| FCC Files Petition for
Rehearing in USTA v. FCC |
7/9. The Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) filed a petition for
rehearing en banc [PDF] with the U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir)
in USTA
v. FCC, in which a three judge panel overturned
the FCC's unbundling order and line sharing order.
The DC Circuit issued its opinion
on May 24, 2002 granting the petitions for review of the U.S. Telecom Association (USTA)
and incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs). See, 290 F.3d
415.
The USTA and ILECs challenged the FCC's order requiring ILECs
to lease a variety of unbundled network elements to
competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs). They also
challenged an FCC line sharing order that requires ILECs to
lease to CLECs only a portion of local copper loops, rather
than the whole line, for the purpose of offering DSL service.
The Appeals Court granted both petitions. It remanded both
rules to the FCC for further proceedings. While the ILECs
prevailed, the FCC already has underway a proceeding in which
it is examining its unbundling rules.
The FCC wrote in its request for rehearing that this case is
of "national importance to the FCC's ongoing
implementation of the 1996 Act's local competition
provisions". It asserted two errors. First, "the
panel's decision is, at a minimum, fundamentally in tension
with recent and pertinent Supreme Court authority dealing with
closely related substantive requirements of the 1996 Act. Less
than two weeks before the panel issued its decision in this
case, the Supreme Court, in Verizon Telephone Cos. v. FCC,
122 S.Ct. 1646 (2002) ("Verizon"), had
affirmed the FCC's "TELRIC" methodology for
determining the cost-based prices that incumbent LECs may
charge new competitive LECs for access to the unbundled
network elements ("UNEs") that are the subject of
this case." See, Verizon
v. FCC [104 pages in PDF], May 13, 2002.
Secondly, the FCC wrote that "the panel's decision also
requires rehearing because it can be read to establish, on the
basis of a misreading of the Supreme Court's decision in AT&T
Corp. v. Iowa Utilities Board, 252 U.S. 366 (1999), an
unwarranted restriction on the FCC's implementation of the
Act's network element provisions that is, at a minimum, in
tension with other provisions of the 1996 Act."
Walter McCormick, P/CEO of the USTA stated in a release
that "We are disappointed that the FCC has filed for a
rehearing since it will further delay the Commission from
moving forward with its Triennial Review, in which it is
already looking at the questions that the court has directed
it to consider. Unfortunately, any delay in achieving final
rules for the issues raised in the Triennial Review will
further postpone the telecom industry’s economic
recovery." |
|
|
| FCC Announces Agenda for
June 16 Meeting |
7/9. The Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) announced the agenda for
its open meeting at 9:30 AM on Tuesday, July 16, 2002.
CPNI. The FCC will consider a Third Report and Order
and Third Further NPRM to
implement 47 U.S.C. § 222(c)(1), which requires customer
approval before a telecommunications carrier may use,
disclose, or permit access to a customer's confidential
proprietary network information (CPNI). This is CC Docket Nos.
96-115 and 96-149.
Number Portability. The FCC will consider a MOO
regarding the Verizon Wireless petition for forbearance from
the wireless local number portability requirements. This is WT
Docket No. 01-184 and CC Docket No. 95-116.
Public Safety Agency Communications. The FCC will
consider a Fifth Report and Order concerning the migration to
6.25 kHz spectral efficiency in the 700 MHz public safety
band. WT Docket No. 96-86. |
|
|
| Bush Gives Speech on
Corporate Responsibility |
7/9. President Bush gave a speech
in New York City regarding financial crimes and corporate
responsibility. He also signed an executive
order creating a new Corporate Fraud Task Force. The
President proposed longer prison terms for corporate fraud and
more funding and authority for the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC).
Bush stated that "by executive order, I create a new
Corporate Fraud Task Force, headed by the Deputy Attorney
General, which will target major accounting fraud and other
criminal activity in corporate finance. The task force will
function as a financial crimes SWAT team, overseeing the
investigation of corporate abusers and bringing them to
account." The task force would include several top
Department of Justice officials, the U.S. Attorneys whose
districts include major financial markets, and the heads of
the SEC, Federal Communications
Commission (FCC), Commodities
Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (FERC), and Treasury
Department.
The task force would "provide direction for the
investigation and prosecution of cases of securities fraud,
accounting fraud, mail and wire fraud, money laundering, tax
fraud based on such predicate offenses, and other related
financial crimes committed by commercial entities and
directors, officers, professional advisers, and employees
thereof".
Bush stated that "I'm also proposing tough new criminal
penalties for corporate fraud. This legislation would double
the maximum prison terms for those convicted of financial
fraud from five to 10 years."
Bush stated that "I ask Congress to strengthen the
ability of SEC investigators to temporarily freeze improper
payments to corporate executives, and to strengthen laws that
prevent the destruction of corporate documents in order to
hide crimes."
He also stated that "The SEC should be able to punish
corporate leaders who are convicted of abusing their powers by
banning them from ever serving again as officers or directors
of a publicly held corporation."
He also said that "Corporate officers who benefit from
false accounting statements should forfeit all money gained by
their fraud." In addition, he said that "My
accountability plan also requires CEOs to personally vouch for
their firms' annual financial statements."
