“Good Morning.  Today, the Committee meets to mark up H.R. 1542 the Internet Freedom and Broadband Deployment Act -- legislation that I am proud to have introduced with Mr. Dingell and many of our colleagues.

            “Broadband services offer consumers new ways to communicate, learn, do business, and entertainment themselves.  But broadband services are not nearly as available as their slower, dial-up counterparts.  While broadband deployment has begun to speed up in urban and densely-populated suburban areas, broadband deployment is almost nonexistent in rural areas.

            “That’s why we are here today...to give carriers a greater economic incentive to deploy broadband services more rapidly everywhere in the United States.  I am confident that H.R. 1542 provides the avenue to achieve this end in an efficient manner.

            “This bill provides the right amount of deregulation for broadband services.  It rejects the application of antiquated telephone rules to a new market like broadband.  And it seeks to maximize investment and innovation in new facilities. 

            “One housekeeping note, as Members will notice when I offer my amendment in the nature of a substitute, I have made a drafting change with respect to one of the definitions in the bill.  We've done so in a way that will not affect the form of all the amendments prepared for today's markup.  I'll explain the change when I offer the substitute.

            “I want to thank Chairman Upton for moving this bill so expeditiously through the Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee, as well as for his efforts this week to address the need for stronger FCC enforcement authority.

            “I am very pleased that the Committee is marking up this legislation this morning and I look forward to continuing to work with Members of the Committee through the legislative process on this bill in the weeks to come.  ”