Thank you to Cathy Reid for that warm introduction. It has always been a pleasure to work with you.

A hearty congratulations to Steve Case of America On-Line and Robert Decherd of Belo Corporation for the honors you received tonight. Each of you is a titan in your field, and to say I am impressed by your accomplishments would be an understatement.

If either of you would like to adopt me and add me to your will, please do not hesitate to do so. We can do the paperwork tonight. Steve, if you would like, we can even file the papers on-line.

I am certainly honored to be here tonight. Thank you to Patrick Maines and the Media Institute for inviting me to be a part of this special occasion.

"Freedom of Speech....a communications industry based on competition rather than regulation....and excellence in journalism......" In your own words, those are the three animating principles of The Media Institute. Each is music to my ears.

As an American, as chairman of the House committee with jurisdiction over communications and commercial matters, and as a Member of Congress......I salute you for building your organization on such a firm foundation. And I look forward to the future policy challenges we will meet together.

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was my committee's and Congress' major contribution to advancing the idea of "competition rather than regulation" in your industry. It reforms old laws to help open up new opportunities for consumers. It is fostering a competitive environment that all companies can benefit from, including America On-Line. If the FCC implements the law as Congress intended, I think it is safe to say that we 'ain't seen nothin' yet.

We only need to watch Steve Case to see how far good ideas and new technology can take us.

The sky is the limit......over 13 million subscribers, 10,000 employees and $2.2 billion in revenues. That is amazing!

We share your vision for the future in Congress. Taking steps to help build on the already impressive advances of the Internet, we passed legislation dealing with Internet tax relief, digital copyrights, children's privacy, and skilled worker visas. I scheduled 11 hearings at the full and subcommittee levels to help expand opportunities in Electronic Commerce - the new marketplace for the 21st Century. My goal - to make sure the old model of government regulation does not impede the great leaps forward that are still to come. The House-passed Internet tax legislation that would prohibit the FCC from regulating the Internet. Unfortunately, that provision became embroiled in Senate politics and did not make it into the final bill.

As we look to the future and chart a course for action on this and other matters, rest assured that we continue to share similar viewpoints. My vision for communications policy is quite simple: Government should help, not hinder the booming electronic marketplace; consumer choices should be maximized; and there should be ample competition. At the same time, safety, security and privacy on the INTERNET should be protected and advanced.

Whether we are talking about broadcasting regulations, free air time for political candidates, liquor advertising or the Internet, these issues are difficult and important. But I think you will agree with me when I say we must do everything necessary to make sure the First Amendment rights of adults are not trampled. As chairman of the House Commerce Committee, I am watching the FCC to make sure they do nothing of the sort.

As you know, Congress just passed and President Clinton has signed the Child On-Line Protection Act as part of the omnibus spending bill. At first glance, some of you may wonder whether the new law tramples in any way on freedom of speech. As the current occupant of James Madison's House seat and a proponent and protector of the First Amendment, I believe it does not.

The new child protection law is limited to the commercial sale of pornography on the World Wide Web. It does not affect chat rooms, bulletin board services, or e-mail. It is not meant to affect adults, and provides maximum flexibility for grown ups to access whatever they want on the INTERNET. The Child On-Line Protection Act is aimed at children ONLY. Quite simply, the new law requires commercial, on-line pornographers to screen out minors before they sell or distribute certain adult material on the World Wide Web.

Using the constitutionally-tested 'harmful to minors' standard, it requires proof of age. That proof can be established through the use of credit cards, adult access codes, PIN numbers and, in the future, digital signatures or other technologies.

They keep pornographic magazines in plain brown wrappers and out of the reach of children for good reasons. The new law does the same for the Web. Simple searches for words such as "teen" "dollhouse" or "cheerleading" (and, yes, "White House") can turn up 'teaser' pages for hard core pornography. There are 60,000 web sites featuring explicit and obscene material readily available to children. The new law helps parents protect them from this material. It does so without affecting adults' rights to view whatever they want.

This new law is being challenged by the ACLU and other organizations. On this one, they are clearly wrong. Children must be protected. I trust that the Justice Department will enforce and vigorously defend the new law.

It is not enough to support freedom of speech. We all favor that. I believe responsible players should help solve the problem.

Steve Case and other leaders are putting together industry standards for the protection of privacy on-line. That is a good development, and I look forward to their recommendations.

Tonight, I am asking everyone in this room and others in the industry to help us come up with effective ways to help parents and children deal with pornography in the digital environment.

Technology can help, but it is not the only solution. We also need to help educate parents about ways to shield their children from damaging material on the Web.

I invite your industry and the Media Institute to work on this problem and report back to me and my committee by the end of this school year with your plan for action. With your creativity, brain power and strong sense of corporate responsibility, I know you can come up with many good ideas.

I thank you in advance for your efforts on this and other important policy challenges we will face together during the 106th Congress.

Thanks in no small part to the wonderful contributions of people like Robert Decherd, Steve Case and members of the Media Institute, American is already a better place. Our First Amendment Rights are secure, our communications industry is clearly dominant and our nation can boast the best journalists and communicators in the world. Each of you here tonight deserves a share of the credit for those accomplishments.

Thank you, friends and benefactors of the Media Institute, for your many contributions.