House Panel Ratchets Up Scrutiny of FCC's Martin

A House Commerce Committee panel is readying a report expected to question whether Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin went too far in keeping FCC decisions and policymaking to a close-knit group of subordinates. Since last December, the committee's Oversight and Investigations subcommitte, headed by Chairman Bart Stupak (D-MI), has been examining Chairman Martin's management in the wake of complaints, some made publicly by the cable industry and by other Commissioners. Most of the public complaints were that Chairman Martin kept a tight rein on data essential to decisions — including one to expand the FCC's oversight of cable — until the last minute, making it difficult for other Commissioners and the cable industry to weigh in or rebut. In several letters to Chairman Martin, the panel has stated that it has also heard private complaints from FCC staffers that Martin has made it difficult to do their jobs. There also have been complaints that the FCC doesn't follow basic processes of open government, disclosing few details about items Commissioners vote on before the vote is over, essentially preventing public input.