| House Science Committee
Approves NSF Authorization Bill |
5/22. The House
Science Committee amended and approved HR 4664,
the Investing in America's Future Act of 2002, sponsored by Rep. Nick Smith
(R-MI).
HR 4664 would authorize the appropriation of $5.5 Billion for
FY 2003 for the National Science
Foundation (NSF). Included in the funding authorization is
$704 Million for networking and information technology
research, $238 Million for the Nanoscale Science and
Engineering Priority Area, and $60 Million for the
Mathematical Sciences Priority Area.
The bill authorizes an increase in funding for the NSF of 15%
in FY 2003, and similar increases in future years. If the
funding authorized by this bill were actually appropriated, it
would double the NSF's budget within five years.
Rep. Constance Morella
(R-MD) stated that "If we expect the technological
advances we have achieved in recent years to continue, we must
fund the underpinning science and engineering more robustly.
In addition, we must provide adequate resources to produce the
next generation of scientists and engineers. As the premier
supporter of the overall scientific enterprise, the NSF has
the ability to balance the research and education dollars
needed to achieve both of these goals".
See, HR 4664
[PDF], as reported by the Subcommittee on Research on May 9.
The full Committee approved one amendment
[PDF] on May 22 offered by Rep. Sherwood Boehlert
(R-NY). It authorizes the appropriation of $50 Million for the
Advanced Technological Education Program established under the
Scientific and Advanced Technology Act of 1992, and $30
Million for the Minority Serving Institutions Undergraduate
Program. |
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| House Science Committee
Approves Tech Talent Bill |
5/22. The House
Science Committee amended and approved HR 3130,
the Undergraduate Science, Mathematics, Engineering and
Technology Improvement Act, which is also known as the
Technology Talent Act.
HR 3130 would authorize the appropriation of $25 Million for
FY 2002 for the National Science
Foundation (NSF) for a grant program. It provides that the
NSF "is authorized to award grants, on a competitive
basis to institutions of higher education with science,
mathematics, engineering, or technology programs to enable the
institutions to increase the number of students studying and
receiving associates or bachelor's degrees in established or
emerging fields within science, mathematics, engineering, and
technology."
It is sponsored by Rep.
Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), the Chairman of the Committee,
and Rep. John Larson
(D-CT). Rep. Larson stated that "The pipeline which
connects our country's economic and security needs with
talented young minds is broken. This bill will help repair
that pipeline by spurring the interest of our youth in
pursuing fields that will propel both technological innovation
and the future growth of our economy."
See, HR
3130 [PDF] as approved by the Subcommittee on Research on
May 9. On May 22, the full Committee approved an amendment
[PDF] offered by Rep. Joe
Baca (D-CA) that requires the NSF to establish a grant
program for minority serving institutions. The Committee also
approved an amendment
[PDF] offered by Rep.
Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) that directs the NSF to "strive
to increase the number of students receiving baccalaureate
degrees, concentrations, or certifications in the physical or
information sciences, mathematics, engineering, or technology
who come from groups underrepresented in these fields",
including women. Finally, the Committee approved an amendment
[PDF] offered by Rep.
Brian Baird (D-WA) that amends the Scientific and Advanced
Technology Act of 1992. |
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| House Subcommittee Holds
Hearing on Whois Database |
5/22. The House
Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, the
Internet, and Intellectual Property held a hearing titled
"The Accuracy and Integrity of the Whois Database".
Rep. Howard Coble
(R-NC), the Chairman of the Subcommittee, said in his opening
statement that "The Whois Database refers to a series
of information directories providing the identity of a
website’s origin or operator. Regrettably, the Internet all
too often is a crime scene and is riddled with bogus domain
registration information leaving law enforcement at a loss to
protect the public."
Rep. Howard Berman
(D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the Subcommittee, said in his opening
statement that the Internet "has proven invaluable as
a tool for fraud, pormography, and piracy. These crimes are
exacerbated by fraudulent contact information in a domain name
registration -- without accurate information, it is difficult
for law enforcement officials to trace the perpetrator of a
crime, and it is difficult for a consumer to make an informed
decision about the integrity of a particular web site."
On May 2, 2002, Reps. Coble and Berman introduced HR 4640,
a bill to amend the criminal code to provide that
"Whoever knowingly and with intent to defraud provides
material and misleading false contact information to a domain
name registrar, domain name registry, or other domain name
registration authority in registering a domain name shall be
fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or
both".
Howard Beales, Director of the Federal
Trade Commission's (FTC) Consumer Protection Bureau, wrote
in his prepared
testimony that "Internet fraud enforcement efforts
require quick identification of problems, quick identification
of perpetrators, and the ability to gather information about
international entities and organizations. Accurate Whois data
is essential to these efforts, and inaccurate data can
significantly frustrate them."
