Congressional leader pushes for fewer rules

More than anything else, Tom Bliley would like to be remembered as a deregulator.

The retiring chairman of the House Commerce Committee has a long legacy on that front, from co-authoring the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to privatizing the commercial satellite industry this year. Nearly any piece of legislation affecting the New Economy in recent years has passed through his committee.

When the Republicans took control of the House in 1995 they imposed term limits on how long one could chair a committee. His pending exit from the chairmanship is what the Richmond, Va., politician and former mortician called "a little added impulse" to not seek re-election to Congress this year after 20 years in that body.

There remain a number of unresolved issues in Congress, including taxes and privacy on the Internet. Other issues, such as the recent vote on a bill that would eliminate fees the Bells have to pay to competitors for connecting to ISPs--known as reciprocal compensation--await Bliley's signal for further action.

Bliley may still be involved in the debate on the New Economy after the election. In an interview with CNET News.com, Bliley said he hadn't decided where he'd be working after he retires later this year, but he did say he expected to spend two or three days a week in Washington, a hint that lobbying or political consulting could be in his future.

CNET News.com: Are you planning on having a markup (debate and vote) on reciprocal compensation, and if so, when?
Bliley: Well, we're considering our options. There were a lot of questions raised in the subcommittee markup, and these in my opinion will need to be answered before we move to full committee markup. We've got a lot on the agenda. But we're certainly considering all our options with reciprocal payments, and we'll just have to see if we can get the kinks and bugs worked out.

Could a possible hike in Internet rates be one of those kinks?
Well, that's very much on the brothers' and sisters' minds as we wind down this Congress. I mean, nobody wants to see that happen. So these are part of those sticky wickets that have to be dealt with.

Are we seeing too many companies merge? Should they be putting those efforts into new services or competition?
First of all, the mergers are neither good or bad. It depends on each one and you have to judge them on their merits. We're in a global economy and only the most efficient will survive. Obviously, in these mergers that's one of the big things these people are looking for. Economies of scale, how can we produce a better product at a better price and still remain profitable to our shareholders who, after all, put up the money for us to do these things.

On the other hand, we created a highway. Nobody knew how they'd use it, but we knew people would come and use it. No less a person than Alan Greenspan has said the Internet is fueling this economic growth we're experiencing. Four years ago, wireless was very expensive and very few people had it. Today it is as common as a dishwater. I mean, it's everywhere. So the only scary part about it is when you're driving down the street and you see that SUV coming at you and the driver is on his cell phone.

Next: AOL-Time Warner, Net taxes and other issues