FCC: McDowell can vote on AT&T-BellSouth

FCC: MCDOWELL CAN VOTE ON AT&T-BELLSOUTH
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: John Dunbar]
Federal Communications Commission General Counsel Sam Feder on Friday authorized Commissioner Robert McDowell to vote on the proposed buyout of BellSouth by AT&T despite an apparent conflict of interest. The move could break a deadlock on the deal. The decision came a week after FCC Chairman Kevin Martin declared an impasse in the proceeding and asked for the ruling. The next open meeting for the agency is Dec. 20, but Chairman Martin said on Friday night that he does not anticipate putting the issue up for a vote then. It would not give McDowell enough time to get "up to speed" on the issues, Chairman Martin said. In Feder's eight-page opinion, he argued that Commissioner McDowell should be allowed to vote because he had not participated in the merger proceeding as a lobbyist, did not stand to gain financially from his vote and that it would be impossible for someone else to take his place in the proceeding. But Feder was also clearly torn, noting that Robert Cusick, director of the Office of Government Ethics had said the decision was a close call on which reasonable people could differ and that Cusick said he would decide against authorization but that "the FCC could reasonably come out the other way." Feder based his decision on the fact that McDowell has voted on other proceedings in which AT&T and BellSouth filed comments. While Commissioner McDowell, a former lobbyist for a trade group that opposes the merger, is authorized to participate, that doesn't mean he will be forced to vote yes or no. He could still abstain and, in a released statement (see link below), did not indicate whether he had made up his mind, saying only that he was reviewing Feder's opinion. The deal would be the biggest in U.S. telecommunications history.
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8LT50100.htm

* GC Feder's decision:
http://www.fcc.gov/ogc/documents/ATT-Authorization-Memo-120806.pdf

* Commissioner McDowell's reaction:
http://www.fcc.gov/commissioners/mcdowell/documents/McDowell-Statement-A...

* Chairman Martin's reaction:
"It is in the interest of the government and the American people to move this matter forward in a timely fashion. To that end, I look forward to working with all of my colleagues here on the Commission to reach a consensus."
http://www.fcc.gov/commissioners/martin/documents/Martin-Statement-ATT-B...

* Reaction from Sen Ted Stevens:
“This merger has been under consideration for almost nine months. The Commission considered more than 10,000 comments and 600 reply comments. But now it is deadlocked. We have an odd number of FCC Commissioners for a reason, and the Commission functions best when there is a fifth person involved. A 2-2 stalemate does not serve the public interest. Now that the General Counsel has made this decision, I urge the Commission to reach a timely decision.”
http://commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Det...

* FCC commissioner can break tie in AT&T-BellSouth merger
http://news.com.com/FCC+commissioner+can+break+tie+in+ATT-BellSouth+merg...

* FCC Ignores Ethics to Speed AT&T Merger (Free Press press release):
"Pressing Commissioner McDowell to violate his ethical standards and cast the deciding vote on this mega-merger is a flagrant affront to the public's demand for ethical and impartial policymaking. The case the FCC makes for this excessive move is thin and unpersuasive. The director of the executive branch's Office of Government Ethics indicated he would not authorize Commissioner McDowell's vote. The newest commissioner may still abstain, but clearly the pressure is on for him to vote. The proposed merger of AT&T and BellSouth would constitute the largest merger in the history of U.S. telecommunications and effectively resurrect Ma Bell. This new behemoth would dominate the broadband market and wield immense power over what we see and do online. The public interest demands a reasonable compromise to protect consumers, not an FCC with compromised ethics bending over backward to serve the interests of large corporations. With nothing less than the future of the Internet at stake, the FCC has a responsibility to protect consumers and serve the public interest by placing conditions on this deal. Chairman Martin's strong-arm tactics represent a new low for the FCC."
http://freepress.net/press/release.php?id=189

* AT&T/BellSouth & Cisco: Business Partners in the Marketplace and at the FCC
[SOURCE: Digital Destiny, AUTHOR: Jeff Chester]
[Commentary] The FCC’s General Counsel has quoted from a letter Cisco sent urging the FCC to swiftly act on the AT&T-BellSouth mega broadband merger. But Cisco’s plea is mere special interest lobbying for its “strategic” business partner-AT&T.
http://www.democraticmedia.org/jcblog/?p=140

* McDowell Cleared To Vote on AT&T/BellSouth
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6398633.html

* McDowell can vote on AT&T/BellSouth merger
http://www.lasarletter.net/drupal/node/254

REPUBLICANS PUSH FCC ON MERGER VOTE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
On the same day that the FCC's general counsel cleared FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell to vote on the AT&T/BellSouth Merger, a group of 14 Republican Senators urged the Commission to vote on the merger at its Dec. 20 meeting. Pointing to the Justice Department's conclusion two months ago that the merger raised no antitrust flags, and that it has already been approved by "18 state public service commissions and three foreign countries... "Further delay," they argued in a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, "will only harm consumers as well as employees and shareholders of both companies." Signatories to the letter were Senators Jim DeMint (SC), Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX), Sam Brownback (KS), Pat Roberts (KS), Richard Burr (NC), Lindsey Graham (SC), Trent Lott (MS), David Vitter (LA), John Ensign (NV), John Sununu (NH), Mel Martinez (FL), and Jeff Sessions (AL).
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6398635.html?display=Breaking...