110
HR 434 EAS
parison to the lease referred to in sub-
clause (I).
‘‘(D) QUALIFIED
HEALTH
CARE
PROP-
ERTY.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified
health care property’ means any real prop-
erty (including interests therein), and any
personal property incident to such real
property, which—
‘‘(I) is a health care facility, or
‘‘(II) is necessary or incidental to
the use of a health care facility.
‘‘(ii) HEALTH
CARE
FACILITY.—For
purposes of clause (i), the term ‘health care
facility’ means a hospital, nursing facility,
assisted living facility, congregate care fa-
cility, qualified continuing care facility (as
defined in section 7872(g)(4)), or other li-
censed facility which extends medical or
nursing or ancillary services to patients
and which, immediately before the termi-
nation, expiration, default, or breach of the
lease of or mortgage secured by such facil-
ity, was operated by a provider of such
services which was eligible for participation
111
HR 434 EAS
in the medicare program under title XVIII
of the Social Security Act with respect to
such facility.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by this
section shall apply to taxable years beginning after Decem-
ber 31, 2000.
SEC. 618. CONFORMITY WITH REGULATED INVESTMENT
COMPANY RULES.
(a) DISTRIBUTION REQUIREMENT.—Clauses (i) and
(ii) of section 857(a)(1)(A) (relating to requirements appli-
cable to real estate investment trusts) are each amended by
striking ‘‘95 percent (90 percent for taxable years beginning
before January 1, 1980)’’ and inserting ‘‘90 percent’’.
(b) IMPOSITION
OF
TAX.—Clause (i) of section
857(b)(5)(A) (relating to imposition of tax in case of failure
to meet certain requirements) is amended by striking ‘‘95
percent (90 percent in the case of taxable years beginning
before January 1, 1980)’’ and inserting ‘‘90 percent’’.
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this
section shall apply to taxable years beginning after Decem-
ber 31, 2000.
112
HR 434 EAS
SEC. 
619. 
CLARIFICATION 
OF 
EXCEPTION 
FOR 
INDE-
PENDENT OPERATORS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (3) of section 856(d)
(relating to independent contractor defined) is amended by
adding at the end the following flush sentence:
‘‘In the event that any class of stock of either the real
estate investment trust or such person is regularly
traded on an established securities market, only per-
sons who own, directly or indirectly, more than 5 per-
cent of such class of stock shall be taken into account
as owning any of the stock of such class for purposes
of applying the 35 percent limitation set forth in sub-
paragraph (B) (but all of the outstanding stock of
such class shall be considered outstanding in order to
compute the denominator for purpose of determining
the applicable percentage of ownership).’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by this
section shall apply to taxable years beginning after Decem-
ber 31, 2000.
SEC. 620. MODIFICATION OF EARNINGS AND PROFITS
RULES.
(a) RULES FOR DETERMINING WHETHER REGULATED
INVESTMENT COMPANY HAS EARNINGS AND PROFITS FROM
NON-RIC YEAR.—Subsection (c) of section 852 is amended
by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
113
HR 434 EAS
‘‘(3) DISTRIBUTIONS TO MEET REQUIREMENTS
OF SUBSECTION (a)(2)(B).—Any distribution which
is made in order to comply with the requirements of
subsection (a)(2)(B)—
‘‘(A) shall be treated for purposes of this
subsection and subsection (a)(2)(B) as made
from the earliest earnings and profits accumu-
lated in any taxable year to which the provisions
of this part did not apply rather than the most
recently accumulated earnings and profits, and
‘‘(B) to the extent treated under subpara-
graph (A) as made from accumulated earnings
and profits, shall not be treated as a distribution
for purposes of subsection (b)(2)(D) and section
855.’’.
(b) CLARIFICATION OF APPLICATION OF REIT SPILL-
OVER DIVIDEND RULES
TO DISTRIBUTIONS TO MEET
QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—Subparagraph (B) of sec-
tion 857(d)(3) is amended by inserting before the period
‘‘and section 858’’.
