WASHINGTON-The Bush administration last week sent Congress legislation to fold the agency housing the president’s key telecom adviser into a new Technology and Telecommunications Administration, prompting reactions from key lawmakers ranging from cautious neutrality to outright opposition.
Under the draft bill, a new undersecretary of commerce for technology would be created. That office would include the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the Office of Technology Policy, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Technical Information Service.
Today, NTIA counsels the executive branch on telecom policy and manages federal government spectrum. The agency, which will lose another top official next month as NTIA head Nancy Victory steps down, has played a key role in mediating spectrum disputes between industry and the Pentagon that have led to policy breakthroughs for third-generation mobile phone, Wi-Fi and ultra-wideband technologies.
Commerce Secretary Donald Evans first floated the idea of reorganizing his department in February, triggering lawmaker concerns that executive-branch emphasis on spectrum policy might suffer if NTIA became ensnarled in another layer of bureaucracy.
In supporting documents to the draft legislation, the administration said the assistant secretary for communications and information would continue to direct NTIA and that NTIA “will continue to be the line agency responsible for carrying out the [commerce] secretary’s telecommunications functions.”
Last Thursday, the White House-after months of vetting and fine-tuning by the Office of Management and Budget-officially delivered the draft bill to Capitol Hill.
“This administration understands that our global marketplace has changed and that telecom and technology operate together, not separately. We need to adjust our thinking and adjust our structure to keep pace with the world, our economy and innovation,” said Evans.
But even before Evans’ statement was issued last Thursday afternoon in a Commerce Department press release, an influential member of Congress already poured cold water on the administration initiative.
“We have looked at that proposal, but I don’t think there is support for that here,” said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee.
Moreover, McCain said he does not attach high priority to the proposed Commerce Department reorganization. “To be honest with you, to me it is not really the most important issue of the day,” he said.
The Senate Commerce Committee is unlikely to have a hearing on the reorganization proposal this year, said McCain. “I don’t see a hearing happening between now and when we go out of session, but if the secretary of commerce calls up and says this is a critical issue, and he would like to testify on it, we would be glad to accommodate him,” said McCain.
The lack of support of the Senate Commerce Committee could prove to be a critical roadblock to the reorganization proposal, which must be approved by Congress.
In lieu of the reorganization proposal, the Senate Commerce Committee last Thursday sent to the Senate a bill that would reauthorize the Technology Administration in its current form.
McCain’s counterpart in the House was uncommitted about the administration proposal. But the reaction of House Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-La.) was far from reassuring for the White House.
“We are looking it over very carefully and keeping an open mind. Chairman Tauzin is not making another commitment at this time,” said Ken Johnson, press secretary to Tauzin.
Asked to elaborate, Johnson said Tauzin has made no decision on whether to hold hearings on the White House plan to reorganize the Commerce Department.
Congressional appropriators are muddying the waters even more.
The House Appropriations Committee last week restored funding for the Office of Technology Policy of the Department of Commerce.
The action reversed a subcommittee action that gave the OTP money to NTIA. OTP is a unit of the Technology Administration and the subcommittee’s action was seen as a signal that appropriators did not like a proposed Commerce Department reorganization that would move NTIA under the purview of TA.
Meanwhile, a more pressing challenge for the administration is to keep key wireless and spectrum reform initiatives on track. Once Victory leaves NTIA on Aug. 15, the agency will find itself short on executive experience and leadership. In May, NTIA’s No. 2 official, Michael Gallagher, was named deputy chief of staff to Evans.
For now, the wireless industry is not panicking.
“Secretary Evans has shown interest and involvement in the issues important to the wireless industry and we expect the Commerce Department will continue to pursue the policy initiatives originally spearheaded by Nancy Victory and her team,” said Travis Larson, a spokesman for the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association.
With Victory’s announced departure the hunt is on for a successor but one name that had been mentioned last week was eliminated.
Mike Rawson, telecommunications aide to Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), chairman of the Senate communications subcommittee, told RCR Wireless News last week that he was flattered to be considered for the proposal but that he is staying on Capitol Hill. He noted: “Burns has a real ambitious communications agenda with legislation on a variety of issues such as wireless enhanced 911 and spam.”
