

6 (1) promoting investment through deregulation 

7 and free-market competition; 

8 (2) reforming the Universal Service Fund, and 

9 encouraging broadband deployment in both rural 

10 unserved and underserved areas through the use of 

11 public-private partnerships; 

12 (3) making additional spectrum available for 

13 commercial usage through unencumbered auctions; 

14 (4) establishing a national goal of transmitting 

15 high-quality, real-time voice, data, graphics, and 

16 video at increasingly higher speeds to all people in 

17 the United States; 

18 (5) reforming our national patent and trade19 mark system to protect the intellectual property of 

20 those on the leading edge of innovation; and 


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•HRES 176 IH 

1 (6) ensuring individual privacy protections with2 out compromising marketplace efficiencies. 

Æ 


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