May 20, 2003
The Honorable Michael K. Powell Dear Chairman Powell: On February 20, 2003, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced its decision with respect to the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals’ order that it revise its local competition rules. In the three months since the FCC’s announcement, those of us with an interest in the Commission's decision have waited -- and waited and waited and continue to wait -- to have the opportunity to review the Commission's work. As you must know, the Commission's new rules will have a profound impact on business plans and hiring decisions, and this delay only serves to further weaken the already fragile telecommunications economy. I am particularly concerned about the process followed by the FCC in the pending proceeding. Unfortunately, this is not the first time that I have had to raise this issue with the Commission. On May 1, 1991, I wrote to your predecessor, then-FCC Chairman Al Sikes, with respect to a similar situation. In that letter, though I noted that statutory and case law may permit the Commission to draft the text of its decision after it has been voted upon, I clarified "that does not mean that the Congress can expect these procedural methods to result in decisions that are both sound in their policy choices and rigorous in their analysis." My office would be pleased to make a copy of that earlier letter available to you. The Commission should immediately complete and release the text of the February decision before it embarks on other unrelated matters. Additional delay will only further undermine the Commission's credibility and confirm that there is little rigor to its decision-making procedures. I also ask that you respond to this letter with a list of every decision that the Commission has made since January 2001, in which the text of the decision was released more than 30 days after the Commission's ostensible decision. It is important that the Congress have a better understanding of the scope of the procedural impediments that continue to exist at the Commission. I look forward to hearing from you soon. I also request that you make this letter and your response part of the proceeding record. If you have any questions, please contact me or have your staff contact Gregg Rothschild, Committee on Energy and Commerce Democratic staff, at 202-226-3400. Sincerely,
cc: The Honorable W. J. "Billy" Tauzin, Chairman The Honorable Fred Upton, Chairman The Honorable Edward J. Markey, Ranking Minority Member The Honorable John McCain, Chairman The Honorable Ernest F. Hollings, Ranking Member The Honorable Kathleen Abernathy, Commissioner The Honorable Kevin Martin, Commissioner The Honorable Michael Copps, Commissioner The Honorable Jonathan Adelstein, Commissioner | |
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