The nomination of Jonathan Adelstein, who has worked for the Democratic leader since 1995, will go to the full Senate for a vote. Approval is expected, with several Republican senators saying they would vote for the South Dakota native.
The vote in the Senate Commerce Committee came after a long period of fighting between Republicans and Democrats over nominations.
That bickering reached a climax -- and Adelstein's nomination was stalled -- when Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee led a party-line vote that rejected Charles Pickering, a close friend of Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals.
Lott already had expressed doubt whether Adelstein had the experience for the FCC job, and after the Pickering vote his resolve against approving the Democratic aide's nomination stiffened.
A truce was called last month after Lott agreed to lift roadblocks to Adelstein in exchange for Daschle's promise to speed confirmation of President Bush's judicial nominees.
Following that agreement, President Bush forwarded Adelstein's nomination to the Senate on July 10. Daschle, D-S.D., had nominated Adelstein last year.
In testimony Tuesday before the Commerce Committee, Adelstein promised to be active on the FCC for rural America. He said he would advocate universal service and greater rural access to high-speed Internet access, or broadband. That's a difficult issue in the Senate, which has several broadband bills to consider.
Adelstein said the Telecommunications Act of 1996 gives the FCC the necessary tools to fix what Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called a crisis in telecommunications, such as opening up more parts of the country to broadband access and attracting more money from investors.
"Broadband is the top priority, I think, in the Telecommunications Act -- you can't deploy broadband fast enough," Adelstein said.
The FCC regulates interstate and international telecommunications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable. The panel has five commissioners, who are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Only three can be from the same political party.
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