Published: January 08, 2009 07:34 pm      

Boucher tapped for new chairmanship

WASHINGTON — A veteran Southwest Virginia lawmaker is preparing to take the gavel of a powerful committee that will place him at the forefront of the nation’s telecommunications policy.

U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., was chosen Thursday to chair the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Sub-committee on Communications, Technology and the Internet. Boucher, who has led the fight in recent years for high-speed broadband deployment in Southwest Virginia, will now be able to further his work on a range of telecommunication issues, spokeswoman Courtney Lamie said.

“Just as first canals, railroads and interstate highways were the major arteries of commerce in earlier eras, in the 21st century, access to broadband telecommunications will be a defining feature of economic success for our communities,” Boucher said.

Lamie said Boucher has served for two decades on the House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Internet and intellectual property.

“As one of only three members of the House to serve on both the Energy and Commerce and Judiciary Committees — the two committees most involved in crafting Internet and information technology policy — Congressman Boucher is uniquely positioned to lead congressional efforts in this arena,” Lamie said in a press release. “He is also a co-founder and current co-chair of the Congressional Internet Caucus, which serves as an educational resource for the Congress on Internet related policy matters. The caucus has grown to more than 170 members of the House and Senate.”

Boucher has been focusing on information technology in Washington for more than two decades. He authored a law in 1992 that allowed the first commercial traffic on the Internet, thus opening the door to electronic commerce. In 1986, Lamie said Boucher proposed the first Satellite Home Viewer Act, and he mediated the negotiations between broadcasters and satellite carriers that led to its passage in 1988.

Lamie said Boucher also introduced with then Sen. Al Gore the first bills enabling telephone companies to compete with cable television by offering video programming packages in their telephone service areas. Lamie said the measures were forerunners of the 1996 Telecommunications Act.

Lamie said Boucher has worked for the past decade to deploy broadband networks in the Ninth Congressional network. Lamie said Boucher also introduced the lead legislation to help keep telephone service affordable for rural Americans.

“Largely, due to his efforts, Southwest Virginia has one of the most capable broadband networks to be found in rural America,” Lamie said.

– Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com