Lee Terry

Congress of the United States

House of Representatives

Committee on Energy and Commerce

December 21,2011

Dear Dr. Crocker and Mr. Beckstrom:

Last week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a hearing to examine the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) pending expansion ofthe generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) program. Although we believe expanding gTLDs is a worthy goal that may lead to increased competition on the Internet, we are very concerned that there is significant uncertainty in this process for businesses, non-profit organizations, and consumers. To that end, we urge you to delay the planned January 12, 2012, date for the acceptance of applications for new gTLDs.

At the December 18, 2011, hearing, ICANN's Senior Vice President Kurt Pritz detailed the process by which your organization developed the gTLD expansion program as well as additional protections that have been put in place to protect businesses and consumers.