Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Powell's Vacation May Be Permanent- Congress May Pack His Bags For Him

From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2003 16:39:18 -0400

Powell's Vacation May Become Permanent- Congress May Pack His Bags For Him
Rumors Roam About FCC Chairman Powell's Departure

Amid rumors flying around about Federal Communications Chairman Michael
Powell leaving his post, questions are raised about his tenure and more
importantly, influence at the FCC. Powell is said to approach his position as a
lawyer rather than a politician, and in doing so has alienated some of his key
allies. A "Resolution of Disapprovals," signed by Senators Trent Lott (R-Miss.)
and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.), could overturn the media ownership rules
the FCC has been pushing. The House voted 400-21 this week to kill the FCC
decision to allow media companies to buy more TV outlets. Powell's office
says he is well aware of the controversy and is facing some tough decisions.
Powell's chief of staff Marsha McBride denied rumors of Powell's departure.
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FCC Chairman's Star a Little Dimmer

Defeat on Capitol Hill Raises Questions About Powell's Political Savvy

By Christopher Stern
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 25, 2003; Page E01

When Michael K. Powell took over as chairman of the Federal Communications
Commission three years ago he was considered a young star of the Republican Party.
His deregulatory agenda was regarded as a breath of fresh air by the nation's
biggest media and telecommunications companies.

But this week's 400-to-21 vote in the House in favor of a bill that included
language to strike down a FCC decision to allow broadcasting companies to buy more
television stations is just the latest example of how Powell's fortunes have
shifted.
In February, fellow Republican Kevin J. Martin joined two Democratic commissioners
to deliver a stinging defeat on rules governing the telephone industry. Now key
Republicans in the Senate, including Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and Kay Bailey Hutchison
(R-Tex.), have signed onto a rarely used "Resolution of Disapproval" that would
effectively upend the FCC's work to revise several media ownership rules -- not
just the broadcast ownership provision rejected by the House.
Even lobbyists for the nation's media and telecommunications companies question
whether Powell has the political savvy to deliver on his agenda. After all, the
Republican-controlled House voted to block the broadcast ownership rule despite
the objections of the House leadership and a veto threat from the White House.

"Never before have I seen an FCC chairman's decision repudiated by the House of
Representatives so quickly and so emphatically," Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.)
observed after the vote Wednesday. Powell, who was out of town on vacation this
week, was unavailable for comment, a senior aide said. From the beginning of his
tenure, Powell has said he wanted to rise above politics and put the FCC's
rulemaking process on a more judicious course. The agency needed a new strategy,
he argued, because many of its policies had been thrown out by courts that often
criticized the agency's rules as "arbitrary and capricious."

But Powell's lawyerly approach has not served him well at an agency guided by
three Republicans and two Democrats.  Colleagues at the commission complain that
Powell often refuses to consider their points of view or incorporate their ideas
into final regulations. The result is a badly divided agency in which Powell has
alienated Martin, one of his two Republican colleagues, and has chilly relations
with the two Democrats, Jonathan S. Adelstein and Michael J. Copps.

"If there is one fault that the chairman has, it is that he comes to this as a
lawyer, not a politician," said one source close to Powell. The source disputed
complaints that Powell ignores other members of the commission, saying the
chairman goes out of his way to consider other opinions.

Powell pushed through the media ownership decision despite a request from the two
Democrats that he postpone the vote. It is a longstanding FCC tradition to honor
such requests, but Powell refused, saying a delay was not likely to result in any
changes to long-held views. Finally, Powell also moved forward with the media
ownership rule over the protests of a broad coalition of liberal and conservative
public-interest groups. Sources said the FCC received more than 2 million e-mails
and comments protesting the decision.

Conservative groups argued that the largest media companies have a corrupting
influence on the nation's moral values and that allowing them to get bigger would
only embolden more licentious programming. Liberal groups argued that the nation's
largest media companies already have too much control over the flow of ideas in
the United States.

Powell defended the FCC's action, noting in a prepared statement this week that
the new rules take into account the fact that the major broadcasters now face
expanded competition from cable, satellite and the Internet, creating alternatives
for programming that did not exist when the rules were originally crafted.

But while Powell, serving in an appointive post, could afford to make his case on
policy grounds, many lawmakers said he failed to take into account populist
concerns about the growing influence of big media. Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.)
said he has rarely received more letters from constituents than on the media
ownership issue. "People are really upset with this, people get it," Dorgan said.
Dorgan said he had no trouble finding 35 co-sponsors for the resolution of
disapproval to overturn the FCC's media ownership rules, a total that guarantees
him 10 hours of debate on the Senate floor. He plans to introduce the resolution
in the first week of September.

As the son of Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, Michael Powell, 40, is familiar
with many members of Congress on a personal basis. One of his biggest supporters
is Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.).
"I think he is an American patriot and I am proud to know him," McCain said. Yet
McCain is supporting legislation that would force the FCC to change its rule on
radio ownership. He said the FCC should not have allowed large companies to keep
stations that exceed new limits set by the agency.

It would be impossible in Washington to have so much controversy over a public
figure without some raising the possibility that he will soon step down. Some
published reports have stated that Powell has discussed the issue with his staff.
Marsha McBride, Powell's chief of staff, said Powell was well aware that the
agency was heading into controversy. "I think the chairman understood that when we
were taking on some difficult decisions, it would be a rough year," McBride said.
But she said she has not discussed a resignation internally.

"The chairman has no current plans to be leaving the commission, and I don't have
the understanding that he will be leaving," she said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43044-2003Jul24.html

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