(c) APPLICATION OF DEFICIENCY DIVIDEND PROCE-
DURES.—Paragraph (1) of section 852(e) is amended by
adding at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘If the deter-
mination under subparagraph (A) is solely as a result of
the failure to meet the requirements of subsection (a)(2), the
114
HR 434 EAS
preceding sentence shall also apply for purposes of applying
subsection (a)(2) to the non-RIC year.’’.
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this
section shall apply to distributions after December 31, 2000.
SEC. 621. MODIFICATION OF ESTIMATED TAX RULES FOR
CLOSELY HELD REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT
TRUSTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (e) of section 6655 (re-
lating to estimated tax by corporations) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following new paragraph:
‘‘(5) TREATMENT
OF
CERTAIN
REIT
DIVI-
DENDS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any dividend received
from a closely held real estate investment trust
by any person which owns (after application of
subsections (d)(5) and (l)(3)(B) of section 856)
10 percent or more (by vote or value) of the stock
or beneficial interests in the trust shall be taken
into account in computing annualized income
installments under paragraph (2) in a manner
similar to the manner under which partnership
income inclusions are taken into account.
‘‘(B) CLOSELY HELD REIT.—For purposes
of subparagraph (A), the term ‘closely held real
estate investment trust’ means a real estate in-
115
HR 434 EAS
vestment trust with respect to which 5 or fewer
persons own (after application of subsections
(d)(5) and (l)(3)(B) of section 856) 50 percent or
more (by vote or value) of the stock or beneficial
interests in the trust.’’
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub-
section (a) shall apply to estimated tax payments due on
or after November 15, 1999.
SEC. 622. CONTROLLED ENTITIES INELIGIBLE FOR REIT
STATUS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 856 (relat-
ing to definition of real estate investment trust) is amended
by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (6), by redesig-
nating paragraph (7) as paragraph (8), and by inserting
after paragraph (6) the following new paragraph:
‘‘(7) which is not a controlled entity (as defined
in subsection (l)); and’’.
(b) CONTROLLED ENTITY.—Section 856 is amended by
adding at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(l) CONTROLLED ENTITY.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection
(a)(7), an entity is a controlled entity if, at any time
during the taxable year, one person (other than a
qualified entity)—
116
HR 434 EAS
‘‘(A) in the case of a corporation, owns
stock—
‘‘(i) possessing at least 50 percent of
the total voting power of the stock of such
corporation, or
‘‘(ii) having a value equal to at least
50 percent of the total value of the stock of
such corporation, or
‘‘(B) in the case of a trust, owns beneficial
interests in the trust which would meet the re-
quirements of subparagraph (A) if such interests
were stock.
‘‘(2) QUALIFIED ENTITY.—For purposes of para-
graph (1), the term ‘qualified entity’ means—
‘‘(A) any real estate investment trust, and
‘‘(B) any partnership in which one real es-
tate investment trust owns at least 50 percent of
the capital and profits interests in the partner-
ship.
‘‘(3) ATTRIBUTION RULES.—For purposes of this
paragraphs (1) and (2)—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Rules similar to the
rules of subsections (d)(5) and (h)(3) shall apply;
except that section 318(a)(3)(C) shall not be ap-
plied under such rules to treat stock owned by a
117
HR 434 EAS
qualified entity as being owned by a person
which is not a qualified entity.
‘‘(B) STAPLED ENTITIES.—A group of enti-
ties which are stapled entities (as defined in sec-
tion 269B(c)(2)) shall be treated as one person.
‘‘(4) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN NEW REITS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘controlled en-
tity’ shall not include an incubator REIT.
‘‘(B) 
INCUBATOR
REIT.—A 
corporation
shall be treated as an incubator REIT for any
taxable year during the eligibility period if it
meets all the following requirements for such
year:
‘‘(i) The corporation elects to be treated
as an incubator REIT.
‘‘(ii) The corporation has only voting
common stock outstanding.
‘‘(iii) Not more than 50 percent of the
corporation’s real estate assets consist of
mortgages.
‘‘(iv) From not later than the begin-
ning of the last half of the second taxable
year, at least 10 percent of the corporation’s
capital is provided by lenders or equity in-
118
HR 434 EAS
vestors who are unrelated to the corpora-
tion’s largest shareholder.
