Agenda at FCC Depends On Powers of Persuasion
Martin's Negotiating Skills Face Tests in Coming Year
Kevin J. Martin was able to produce unanimous approvals of three big mergers from a formerly divided Federal Communications Commission.
(By Kevin Clark -- The Washington Post)
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Friday, December 23, 2005
In the nine months since he became chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Kevin J. Martin has pushed through a series of decisions that have made the country's largest phone companies even bigger and, in the view of critics, made it harder for smaller companies to compete with them.
On three major mergers and a string of regulatory decisions, he has persuaded a divided FCC to vote unanimously, testimony to political skills that observers say far outstrip those of his predecessor, Michael K. Powell.
Over the next year, Martin's negotiating abilities will be put to the test as he tries to advance a generally deregulatory agenda and grapples with nettlesome issues such as how to rewrite media ownership rules and how to shore up the government program that subsidizes phone service in rural and poor regions. There is also persistent speculation in the industry that the former college student-body president may someday run for office.
During an interview this week in his office, Martin was disciplined when talking about his policy initiatives, and he demurred when asked if he had ambitions for elective office.
Asked if he might want to serve a second term as FCC chairman, he said: "I am hoping to survive my current term."
In part, Martin's ability to win Democratic votes at the FCC has been a virtue born of necessity because he has led a commission split between two Republicans and two Democrats, with one empty seat. To get anything done, he has had to make compromises.
Martin said he would continue to try to win as many votes as possible for every decision, even when a third Republican joins the commission and gives him a working majority.
"Trying to address the concerns or perspectives of the other commissioners in all of our orders makes our decisions stronger," Martin said. "That's how I approach all of our decision-making and will continue to do that."
Michael J. Copps, one of the FCC's two Democratic commissioners, made clear that he finds it easy to work with Martin.
"I like Kevin Martin as a friend and I trust him as a colleague," Copps said in an interview. "We don't always agree, but we know how to find common ground and get things done."
Martin would not break new ground on many of the hot telecommunications and media issues.
He said he was pleased that major cable companies plan to offer packages of family-friendly programming but said it was unclear whether "consumers are going to be able to see that as an alternative that they will be able to subscribe to."
