WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission is not as partisan as many outside the commission may believe, said one of the Republican commissioners last week.
“There isn’t an R camp and a D camp and they try to duke it out,” said FCC Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth.
Furchtgott-Roth made his comments as the FCC began transitioning to a Republican-led body, although who will lead the commission is still unknown.
FCC Commissioner Michael Powell, a moderate Republican and son of Secretary of State-designate Colin Powell, is viewed as a likely candidate for the job.
Tradition has previously dictated that the incoming president choose a sitting commissioner of his party to be acting chairman until either that person or another can be confirmed by the Senate. Using this as a guide, either Powell or Furchtgott-Roth would be named acting chairman.
Many have believed the FCC could stalemate at two-to-two until the Bush administration names a Republican to fill the seat left vacant by FCC Chairman William Kennard’s departure on Friday but Furchtgott-Roth said he does not think so.
“A lot is made about partisan division at the agency. I don’t see it. I really don’t see it,” said Furchtgott-Roth during his monthly press briefing.
While Furchtgott-Roth admitted he probably dissents the most at the commission, he said it was rare that an item was voted along party lines.
“I dissent when I think we are outside the law. It is rare that I dissent over policy. It happens from time to time. … If I were a more calculating individual [but] I am pretty simple. … I don’t sit around scheming on who to cut a deal with,” said Furchtgott-Roth.
Furchtgott-Roth does hope that with a Republican-led FCC that some things, such as merger reviews, will change. He has been a frequent critic of the FCC’s merger-review process claiming that often the review has involved matters not associated with the licenses that are being transferred.
A case in point is when the Department of Justice asks the FCC to withhold its consideration of a merger-such as Deutsche Telekom AG’s purchase of VoiceStream Wireless Corp.-until it has conducted security negotiations. Last week, DT announced it had passed the Justice Department review.
But it is not just the delays that are caused by such requests but also that the FBI and DOJ then expect the FCC to enforce the security conditions by attaching them as conditions upon which the communications licenses can be transferred. Furchtgott-Roth finds this notion absurd.
“I can assure you for corporate America there are no phone calls that are more scary than a call from the FBI … they will move a lot faster if the FBI calls,” said Furchtgott-Roth.
