The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“MERGER BETWEEN AMERITECH AND SBC COMMUNICATION” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E675 on April 15, 1999.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
MERGER BETWEEN AMERITECH AND SBC COMMUNICATION
______
HON. JOHN SHIMKUS
of illinois
in the house of representatives
Thursday, April 15, 1999
Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, there are a number of developments regarding the proposed merger of Ameritech and SBC Communication that merit our attention, specifically recent actions taken by the Federal Communication Commission. While I have not taken a position on the merger and do not plan to do so at this time, I find the process the FCC is proposing to be arbitrary and inconsistent decisionmaking.
The FCC has proposed to add an additional 90-day process that includes staff discussions, another Commission en banc hearing and another round of public comment to help in reviewing this merger. I find this unprecedented additional process quite worrisome since the Commission has already held a public proceeding which took nine months and generated 12,000 pages of written submissions from over 50 parties. It is hard to believe that the Commission might need more information to determine what sort of conditions it should impose on these companies. I am also puzzled by the fact that Chairman Kennard has not seen fit to use such a process with any other mergers he has considered recently in the communications industry.
Mr. Speaker, this merger was announce 11 months ago. During this time, the Department of Justice reviewed the proposal extensively and just ruled on April 8, that it is not anti-competitive--however, the FCC continues to drag it's feet in deciding on this matter. I firmly believe that the FCC has a duty to uphold in the strongest possible terms the ``public interest'' when looking at a merger. However, I do not believe that it gives them cover to devise a unique, convoluted process which applies a different standard and much stricter burden of proof than what was acceptable for similar cases.
At this time, Ameritech and SBC still remain in the regulatory swamp which unfairly disadvantages the competitive positions of both companies. I strongly encourage the FCC to consider the Ameritech-SBC merger with the same speed, efficiency and fairness that it has considered other recent mergers in the telecommunications industry. For the FCC to do otherwise is something we should all find intolerable.
____________________
