WASHINGTON-The Senate late Wednesday confirmed the nominations of Deborah Taylor Tate and Michael Copps to the Federal Communications Commission.
The confirmations had been in doubt due to unrelated procedural issues up until the time they were pushed through.
The White House in November nominated Tate, a member of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority, and re-nominated Copps to the five-member independent regulatory agency.
The Senate Commerce Committee held confirmation hearings for Tate and Copps Dec. 13 and their nominations were quickly moved to the Senate floor for full action.
Former FCC Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy left the agency earlier this month, leaving FCC Chairman Kevin Martin in the minority. Members serve five-year terms and are selected from both political parties. Three members, including the chairman, come from the president’s political party, while the remaining two come from the opposite party. The president nominates the members, and the Senate confirms the nominations after hearings.
Former FCC Chairman Michael Powell left the agency in March, leaving incoming Republican Chairman Martin with an evenly split group. FCC Commissioners Copps and Jonathan Adelstein are Democrats. Although Copps’ first term expired in June, he could have stayed until the end of 2006.
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) told reporters that he was at the White House before the confirmation hearing urging Bush administration officials to nominate someone to replace Abernathy.
