Rep. Markey, you are no Joe Barton

Did you read the speech from Ed Markey last week?

What a difference a year makes. Last year the congressional Energy and Commerce Committee overseeing the E-Rate was run by Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX). This year, Ed Markey (D-MA) heads the Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee overseeing the E-Rate. Rep. Barton said openly that he wanted to kill the E-Rate, and failing that, to get the funding into the Treasury and bleed the E-Rate dry. Rep. Markey seems to be claiming credit for creating the E-Rate. (Now that Al Gore has left public office, perhaps Rep. Markey could persuade Republicans to start calling E-Rate "the Markey Tax.")

Sounds like the E-Rate is secure for the foreseeable future.