‘‘(v) The corporation annually in-
creases the value of its real estate assets by
at least 10 percent.
‘‘(vi) The directors of the corporation
adopt a resolution setting forth an intent to
engage in a going public transaction.
No election may be made with respect to any
REIT if an election under this subsection was in
effect for any predecessor of such REIT. The re-
quirement of clause (ii) shall not fail to be met
merely because a going public transaction is ac-
complished through a transaction described in
section 368(a)(1) with another corporation which
had another class of stock outstanding prior to
the transaction.
‘‘(C) ELIGIBILITY PERIOD.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The eligibility pe-
riod (for which an incubator REIT election
can be made) begins with the REIT’s second
taxable year and ends at the close of the
REIT’s third taxable year, except that the
REIT may, subject to clauses (ii), (iii), and
119
HR 434 EAS
(iv), elect to extend such period for an addi-
tional 2 taxable years.
‘‘(ii) GOING PUBLIC TRANSACTION.—A
REIT may not elect to extend the eligibility
period under clause (i) unless it enters into
an agreement with the Secretary that if it
does not engage in a going public trans-
action by the end of the extended eligibility
period, it shall pay Federal income taxes
for the 2 years of the extended eligibility pe-
riod as if it had not made an incubator
REIT election and had ceased to qualify as
a REIT for those 2 taxable years.
‘‘(iii) RETURNS, INTEREST, AND
NO-
TICE.—
‘‘(I) RETURNS.—In the event the
corporation ceases to be treated as a
REIT by operation of clause (ii), the
corporation shall file any appropriate
amended returns reflecting the change
in status within 3 months of the close
of the extended eligibility period.
‘‘(II) INTEREST.—Interest shall be
payable on any tax imposed by reason
of clause (ii) for any taxable year but,
120
HR 434 EAS
unless there was a finding under sub-
paragraph (D), no substantial under-
payment penalties shall be imposed.
‘‘(III) NOTICE.—The corporation
shall, at the same time it files its re-
turns under subclause (I), notify its
shareholders and any other persons
whose tax position is, or may reason-
ably be expected to be, affected by the
change in status so they also may file
any appropriate amended returns to
conform their tax treatment consistent
with the corporation’s loss of REIT
status.
‘‘(IV) REGULATIONS.—The Sec-
retary shall provide appropriate regu-
lations setting forth transferee liability
and other provisions to ensure collec-
tion of tax and the proper administra-
tion of this provision.
‘‘(iv) Clauses (ii) and (iii) shall not
apply if the corporation allows its incu-
bator REIT status to lapse at the end of the
initial 2-year eligibility period without en-
gaging in a going public transaction if the
121
HR 434 EAS
corporation is not a controlled entity as of
the beginning of its fourth taxable year. In
such a case, the corporation’s directors may
still be liable for the penalties described in
subparagraph (D) during the eligibility pe-
riod.
‘‘(D) SPECIAL PENALTIES.—If the Secretary
determines that an incubator REIT election was
filed for a principal purpose other than as part
of a reasonable plan to undertake a going public
transaction, an excise tax of $20,000 shall be im-
posed on each of the corporation’s directors for
each taxable year for which an election was in
effect.
‘‘(E) GOING
PUBLIC
TRANSACTION.—For
purposes of this paragraph, a going public trans-
action means—
‘‘(i) a public offering of shares of the
stock of the incubator REIT;
‘‘(ii) a transaction, or series of trans-
actions, that results in the stock of the incu-
bator REIT being regularly traded on an
established securities market and that re-
sults in at least 50 percent of such stock
being held by shareholders who are unre-
122
HR 434 EAS
lated to persons who held such stock before
it began to be so regularly traded; or
‘‘(iii) any transaction resulting in
ownership of the REIT by 200 or more per-
sons (excluding the largest single share-
holder) who in the aggregate own at least 50
percent of the stock of the REIT.
For the purposes of this subparagraph, the rules
of paragraph (3) shall apply in determining the
ownership of stock.
‘‘(F) DEFINITIONS.—The term ‘established
securities market’ shall have the meaning set
forth in the regulations under section 897.’’
