House Commerce Committee Chmn. Joe Barton (R-Tex.) is balking at Senate VoIP E-911 provisions in the port security bill (HR- 4954) headed for conference, Hill sources and industry sources said. 揃arton抯 position is that the House addressed E-911 and addressed it well?in passing the telecom bill (HR-5252) in June, a spokesman for Barton said: 揥e hope the full Senate takes it up.?E-911 advocates pleaded with House and Senate leaders to preserve the measure in conference in a letter sent Tues. to House and Senate leaders. The House bill differs from the Senate measure on a central point: Waivers for VoIP providers unable to comply with an immediate requirement to make E-911 service available to all consumers. It isn抰 clear whether Barton opposes the waiver provision or is acting on a jurisdictional challenge. nnThe Senate bill dropped language that would have allowed companies to apply for waivers from the FCC -- yielding to pressure from safety bodies strongly opposed to waivers, Hill sources said. Barton is said to object to the Senate bill, and doesn抰 want to hash it out in a conference committee, sources said. But some Senate Republicans are miffed: 揑t抯 sad that Republicans are playing politics with public safety,?said one Senate source. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va.) is a strong backer of the bill, as is Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.); neither has taken a public position on a conference. Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) promised Rockefeller he抎 support the E-911 provisions in the port bill, also pledging that the port bill wouldn抰 be a vehicle for telecom legislation -- a commitment important to Ranking Member Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii).
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