The FCC Bids Adieu To Deborah Tate

Tate

Republican FCC Commissioner DEBORAH TAYLOR TATE took part in her last meeting via teleconference on TUESDAY. Tate was nominated by Pres. BUSH on NOV. 9th, 2005 and was confirmed by the Senate the following month.

According to the NATIONAL JOURNAL, TATE focused on children and families, pushing broadcasters and advertisers to reduce the exposure and promotion of unhealthy foods. She also got involved in the universal service fund, which subsidizes telecom and Internet connections for citizens, hospitals, libraries and schools in rural- and low-income areas.

Predictably, her fellow Commissioners sent her off with effusive praise. Fellow Republican ROBERT MCDOWELL said TATE was often the "voice of consensus and helped "lift unnecessary regulations in order to allow market competition to grow and flourish." Democrat JONATHAN ADELSTEIN confirmed that TATE's "grace and friendship have made easier and more enjoyable the many important and often difficult issues we've tackled together." Fellow Democratic MICHAEL COPPS said her time at the FCC "has been in many ways extraordinary... [but is] a chapter in a book still being written with other chapters yet to come."

Tate encouraged the FCC to "continue to seek and find consensus whenever possible, keeping the public interest rather than the 'politics du jour' at the forefront of every decision" because the FCC does "not make decisions in a vacuum." She also praised the incoming administration's concentration on broadband rollout.

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