“I will make the hard decisions. At times, many will not agree with them,” said FCC Chairman Michael Powell to members of the Senate Commerce Committee during Thursday’s nomination hearings. He declared his decisions would be “principled.”
Powell, who appeared before the same committee 4 years ago when he was nominated as an agency commissioner, said back then he was “humbled” by the task ahead. Now he’s “in awe.”
If he’s confirmed to remain chairman, Powell said, he would continue the task begun by previous chairmen: to make the agency more efficient. Under his watch, that will include “managing the organization in a manner that promotes cohesion and efficiency, and that leads to clear and timely decisions.”
He also said the agency staff should be trained in technology and economics, and that ways to attract and retain technical talent would need to be aggressively pursued.
The committee spent the majority of their time questioning Powell. Commissioner nominees Kathleen Abernathy, Michael Copps and Kevin Martin also briefly appeared before the Senators.
Committee Chairman Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. hopes to vote on the nominations next week and then send them to the full Senate for its vote.
No objections to the nominations were raised during the hearing.
FCC Nominees Get Clear Signals
FCC Nominees Get Clear Signals
