Pressler Trying to Get Fast Action on Telecom : Legislation: Senator is circulating a final version of the reform bill despite opposition by GOP leadership.

In apparent defiance of GOP leadership, Sen. Larry Pressler, the South Dakota Republican who heads a panel reconciling House and Senate telecommunications bills, has begun circulating a final version of the controversial measure in hopes of getting it approved--perhaps as early as Tuesday.

The move came as House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) voiced discontent Thursday with the proposal for overhauling of the nation’s 61-year-old communications laws.

Dole, appearing with Gingrich at a Capitol Hill news conference, said, ‘There are a number of problems in the bill that could have been resolved in a different way,” including what he called a “giveaway” of the airwaves to television broadcasters.

According to that proposal, federal regulators would be required to limit eligibility for the lucrative broadcast spectrum to existing television station owners. Critics say the government would thereby lose out on as much as $70 billion through a competitive auction of the digital spectrum.

Pleas by industry lobbyists and some members of Congress last week prompted a 45-member House and Senate conference committee to make several changes in federal communications laws covering media and phone companies, according to several industry sources.

Few industry officials had seen the final language Thursday, but one regional Bell telephone company official said she is optimistic that the bill will be to the liking of the Baby Bells, who have spent more than $10 million lobbying Congress on telecommunications matters in the last year.

“We were happy that they made the change last week and eliminated the one-year delay” that would have barred the Baby Bells from jointly marketing long-distance and local telephone service for up to one year after they received federal approval to enter the long-distance market, said Nanci Bernstrom, director of federal information for US West, a regional Bell telephone company.

“So we are on board with the legislation as long as it doesn’t add additional regulation,” Bernstrom added.

The legislation, in rewriting the communications laws of 1934, is designed to increase competition in the U.S. phone and cable TV markets. The House-Senate committee has been working to iron out differences between versions passed by the two chambers earlier this year. Final passage of the bill could come in February, predicted analyst Jack Grubman of Salomon Bros.

With the urging of Gingrich and Rep. Jack Fields, the Texas Republican who heads the House telecommunications subcommittee, many House Republicans on the conference panel left town early last week, refusing to consider the draft until after they have given it a careful reading.

It remained unclear last night whether enough conferees had returned to approve the final bill. A Senate aide and industry lobbyist said Pressler could secure enough Senate signatures but will probably have to wait until next week for House conferees to approve the measure.

The House is not scheduled to reconvene until January for any major business. However, members are subject to recall to address important matters, such as a budget agreement.