Obama Nominates Adelstein To Head Rural Utilities Service
Current FCC Commissioner Would Administer Agricultural Department's Broadband Stimulus Funds
John Eggerton -- Multichannel News, 3/20/2009 6:30:53 PM
President Barack Obama has nominated Democratic FCC commissioner Jonathan Adelstein to head the Agriculture Department's Rural Utilities Service, which has $2.5 billion in broadband stimulus grants to hand out.
Adelstein is the latest of the White House of key administration appointments.
A source close to Adelstein had told Multichannel News he was interested in the job and excited by the prospect of appointment.
Adelstein's likely successor to that Democratic seat is Mignon Clyburn. Clyburn is a South Carolina public service commissioner and daughter of House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.). Sources say she has already been vetted for the post by the administration.
Adelstein would be administrator of the RUS program. The White House gave Adelstein props for "efforts to improve rural telecommunication s and broadband" while at the commission.
The American Cable Association applauded Obama's nomination of Adelestein.
"A native of Rapid City, South Dakota, Jonathan Adelstein knows from personal experience the communications needs of the rural America communities that ACA's independent cable companies have been serving for decades," ACA president and CEO Matthew Polka said in a statement.. "ACA looks forward to working with Adelstein after he arrives at RUS on implementing the $2.5 billion RUS loan program intended to stimulate high-speed Internet access in unserved and underserved communities."
Adelstein had been on the commission for six years, and rather than stick around in a similar capacity, which likely was not an option anyway, he was said to be looking forward to the challenge of managing several hundred people in a program furthering a key Obama administration goal.
The announcement Friday was just an "intent to nominate." The nomination must still be sent to the Senate, then vetted in committee and voted on by the full body.
The nomination of Julius Genachowski has yet to make it to the Senate, which may because the adminstration wants to do a package deal with Clyburn and a Republican to fill the seat vacated by Deborah Taylor Tate last July.
In a statement, the president said of the latest crop of nominees, which also included posts at Energy, State, Labor and Homeland Security: "This group of public servants joins my administration at a critical time in our nation's history. As we work to rebuild our economy, achieve energy independence and keep American strong at home and abroad, I will rely on their trusted counsel and extensive experience on the issues. I look forward to working with them in the months ahead."
FCC Praise Pours In For Adelstein
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