Senators bristle at FCC chief's enforcement of AT& T–BellSouth merger

0 Comments | USA TODAY, February, 2007 | by Paul Davidson

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission faced tough questions from a Senate panel Thursday over his comments that he would not enforce a key condition the FCC imposed before approving of the AT&T-BellSouth merger.

At a Senate Commerce Committee hearing Thursday, Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, suggested FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, a Republican, did not intend to "stand by the deal" and that he was obliged to withhold his vote and negotiate further if he had concerns about any of the conditions.

The $86 billion merger -- the largest in telecom history -- was approved in December by a 4-0 vote after weeks of negotiations between the commission's two Democrats and two Republicans.

The condition in question would require the...