IP: FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH -- Prof. Farber goes to Washington from the University of Pennsylvania's Pennsylvania Current

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH

Prof. Farber goes to Washington

By David Farber

Over a year ago, I was asked if I could consider spending a year in 
government service as Chief Technologist at the Federal Communications 
Commission - the FCC. As a person who had spent a lot of time in D.C. 
serving on federal advisory boards, I hesitated. Would I turn into a 
bureaucrat? Would I waste a year or would I learn a lot that would help me 
in better teaching when I returned? I chose to go.

My wife, GG, and I rented a small, one-room apartment on 24th Street and 
Pennsylvania Avenue at the Pennsylvania House - quite a change from our 
large house on four acres in rural Pennsylvania!

So what was the bottom line of my year in D.C.? First, about the city. 
Washington is a small town with a great subway system. There are lots of 
free museums, concerts and other diversions. It has world-class ethnic 
restaurants. We could walk easily to the Kennedy Center for music, dance 
and the like. It is not New York City, but no place is except New York 
City. The symphony is not anywhere near Philadelphia's. But you can walk 
there. All in all, it is a great place to live for a year, provided it does 
not snow too much.

CROSSHEAD:Policymakers are underrated

Then there are the bureaucrats. I was impressed with the quality of the 
people I worked with at the FCC and dealt with at other agencies and on 
Capitol Hill. They broke their backs for not much money and frequent abuse 
from the Hill. They were first-rate. They worked late hours when needed and 
had the patience of saints when dealing with the political appointees. The 
FCC Commissioners - all political appointments - and their staff were an 
interesting blend of dedicated people watching out for their future after 
the FCC. I found it intriguing to talk and work with them. They were mostly 
trained in the law and had a mixed understanding of the technical issues, 
but after all, that is what I was there for.

What were the highlights of my stay professionally? Several stand out. My 
wife and I were invited to attend a Senate leadership retreat. We sat in on 
meetings with the president and vice president and discussed issues with 
the senators and their spouses. When our elected representatives are 
off-mike and off-camera, they show a genuine interest in the issues they 
deal with and a bipartisan spirit that I had not expected to see.

I worked along with [Professor of Public Policy and Management] Gerry 
Faulhaber of Wharton, the FCC's chief economist in its action on the 
AOL/Time Warner merger. We were both key players and worked together to 
shape the result, walking a fine line between not regulating the Internet 
to death and keeping it the open, vibrant network it is today. We worked 
right up to the last possible minute to get the votes needed to approve our 
recommendations and let the merger proceed.

CROSSHEAD:Techie shortage

Washington is a town with very, very few technical people advising the top 
levels of decision-makers. In an era where technology has such an impact on 
our economy, that is dangerous. Most of the senior people are lawyers and 
economists with little knowledge of science and technology. They get their 
information largely from the few technical people on their staffs and from 
hordes of lobbyists. With respect to technical information, Washington is a 
mushroom farm. I will leave it up to the readers' friends who live near the 
Chester County farms to elaborate on this statement.

Was it worth it? Yes. I learned a lot, got a bit frustrated at times and 
felt proud at times. It gave me valuable lessons in how policy is really 
made that my students and I will benefit from. I would do it again - it 
made me a better teacher and a better citizen.

David Farber is the Alfred Fitler Moore Professor of Telecommunications 
Systems in the School of Engineering and Applied Science.



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