It's Inouye's Turn to set the Telecom Agenda

IT'S INOUYE'S TURN TO SET THE TELECOM AGENDA
[SOURCE: tvnewsday, AUTHOR: Kim McAvoy]
Senate Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) will become the most important communications policymaker in the Senate next year as chairman of the Commerce Committee. Broadcast lobbyists feel having Sen Inouye in the chairman's seat will not create any major or immediate shifts in the committee policy. That’s because he has been in a power-sharing arrangement with the current chairman, Ted Stevens (R-Alaska). That bi-partisan cooperation is expected to continue. Together, Sens Stevens and Inouye have steered a moderate, pro-business course, although broadcasters don't like several provision of Sen Stevens’s latest telecom reform bill. Election Day will bring other changes to the committee. Sen George Allen (R-VA) was an active member on the committee, and many broadcasters may be happy to see him go. Most recently, he championed legislation that would have opened up broadcast spectrum — “white spaces” — for unlicensed wireless computer devices. The National Association of Broadcasters and the Association for Maximum Service Television strongly opposed the measure. A committee member broadcasters will miss is Sen Conrad Burns (R-MT) who lost a close race to Democrat Jon Tester. A former broadcaster, Sen Burns has been a reliable ally of the broadcasting industry through his Washington career. The NAB backed his reelection bid. In the last Congress, Chairman Stevens did away with the Communications Subcommittee, but there is some speculation that Sen Inouye may bring it back and give the chairmanship to either Sen Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) or Sen Byron Dorgan (D-ND). If Sen Dorgan gets the nod, broadcasters should expect him to be even more aggressive — and effective — in his opposition to loosening the ownership rules.
http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2006/11/09/daily.5/