Powell Says It’s Time to Re-draft EEO

FCC Chairman Michael Powell says he’s disappointed that a D.C. federal appeals court denied the commission’s request for a re-hearing on its EEO rules, which were struck down in January as unconstitutional.
He intends to recommend to his new fellow commissioners that the agency re-craft the broadcast and cable EEO rules “in a manner that complies with the judicial limitations of the Constitution, and that are not unduly burdensome on the industry.” Speaking before the Federal Communications Bar Association, Powell said he also intends to explore ways to improve minority broadcast ownership. He supports Sen. John McCain’s revised tax credit bill, a revised version of the previous minority tax certificate program, killed by Congress in 1995 for alleged abuses.