White House Picks Russell, Tate for FCC Slots, Sources Say
The White House is expected to announce the nomination of White House aide Richard Russell and Tenn. state regulator Deborah Tate as new FCC commissioners, industry sources said Fri. The 2 were chosen Thurs. in a White House meeting from a slate of about 6 candidates, according to a source familiar with the proceedings. An announcement was expected late Fri., but could come this week, industry sources said. FCC Comr. Copps also is expected to be reappointed to another term.
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Rumors began circulating earlier this week (CD July 27 p1) that a White House decision was near. After Christine Kurth withdrew (CD June 10 p1) from the nomination process in June, the White House waited to see if the Senate Commerce Committee would offer new candidates, a source said. But when none was presented, it moved forward with a slate, some of whom had been under consideration for several months. Howard Waltzman, chief counsel to House Commerce Committee Chmn. Barton (R-Tex.), was on it, sources said. While the White House has final say on who gets the job, typically it weighs House and Senate committee recommendations. CompTel Pres. Earl Comstock, backed by Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska), withdrew in April due to nanny employment troubles.
Russell, assoc. dir. of the White House Office of Science & Technology, has worked on the Hill on technology issues as well as at the National Institute of Standards & Technology. Tate served on the FCC’s Federal-State Joint Conference on Advanced Telecom Services. If they're nominated as expected, “we've got 2 candidates who will add a lot to this commission,” said Dick Wiley, a telecom lawyer and former FCC chairman. “It’s just what the doctor ordered.”
Tate’s experience has prepared her well on the telecom side, Wiley said. “Those folks get exposed to a lot of issues that they'll see at the FCC. I think she'll come well prepared for a good part of the Commission’s agenda,” he said. Russell is grounded in many issues, from the telecom side to DTV spectrum, he said.
“If nominated and confirmed, they [Russell and Tate] would likely give FCC Chmn. Martin a working majority,” said telecom analyst Blair Levin, a commissioner under former FCC Chmn. Reed Hundt. Both candidates should aid Martin with his deregulatory agenda, particularly in liberalizing media ownership rules, Levin said. They also are likely to back his policies on broadband parity with cable and finalizing FCC decisions on the 2 Bell mergers.
Levin said the candidates likely would be inclined favorably toward telco and cable but “problematic” for CLECs. Russell could prove “challenging” for broadcasting on spectrum issues, though “we have no reason to think he would be an opponent of media ownership deregulation that could help broadcasters,” Levin said in an analyst’s note.