See also, prepared testimony of other witnesses: Michael
Palage, Cameron
Powell, and Steven
Metalitz. |
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| DC Circuit Rules in ACS of
Anchorage v. FCC |
5/21. The U.S.
Court of Appeals (DCCir) issued its opinion
in ACS of
Anchorage v. FCC, a case regarding regulatory
classifications of calls to Internet service providers (ISPs).
ACS is the incumbent
local exchange carrier (ILEC) in Anchorage, Alaska. ACS
classified ISP related traffic as interstate for the purpose
of apportioning costs, which had the effect of increasing its
reported interstate costs, thereby making its expected rate of
return lower than it otherwise would have been. General Communications, Inc. (GCI)
filed a complaint with the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) alleging, among other
things, that ACS had improperly calculated its interstate
costs by treating ISP calls as interstate, and had violated
its proscribed rate of return. The FCC issued an order, siding
with GCI. It found that ACS exceeded its permissible rate of
return, and directed ACS to pay damages.
ACS filed a petition for review with the Appeals Court,
raising three issues, including the ISP calls classification
issue. (ACS also argued that the FCC erred in failing to treat
its 47
U.S.C. § 204(a)(3) tariff filings as a bar to damages; it
also contested the rate selected for prejudgment interest.)
ACS argued that since the FCC has found that ISP calls are
interstate for jurisdictional purposes under its end to end
analysis in a proceeding regarding reciprocal compensation, it
should also find that ISP calls are interstate for the purpose
of apportioning costs (separations) between interstate and
intrastate communications. However, the Appeals Court wrote
that while "generally speaking, separations will follow
jurisdiction", in this case, "practical
considerations may justify divergent treatment -- at least
temporarily". The Appeals Court held that the FCC's
classification was not arbitrary or capricious, and hence,
denied the petition for review on this issue.
See also, FCC's Order
on Remand and Report and Order [PDF], In the Matter of
Implementation of the Local Competition Provisions in the
Telecommunications Act of 1996 Intercarrier Compensation for
ISP-Bound Traffic (CC Docket Nos. 96-98 and 99-68), adopted
April 18, 2001.
The Appeals Court did, however, grant the petition for review
on the Section 204 issue, and remanded on the prejudgment
interest issue. |
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| Groups Write European
Parliament Re Electronic Privacy |
5/22. A collection of groups wrote a letter to members
of the European Parliament regarding the proposed European
Union Directive on the protection of privacy in the electronic
communications sector.
They wrote that "We urge you to vote against general and
exploratory data retention of individuals' electronic
communications by law enforcement authorities. We recommend
that you vote in favour of the position on Article 15(1) of
the European Parliament Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and
Rights, Justice and Home Affairs (the "LIBE
Committee"). .We strongly recommend that you do not vote
for any amendment on Article 15 that would leave EU Member
States governments free to decide on the fundamental issue of
data retention."
The signatories include the Electronic
Privacy Information Center (EPIC), the Center for Democracy and Technology
(CDT), and others. |
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| People and Appointments |
5/22. California Governor Gray Davis announced the
appointments of Amy
Hogue, Gregory Keosian, and Charles Palmer
as Judges of the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Hogue is a
partner in the Los Angeles office of the law firm of Pillsbury Winthrop.
She practices in the areas of intellectual property and media.
She has represented NBC, CBS and ABC and book and magazine
publishers in defamation and invasion of privacy actions. She
has also handled cases involving trade secrets, copyrights,
privacy rights, employment disputes, breach of contract, fraud
and business torts.
5/22. Kris Anne Monteith has been named Associate
Bureau Chief for Intergovernmental Affairs in the Federal
Communications Commission's (FCC) Consumer and Governmental
Affairs Bureau (CGB). She has worked for the FCC since
1997. Before that she worked for the law firms of McDermott Will & Emery and Keller and Heckman. See, FCC
release [PDF]. |
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| More News |
5/22. The Arizona
Corporation Commission approved the last of the 14 federal
checklist items necessary for Qwest's
entry into the long distance market in Arizona. Qwest
announced that it "plans to file its application to offer
long distance service in Arizona with the FCC within the next
few weeks". See, Qwest
release.
5/22. The Senate may vote on final passage of trade promotion
authority (TPA) legislation on Thursday, May 22. On Wednesday
morning, President Bush gave a brief speech
just before he left on his trip to Europe. He stated that
"I hope the United States Senate finishes debate on the
trade promotion authority and passes the bill. It's going to
be important for our friends around the world to see this
commitment to trade. Trade is in the interests of our workers.
