And Gregory L. Rohde to Be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information
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S. HRG. 106–981 NOMINATIONS OF THOMAS B. LEARY TO BE A COMMISSIONER ON THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION; AND GREGORY L. ROHDE TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF COMMERCE FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED SIXTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION SEPTEMBER 9, 1999 Printed for the use of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation ( U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 71–936 PDF WASHINGTON : 2002 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 06:42 Feb 12, 2002 Jkt 071936 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 71936.TXT SCOM1 PsN: SCOM1 SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION ONE HUNDRED SIXTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona, Chairman TED STEVENS, Alaska ERNEST F. HOLLINGS, South Carolina CONRAD BURNS, Montana DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii SLADE GORTON, Washington JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West Virginia TRENT LOTT, Mississippi JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas JOHN B. BREAUX, Louisiana OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, Maine RICHARD H. BRYAN, Nevada JOHN ASHCROFT, Missouri BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota BILL FRIST, Tennessee RON WYDEN, Oregon SPENCER ABRAHAM, Michigan MAX CLELAND, Georgia SAM BROWNBACK, Kansas MARK BUSE, Staff Director MARTHA P. ALLBRIGHT, General Counsel IVAN A. SCHLAGER, Democratic Chief Counsel and Staff Director KEVIN D. KAYES, Democratic General Counsel (II) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 06:42 Feb 12, 2002 Jkt 071936 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 71936.TXT SCOM1 PsN: SCOM1 C O N T E N T S Page Hearing held September 9, 1999 ............................................................................ 1 Statement of Senator Ashcroft ............................................................................... 1 Statement of Senator Burns ................................................................................... 2 Statement of Senator Wyden .................................................................................. 2 WITNESSES Conrad, Hon. Kent, U.S. Senator from North Dakota .......................................... 5 Dorgan, Hon. Byron L., U.S. Senator from North Dakota ................................... 4 Leary, Thomas B., Commissioner-Designate, Federal Trade Commission ......... 28 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 29 Biographical information ................................................................................. 29 Pickering, Hon. Charles W. ‘‘Chip’’, U.S. Representative from Mississippi ........ 6 Pomeroy, Hon. Earl, U.S. Representative from North Dakota ............................ 5 Rohde, Gregory L., assistant secretary, Communications and Information- Designate, U.S. Department of Commerce ........................................................ 7 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 11 Biographical information ................................................................................. 16 APPENDIX Rowe, Bob, chairman, NARUC Telecommunications Committee, letter dated September 3, 1999, to Hon. Conrad Burns ........................................................ 43 Stevens, Hon. Ted, U.S. Senator from Alaska, prepared statement ................... 43 (III) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 06:42 Feb 12, 2002 Jkt 071936 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 71936.TXT SCOM1 PsN: SCOM1 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 06:42 Feb 12, 2002 Jkt 071936 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 71936.TXT SCOM1 PsN: SCOM1 NOMINATIONS OF THOMAS B. LEARY TO BE A COMMISSIONER ON THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION; AND GREGORY L. ROHDE TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF COMMERCE FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1999 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION, Washington, DC. The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:21 p.m., in room SR–253, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. John Ashcroft, pre- siding. Staff members assigned to this hearing: Virginia Pounds, Repub- lican professional staff; and Jonathan Oakman, Democratic staff assistant. