Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 13:46:00 -0500
From: Andrew Blau <blau@eff.org>
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Other Perspectives on Clinton FCC Transition Pick 
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 899, Message 1 of 11

TELECOM Digest V12, #895 reprinted an article from {Communications
Daily} by Art Brodsky on the FCC transition.  Here's a follow-up
article that fills out the picture a bit, by the same writer. It
appeared in the December 9, 1992 issue of {Communications Daily}.  I
am posting it here with permission.  Communications Daily is published
by Warren Publishing, Inc., 2115 Ward Court, N.W.  Washington, DC
20037.

                Copyright 1992 Warren Publishing, Inc.  
                        Communications Daily

                    December  9, 1992, Wednesday

SECTION: Vol. 12, No. 237; Pg. 2

HEADLINE:  Plesser  Praised;
CLINTON TRANSITION TEAM STARTS REVIEW AT FCC

 BODY:

   Transition team for Clinton Administration paid first visit to FCC
Tuesday, meeting with Chief of Staff Terry Haines. FCC transition team
currently is composed of eight persons and its charge has been
described as effort to take "snapshot" of operations at agency, rather
than go into great policy detail or make personnel recommendations.
"Their mission is to come up to speed with what's going on at the
Commission and report back to superiors," we were told.  Team has been
assigned office space on 5th floor of FCC hq.

   Composition of team makes clear that effort is being made to work
closely with Congress, even before Clinton takes office. About half of
team members are congressional staffers. Senate Commerce Committee is
represented by Antoinette (Toni) Cook (who has been mentioned often as
possible FCC chmn.)  and John Windhausen, while House side is
represented by David Leach from Commerce Committee and Gerald Waldron
from Telecom Subcommittee. (Telecom Subcommittee staffer Larry Irving
also will be working on telecommunications infrastructure issues for
another part of transition). Transition team at FCC also includes
Howard U. Prof. Clay Smith, ex-chmn. of Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (husband of Patti Smith, who is deputy dir. of policy and
planning for FCC associate managing dir.) and Prof. Henry Parrett of
Villanova U. Others will be named later.

   Transition team leader is attorney Ronald Plesser of Washington
office of Baltimore law firm Piper & Marbury. His appointment was
strongly criticized by public interest groups (CD Dec 7 p1), who cited
his positions on policy issues and suggested conflicts of interest in
his representation of clients Information Industry Assn. (IIA) and
Direct Marketing Assn. (DMA).  Plesser met Tues. at FCC with Haines.
Later, Haines met with bureau and office chiefs and commissioner aides
to inform them what is going on, and asked them to give full
cooperation.

   However, others in public policy sector praised Plesser, who was
strong supporter of ACLU's Information Technology Project and who once
worked for consumer advocate Ralph Nader. Cathy Russell, counsel for
Senate Technology Subcommittee, said Plesser was "sensitive to privacy
considerations."  While acknowledging he's "strong advocate for his
clients," she said Plesser understands privacy concerns and works to
"bring clients to the table with the ACLU to hash things out."
Plesser, she said, has been "very reasonable with us" and she was
surprised that public interest groups "would attack him on that."

   Similarly, Jerry Berman, head of Washington office of Electronic
Frontier Foundation, called Plesser "one of the leading advocates of
the Freedom of Information Act, and a supporter of making an
electronic Freedom of Information Act."  Plesser has brought IIA "much
further toward recognizing public access to information than they
[IIA] originally were doing, and brought DMA to the table in signing
off on some privacy rights," Berman said. "I don't think that's an
accurate description [to say he is out of mainstream]. [ Plesser]
makes a great effort to balance interests." Sheryl Walter, gen.
counsel of National Security Archive, said Plesser did significant pro
bono work on case for her group on Freedom of Information Act on
behalf of reporter Raymond Bonner, who was working on book about
Philippines Pres.  Marcos. In terms of experience with Archives,
"we've found him to be very supportive of government disclosure."

   OMB Watch Exec. Dir. Gary Bass said it "makes good sense" to have
Plesser and others familiar with issues involved. Bass said he would
like to see more public interest sector representation in transition,
but said critics of Plesser are "reacting because of his institutional
role." If Plesser were "the sole person deciding policy, I would have
a real problem with that," Bass said, but transition team focus is
narrower.

   James Davidson, former staff dir. for House Judiciary Committee and
ex-Senate staffer who wrote much of Privacy Act in 1974, said of
Plesser: Ron Plesser has won more cases upholding freedom of
information than any litigator in the country. Davidson added: "There
is no more good advocate for good information policy" than Plesser.