WASHINGTON-The White House on Friday said President George W. Bush intends to nominate Kevin J. Martin, Kathleen Q. Abernathy and Michael J. Kopps to the Federal Communications Commission.
“It sounds like a great slate and Cingular looks forward to working with them,” said Ben Almond, vice president of federal regulatory affairs for Cingular Wireless Inc.
The Senate has not officially received the nominations and will wait until it does before scheduling confirmation hearings, said Pia Pialorsi, spokeswoman for the Senate Commerce Committee. The Senate is on recess and won’t return until the week of April 23.
Martin works in the White House Counsel’s Office. He is a former legal assistant to FCC Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth.
Furchtgott-Roth, who announced his intention to not seek re-nomination, was very pleased with the naming of Martin. “I am confident he has his own views of the world and will act in his role as a commissioner in an independent capacity,” he said when asked if he thought Martin would carry on his “follow the law” legacy. “I am sure he will follow the law. I am not sure whether his interpretation of the law will be the same as mine,” he added.
Ironically it is Abernathy who will replace Furchtgott-Roth, not Martin. Martin is being named to fill the seat left open by the departure of former FCC Chairman William E. Kennard.
Abernathy is vice president of public policy for Broadband Office Communications, a competitive local exchange carrier for office buildings. Abernathy has worked for U S West Corp. and was a legal adviser to former FCC Commissioner Jim Quello.
Furchtgott-Roth said he would stay on at the commission until Abernathy is confirmed.
Kopps has a Ph.D. in U.S. history and was an official in the Clinton Department of Commerce. He is a former aid to Sen. Ernest F. Hollings (D-.S.C.). His nomination was the least surprising because the White House traditionally listens to the preferences of key senators but Hollings was shut out during the entire Clinton administration and thus truly believed it is his turn to get his man on the commission.
Hollings’ office did not respond to a request for a comment by press time.
Since confirmation hearings have not been scheduled, it is unclear how soon the trio will be on board. FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell, who has seen some of his pro-market initiatives stifled under a two-two deadlock, told the United States Telecom Association’s National Issues Conference last month that it would be nice if the new people were on board “yesterday. … There seems to be a concerted effort to work on it [at the White House but] personally I would be surprised if it was sometime before summer.”
There will soon be another slot opened on the commission. FCC Commissioner Gloria Tristani recently told RCR Wireless News that she expects to step down before the end of the year to run for office in New Mexico. Even as the White House was preparing the package of names it announced on Friday, lobbying was underway for Tristani’s seat.
Andrew Levin, minority telecommunications counsel to the House Commerce Committee, received the support of the House Democratic Leadership.
“In prior instances when minority party candidates were selected for FCC posts, deference has been given to the choices of Commerce Committee leaders from the same party on both sides of the Capitol. For example, in 1997, President Clinton appointed Michael Powell, who had been supported by Sen. John McCain [(R-Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee)], and Harold Furchtgott-Roth, who worked for Rep. Tom Bliley [(R-Va.), former chairman of the House Commerce Committee]. Consistent with that honorable practice, we hope you will join us in supporting the nomination of [Levin] for the second Democratic FCC seat when it opens in the near future. Andy is widely viewed, both on and off Capitol Hill, as a superb candidate to address those challenges as an FCC commissioner,” said House Democratic Leader Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri and House Democratic Whip David Bonior of Michigan.
Levin also has the strong support of Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.) and Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-La.), the leadership of the House Commerce Committee. Tauzin told Bloomberg news in February that he supports Levin.
“He has a strong pro-competitive open marketplace philosophy and I know he agrees with me and John Dingell that it’s time for FCC reform. I see a friend and ally there so I’m a strong advocate for him,” said Tauzin.
To win that slot, Levin will have to beat the favorite of the Senate communications subcommittee chairman. Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) has been lobbying hard for Bob Rowe, a member of the Montana Public Service Commission. Rowe is a recent past president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners.
