,,iii  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #aeg  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,may #bc1 
#bjac ,ms4 ,klobuchar 7for herself1 ,mr4
 ,johnson of ,south ,dakota1 ,mrs4      
,fischer1 ,mr4 ,sanders1 ,mr4 ,leahy1   
,mr4 ,merkley1 ,mrs4 ,boxer1 ,mr4       
,pryor1 ,mr4 ,grassley1 ,mr4 ,boozman1  
,mr4 ,enzi1 ,ms4 ,baldwin1 and ,mr4     
,thune7 submitted the following         
resolution2 which was referred to the   
,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and  
,transportation  ,,resolution           
,expressing the sense of the ,senate    
that telephone service must be improved 
in rural areas of the ,united ,states   
and that no entity may unreasonably     
discriminate against telephone users in 
those areas4  ,whereas all people in the
 ,united ,states rely on quality1       
efficient1 and dependable telephone     
service in many aspects of life1        
including conducting business1 securing 
the safety of the public1 and connecting
 families2 ,whereas multiple surveys    

conducted by the ,national ,exchange    
,carrier ,association revealed that     
complaints of uncompleted telephone     
calls persist1 with the most recent     
survey in ,october #bjab indicating a   
#da percent increase in uncompleted     
calls between ,march and ,september of  
the same year2 ,whereas the ,national   
,exchange ,carrier ,association and     
rural telecommunications carriers in    
,april #bjab supplied information that--
  7#a7 #f4d percent of calls to rural   
areas failed1 but only #j4e percent of  
calls to urban areas failed2 and  7#b7  
#aa percent of calls to rural areas were
 either poor quality or were delayed1   
compared to only #e percent in urban    
areas2  ,whereas the ,federal           
,communications ,commission was made    
aware of an issue regarding telephone   
service connection in rural areas in    
,november #bjaj and has since issued a  
declaratory ruling and a notice of      
proposed rulemaking with respect to the 
issue and has reached a settlement with 

one telecommunications carrier2         
,whereas1 in a declaratory ruling in    
,february #bjab1 the ,federal           
,communications ,commission made it     
clear that blocking or otherwise        
restricting telephone service is a      
violation of section #bja7;b7 of the    
,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg      
,u4,s4,c4 #bja7;b771 which prohibits    
unjust or unreasonable practices1 and   
section #bjb7;a7 of that ,act 7#dg      
,u4,s4,c4 #bjb7;a771 which outlines the 
duty of a telecommunications carrier to 
refrain from discrimination2 ,whereas   
actions by the ,federal ,communications 
,commission have not significantly      
decreased the prevalence of telephone   
calls being rerouted by                 
telecommunications carriers and some    
,states are seeing an increase in       
complaints as of ,april #bjac2 ,whereas 
telephone communications are vital to   
keeping rural areas of the ,united      
,states competitive in the economy1 and 
a low rate of telephone call completion 

results in economic injury to rural     
businesses1 including farmers1 trucking 
companies1 and suppliers who have seen  
thousands of dollars in business lost   
when telephone calls are not completed2 
,whereas the safety of the public is at 
risk from a lack of quality telephone   
communications1 including #iaa services2
 ,whereas schools depend on telephone   
calls to notify students and parents of 
emergencies1 and health care centers    
depend on telecommunications services to
 save lives and to communicate with     
rural patients2 ,whereas small1 local   
telecommunications carriers are losing  
valuable1 multi-line business           
subscribers because of a lack of quality
 telecommunications services1 which is  
financially detrimental to those        
carriers and adversely affects the rural
 communities served by those carriers2  
and ,whereas it may cost a              
telecommunications carrier serving a    
rural area hundreds of dollars to       
investigate each complaint of an        

uncompleted telephone call3 ,now1       
therefore1 be it  ,that it is the sense 
of the ,senate that--  7#a7 all         
providers must appropriately complete   
calls to all areas of the ,united       
,states regardless of the technology    
used by the providers2  7#b7 no entity  
may unreasonably discriminate against   
telephone users in rural areas of the   
,united ,states2 and  7#c7 the ,federal 
,communications ,commission should--    
7,a7 aggressively pursue those that     
violate the rules of the ,federal       
,communications ,commission and create  
these problems1 and impose swift and    
meaningful enforcement actions to       
discourage--  7i7 practices leading to  
telephone calls not being completed in  
rural areas of the ,united ,states2 and 
7ii7 unreasonable discrimination against
 telephone users in rural areas of the  
,united ,states2 and  7,b7 move forward 
with clear1 comprehensive1 and          
enforceable actions in order to         
establish a robust and definitive       

solution to discrimination against      
telephone users in rural areas of the   
,united ,states4