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Paragraph (2) of sec-
tion 856(h) is amended by striking ‘‘and (6)’’ each place
it appears and inserting ‘‘, (6), and (7)’’.
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The amendments made by
this section shall apply to taxable years ending after
July 14, 1999.
(2) EXCEPTION FOR EXISTING CONTROLLED EN-
TITIES.—The amendments made by this section shall
not apply to any entity which is a controlled entity
(as defined in section 856(l) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, as added by this section) as of July 14,
123
HR 434 EAS
1999, which is a real estate investment trust for the
taxable year which includes such date, and which has
significant business assets or activities as of such
date. For purposes of the preceding sentence, an enti-
ty shall be treated as such a controlled entity on July
14, 1999, if it becomes such an entity after such date
in a transaction—
(A) made pursuant to a written agreement
which was binding on such date and at all times
thereafter, or
(B) described on or before such date in a fil-
ing with the Securities and Exchange Commis-
sion required solely by reason of the transaction.
SEC. 623. MODIFICATION OF INDIVIDUAL ESTIMATED TAX
SAFE HARBOR.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The table contained in clause (i)
of section 6654(d)(1)(C) (relating to limitation on use of
preceding year’s tax) is amended by striking all matter be-
ginning with the item relating to 1999 or 2000 and insert-
ing the following new items:
‘‘1999 ..............................................................................................
106.5
2000 ..............................................................................................
106
2001 ..............................................................................................
112
2002 or thereafter ........................................................................
110’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by
this section shall apply with respect to any installment
124
HR 434 EAS
payment for taxable years beginning after December 31,
1999.
TITLE VII—OTHER TRADE
PROVISIONS
SEC. 701. NORMAL TRADE RELATIONS FOR ALBANIA.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Albania has been found to be in full compli-
ance with the freedom of emigration requirements
under title IV of the Trade Act of 1974.
(2) Since its emergence from communism, Alba-
nia has made progress toward democratic rule and
the creation of a free-market economy.
(3) Albania has concluded a bilateral investment
treaty with the United States.
(4) Albania has demonstrated a strong desire to
build a friendly relationship with the United States
and has been very cooperative with NATO and the
international community during and after the Kosova
crisis.
(5) The extension of unconditional normal trade
relations treatment to the products of Albania will en-
able the United States to avail itself of all rights
under the World Trade Organization with respect to
Albania when that country becomes a member of the
World Trade Organization.
125
HR 434 EAS
(b) TERMINATION OF APPLICATION OF TITLE IV OF
THE TRADE ACT OF 1974 TO ALBANIA.—
(1) PRESIDENTIAL
DETERMINATIONS
AND
EX-
TENSIONS
OF
NONDISCRIMINATORY
TREATMENT.—
Notwithstanding any provision of title IV of the
Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2431 et seq.), the Presi-
dent may—
(A) determine that such title should no
longer apply to Albania; and
(B) after making a determination under
subparagraph (A) with respect to Albania, pro-
claim the extension of nondiscriminatory treat-
ment (normal trade relations treatment) to the
products of that country.
(2) TERMINATION
OF
APPLICATION
OF
TITLE
IV.—On or after the effective date of the extension
under paragraph (1)(B) of nondiscriminatory treat-
ment to the products of Albania, title IV of the Trade
Act of 1974 shall cease to apply to that country.
SEC. 702. NORMAL TRADE RELATIONS FOR KYRGYZSTAN.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Kyrgyzstan has been found to be in full com-
pliance with the freedom of emigration requirements
under title IV of the Trade Act of 1974.
126
HR 434 EAS
(2) Since its independence from the Soviet
Union in 1991, Kyrgyzstan has made great progress
toward democratic rule and toward creating a free-
market economic system.
(3) Kyrgyzstan concluded a bilateral investment
treaty with the United States in 1994.
(4) Kyrgyzstan has demonstrated a strong desire
to build a friendly and cooperative relationship with
the United States.
(5) The extension of unconditional normal trade
relations treatment to the products of Kyrgyzstan will
enable the United States to avail itself of all rights
under the World Trade Organization with respect to
Kyrgyzstan.
