Experienced Hill Telecom Staff Ready for 111th Congress

Initial staff hiring has been held up by the crush of work on a fast-tracked economic stimulus bill, which started before the White House was officially open for business. But many offices now are filling key position and setting out their agendas.

Three new Democrats and four Republicans joined the Senate Commerce Committee, now chaired by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va. The committee ratios changed in this Congress to reflect the gains Democrats made in the 2008 elections, with Commerce gaining two seats and Republicans staying with 11 seats. Sen. Thomas Carper, D-Del., left the committee at the end of last Congress. Profiles of telecom staff for new committee Democrats Mark Warner of Virginia, Tom Udall of New Mexico and Mark Begich of Alaska were not available at our deadline.

Rockefeller has a seasoned telecom team in place. Longtime Rockefeller aide James Reid brings a wealth of communications and telecom experience to his current position as deputy chief of staff. Reid was senior legislative assistant for Rockefeller, joining the staff in 2003 after working for former Rep. Max Sandlin of Texas and Rep. Paul Kanjorski of Pennsylvania. Before coming to the Hill, Reid worked for Baker and Hostetler.

Former Chairman Daniel Inouye of Hawaii remains on the committee but now chairs the Appropriations Committee. Rockefeller retained Jessica Rosenworcel, Inouye’s senior communications counsel on the committee. Highly respected on the Hill and in FCC circles, Rosenworcel joined Inouye’s staff after being senior legal adviser to Commissioner Michael Copps, now acting chairman, on a range of issues from media, broadcast and cable to wireline, broadband and universal service. Before coming to the Hill, Rosenworcel was an associate at Drinker Biddle & Reath.

Rockefeller also hired Alexander Hoehn-Saric as legal counsel for communications and media issues for the committee. Hoehn-Saric previously served as communications counsel for Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and before that an associate with Latham & Watkins.

As expected, Rockefeller reconvened the Communications Subcommittee, naming Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., as chairman. Kerry aide Brian Rice is the subcommittee’s communications and technology staffer in addition to advising Kerry on telecom, media and domestic economic issues. In the last Congress, Rice was a staffer for the Senate Small Business Committee that Kerry chaired. Before coming to the Hill, Rice was a fiscal policy analyst for the Massachusetts Senate Ways and Means Committee.

Rice’s GOP counterpart on the subcommittee is David Quinalty, legislative assistant to ranking member John Ensign of Nevada. Quinalty joined Ensign’s staff in 2005, and has an expertise in telecom, technology, science and financial services issues. Before coming to the Hill, Quinalty held a number of positions in the entertainment industry. Most recently, he was executive assistant to the chairman of Landscape Entertainment, a feature film and production company in California.

Several committee Democrats have a long history on telecom issues, and are staffed with experienced advisers. Frannie Wellings assists Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., on communication, Internet and consumer protection matters. Before joining Dorgan’s staff, she was the deputy policy director for Free Press. Wellings also spent two years as a fellow at the Electronic Privacy Information Center. Net neutrality and media ownership are two issues Dorgan has been active on in the past, and he’s expected to bring up net neutrality legislation sometime this year, several committee aides and industry lobbyists have said.

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., is active on telecom issues and was instrumental in getting a law passed requiring all voice providers to ensure E-911 services last Congress. His legislative counsel is Christopher Day, who handles telecom and consumer protection issues. Before joining Nelson’s staff, Day worked as an in-house regulatory counsel at Sprint-Nextel’s government affairs department.

Also active on telecom and consumer protection issues is Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark. His telecom legislative aide is Terri Glaze, who joined him in 2003. Glaze also handles Federal Trade Commission issues. Before joining Pryor’s staff, Glaze worked for 12 years for Sen. Robert Byrd, D- W.Va., focusing on trade, rural development, defense and foreign affairs. She also has non-Hill experience working for a software company, Autonomy, as director of government relations.

Sonya Wendell, senior legislative assistant to Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., has a strong background in telecom. Wendell worked on telecom matters for Rep. Bart Stupak, D- Mich., as his legislative director. She worked almost four years for Stupak before joining McCaskill’s staff in 2007. She also was an aide to Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa.

Republican Leadership

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas is committee ranking member, a role she assumed when Ted Stevens of Alaska stepped down last year after his indictment on federal bribery charges. Hutchison relied on Stevens’ staff when she was acting ranking member, and many are continuing on in the new Congress. Christine Kurth is minority staff director and general counsel. Once a candidate for FCC commissioner, Kurth has a wide range of experience on technology and communication matters. She joined the committee in 2005 as deputy staff director focusing on telecom policy, and played a key role in proposed legislation to revamp telecom policy. An Alaska native, Kurth began her work on the Hill on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Paul Nagle, minority chief counsel, has been with the committee for just over four years. He’s worked on legislation dealing with communications, Internet, public safety and consumer issues. Nagle manages mark-ups and helps manage the committee floor activities. Before coming to the Hill, Nagle was a legal adviser in the FCC Office of Legislative Affairs.

