FCC Nominee Candidate Draws Mixed Reactions

[SOURCE: Technology Daily, AUTHOR: David Hatch]
The possibility of the White House nominating Republican lobbyist Robert McDowell to fill a remaining vacancy at the five-member FCC is drawing mixed reactions from the regional Bell firms. Company executives officially insist they would support McDowell, a lobbyist for an association representing competitors to the Bells, if appointed. But privately, some within the Bell community are grumbling that his sympathies do not lie with them. "We would expect Mr. McDowell to be sympathetic to CLEC (competitive local exchange carrier) causes as the FCC attempts to address various telecom issues," concluded the investment firm Stifel Nicolaus in a Jan. 24 advisory. "That has to be a concern for the Bells, though we suspect Mr. McDowell would come under pressure to demonstrate some degree of even-handedness as a commissioner." A wild card for McDowell is his industry experience and the possibility that he might have to recuse himself from key rulemakings. Generally speaking, a commissioner cannot participate in a proceeding that he has been personally involved with in the private sector. For example, McDowell might be permanently recused from regulating on matters on which he has authored FCC comments. An ethics team in the FCC's Office of General Counsel would decide on a case-by-case basis whether a recusal is required, weighing factors such as how active McDowell was on a given issue. Even if McDowell was not directly involved in a regulatory matter, he could be subject to a one-year recusal if the association has a related adjudication pending before the FCC, such as an enforcement action. The agency can make an exception to these rules if there is a compelling government need or mitigating circumstances, but a source said exceptions are "rare."
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