(b) TERMINATION OF APPLICATION OF TITLE IV OF
THE TRADE ACT OF 1974 TO KYRGYZSTAN.—
(1) PRESIDENTIAL
DETERMINATIONS
AND
EX-
TENSIONS
OF
NONDISCRIMINATORY
TREATMENT.—
Notwithstanding any provision of title IV of the
Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2431 et seq.), the Presi-
dent may—
(A) determine that such title should no
longer apply to Kyrgyzstan; and
(B) after making a determination under
subparagraph (A) with respect to Kyrgyzstan,
127
HR 434 EAS
proclaim the extension of nondiscriminatory
treatment (normal trade relations treatment) to
the products of that country.
(2) TERMINATION
OF
APPLICATION
OF
TITLE
IV.—On or after the effective date of the extension
under paragraph (1)(B) of nondiscriminatory treat-
ment to the products of Kyrgyzstan, title IV of the
Trade Act of 1974 shall cease to apply to that coun-
try.
SEC. 703. REPORT ON EMPLOYMENT AND TRADE ADJUST-
MENT ASSISTANCE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 9 months after the
date of enactment of this section, the Comptroller General
of the United States shall submit a report to Congress re-
garding the efficiency and effectiveness of Federal and State
coordination of employment and retraining activities asso-
ciated with the following programs and legislation:
(1) trade 
adjustment 
assistance 
(including
NAFTA trade adjustment assistance) provided for
under title II of the Trade Act of 1974;
(2) the Job Training Partnership Act;
(3) the Workforce Investment Act; and
(4) unemployment insurance.
128
HR 434 EAS
(b) PERIOD COVERED.—The report shall cover the ac-
tivities involved in the programs and legislation listed in
subsection (a) from January 1, 1994, to December 31, 1999.
(c) DATA AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—The report shall
at a minimum include specific data and recommendations
regarding—
(1) the compatibility of program requirements
related to the employment and retraining of dis-
located workers in the United States, with particular
emphasis on the trade adjustment assistance pro-
grams provided for under title II of the Trade Act of
1974;
(2) the compatibility of application procedures
related to the employment and retraining of dis-
located workers in the United States;
(3) the capacity of the programs in addressing
foreign trade and the transfer of production to other
countries on workers in the United States measured
in terms of loss of employment and wages;
(4) the capacity of the programs in addressing
foreign trade and the transfer of production to other
countries on secondary workers in the United States
measured in terms of loss of employment and wages;
(5) how the impact of foreign trade and the
transfer of production to other countries would have
129
HR 434 EAS
changed the number of beneficiaries covered under the
trade adjustment assistance program if the trade ad-
justment assistance program covered secondary work-
ers in the United States; and
(6) the effectiveness of the programs described in
subsection (a) in achieving reemployment of United
States workers and maintaining wage levels of United
States workers who have been dislocated as a result
of foreign trade and the transfer of production to
other countries.
SEC. 704. TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE.
(a) CERTIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR WORKERS
REQUIRED FOR DECOMMISSIONING OR CLOSURE OF FACIL-
ITY.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other
provision of law or any decision by the Secretary of
Labor denying certification or eligibility for certifi-
cation for adjustment assistance under title II of the
Trade Act of 1974, a qualified worker described in
paragraph (2) shall be certified by the Secretary as
eligible to apply for adjustment assistance under such
title II.
(2) QUALIFIED WORKER.—For purposes of this
subsection, a ‘‘qualified worker’’ means a worker
who—
130
HR 434 EAS
(A) was determined to be covered under
Trade Adjustment Assistance Certification TA–
W–28,438; and
(B) was necessary for the decommissioning
or closure of a nuclear power facility.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by this
section shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 705. REPORT ON DEBT RELIEF.
The President shall, not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, submit to Congress a report
on the President’s recommendations for bilateral debt relief
for sub-Saharan African countries, the President’s rec-
ommendations for new loan, credit, and guarantee pro-
grams and procedures for such countries, and the Presi-
dent’s assessment of how debt relief will affect the ability
of each such country to participate fully in the inter-
national trading system.
SEC. 706. HIV/AIDS EFFECT ON THE SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN
WORKFORCE.
