Today the U.S. House of Representatives is holding a hearing to discuss legislation that would prevent carriers from forcing customers into two-year contracts when they pay full price for a handset. Massachusetts Representative Edward J. Markey, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, is behind the Wireless Consumer Protection Bill. It mandates that customers should be given the option to pay full price for handsets, and those that do should not be obligated to sign lengthy contracts and they should be offered voice and data services at a rate that is comparable with those offered with subsidized phones. Another provision of the bill would force carriers to prorate ETFs in a way that would only allow them to recover handset subsidies.