Senators Grill Powell On Regulatory Stance
BY ALLYSON VAUGHAN
MARCH 11, 2002
WIRELESS WEEK
wirelessweek.com
WASHINGTON If a bruised ego is a common occurrence in congressional hearings, then FCC
Chairman Michael Powell is probably sporting some black and blue marks from the grilling he received
Thursday before a Senate appropriations subcommittee.
Sen. Ernest "Fritz" Hollings, D-S.C., took jabs at Powell's views on letting the market dictate telecom
winners and losers and instructed him not to abandon his regulatory authority. Hollings suggested
Powell might make a better "executive vice president of a chamber of commerce" than head of the
FCC.
When Powell responded that he is happy in his job, Hollings told him, "I don't mean to hurt your
feelings." But he did want to make clear his own opinions on such issues as deregulation and the
NextWave Telecom Inc. spectrum case.
The focus of the hearing itself was the FCC's 2003 budget. Powell has requested $278 million a 9.5
percent increase over the 2002 fiscal year budget. The boost would allow the agency to hire more
engineers and upgrade facilities, among other things, Powell says.
But the real fireworks came over issues unrelated to money and may indicate a growing rift between
the FCC chief and some important members of Congress.
The rhetoric reached a level that caused one observer to remark afterward, "I don't think anybody
expects personal attacks like that. [Powell] was treated ungraciously and he responded with good
manners."
Good manners aside, the observer admitted that Powell gave "meandering answers." In fact, Powell
appeared to contradict himself in his testimony on the NextWave case, which the Supreme Court last
week agreed to hear. At one point he told the senators, "we're committed to the long course of the
case."
But when Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, asked Powell about the possibility of resurrecting settlement
talks between NextWave and the carriers that bid on its licenses after they were reclaimed and
re-auctioned by the FCC, Powell said the public interest is best served by having the spectrum put to
use quickly. That seemed to run counter to his earlier remark because the Supreme Court is not
expected to rule on the case until next year. Powell added that Congress could take steps to alter the
law in a way that would put the spectrum into use much more expeditiously and said he can't do
anything about lengthy court delays.
In his questioning of Powell, Hollings pointed to a recent piece by syndicated columnist William Safire
that criticized the commission for the current merger frenzy in the telecom industry, which he called the
"urge to converge." Safire questioned the FCC's merger approvals and its effect on small businesses
and consumers. Hollings told Powell: "You seem to abandon that responsibility [to regulate] and assign
it to the market." |
