McDowell Shows Independence

MCDOWELL SHOWS INDEPENDENCE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Arshad Mohammed]
Lawyers who follow the Federal Communications Commission closely say Commissioner Robert M. McDowell's early record has served notice that he is an independent force at the FCC who is willing to defy the chairman, Kevin J Martin. His actions have confounded the conventional wisdom that once he became the third Republican on the five-member commission, he would give Chairman Martin a reliable majority at the agency, whose decisions can mean billions of dollars to communications companies. FCC watchers also said Commissioner McDowell may now emerge as the swing vote on the commission with considerable influence as it weighs decisions such as whether AT&T, the nation's largest phone company, should be allowed to swallow up the third-ranking player, BellSouth, in a roughly $67 billion deal.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/07/AR2006080701394.html
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