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Bush puts Powell in charge of the FCC

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CIOL Bureau
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President Bush quickly appointed Michael Powell, the son of Secretary of

State Colin Powell, as head of the powerful US Federal Communications Commission

(FCC).

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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.

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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.

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