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 Previous: ARRL Board Approves Dues Increase, Alters Morse Position |  Next: Ex-Ham Gets Jail, Probation for Unlicensed Operation |
 FCC Chairman-designate Michael Powell. |
NEWINGTON, CT, Jan 22, 2001--As expected, President George W. Bush has named Michael K. Powell to become FCC chairman. Powell, a Republican and an FCC member since 1997, is the son of Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell.
"I am deeply honored and privileged to have received President Bush's designation to be Chairman of the Federal Communication Commission," Powell said in a statement today. "I look forward to working with the new administration, Congress, my fellow Commissioners and the very talented FCC staff on the important and challenging communications issues facing our nation."
Powell succeeds William Kennard as the head of the FCC. Kennard's last day on the job was January 19, the day before President Bush's inauguration. Kennard, a Democrat and a Clinton appointee, was the first African-American to serve as FCC chairman.
Earlier this month, Powell voted with the majority to approve the AOL-Time Warner mega-merger. In a statement, Powell called the deal "unquestionably one of the most significant mergers in history" and said he was pleased to support it. "It has presented challenging issues."
During his tenure on the FCC, Powell has served as the FCC's Defense Commissioner, responsible for overseeing National Security Emergency Preparedness functions for the Commission. He also served as the FCC representative to the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion, established by former President Bill Clinton to address the Y2K computer problem.
Powell came to the FCC from the Department of Justice, where he served as the chief of staff of the Antitrust Division. In that capacity, he advised the assistant attorney general on antitrust matters, including policy development, criminal and civil investigations and mergers. Prior to that, he was in private law practice.
A graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center, he served as a judicial clerk to the Hon Harry T. Edwards, chief judge of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He holds a degree in government from the College of William and Mary.
Powell also serves on the Georgetown University Law Center's Board of Visitors and is also a 1999 Henry Crown Fellow of The Aspen Institute, where Kennard is now serving as a senior fellow in the Communications and Society Program. Powell, his wife Jane and their two children live in Fairfax Station, Virginia.
The other members of the FCC are Susan Ness, Harold W. Furchtgott-Roth, and Gloria Tristani. Among names mentioned as possible Bush appointees to the FCC is that of Texas Public Utilities Commission Chairman Pat Wood.
| Previous: ARRL Board Approves Dues Increase, Alters Morse Position | Next: Ex-Ham Gets Jail, Probation for Unlicensed Operation |
