NTIA REORGANIZATION PROPOSAL GETTING LITTLE SUPPORT ON HILL
As Commerce Dept. (DoC) officials hit Capitol Hill this week to promote consolidation of their proposed merger of technology and telecom agencies, a House Commerce Committee source told us there was “not a lot of enthusiasm” for the proposal. The Dept. has proposed merging the NTIA into its Technology Administration (TA) (CD Feb 14 p1). However, the Committee source said members had 2 central concerns with the proposal.
Some are concerned that the Commerce Committee would lose jurisdiction over spectrum issues since the House Science Committee has oversight of TA, the source said. “At best, the Commerce Committee would share authority over NTIA with the House Science Committee,” the source said. “At worst, the committee would lose it all together.”
There are other concerns that the such a change could be harmful in the current economic environment, the source said, adding: “With spectrum reform and the overall health of the telecom industry being such an important issue for many members, any effort to bury spectrum management deeper in the Commerce Department bureaucracy isn’t likely to be well received.”
Members have little to consider at this point. Commerce hasn’t sent an official proposal or legislation to Congress, which must approve any change in DoC organization. An adviser to TA Dir. Phillip Bond said the Dept. still was conducting an internal review of the proposal and any legislative proposals would stem from that study, which should be completed within weeks. DoC officials met with congressional members Mon. and are likely to do so again today (Tues.) to discuss the proposal, the adviser told us.
Connie Correll, a counselor to Bond, said the proposal would maintain a “status quo” on jurisdictional issues and NTIA’s role in telecom policy wouldn’t be diminished. “It simply formalizes relationships that already exist,” she said. “Whoever heads NTIA will still be the Administration’s lead on telecom issues and work closely with the FCC and all other relevant parties.” Correll said DoC officials visited with House Science and Commerce committees Mon. and were to visit the Senate Commerce Committee today (Tues.) While she acknowledged many members were taking a “wait-and-see” attitude, she said it would make more sense to members once they could see the specifics of the proposal. She said several members had expressed some support for the proposal.
House Commerce Committee spokesman Ken Johnson also said there were concerns about the proposal but that Committee Chmn. Tauzin (R-La.) told Commerce Secy. Donald Evans he would “keep an open mind.” “For every good reason we've heard to make the change, we've heard 10 reasons not to do it,” Johnson said: “Is it change for the sake of change, or are there some real benefits that we seem to be missing?” Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. McCain (R-Ariz.) said last week he would be likely to support the “status quo,” especially since no formal proposal had been given to committee members. Johnson also said the lack of a formal proposal made the idea hard to evaluate.
Under the DoC’s proposal, NTIA Dir. Nancy Victory would report to TA Dir. Bond instead of reporting directly to Evans. The e-commerce duties of the International Trade Administration also would be moved under TA’s jurisdiction. Asst. Commerce Secy. for Technology Policy Bruce Mehlman has said the proposed change would “double telecom advocacy inside the Administration” by making Bond more involved with telecom issues. Some telecom and technology industry observers have come out in support of the change, including the USTA, AT&T and the Information Technology Assn. of America (ITAA). SBC Pres. William Daley, a Commerce Secy. in the Clinton Administration, said the proposal “will bring even greater focus on the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow’s technologies.”