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN ASHCROFT, U.S. SENATOR FROM MISSOURI Senator ASHCROFT. Good afternoon. I am grateful for your at- tendance here today. The Commerce Committee meets today to examine qualifications of two individuals who have been nominated by the President of the United States to serve this great Nation in important govern- mental responsibilities. This committee takes its advice and consent role very seriously, and I will note that each of the nominees has responded in detail to the committee’s request for biographical and financial data, and we are grateful for your having so responded. I have had the oppor- tunity to review your responses to the committee’s questionnaire and I know that the chairman looks forward to moving your nomi- nations quickly. Our first nominee is Greg Rohde who has been nominated to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Informa- tion and Administrator of the National Telecommunications and In- formation Administration. Our second nominee will be Thomas Leary who has been nomi- nated to be a Commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission. I would like to take this opportunity to thank both of the nomi- nees for being here today. I know that your nomination is a great honor and that your families are very proud. I would like quickly to welcome the family members and special guests of our nominees who are in attendance today. I thank you all for coming. (1) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 06:42 Feb 12, 2002 Jkt 071936 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 71936.TXT SCOM1 PsN: SCOM1 2 We will begin with a panel of our distinguished colleagues from both the House and Senate, here to introduce Mr. Rohde and to support his nomination. Before I do, I would ask if the Senator from Oregon would have any remarks. STATEMENT OF HON. RON WYDEN, U.S. SENATOR FROM OREGON Senator WYDEN. I would and I will be very brief, Mr. Chairman. I want to welcome both of the nominees. I think we have got two first-rate individuals. I was very pleased to be a strong and early supporter of Greg Rohde for this position. I think he will do an out- standing job. Just so he knows, I am going to want to explore with him a little bit this morning how we can get the Federal Communications Com- mission off the dime and actually implement section 706 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. As he knows, I sat on the Commu- nications Subcommittee for a long, long time, and this issue, of course, is critical to the program that was held this morning, Sen- ator Daschle’s excellent program, to get high speed Internet access to rural communities. The Federal Communications Commission is authorized, directed to implement section 706 of the Telecommuni- cations Act, and frankly, getting the FCC to move on broadband is sort of like trying to coax a dog off a meat wagon. It is just impos- sible to get them to act, and I am very hopeful that we will see some action on that and that is an issue I would like to explore with Mr. Rohde. But he will be an outstanding nominee. Then with respect to our other nominee, Mr. Thomas Leary, Commissioner-Designate of the Federal Trade Commission, I am going to want to talk to him about his views with respect to bring- ing back some competition to the market for gasoline on the west coast. Oregon is now paying the highest gasoline prices in the Na- tion. In fact, the whole west is now getting shellacked in terms of gasoline prices. We are facing the prospect of another big merger in the gasoline market. The BP-Arco merger that is being discussed in Alaska in my view would be poison for the west coast of the United States. I have asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate pric- ing in the west. They have put subpoenas into the hands of the major oil companies at this time, so there are some limitations on what Mr. Leary is going to be in a position to say, but I would cer- tainly like to discuss some of the policy issues with respect to gaso- line pricing with him. But my sense is we have two outstanding individuals before us today, Mr. Chairman, and I look forward to supporting them and to hearing from them. Thank you. Senator ASHCROFT. Thank you very much, Senator Wyden. It is my pleasure now to call upon the Senator from Montana. STATEMENT OF HON. CONRAD BURNS, U.S. SENATOR FROM MONTANA Senator BURNS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Nice to have a couple of nominees before us that we can all enthusiastically support. Greg’s mom is here. She is from Hill County, Montana. [Laughter.] VerDate 11-MAY-2000 06:42 Feb 12, 2002 Jkt 071936 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 71936.TXT SCOM1 PsN: SCOM1 3 If folks do not know what that is, that is the largest town on the Milk River. [Laughter.] If that does not help you any, it is called Havre. And it is nice to have her here today with Greg. I also want to say that we have worked with Greg a long time here on this committee on telecommunications issues, and I do not know of anybody that has been any more helpful in furthering leg- islation on a bipartisan basis than Greg has. I cite the passage of the ORBIT bill and several landmark pieces of legislation, the 1996 telecom bill, which played extremely important roles in shaping and fashioning that legislation. One always has to wonder why our inflation has not run away and yet our economy continues to boom. I want to state emphati- cally here today that the passage of the 1996 bill probably has ex- tended this economic cycle much further than we even thought was possible, and I think maybe we will have to take a look in our pro- ductivity and our technologies. What this is providing is something that some of us recognized many, many years ago, and Greg was one of those. Of course, representing a rural State, understanding that distance is our biggest enemy when it comes to infrastructure and the growth of rural America, a very keen understanding, and that also was extremely helpful in shaping that legislation.