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To: long-gone who wrote (56449)	7/19/2000 8:40:10 AM
From: Rarebird	Respond to of 116822

JAPAN, US AGREE ON NTT RATE CUTS Wednesday, July 19, 2000 07:24 AM EDT TOKYO, Jul 19, 2000 (AsiaPulse via COMTEX) -- Japan and the US finally resolved their differences Tuesday over reductions in interconnection fees charged by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp (TSE:9432) to other carriers using its lines. Under the agreement forged at a vice ministers meeting Tuesday evening, new common carrier telecom firms using local lines of NTT East Corp and NTT West Corp will see their interconnection fees drop by just over 20 percent in two years. Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and US President Bill Clinton are expected to give official approval to the deal at their summit Thursday. The agreement is a first step toward the creation of fair competition in the Japanese communications market, analysts say, adding that the pact will promote the entry of new telecom carriers into the field and result in lower rates. The basic framework of the agreement calls for NTT to slash its interconnection fees by 22.5 percent over three years, though the use of fiscal 1999 figures on call volume and other such information could expand the targeted reduction to about 25 percent. The deal also calls for 80-90 percent of the total cuts to be phased in over the first two years, which is expected to result in fees being trimmed by just over 20 percent during that span. The US had been calling for a 22.5 percent reduction in two years, before pushing the overall cuts to at least 40 percent at some time in the future. Tokyo and Washington will soon begin talks to consider more cuts in the fees in the third year of their agreement or later. (C) 2000 Asia Pulse Pte Ltd News provided by COMTEX comtexnews.com

To: long-gone who wrote (56449)	7/19/2000 8:47:39 AM
From: Rarebird	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 116822

Bush calls for more cooperation Tuesday, July 18, 2000 04:29 PM EDT CHICAGO, July 18 (UPI) -- Texas Gov. W. Bush Tuesday pledged to reduce government's role in education in an appearance before the National Conference of State Legislatures. "A president should not be the local superintendant of schools," he said. "Those who know your name are most likely to know your needs." He added that schools that receive federal dollars "must show us what results they are getting and strong academic improvement should produce bonuses (for teachers)." However, opposition groups quickly lined up to criticize Bush, citing a study by the Children's Rights Council ranking Texas as the third-worst state in which to raise children. The likely Republican presidential candidate broke no new policy ground in his appearance. Instead he promised to move beyond the "command and control structure" he said dominates the federal government. "Three of the last four presidents were governors of their states," Bush said. "And the Texas legislature only meets four months every two years, so I guess that means that if government doesn't meet it can't hurt you." However, while trumpeting his success in dealing with lawmakers from both major parties in Texas, Bush failed to mention that two of three presidents he referred to -- Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton -- are Democrats, and that the one non-governor in the mix was his own father. "When the governor was confronted with a $750 million revenue shortfall last week, he said, 'I hope I'm not here to have to deal with it,'" said Texas state Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos in a statement released by the Illinois Democratic Party. "As Texas legislators, we know him, we worked with him and this is what Governor Bush did: He pushed and supported a trophy tax cut on the backs of children and seniors, basically mortgaging the state and people of Texas most likely because he was running for president." Bush also called for clean air and clean water, and described Texas as "a template for change." He said that if he were president he would sign legislation passed last week by the U.S. Senate abolishing the so-called "death tax, which President Clinton has threatened to veto. After his appearance, Bush held a fund-raiser that was expected to raise an estimated $2.25 million for the Republican National Committee. The event was seen as a balancing act for the Texas governor as he tried to win votes while distancing himself from Gov. George Ryan, who is chairing Bush's Illinois campaign at a time that his stewardship over the secretary of state's office is under federal scrutiny. This is Bush's first visit to Illinois since March 16 while his presumptive Democratic opponent, Vice President Al Gore, already has made three trips. Death penalty opponents announced a demonstration outside the Sheraton Chicago, where the Republican fund-raiser was taking place. (c) 2000 UPI All rights reserved.