In selecting issues of common interest to the United
States-Sub-Saharan African Trade and Economic Coopera-
tion Forum, the President shall instruct the United States
delegates to the Forum to promote a review by the Forum
of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in each sub-Saharan African
131
HR 434 EAS
country and the effect of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on human
and social development in each country.
SEC. 707. GOODS MADE WITH FORCED OR INDENTURED
CHILD LABOR.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 307 of the Tariff Act of
1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307) is amended by adding at the end
the following new sentence: ‘‘For purposes of this section,
the term ‘forced labor or/and indentured labor’ includes
forced or indentured child labor.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by this
section shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 708. RELIQUIDATION OF CERTAIN NUCLEAR FUEL AS-
SEMBLIES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 514 of the
Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1514) or any other provision
of law, upon proper request filed with the Secretary of the
Treasury not later than 90 days after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary shall—
(1) reliquidate as free of duty the entries listed
in subsection (b); and
(2) refund any duties paid with respect to such
entries as shown on Customs Service Collection Re-
ceipt Number 527006753.
(b) ENTRIES.—The entries referred to in subsection (a)
are as follows:
132
HR 434 EAS
Entry number
Date of entry
062–2320014–5 .................................
January 16, 1996
062–2320085–5 .................................
February 13, 1996
839–4030989–7 .................................
January 25, 1996
839–4031053–1 .................................
December 2, 1996
839–4031591–0 .................................
January 21, 1997.
SEC. 709. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING FAIR ACCESS
TO JAPANESE TELECOMMUNICATIONS FA-
CILITIES AND SERVICES.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Senate makes the following find-
ings:
(1) The United States has a deep and sustained
interest in the promotion of deregulation, competition,
and regulatory reform in Japan.
(2) New and bold measures by the Government
of Japan regarding regulatory reform will help re-
move the regulatory and structural impediments to
the effective functioning of market forces in the Japa-
nese economy.
(3) Regulatory reform will increase the efficient
allocation of resources in Japan, which is critical to
returning Japan to a long-term growth path powered
by domestic demand.
(4) Regulatory reform will not only improve
market access for United States business and other
foreign firms, but will also enhance consumer choice
and economic prosperity in Japan.
133
HR 434 EAS
(5) A sustained recovery of the Japanese econ-
omy is vital to a sustained recovery of Asian econo-
mies.
(6) The Japanese economy must serve as one of
the main engines of growth for Asia and for the global
economy.
(7) The Governments of the United States and
Japan reconfirmed the critical importance of deregu-
lation, competition, and regulatory reform when the
two governments established the Enhanced Initiative
on Deregulation and Competition Policy in 1997.
(8) Telecommunications is a critical sector re-
quiring reform in Japan, where the market is ham-
pered by a history of laws, regulations, and monopo-
listic practices that do not meet the needs of a com-
petitive market.
(9) As the result of Japan’s laws, regulations,
and monopolistic practices, Japanese consumers and
Japanese industry have been denied the broad benefits
of innovative telecommunications services, cutting
edge technology, and lower prices that competition
would bring to the market.
(10) Japan’s significant lag in developing
broadband and Internet services, and Japan’s lag in
the entire area of electronic commerce, is a direct re-
134
HR 434 EAS
sult of a noncompetitive telecommunications regu-
latory structure.
(11) Japan’s lag in developing broadband and
Internet services is evidenced by the following:
(A) Japan has only 17,000,000 Internet
users, while the United States has 80,000,000
Internet users.
(B) Japan hosts fewer than 2,000,000
websites, while the United States hosts over
30,000,000 websites.
(C) Electronic commerce in Japan is valued
at less than $1,000,000,000, while in the United
States electronic commerce is valued at over
$30,000,000,000.
(D) 19 percent of Japan’s schools are con-
nected to the Internet, while in the United States
89 percent of schools are connected.
(12) Leading edge foreign telecommunications
companies, because of their high level of technology
and innovation, are the key to building the necessary
telecommunications infrastructure in Japan, which
will only be able to serve Japanese consumers and in-
dustry if there is a fundamental change in Japan’s
regulatory approach to telecommunications.