President Bush quickly appointed Michael Powell, the son of Secretary of
State Colin Powell, as head of the powerful US Federal Communications Commission
(FCC).
Michael Powell is just 37 and has been an FCC commissioner since 1997. It was
widely expected he would become the FCC chairman in a Bush administration. He
succeeds William Kennard, who resigned from the post last week.
"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 said.
Powell’s record shows he is likely to favor letting market forces determine
winners and losers rather than imposing regulatory restrictions. With Bush being
able to appoint a replacement for Kennard, the Republicans will have a critical
3-2 majority on the FCC.
Powell began his career in the military much like his famous father. But in
June 1987, while stationed in Germany he met with a serious accident while
riding with two other enlisted men in a jeep. The vehicle flipped over on the
highway and landed on him. Powell suffered a broken pelvis and massive internal
injuries, so severe that a German hospital doctor's initial assessment was that
he would not live. During surgery, Powell received 18 units of blood, twice the
normal blood supply in the body.
After recovery and unable to serve in the Armed Forces any further, Powell
applied to Georgetown University Law School. He became a telecommunications
lawyer at the Washington law firm of O-Melveny & Myers LLP and eventually
joined the Clinton administration serving as chief of staff in the US Justice
Department antitrust division under Joel Klein.
Powell has drawn high praise from top lawmakers from different companies and
industry associations who often are lobbying opposing positions. "He
understands the benefits to consumers of aggressive competition in the
marketplace and I believe he will work with Congress to complete the task of
deregulating the telecommunications industry," said Rep. Billy Tauzin,
chairman of the U.S. House Commerce Committee which has jurisdiction over FCC.
As an indication of his views, Powell voted in favor of allowing the AOL-Time
Warner merger to go forward. But he was in the minority voting against attaching
conditions that would require the company to cooperate with rivals in launching
advanced instant messaging services and providing competitors with access to its
cable lines.