Trade is in the interests of job creation. And trade is in the
interests of developing nations as well as developed nations.
And so I want to thank those in the United States Senate, both
Republicans and Democrats, who have worked hard on this bill.
I hope they finish the debate and pass this important
legislation. It'll be a strong positive message." The
House passed its TPA bill, HR 3005,
on December 7, 2001.
5/21. Sen. Byron Dorgan
(D-ND) and Sen. John
Ensign (R-NV) introduced S 2537, a bill to facilitate the
creation of a new, second level Internet domain within the
U.S. country code domain that provides access only to material
that is suitable for minors and not harmful to minors. The
bill was referred to the Senate Commerce
Committee, of which both Sen. Dorgan and Sen. Ensign are
members. The House passed its version of this bill, HR 3833,
the Dot Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act of 2002, on May
21 by a vote of 406-2. |
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| Thursday, May 23 |
The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business.
9:30 - 11:45 AM. The Antitrust
Division of the Department of Justice and the FTC
will hold another in their series of hearings on antitrust and
intellectual property. This event is titled "An
International Comparative Law Perspective on the Relationship
Between Competition and Intellectual Property, Part II".
For more information, contact Derick Rill (FTC Office of
Public Affairs) at 202 326-2472 or Susan DeSanti (FTC Policy
Planning Division) at 202 326-2167. See, FTC notice.
Location: Room 432, FTC, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.
10:00 AM. The Senate
Judiciary Committee will hold a business meeting. The
agenda includes a vote on Brooks Smith to be a Judge of
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (held over
from last week), and consideration of S 1989,
The National Cyber Security Defense Team Authorization Act.
See, agenda.
Press contact: Mimi Devlin at 202 224-9437. Location: Room
226, Dirksen Building.
12:00 NOON. The Congressional
Internet Caucus Advisory Committee will host a panel
discussion of online pormography, the Children's Online
Protection Ac, and the National Academy of Science's report to
Congress titled "Youth, Pormography, and the
Internet." The speakers will be Jerry Berman (Center for Democracy and Technology),
Donna Hughes, Larry Magid (National Center for Missing
& Exploited Children), Robin Raskin. Lunch will be
served. RSVP to rsvp @netcaucus.org
or call Danielle at 202 638-4370. Location: Room HC-5, Capitol
Building.
2:00 PM. The Senate
Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on pending
judicial nominations: Lavenski Smith (to be a Judge of the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit), Henry Autrey
(U.S. District Court, E.D. Missouri), Richard Dorr (U.S.D.C.,
W.D. Missouri), Amy St. Eve (U.S.D.C., N.D. Illinois), Henry
Hudson (U.S.D.C., E.D. Virginia), and Timothy Savage (U.S.D.C.,
E.D. Pennsylvania). See, agenda.
Press contact: Mimi Devlin at 202 224-9437. Location: Room
226, Dirksen Building.
2:15 PM. The Senate
Foreign Relations Committee will hold a business meeting
to consider many items, including the nomination of David
Gross to be Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for
International Communications and Information Policy in the
Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs and U.S. Coordinator
for International Communications and Information Policy.
Location: Room 419, Dirksen Building.
Day one of a two day conference titled "The Forrester
Telecom Summit: The Impact Of Displacement". See, conference
web site. For more information, contact events @forrester.com
or 1 888 343-6786. Location: Grand Hyatt Washington. |
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| Friday, May 24 |
| The House will meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. No
votes expected after 2:00 PM. |
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| Monday, May 27 |
| Memorial Day. The House and Senate will not be in session
from Monday, May 27 through Friday, May 31, for the Memorial
Day District Work Period. The FCC will be closed. The National
Press Club will be closed. The Library of Congress will be
closed. |
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| Thursday, May 30 |
9:00 AM - 5:30 PM. The FCC's Public
Safety National Coordination Committee will hold a series of
meetings. The Interoperability Subcommittee will meet from
9:00 - 11:30 AM. The Technology Subcommittee will meet from
12:30 - 3:00 PM. The Implementation Subcommittee will meet
from 3:00 - 5:30 PM. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room,
445 12th St., SW.
12:00 NOON. The Congressional
Internet Caucus Advisory Committee will host a panel
discussion titled "Speeding Broadband Deployment By
Balancing of Rights of Way Interests". The speakers will
be Marilyn Praisner (Montgomery County Council), Robert Nelson
(Michigan PSC), Martin Stern (I-ROW), and Sandy Wilson (Cox
Enterprises). Lunch will be served. RSVP to rsvp @netcaucus.org or
call Danielle at 202 638-4370. Location: Room HC-5, Capitol. |
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