New NTIA administrator owned Cisco stock when Cisco granted coveted NTIA Buy American exemption

Financial disclosure document reveals ownership of at least $100K in Cisco stock by new NTIA administrator, Larry Strickling.

I blogged last April about how Cisco was working overtime AGAINST the Buy America provisions of the $7.2B broadband stimulus fund.

Fast-forward to June 19, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) granted Cisco its coveted Buy American Exemption, allowing Cisco to sell to recipients of the $7.2B broadband stimulus fund all of the products that it has outsourced to contract manufacturers located overseas (it's my opinion this "exemption" rewards the behavior that the stimulus fund was passed by Congress to change).

Fast-forward a week later to June 26, Larry Strickling is confirmed as the new Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

However, most alarming in my opinion, a financial disclosure document filed March 31 2009, showed that Stickling owned a large Cisco stock position (a minimum of at least $100K according to the document itself, page 3 - line 6.

So why would I find this most alarming?

Well, its been proven that a government official can be bribed with free dinners, so in my mind a government official in possession of a large corporate stockholding while that corporation is subject to administrative rulings by that same government official, raises a "mighty big red flag" in my opinion.

Finally, I found the following statement (page 3 - 2nd paragraph) made by Strickling during his March 19, 2009 confirmation testimony before the U.S. Senate, exceptionally noteworthy:

"Since 2000, I have worked for a handful of telecommunications companies of varying sizes, each with their own product offerings and business strategies. None survives as a stand-alone company today. I believe these experiences with an assortment of communications companies and my previous government service at the FCC provide me a unique background for the position of Assistant Secretary."

I voted for President Obama seeking change, I did not help elect Obama as President because I wanted to see the "status quo" maintained.

Related Stories:

Broadband subsidy: too much money, but mostly well targeted

Net neutrality advocates score big win with broadband stimulus rules

Cisco gives broadband stimulus rules a thumbs up

Government releases $4 billion in broadband stimulus funds

Broadband stimulus exempted from 'buy American'

4 key points on broadband stimulus money

Cisco against Buy America provisions of the $7.2B broadband stimulus fund

Cisco quietly downsizing through outsourcing

What's your take, do you think owning a large Cisco stock position would tempt you to give "breaks" to Cisco as a government official?

BradReese.Com Cisco Refurbished - Services that protect, maintain and optimize Cisco hardware
Contact: Brad Reese | Twitter: http://twitter.com/BradReese

1. New worldwide Cisco CCIE count surpasses historic 20K milestone
2. Average tenure of a senior Cisco executive is 11.5 years
3. It appears Agito Networks has surpassed competitors on mobile handset technology
4. Cisco selling refurbished Linksys directly to end users
5. Will Liquid Computing pour cold water over Cisco's ambitious unified computing system?
6. New Apple iPhone 3G S will kill the Cisco Flip video camera
7. How to reduce the high cost of T1 service
8. New Cisco tool for those who don't know or use binary math
9. Comment from Network World reader removes Cisco SVP Judy Lin's face from Cisco's Mount Rushmore of senior executive biographies
10. Executive who outsourced U.S. jobs to India appears to be leaving Cisco
11. Cisco SEC filing: Unable to reasonably estimate a range of loss, if any for Cisco Brazilian subsidiary
12. Cisco may invest more than $500M in new data center located near Dallas, Texas
13. Director-class switch dustup between Brocade and Cisco over Miercom lab test results
14. Robert Lloyd, most likely successor to Cisco CEO John Chambers goads channel partners to wallop HP ProCurve
15. Cisco loses $1M AT&T Park deal to pip-squeak competitor ShoreTel
16. 4 key points on broadband stimulus money
17. Has EMC rustled Data Domain away from NetApp, HP and Cisco?
18. Judge calls bluff made by HP's new networking boss!
19. Brocade and Cisco focus on channel partner profitability
20. View Brad Reese on Cisco Story Archives

• Cisco
• Data Center
• LANs / WANs
• Security
• SMB
• VoIP / Convergence
• Wireless / Mobile
• A government official in possession of a large corporate stockholding while that corporation is subject to administrative rulings by that same government official
• An assortment of communications companies
• Confirmation testimony before the U.S. Senate noteworthy
• How Cisco was working overtime AGAINST the Buy America provisions of the $7.2B broadband stimulus fund
• I have worked for a handful of telecommunications companies of varying sizes
• I voted for President Obama seeking change
• Its been proven that a government official can be bribed with free dinners
• Larry Strickling is confirmed as the new Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)
• Made by Strickling during his March 19
• My previous government service at the FCC provide me a unique background for the position of Assistant Secretary
• Showed that Stickling owned a large Cisco stock position
• The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) granted Cisco its coveted Buy American Exception