Could the Clinton administration be scheming to take down its own Justice antitrust chief nominee, Joel Klein, or just giving him a little wake-up call if he manages to be confirmed by the Senate?
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Reed Hundt wouldn’t have made his “unthinkable” AT&T-SBC merger speech last week without White House advice and consent. That Hundt would speak so boldly about such a colossal, yet unofficial, deal-after being silent for months on a slew of other mega mergers-is telling.
Why the White House worry? Perhaps egg on the face of Al Gore, father of the Information Superhighway and Buddhist Temple community outreach (you mean it was a Dem fund-raiser?), that telecom consolidation is winning out over competition? The GOP can claim credit, too. It was their telecom bill that minimized Justice input.
Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.) is keeping a hold on Klein’s nomination because he thinks Klein is soft on telecom mergers.
Blair Levin, Hundt’s chief of staff, insists the FCC chairman is not unhappy with Klein, contrary to Washington Post reporting.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.), who voted against the ’96 telecom act, curiously opines there’d be more competition if the act was more deregulatory. Go figure.
Then there’s House telecommunications subcommittee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-La.), whose view on an AT&T-SBC merger can be summed up as, “Don’t worry, be happy.”
Indeed, SBC-PacTel, one of the companies you’d say had deep pockets, abruptly pulled out of cable TV competition in San Jose last week. Meanwhile, local, long-distance and cable rates go up. At least, paging and pocket phone bills are coming down.
Whether it’s auctions, children’s programming, TV ratings or liquor ads, there’s little doubt that scribing of Hundt’s speeches are coordinated, directly or indirectly, with the White House. It’s called “technical assistance” in government vernacular. Now, antitrust policy.
… Congrats and bon voyage to Beverly Baker, chief of the FCC’s Compliance and Information Bureau and wireless policymaker, who is leaving the agency July 11 after a distinguished career in government. Beverly and husband, Don, will do some hiking in the Rockies prior to overseas travel in Europe and Asia.
… With former FCC Commissioner Andy Barrett gone, we think we know who has taken his place as official agency jetsetter. Hint: it’s not Hundt.
