Larry Pressler

Mr. PRESSLER

Mr. PRESSLER. Will the Senator agree to set it aside and give us a chance to look at it? It will take us 15 minutes. We want to take a look at it.

Mr. PRESSLER. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. PRESSLER. Will my colleague yield? I have a unanimous-consent request. May I make this unanimous-consent request?

Mr. PRESSLER. No; we are proceeding to vote on the McCain amendment.

Mr. PRESSLER. Sure.

Mr. PRESSLER. Yes; I am trying to get two votes out of the way so we can get moving along, so to speak. We still have some Senators coming back from the Les Aspin function. Then we will have a full force, and we will then do some business.

Mr. PRESSLER. There must be no time.

Mr. PRESSLER. I suggest that the hour of 4 p.m. has arrived and there would be no time to divide.

Mr. PRESSLER. Then I ask unanimous consent that at the end of 3 minutes the Senate will vote on the two votes that have been requested.

Mr. PRESSLER. I ask unanimous consent that the next vote be set aside temporarily.

Mr. PRESSLER. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. PRESSLER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. PRESSLER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Bumpers amendment be voted on in 10 minutes and the Senator from Mississippi have 10 minutes to speak on it--5 minutes each. At that point we will move to table the Bumpers amendment.

Mr. PRESSLER. That is fine.

Mr. PRESSLER. I move to table, and I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. PRESSLER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now return to the Dorgan amendment No. 1278 and that there be 20 minutes for debate to be equally divided in the usual form, with no amendments in order to the Dorgan amendment; that at the conclusion or yielding back of time I will be recognized to move to table the Dorgan amendment 1278, which deals with the 35 percent for national markets being lowered to 25 percent of the national media market, and this would move us forward. The Dorgan amendment is ready for voting. I would plead with everybody to let us vote on this and then proceed. My motion would ask that we go to the Dorgan amendment 1278.

Mr. PRESSLER. Let me say that the Dorgan amendment came up first, and we are struggling to move forward here. Several Senators are seeking agreements that I am not in a position to give. This is something we could get done and behind us in the next 30 to 35 minutes. It is a major amendment involving the percentage of national media that one company or group can control. It is now set at 35 percent in the bill. The Dorgan amendment, as I understand it, would strike that and bring it back to 25 percent. There has been debate on it. I think there is only one more speaker. I ask that we lay aside the amendment of the Senator from North Dakota, Senator Conrad, if he will be kind enough to let us do that, and go to the Dorgan amendment, get a vote on it, and keep on going from there.

Mr. PRESSLER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent there be 20 minutes for debate equally divided on amendment No. 1278, and at the conclusion or yielding back of time, I be recognized to table the Dorgan amendment No. 1278.

Mr. PRESSLER. I make a plea again to my friend from North Dakota, let us go to the Dorgan amendment for 20 minutes and vote on it, and meanwhile have intense discussions so we can cover everyone's needs. That would allow us to accomplish one more amendment. I think we are in a very friendly position trying to work this out.

Mr. PRESSLER. Reserving the right to object. I appreciate what the Senator is doing. We also have to work in an agreement for debate on the Simon-Dole amendment, if that is to occur.

Mr. PRESSLER. I do not know. We all need to have a little meeting about that and work that through. Is it possible to go to the Dorgan amendment for the 20 minutes, get that voted on, and during that time, when people are speaking on it, we will try to work all this out in good faith? And I will act in very good faith.

Mr. PRESSLER. He is in the Cloakroom and ready to go.

Mr. PRESSLER. Mr. President, I rise in opposition to this amendment. I believe we have reached a point where, through competition, we can achieve more than by Government regulation to keep certain competitors down. I rather doubt that any one competitor is going to get a huge dominance in the American television market, because we have so many competitors. We have an increasing number. When we have dial video, cable, PBS, the networks, I have here listed before me, the percentage of national coverage now by the top TV groups, they will face increasing competition. Frequently, business comes to Washington seeking regulation to avoid competition. To those people who want to put arbitrary limits on how much success one company can have, I would say that they should be prepared to compete. Now, a 25-percent limitation may well force some groups or individuals or companies to operate regionally, or to seek a niche market. I believe we have enough competition to give a variety of voices. That is particularly true if we pass this bill. There will be an explosion of new services and alternatives. In fact, I would even raise the limit to 50 percent or higher if I were doing it myself. The Commerce Committee worked out a 35-percent compromise--the Democrats and Republicans--on the committee, as well as in consultation with many other Senators. I think 35 percent is a good compromise for the Senate. I expect that the House will probably come with 50 percent. I look upon going back to 25 percent as a move away from competition. Why not 20 percent? Why not 10 percent? Why not 15 percent? All these percentages are anticompetitive, because it is businessmen coming to Washington who are seeking regulation to keep their competitors out. What they need to do is to compete, and they will find that they will do well. Mr. President, the broadcasters in cable are not the only means by which video programming, for example, is distributed to consumers. More than 2 million households receive programming utilizing backyard dishes, availing them of numerous free services. SMATV services are utilized by another million subscribers, wireless cable has attracted over half a million subscribers. Recently direct broadcast satellite systems began offering very high- quality services. It is estimated that these services will attract more than 1 million subscribers in 1995. Looming large on the fringes of the market are the telephone companies. The telephone companies pose a very highly credible competitive threat because of their specific identities, the technology they are capable of deploying, the technological evolution their networks are undergoing for reasons apart from video distribution, and, last but by no means least, their financial strength and perceived staying power. In 1993, the seven regional Bell operating companies [RBOC's] and GTE had combined revenues in excess of $100 billion. All of the major telephone companies in the United States have plans to enter the video distribution business, and several are currently striving mightily to do so in the face of heavy cable industry opposition, opposition which speaks for itself in terms of the perceived strength of the competition telephone companies are expected to bring to bear. Recently three of the RBOC's--Bell Atlantic, Nynex, and Pacific Telesis--announced the formation of a joint venture, capitalized initially to the tune of $300 million, for the express purpose of developing entertainment, information and interactive programming for new telco video distribution systems. This group has hired Howard Stringer, formerly of CBS, to head the venture and Michael Ovitz of Creative Artists Agency of Los Angeles to advise on programming and technology. A key aspect of this effort is development of navigator software that eventually could replace VCR's and remote control units to help customers find programs and services. Three other RBOC's-- BellSouth, Ameritech, and SBC Communications are forming a joint venture with Disney, with a combined investment of more than $500 million during the next 5 years. The goal of this venture is specifically to develop, market and deliver video programming. On top of all this activity involving the creation of new distribution paths and delivery of new entertainment and information services to the home, there has been a simultaneous revolution in the sophistication of the communications equipment employed in the home. Today more than 84 million U.S. households have VCR's. In 1994, U.S. households spent as much money purchasing and renting videos, $14 billion, as the combined revenues of all basic cable, $4.6, and the three established broadcast networks, $9.4, in 1993. In 1994, 37 percent of U.S. households owned personal computers. In 1993, estimated retail sales of North American computer software sales were $6.8 billion.

Mr. PRESSLER. Mr. President, I move to table the amendment.

Mr. PRESSLER. I move to table the amendment.