HOW TO CONTACT THE FCC:
If you agree with the comments NPTN submitted to the FCC, we urge you to contact the FCC and register your views. If you send only one letter, please send it to the Honorable Reed Hundt, Chairman of the FCC and of the Federal/State Joint Board on Universal Service. His address is:
The Hon. Reed E. Hundt
Chairman
Federal Communications Commission
1919 M Street N.W.
Washington DC 20554
Be sure to reference the docket number 96-45 and the name National Public Telecomputing Network in your letter. A customized letter to Mr. Hundt is better than a form letter but for some suggestions on talking points, see the model letter below. Please send your letter before June 30, 1996, and please send us an e-mail to info@nptn.org to let us know that you contacted Mr. Hundt.
HOW TO CONTACT MEMBERS OF CONGRESS ON THE RELEVANT SUBCOMMITTEES:
We encourage you to write letters, send faxes, or make phone calls to the members of Congress on the relevant subcommittees, urging them to support the proposals made in NPTN's comments to the FCC. (A letter is better than a fax, and a fax is better than a phone call.) A list of those subcommittee members appears below, with contact information for each member.
Please send your letter before June 30, 1996. Please send us an e-mail to info@nptn.org to let us know whom you contacted and what method you used.
Here is a sample letter which may be customized as appropriate.
Dear [Senator or Representative] [Last name]:
As you know, in its filing 96-45, the Federal Communications Commission recently solicited comments regarding the universal service requirements mandated under the 1996 Telecommunications Act. In your role as a member of the [Senate Subcommittee on Communications/House Subcommittee on Telecommunications & Finance] you are in a position to influence the debate on universal service.
As a [constituent and/or citizen concerned about universal service issues
and/or employee/user of community networks], I am writing to urge you to
support the policies proposed by the National Public Telecomputing Network
(NPTN) in its comments to the FCC. A copy of the NPTN comments is
available on the World Wide Web at
(http://www.nptn.org//ofcn.org/cyber.serv/solon/univ.service/).
The NPTN comments propose that in order to ensure universal access to e-mail and other essential Internet services, the federal government should support community organizations so that they may build community networks.
This proposal has several advantages. Community networks are a proven way to provide Internet access to the general public, including underserved rural and urban communities. Community networks provide access to schools, libraries, and hospitals, as required by the Telecommunications Act. Because community networks are bottom-up, locally-based organizations, they can be tailored to the special technical and substantive needs of the community. The NPTN proposal is content-neutral and technology-neutral, unlike proposals that require subsidies to access-providers or content-providers. The result will be to encourage competition in technology and content to serve the needs of community networks. Finally, because federal support would act as seed money to attract other donors, the contribution of the taxpayers would be leveraged better than it would with direct corporate subsidies.
For all these reasons, I urge you to support the proposals contained in the comments of NPTN to the FCC.
