AT&T Snags Tauzin to Lobby for Cell Phone Merger

Author: 
Coverage Type: 

In the effort to sell Congress on its proposed takeover of T-Mobile, AT&T has just landed a big-name lobbyist: former Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA).

The Louisiana Republican will be jumping into the heated debate over an industry he once helped regulate: Tauzin served as chairman of the House Commerce Committee, and earlier headed the House telecommunications subcommittee. He is now with the law firm Alston & Bird. Tauzin joins a team of AT&T lobbyists as a skeptical Congress gears up to scrutinize the proposed merger. He brings some unique advantages. Tauzin began his 25-year career in Congress as a Democrat and finished as a Republican. He served on the leadership teams of both parties. "I built some great relationships that continue to this day," he said. A member of Congress in 1984, when AT&T was forced to break-up, Tauzin says that for all the competition that move fostered, "I'm not sure that divestiture and breaking the Bell system was the greatest thing we could have done. There's great advantage, obviously, in size and capability in terms of international communications."


AT&T Snags Tauzin to Lobby for Cell Phone Merger