[10293] in Public-Access_Computer_Systems_Forum
Sense of Congress on the Internet
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Vigdor Schreibman - FINS)
Tue Jun 18 20:51:54 1996
Date: Tue, 18 Jun 1996 17:07:54 -0500 (CDT)
From: Vigdor Schreibman - FINS <fins@access.digex.net>
In-Reply-To: <Pine.SUN.3.91.960610153951.12567B-100000@essential.essential.org>
To: Multiple recipients of list PACS-L <PACS-L@UHUPVM1.UH.EDU>
Reply-To: Vigdor Schreibman - FINS <fins@access.digex.net>
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FINS SPECIAL REPORT June 17, 1996
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SENSE OF CONGRESS RES ON THE INTERNET
Propaganda for the Internet Community
Washington, DC--Sen. Larry Pressler (R-SD), and members of the Congressional
Internet Caucus introduced, June 13, a joint concurrent resolution in the
House and Senate (Res 104-192), expressing the Sense of Congress that Members
should understand and use the Internet to improve the democratic process and
communicate with the Internet community. The resolution was introduced two
days after the Community Decency Act, Section 5 of the Telecommunications
Reform Act of 1996, which attempted to institute pervasive regulation of
"indecent" speech on the Internet, was struck down as unconstitutional by the
US District Court, in _American Civil Liberties Union v. Janet Reno_.
The joint resolution, among other things, encourages Members to:
* advance the United States' world leadership in the digital world by
avoiding the passage of laws that stifle innovation and increase regulation
of the Internet;
* use the technology in personal, committee and leadership offices;
* work in a bipartisan fashion to facilitate the growth and advancement
of the Internet;
* maximize the openness of and participation in government by people
via the Internet so that constituents can have better access to their elected
representatives;
* promote commerce and free flow of information on the Internet; and
* work with the Internet community to receive its input on the issues
affecting the Internet that come before Congress.
However, the proposed resolution does not make most legislative
documents available to the Internet community in a timely manner, as
members have been promising for more than two years. High priced
lobbyists often have such public information long before it is available
to the people. Moreover, it also appears that Internet journalists will be
prevented from obtaining Congressional credentials, as other journalists,
in order to constrain competition arising from this new technology. The
first Internet journalist to seek credentials from the Periodical Press
Gallery, was denied membership by the Executive Committee of Correspondents,
last January [Fins- SR4-04]. This has resulted in a law suit, filed June 10,
in the case of _Vigdor Schreibman v. Holmes, et al._, [Fins-IPG-19]
charging the Executive Committee with unconstitutional conduct [Fins-NC4-12].
The Telecommunications Reform Act of 1996, was passed by Congress
without the consent of the people or their participation in the legislative
process, many public interest groups have complained [Fins-NC3-12]. The Act
was, instead, "a contract with 100 corporations in America," according to the
observations of Sen. Robert J. Kerry (D-NE). Almost $40 million dollars was
paid to members of Congress to secure a telecommunications infrastructure for
the "Robber Barons Of The '90s," as Common Cause, a citizens lobbying group
described the four telecommunications industries involved: local telephone,
long distance, broadcasters, and cable television companies [Fins-NC4-10].
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