Clinton Will Nominate FCC Lawyer as Next Agency Head

Setting the stage for a showdown with Congress over who should lead the powerful Federal Communications Commission, President Clinton is expected to name FCC general counsel William Earl Kennard to be the next chairman of the agency.

Industry officials and sources close to the White House also said the administration will nominate lawyer Gloria Tristani to fill a Democratic seat on the agency. Tristani was the first woman elected to the New Mexico state Corporation Commission, a public utility agency that regulates transportation, telecommunications and insurance matters.

The appointments--expected to be made in the next few days--have ignited a firestorm of criticism on Capitol Hill, where Washington lawyer Ralph Everett, 46, had won the backing of the Congressional Black Caucus and 16 senators in a high-profile campaign to lead the FCC.

Although Kennard, a 40-year-old Southern California native and Stanford University Law School graduate, is well-liked and highly regarded for his legal and consensus-building skills, he is seen by critics as lacking independence from the White House and also is considered less sympathetic to rural telecommunications interests than Everett.

“They have made a grave mistake,” said a Capitol Hill staff member close to Sen. Ernest F. Hollings (D-S.C.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, which must approve the nomination. Hollings was Everett’s boss when the Duke University Law School graduate served as chief counsel to the Commerce Committee from 1987 to 1989.

“There will be tremendous scrutiny [of Kennard],” the staffer said. “The question is: Who is the best person to bring consensus to a divided FCC? That person is obviously Ralph.”

“Ralph Everett is well-qualified for this position,” added Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus. “He enjoys support from both sides of the political aisle.”

Everett was out of town Thursday and could not be reached for comment. Kennard declined to comment.

The political fireworks over the changing of the guard at the FCC comes at a time when the agency is redefining how the massive $600-billion telecommunications industry will expand to serve business and consumers. Outgoing FCC Chairman Reed E. Hundt has put the FCC on a fast track to complete a sweeping reform of the telecommunications industry.

Andrew Schwartzman, chairman of the Media Access Project, a Washington watchdog group, says the next FCC chairman must grapple with a host of new technology issues, including refining rules for digital television, the Internet and a new generation of high-tech satellites and wireless phones.

“Few of the issues now before the FCC are done deals. The new chairman will have a lot” on his plate, Schwartzman said.

With so much up in the air, many rural lawmakers are concerned that without protection their constituents could end up paying more for telecommunications services because it is more costly for companies to serve sparsely populated communities.

The discontent over the appointments also spilled inside the White House, where Kathleen M.H. Wallman, deputy counsel to the president, apparently lost her campaign to become chairman of the FCC, where she once served as chief of the agency’s common carrier bureau.

Clinton has already nominated Harold Furchtgott-Roth, the House Commerce Committee’s chief economist, to a Republican seat on the five-member commission. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) has already submitted Justice Department lawyer Michael Powell for the final Republican vacancy. The White House recently authorized a background check into Powell, 33, the son of retired Gen. Colin L. Powell.