Wiring bills on Capitol Hill
WASHINGTON--Today in Washington it's as trendy for politicians to advocate technology as it is to pitch family values. And Rep. Rick White (R-Washington) can deliver digerati speeches with the best of them--he just happens to know his stuff.
![]() May 12, 1997, Rick White Wiring bills on Capitol Hill |
Latching on to the Net has been a brilliant strategy for White, who was reelected for a second term last November. This term, White has become even more visible in high-tech circles. And when the Supreme Court held a hearing on the CDA in March, people on the Hill were finally talking White's language.
On the snowy day of the CDA hearing, just before he rushed off to a Microsoft mixer, White sat down with NEWS.COM and eagerly discussed political influence, the caucus, and teaching Congress a few high-tech lessons.
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White: Well, frankly, I'm not quite sure. And that's one of the reasons they need to get a little bit more involved than they had been in the past. One of the things that we noticed in the Telecommunications Act was that the phone companies, the long distance companies, the cellular telephone companies, even the television industry were great at coming to Congress and saying, "Here, here's what we need to have. You're going to make a mistake if you don't write the bill in this way." The computer companies really didn't have a clue at the time how to tell us how they thought the legislation should turn out. (See related story.)
Now we're not going to do exactly what they said; we're not going to do exactly what anybody says. But it's important for that industry to be able to explain in a concise, effective way how it thinks the Internet ought to be regulated. And I think they are getting a lot better than they used to, but they still have a ways to go to be as good at that as they should be.
You know, Microsoft's in my district and so obviously it's my job to make sure I understand where they're coming from on a lot of these issues, but I think they don't expect me to do everything they say, and there's no way in the world I will do everything they say. I've got some broader responsibilities than just making sure I bring home the bacon to people in our district.
They are influential, and they've usually got a lot of good ideas and suggestions. I make it a point to get their input on a lot of things. But I do the same thing with people like Netscape and other companies and institutions around the country.
If you weren't from Washington would the Internet be this
important to you?
Part of my job is to represent my
district and my district is a very technically literate one, and so I think
it's important for me to get out there and be involved in some of these
issues. If I came from a farming district east of the mountains in the
state of Washington, I might have a personal interest in the Internet but I
would probably have to spend a little bit more time worrying about apples
and cherries than the Internet.
NEXT: Educating Congress
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Age: 44 Claim to fame: Founding member of the politicalional Internet Caucus Current campaign: Just say no to Net taxes Surfs the Net: To search for new ski boots, check weather reports, chat with Netizens, and email staff Homefront: Mixes with Microsoft, visits AT&T's campus |
![]() May 12, 1997, Rick White Educating Congress |
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![]() May 12, 1997, Rick White Regulation, e-commerce, and partisanship Is there a difference between Democrats and Republicans when it comes to Internet issues? |
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