Kerry Joins Effort to Protect Communities’ Rights to Provide Broadband

[kerrygoddess]

John Kerry Joins Effort to Protect Communities’ Rights to Provide Broadband Services
September 23rd, 2005

John Kerry has joined Senators Frank Lautenberg and John McCain’s effort to ensure that communities across the country have equal access to developing broadband internet technologies.

The Community Broadband Act, which Kerry is co-sponsoring, was introduced to ensure that municipal governments have the right to provide high-speed Internet service to their citizens. Many communities in the U.S. are underserved or have no service at all.

“We have to let cities and towns provide their own internet service, especially in rural areas or low-income areas that aren’t currently being served,” said Senator Kerry. “Hurricane Katrina reminds us how important it is to encourage and develop new communications systems in all our communities. One thing is very clear, and that is the desperate need to beef up our existing communications capabilities to keep every community in America connected and safe.”

MORE - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=658

[Mass]

1. He definitively never rest - also today this press release about the SBA .

Kerry Demands Administration Stop Delaying Help to Women Business Owners
Friday, September 23, 2005

Five Year Delay Costing $7 Billion a Year in Lost Contracts

WASHINGTON -- Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), top Democrat on the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, today continued his efforts to get the Bush administration to stop delaying and immediately implement a long-overdue contracting program targeting women-owned businesses. The program was to have begun almost five years ago and, because it has not been implemented, is costing women-owned businesses $7 billion a year in lost contracts.

Small Business Administration head Hector Barreto responded to Kerry's previous letter, saying that the agency would begin the process of starting the Women-Owned Small Business Set-Aside Program on July 30, 3005. However, the SBA has failed to meet this deadline.

“Women-owned businesses are asking, ‘When will the Administration keep its word? When will women get their fair share?’� Kerry said. “Women-owned businesses account for 30 percent of the companies in America, yet this Administration won't even get them 5 percent of federal contracts. And it’s costing them big time -- $7 billion a year in lost contracts. I’m going to continue to hound the White House and hound the SBA until this program is implemented and women business owners are getting their fair share.�

The Women-Owned Small Business Set-Aside Program was signed into law by President Clinton in 2000, but the SBA under President Bush has delayed its implementation for almost five years.

In addition to this delay, the Bush Administration has failed to meet the 5 percent goal for women-owned business’s share of federal contracts throughout Bush’s entire tenure in office.

To read Kerry’s or Barreto’s letter, please visit http://sbc.senate.gov/democrat/correspondence.cfm

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http://sbc.senate.gov/democrat/lettersout/050923-WomenSetAsideProgramLetter.pdf