Brian Hendricks is Hutchison’s legislative counsel specializing in telecom issues. Hendricks also is Hutchison’s counsel on judiciary, intellectual property and ethics issues, and was said to be involved in vetting of GOP candidates for FCC commissioner. Before joining Hutchison’s staff, Hendricks was an attorney adviser in the FCC Enforcement Bureau focusing on wireless, wireline and mass media issues. Hendricks also has held a number of management positions with Ameritech and SBC Communications. Also working for the committee on communications issues is Michael Engel, an FCC detailee. An Iraq War veteran, Engel worked in the wireline and enforcement bureaus at the commission and was a special assistant in the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, has a close working relationship with Rockefeller, and a long history of involvement with telecom issues. She is next in line for the ranking member spot if Hutchinson leaves to campaign for governor of Texas, as is speculated. Her chief telecom adviser is Matthew Hussey, who has worked issues including the DTV transition, cybersecurity, Internet governance, media ownership, universal service, spectrum policy and network neutrality. Before joining Snowe’s staff, Hussey was director of a telecom and IT task force at the American Legislative Exchange Council, a nonpartisan membership organization of state legislators. An electrical engineer, Hussey also worked for Verizon on network architecture and for the cable industry in product development and engineering positions.

Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., is one of the more senior Republican members of the committee. His legislative assistant for telecom policy is Hap Rigby, who joined the staff in February 2005. Rigby also handles patent matters. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., is new to the committee but has a strong telecom background. He was the ranking member of the appropriations subcommittee that oversees the FCC and last Congress was active in monitoring commission activities. Brownback’s telecom aide, Galen Roehl, joined the office in 2004, and worked on the Judiciary Committee in 2005 on intellectual property and antitrust matters.

Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., is new to the committee this Congress. His telecom aide, Michael Bassett, has six years of experience on the Hill. He worked as an economic analyst for Governor Rick Perry of Texas, served on the staff of Rep. Ernie Fletcher, R-Ky., and as a political appointee in the Bush administration.

House Commerce Committee

The House Commerce Committee, now chaired by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., is undergoing change following the exit of Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., as a key player for decades. Waxman defeated Dingell in a caucus election for the post last year. Waxman’s chief immediate priorities on the committee are energy and health reform, but he’s made it clear communications issues will be important as well, he said at a hearing last week on universal service. Waxman’s chief counsel on communications and technology policy is Roger Sherman, who worked for Waxman when he was Oversight Committee chairman. A biography of Sherman was not available at our deadline. Sherman worked on the Oversight Committee’s investigation last Congress of the universal service high- cost fund. Waxman aide Pat Delgado also works on telecom issues.

Committee Ranking Member Joe Barton of Texas relies on Senior Counsel Neil Fried for communications policy advice. Fried joined the committee in 2003 and is a well-known and widely respected figure in the telecom community. Before coming to Congress, Fried spent three years in private practice devoted to TV and telecom issues, following a four- year stint with the FCC as attorney in the office now known as the Wireline Bureau. He helped the FCC implement the 1996 Telecom Act.

The committee minority also has assistance from agency detailee Amy Bender, who is deputy division chief in the wireline bureau. Bender advises Barton and Communications Subcommittee ranking member Cliff Stearns of Florida on wireline, wireless and Internet issues. Bender previously was an adviser to former FCC Chairman Kevin Martin on wireline issues. Before joining the commission, Bender worked as an associate for Wiley Rein.

Stearns’ legislative director is Matt Mandel. Before joining Stearns’ staff, Mandel was legislative assistant to Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., and former Commerce Committee Chairman Tom Bliley, also a Virginia Republican.

Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., stepped into the Communications Subcommittee chairmanship this Congress, after longstanding chairman Ed Markey of Massachusetts opted to chair the Energy Subcommittee. Boucher, who has already outlined a targeted agenda for the subcommittee, hired Dingell’s highly respected senior counsel Amy Levine to be subcommittee counsel. Levine has held a number of key roles on the Hill. Before joining Dingell’s staff, Levine was legislative counsel to Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri. She previously worked for Boucher handling communications, technology and intellectual property matters for his work on the Commerce and Judiciary Committees and the Congressional Internet Caucus. Before coming to the Hill, Levine was an associate at Covington & Burling.

Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., is an active member on communications issues, with a legislative director, Dana Lichtenberg, well-known in telecom circles. Gordon was instrumental in getting E-911 legislation passed last year. Besides telecom, Lichtenberg focuses on music and intellectual property issues. Lichtenberg joined Gordon’s staff in 1999. She’s also worked for Reps. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, Brad Sherman, D-Calif. and Vic Fazio, D- Calif., and the American Society of Internal Medicine.

Kenneth DeGraff is a senior legislative assistant to Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa., another member active on telecom issues. Prior to joining Doyle’s staff, DeGraff was a policy analyst at Consumers Union’s Washington office, specializing in media, technology and telecommunications issues in Congress, the FCC, the FTC and other state regulatory and legislative bodies. -- Anne Veigle

Editor’s Note: This is part of a series on the 111th Congress. Friday’s edition will include a story on telecom agendas.