Yours truly,
[Your name]
[Your address]
HOW TO CONTACT THE SENATE SUBCOMMITTEE ON COMMUNICATIONS:
To send mail to a United States Senator, use the following addressing format:
Subcommittee on Communications of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Comunications:
Senator Party State/ Phone Fax
Name District Number Number
_______________________________________________________________
Pressler, Larry R SD 1-202-224-5842 1-202-224-1630
(Chairman)
Stevens, Ted R AK 1-202-224-3004 1-202-224-1044
McCain, John R AZ 1-202-224-2235 1-202-224-8938
Burns, Conrad R. R MT 1-202-224-2644 1-202-224-8594
Gorton, Slade R WA 1-202-224-3441 1-202-224-9393
Lott, Trent R MS 1-202-224-6253 1-202-224-2262
Ashcroft, John R MO 1-202-224-6154 1-202-224-5126
Hutchison, Kay Bailey R TX 1-202-224-5922 1-202-224-0776
Hollings, Ernest F. D SC 1-202-224-6121 1-202-224-4293
Inouye, Daniel K. D HI 1-202-224-3934 1-202-224-6747
Ford, Wendell H. D KY 1-202-224-4343 1-202-224-1144
Exon, J. James D NE 1-202-224-4224 1-202-224-5213
Kerry, John F. D MA 1-202-224-2742 1-202-224-8525
Breaux, John B. D LA 1-202-224-4623 1-202-224-2435
Rockefeller, John D. D WV 1-202-224-6472 1-202-224-7665
HOW TO CONTACT THE HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS & FINANCE:
To send mail to a Member of the United States House of Representatives, use the following addressing format:
Substitute the following building names for the acronyms used in the list below:
* RHOB - Rayburn House Office Building
* LHOB - Longworth House Office Building
* CHOB - Cannon House Office Building
Subcommittee on Telecommunications & Finance of the House Committee on Commerce
Member Party State/ Room Phone Fax
Name District Number Number Number
____________________________________________________________________________
Fields, Jack R TX08 2228 RHOB 1-202-225-4901 1-202-225-6899
(Chairman)
Oxley, Michael R OH04 2233 RHOB 1-202-225-2676 na
Moorhead, Carlos R CA27 2346 RHOB 1-202-225-4176 1-202-226-1279
(Vice Chairman)
Tauzin, W.J. (Billy) R LA03 2183 RHOB 1-202-225-4031 1-202-225-0563
Schaefer, Dan R CO06 2353 RHOB 1-202-225-7882 1-202-225-7885
Barton, Joe R TX06 2264 RHOB 1-202-225-2002 1-202-225-3052
Hastert, J. R IL14 2453 RHOB 1-202-225-2976 1-202-225-0697
Stearns, Cliff R FL06 2352 RHOB 1-202-225-5744 1-202-225-3973
Paxon, Bill R NY27 2436 RHOB 1-202-225-5265 1-202-225-5910
Gillmor, Paul R OH05 1203 LHOB 1-202-225-6405 1-202-225-1985
Klug, Scott R WI02 1113 LHOB 1-202-225-2906 1-202-225-6942
Cox, Christopher R CA47 2402 RHOB 1-202-225-5611 1-202-225-9177
Deal, Nathan R GA09 1406 LHOB 1-202-225-5211 1-202-225-8272
Frisa, Daniel R NY04 1529 LHOB 1-202-225-5516 1-202-225-3187
White, Rick R WA01 116 CHOB 1-202-225-6311 1-202-225-3524
Coburn, Tom R OK02 511 CHOB 1-202-225-2701 1-202-225-3038
Bliley, Thomas R VA07 2241 RHOB 1-202-225-2815 1-202-225-0011
(Ex Officio)
Markey, Edward D MA07 2133 RHOB 1-202-225-2836 1-202-225-8689
Hall, Ralph D TX04 2236 RHOB 1-202-225-6673 1-202-225-3332
Bryant, John D TX05 2330 RHOB 1-202-225-2231 1-202-225-9721
Boucher, Rick D VA09 2245 RHOB 1-202-225-3861 1-202-225-0442
Studds, Gerry D MA10 237 CHOB 1-202-225-3111 1-202-225-2212
Gordon, Bart D TN06 2201 RHOB 1-202-225-4231 1-202-225-6887
Furse, Elizabeth D OR01 316 CHOB 1-202-225-0855 1-202-225-9497
Rush, Bobby D IL01 131 CHOB 1-202-225-4372 1-202-226-0333
Eshoo, Anna D CA14 308 CHOB 1-202-225-8104 1-202-225-8890
Klink, Ron D PA04 125 CHOB 1-202-225-2565 1-202-225-2274
Collins, Cardiss D IL07 2308 RHOB 1-202-225-5006 1-202-225-8396
Richardson, Bill D NM03 2209 RHOB 1-202-225-6190 1-202-225-1950
Engel, Eliot D NY17 1433 LHOB 1-202-225-2464 1-202-225-5513
Dingell, John D MI16 2328 RHOB 1-202-225-4071 1-202-225-7426
Last Modified May 28, 1996 John M. Kurilec (jmk@nptn.org)