Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, said Wednesday laws regarding telecommunications must be made quickly to meet the rapidly changing nature of the industry.

In his opening remarks as the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Telecommunications Subcommittee hearing, Barton said that there is a "need for a clear, new statutory framework to govern the delivery" of telecommunications.

The existing law "no longer reflects the technological and competitive reality. Congress has a responsibility to update our communications laws," he said, adding that "the right approach will produce an explosion of jobs, growth, and opportunity for American workers and American consumers will get an array of services that were unimagined just a few years ago."

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