Lawmaker is Author of Mandate Requiring National Broadband Plan 

 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), author of the requirement in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that directed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to develop a National Broadband Plan, today issued the following statement on the release of the plan:

“The National Broadband Plan will help keep America connected and competitive for generations to come and will unleash a tidal wave of investment and innovation,” said Markey. “From upgrading connections to schools, libraries, and health care facilities, to unlocking new innovation from an array of ‘energy apps’ for consumers though the Smart Grid, this Plan will help the U.S. tackle key national challenges.”

  “I commend the FCC for creating such a visionary Plan. Today, the Commission has given us a roadmap to a broadband future in which we consume less energy, improve the quality of health care through the use of technologies such as electronic medical records and ensure that every American has access to the tools they need to succeed.”

Rep. Markey is a current senior member and former chairman of the Energy and Commerce Communications, Technology and the Internet Subcommittee.

  The Plan includes several initiatives that Rep. Markey has championed for years. Specifically, Rep. Markey identified the following initiatives included as Plan priorities:

 
E-Rate:

The Plan recommends improving Internet connectivity to schools and libraries by upgrading the FCC’s E-Rate program to increase flexibility, improve program efficiency and foster innovation by promoting the most promising solutions and funding wireless connectivity to learning devices that go home with students.  Rep. Markey was the lead House author of the original E-Rate program (or “Education Rate”), which was created as a part of the 1996 Telecommunications Act.  On February 9, 2010, he introduced the E-Rate 2.0 Act (H.R. 4619) to update this highly successful program and help narrow the digital divide by increasing the range of the latest telecommunication services and devices accessible to low-income students.  The Plan’s recommendations on E-Rate are consistent with the provisions of Rep. Markey’s E-Rate legislation.

Ensuring Access to the Video and Communications Technologies of the 21st Century for People with Disabilities:

 As part of the strategy to expand broadband access, the Plan calls on Congress, the FCC and the Justice Department to modernize accessibility laws, rules and related subsidy programs to ensure that services and equipment are accessible to people with disabilities. On June 26, 2009, Rep. Markey re-introduced his comprehensive disabilities communications legislation, The Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (H.R. 3101), which amends the Communications Act to ensure that new Internet-enabled telephone and television products and services are accessible to and usable by people with disabilities.  Rep. Markey’s bill will also close existing disability gaps in telecommunications law to ensure access to the latest communications, video equipment and services for people with disabilities.

Saving Energy:

 Today, Rep. Markey is also introducing the Electricity Consumers’ Right to Know Act (e-KNOW) to establish consumers’ right to access their electricity information. Encouraging energy efficiency and conservation in our homes and businesses is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to strengthen our energy security and reduce global warming pollution. The e-KNOW bill ensures that electric utility consumers have access to free, timely, and secure data regarding their electricity prices and usage patterns so they can take charge of their energy use and save money on utility bills.  Rep. Markey’s e-KNOW legislation fulfills two key recommendations of the Plan; specifically, the Plan recommends Congress consider national legislation to cover consumer privacy and ensure consumers’ accessibility to their energy data, and the e-KNOW bill would do exactly that. Rep. Markey’s e-KNOW bill also adopts the Plan’s recommendation that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission develop national standards for consumer energy data accessibility that will help utilities and state regulatory agencies formulate their policies.

Modernizing Health Care:

The Plan cites Rep. Markey’s Independence at Home Act (H.R. 2560) introduced in May 2009 as an example of the type of outcomes-based health care reforms that the Department of Health and Human Services should evaluate. The Independence at Home program uses so-called “e-care” technology applications such as remote monitoring of blood pressure, weight and other health factors to help enable chronically ill patients to be treated in the comfort of their own homes. The Plan specifies that an Independence at Home pilot program could serve as an ideal venue for evaluating remote monitoring in order to understand its impact on quality, data capture and cost savings. Both the House and Senate health care reform bills include the Independence at Home demonstration program.

#  #  #