Dingell, Stupak provide ultimatum to Martin: FCC chief wanted for interview prior to report on agency management practices

House Commerce Committee leaders offered Federal Communications Commission Kevin Martin one last chance to be interviewed before releasing a final report on its investigation of agency management practices.
The panel publicized its renewed request to interview Martin, a somewhat unusual step that appears to suggest House members are irked that back-channel efforts to meet with the FCC chief have gone nowhere.
“Since last week, the committee staff has attempted to arrange an interview to provide you with an opportunity to comment personally on these matters. Thus far, however, your office has failed to arrange a meeting in response to our calls,” stated Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.) and Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), head of the oversight and investigations subcommittee, in a letter to Martin last Friday.
The lawmakers said if Martin does not make himself available for an interview by the end of this week committee staffers will complete the report without his input. The committee said other interview requests were made in separate letters to Martin Chief of Staff Daniel Gonzalez, Inspector General Kent Nilsson, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Chief Derek Poarch and Catherine Bohigian, VP for federal affairs at Cablevision Systems Corp.
The committee previously signaled it might hold an oversight hearing on the Martin FCC, but that did not occur.
“We’ve received their letter offering interviews of the chairman and others and we are reviewing it,” said FCC spokesman Robert Kenny. “We continue to cooperate with the committee and have already provided thousands of documents at their request.”
Late last year, Dingell put Martin on notice about the lawmaker’s concerns with how the agency was being run. In particular, Dingell focused on whether agency policymaking was as open and transparent as it should be. That was followed by the launch of a formal investigation in early January and, two months later, a sweeping request for documentation on a wide array of agency operations.
Martin has been criticized for, among other things, FCC meeting delays and allegedly giving fellow commissioners insufficient time to review new initiatives and proposed orders. The FCC chief has countered such delays are due to his desire to reach agreements with the FCC’s Republican and Democratic commissioners. Martin insists he runs the agency no differently than his predecessors.
In the months following the launch of the congressional probe, Martin has provided the public earlier notice of items up for scheduled votes and held regular briefings with reporters on issues pending before the GOP-led FCC. In addition, Martin has sought to work with Democrats – who control Congress – on some of their pet telecom and wireless issues.
The potential fallout for Martin appears limited, given that he is likely to leave the FCC early next year after President-elect Barack Obama puts his stamp on the agency.