Kucinich vows to oppose Verizon deal

[helderheid]

Tells unions sale to FairPoint bad for rural areas
May 22, 2007 6:00 AM

PORTSMOUTH — Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich told a cheering crowd of nearly 1,000 labor and community activists from New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont that he would intervene to block Verizon's sale of its rural telecom business to FairPoint Communication.

The action sets the stage for a dramatic showdown between unions who are challenging the sale and the nation's telecommunications industry, which has long been immune from significant challenges for its failure to provide rural communities with equal access to fiber optic service.

Kucinich, chairman of the Domestic Policy subcommittee of the Government Oversight and Reform Committee of the House of Representatives, announced at Prescott Park on the banks of Portsmouth Harbor on Saturday that he would hold a hearing to review Verizon's sale to FairPoint.

Additionally, the Ohio Democrat, whose subcommittee has jurisdiction over the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said he would ask both the FCC and the SEC to closely examine the deal to determine whether or not the agreement between Verizon, the number two telecom company, and FairPoint, the number 15 telecom company, was in the public interest.

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