[registrars] letter from Rep. Tauzin to DOC

[Larry Erlich <erlich@domainregistry.com>]

In case anyone missed this, following is
the letter sent today 
from from Rep. Billy Tauzin to DOC:

----------------------------------------------------


The Honorable Donald Evans Secretary
U.S. Department of Commerce
14th and Constitution Avenues, NW
Washington, DC 20230

Dear Mr. Secretary:

We are writing to you concerning the U.S.
Commerce Department s role in reviewing the recently announced
renegotiation of a 1999 contract between VeriSign and the
Internet Corporation for Assigned  Names and Numbers ( ICANN ).

As you know, the House Subcommittee on
Telecommunications and  the Internet recently held an oversight
hearing on ICANN s process for creating new top-level domains and
its role in Internet governance. That hearing raised questions
about ICANN s domain name selection process and whether it
afforded adequate due process to applicants. We remain
committed to ensuring a competitive and transparent domain name
system that promotes the interests of the U.S. economy and global
Internet policy and we are eager to work with the Bush
Administration toward these goals.

We understand that ICANN has chosen to
renegotiate its arrangement with VeriSign. Specifically,
if approved by the Department of Commerce and the ICANN
Board, the new agreement would eliminate the 1999 requirement that
VeriSign divest either its retail (registrar) or wholesale
(registry) business. Further, the revised agreement would provide VeriSign with an
additional six year term for the .com registry, with a presumption of
renewal, would allow VeriSign to extend the .net registry term to 2006,
and would require VeriSign to relinquish control of the .org
registry in 2002. Without taking a position on the
propriety of the revised agreement, we want to ensure that any actions by
ICANN support and encourage strong, vibrant competition. Accordingly,
we respectfully request that the Department fully analyze the
competitive issues that arise as a result of this agreement. Further, as Mr.
Cerf, Chairman of ICANN, said during our February hearing, ICANN
is a consensus development body which requires that major decisions
affecting the future of the Internet be done in an open and
transparent manner. Therefore, we urge you to exercise your oversight
authority to ensure that ICANN s final decision in this matter is made and
implemented in a transparent fashion.

Thank you for your consideration of this
matter. Please keep us apprised of developments in this area.

Sincerely, W.J. Billy Tauzin, Chairman
John D. Dingell, Ranking Member
Committee on Energy and Commerce

Fred Upton, Chairman
Edward J. Markey, Ranking Member
 Subcommittee on Telecommunications

cc: Vinton G. Cerf, Chairman, Internet
Corporation for Assigned  Names and Numbers