Virtual Event | Reflecting on the 25th Anniversary of the Telecommunications Act of 1996

Please be advised: This event will premiere LIVE on this page at 12:00 p.m. EST, Monday, February 8.

Join Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Harold Furchtgott-Roth and Visiting Fellow Michael O’Rielly for a discussion on the impact of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

In some ways, 1996 was a troubled year for American politics. Partisanship gridlocked Washington, and government shutdowns became a regular part of life. Yet 1996 was also a year of hope. The federal debt crept towards zero. During his State of the Union Address in January, then-President Clinton declared that “The era of big government is over.” And on February 8, leaders of both parties met at the Library of Congress to celebrate the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 – the first major revision of federal communications law in over six decades, passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in both houses of Congress.

Furchtgott-Roth and O’Rielly are both former Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioners and served as congressional staff members working on the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Join us for a conversation as the former Commissioners reflect on the impact of this landmark legislation and what it holds for the future.