McDowell Confirmed to Fill FCC Seat

The Senate on Friday unanimously filled the long-vacant fifth seat on the Federal Communications Commission, giving Republicans a majority that could speed approval of expanded media ownership rules and major industry mergers.

Robert McDowell, a telecommunications lawyer and lobbyist, was nominated by President Bush in early February. But his confirmation had been blocked in the Senate, apparently by senators looking for leverage on other issues.

The FCC has been split 2 to 2 along party lines for more than a year, almost the entire period since Kevin J. Martin took over as chairman in March 2005. Lacking a tie-breaking vote, Martin has delayed several key decisions, including how to revise rules enacted in 2003 that dramatically increased the number of TV and radio stations that companies could own. Those rules were overturned by a federal court last year.

The FCC also has moved slowly on the proposed $17.6-billion sale of Adelphia Communications Corp. to Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Inc. If approved by the FCC, the deal would make Time Warner Southern California’s largest cable provider.

In addition, the FCC must decide whether to approve the recently announced merger of AT&T; and BellSouth Corp.

Martin -- a Republican who was briefly outnumbered 2 to 1 by Democrats last year before another GOP appointee, Deborah Taylor Tate, was confirmed -- cheered McDowell’s confirmation.

“I am anxious to have him on board and look forward to working with a full complement of commissioners to address the important issues before us,” Martin said in a statement.

Democratic Commissioner Michael J. Copps complained last week that the FCC had not acted on media ownership rules or the Adelphia purchase and told reporters that he hoped McDowell would be confirmed soon.

“Although I don’t relish being relegated back into minority status, I think the commission was intended to operate with five commissioners and it should operate with five commissioners,” he said.

Blair Levin, a telecommunications analyst with investment bank Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., said that particularly on the issue of media ownership, a tiebreaker would be vital.

“There’s a certain gulf between the different sides that really is unlikely to be resolved through compromise,” said Levin, a former FCC chief of staff.

Republicans on the FCC favor allowing companies to own more TV and radio stations, whereas Democrats believe that there’s already too much media concentration, he said.

Martin is gauging support from commissioners before the FCC’s June 13 meeting to start the process of re-drafting the media ownership rules, said an FCC source who requested anonymity. Martin tried to start the process last year but the commission disagreed on details, such as how many public hearings to hold.

McDowell is expected to be sworn in before the June hearing.

His arrival also could spur the FCC to rule on the Adelphia purchase by Time Warner and Comcast, which has been pending since April 2005. The Federal Trade Commission approved the purchase in January.

Time Warner Chief Executive Richard Parsons has said he wanted the FCC to wait until McDowell was confirmed before it considered the purchase. Adelphia would like to see the sale finalized quickly. On Friday, the company asked a federal Bankruptcy Court to allow the sale to go forward without first confirming a Chapter 11 reorganization plan.

McDowell is senior vice president and assistant general counsel for CompTel, a trade group representing rivals to the large phone companies. He promised at his confirmation hearing in March that his lobbying work would not influence his decisions at the FCC.

McDowell’s nomination was not controversial, but FCC nominees often get blocked over issues unrelated to their qualifications. All it takes is one senator to block an FCC confirmation vote.

Sen. Mary L. Landrieu (D-La.) first publicly held up the nomination because of a dispute over Hurricane Katrina recovery money. After she lifted her block in April, at least one other senator blocked a vote, but who and for what reason was unknown.