WASHINGTON-With little fanfare, an influential Democrat on the House Commerce Committee introduced legislation last month to reorganize the Federal Communications Commission.
“The FCC originally created and organized its bureaus at a time when individual companies offered single, discrete telecommunications services,” reads the bill authored by Rep. Albert Wynn (D-Md.). “The organization of the FCC’s bureaus based on the type of technology is an obsolete model and is no longer relevant since new technologies provide multiple services.”
The Wynn legislation has striking similarities but is much broader in scope than a plan being mulled by FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and first reported by RCR Wireless News Tuesday.
Not only would the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau be disbanded-apparently a key feature of the Martin plan-but the FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau would see itself morphed into the economic regulations bureau and get responsibility for the hot-button media-ownership issue.
The Wynn bill would not create a homeland-security bureau, as the Martin plan does, but would create a public-interest bureau with responsibility over disabilities access, enhanced 911 and the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act implementation.
While Martin would have all spectrum functions in one bureau, the spectrum bureau, Wynn would have all of the functions except licensing in a spectrum management bureau with a separate licensing bureau.
Wynn introduced his bill June 17. It is unclear whether this is what prompted Martin’s office to begin discussions of its own reorganization.
The FCC refused comment on the Martin plan.
The Martin plan seemed to answer the question of why Martin, who arrived March 18, has yet to announce a chief for the wireless bureau. The departure of John Muleta, the former wireless bureau chief, coincided with the departure of former FCC Chairman Michael Powell.
It is not unusual for new chairmen to reorganize the agency to fit their policy objectives, but Martin has yet to name his priorities except for general statements about broadband and homeland security.
Rumors have circulated for months about who might be named to lead the wireless bureau, with many names being batted down as having conflicts. Anyone with clients or responsibilities in the wireless industry, the wireline industry or the media industry would be conflicted because of the various issues handled either directly or indirectly by the wireless bureau. By creating homeland-security and spectrum bureaus, Martin would apparently solve these conflicts-of-interest issues.
Any Martin reorganization would require approval by Congress-either by working with Wynn to pass his plan or by asking congressional appropriators for permission-and his fellow commissioners. It does not appear that Martin has sought comment from any of these parties.