Bush stated that "I asked Congress four months ago for
funding to place 100 new enforcement personnel in the SEC. And
I call on Congress to act quickly on this request. Today I
announce my administration is asking Congress for an
additional $100 million in the coming year to give the SEC the
officers and the technology it needs to enforce the law."
FCC Chairman Michael Powell,
who will serve on the newly created task force, stated in a release
[MS Word] that "There is a severe capital crisis putting
a tremendous strain on the telecommunications industry. It is
imperative to do everything possible to restore investor
confidence in this critical sector of the American economy. I
applaud the President's initiative, and the Commission stands
ready to offer its expertise to assist in the effort to
investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes and
restore credibility to the market."
SEC Chairman Harvey
Pitt stated in a release
that "We are grateful for the President's unqualified
support of our request for an additional $100 million in our
FY03 budget, in addition to $20 million in supplemental
funding he approved three months ago, that now awaits
Congress's approval. These resources will enable us to hire
additional needed accountants, lawyers and other professionals
for our enforcement and corporation finance efforts, fully
fund our merit based pay parity program and begin implementing
critical information technology projects directly related to
investor protection."
Rep. Billy Tauzin
(R-LA), Chairman of the House Commerce Committee,
stated in a release
that "What President Bush has laid out today is a tough
minded, no nonsense approach to meaningful corporate reforms
that will go a long way in bolstering public confidence in
America's capital markets."
Sen. Paul Sarbanes
(D-MD), Chairman of the Senate Banking
Committee, was less impressed. He stated that "we
intend obviously to continue to move forward this week and
we're hopeful we can complete this legislation (Sarbanes bill)
by the end of the week. We think we clearly need a statute;
unfortunately the President has not yet reached that point.
But we think this legislation does what has to be done. It
creates an independent oversight board with respect to the
accounting profession. It separates auditing from certain
consulting services which create obvious conflicts of
interest. It provides the resources to the SEC. I am very
disappointed that the President was not more forthcoming on
resources for the SEC in order to carry out its
responsibilities. That’s a relatively easy thing for the
Administration to do, and I don't know why they've been
holding back from it over these many months. I mean -- they've
made a small request, but the SEC needs a real shot in terms
of additional resources."
Sen. Patrick Leahy
(D-VT), the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary
Committee, used the occasion to tout his bill, S 2010,
the Corporate and Criminal Fraud Accountability Act of 2002,
which his Committee reported on April 25.
"I welcome the President to the urgent need to restore
trust in our markets, and I welcome his ideas. A few of them
are very familiar. We invited the President to join in this
effort. For months, the White House declined that invitation.
Now that the President is part of this effort, we have the
opportunity to work together to achieve real reform,"
said Sen. Leahy in a release.
"Getting tough means criminal penalties, and getting
tough is the aim of the Corporate and Criminal Fraud
Accountability Act, which Senator Daschle and I offered today
on the Senate floor." |
|
|
| Senate Subcommittee Holds
Hearing on Identity Theft |
7/9. The Senate
Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Technology,
Terrorism, and Government Information held a hearing on S 2541,
the Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act of 2002. Sen. Dianne Feinstein
(D-CA), who is the Chairman of the Subcommittee, and the
sponsor of the bill, has held repeated hearings on identity
theft.
See, prepared
testimony of Howard Beales, Director of the Federal Trade Commission's
(FTC) Bureau of Consumer Protection, prepared
testimony of Dan Collins, Deputy Associate Attorney
General, and prepared
testimony of Dennis Lormel, Section Chief of the FBI's
Terrorism Financial Review Group. |
|
|
| People and Appointments |
7/9. Brian Gunderson was named Chief of Staff of the Office of the U.S. Trade
Representative (USTR). He was previously Chief of Staff to
House Majority Leader Dick
Armey (R-TX). He succeeds M.B. Oglesby. See, USTR
release.
7/9. Robin Pence joined the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) as Associate Director of the Office of Media Relations (OMR).
She previously worked for Sprint.
Before that she worked as press secretary for former Rep.
Thomas Coleman (R-MO), and as a press assistant to former Sen.
Alfonse D'Amato (R-NY). |
|
|
|
| House Commerce Committee
Holds Hearing on DHS Bill |
7/9. The House
Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and
Investigations held a lengthy hearing on HR 5005,
President Bush' proposal to create a Department of Homeland
Security. Witnesses disagreed sharply over the language in the
bill that would create a new Freedom
of Information Act (FOIA) exemption for information
provided voluntarily to the federal government regarding
infrastructure vulnerabilities, including cyber security
matters.
The Commerce Committee is just one of many House committees
with jurisdiction over the bill. They are operating under a
fast track schedule that requires completion this week. Rep. Billy Tauzin
(R-LA), the Chairman of the Commerce Committee, said at his
Committee's hearing that "our deadline is July 12, and we
are going to meet it."
The various House committees with jurisdiction are marking up
the bill, mostly on Wednesday and Thursday. See, TLJ Calendar,
at right. Then, a special committee, chaired by House Majority
Leader Richard Armey
(R-TX), will have final consideration of the House bill.
The Commerce Subcommittee's marathon hearing including
testimony from six panels of witnesses. It covered chemical,
biological, nuclear, cyber, and other threats to homeland
security. Subcommittee members and witnesses were in
widespread agreement with the underlying premise of the bill
-- that numerous government entities related to homeland
security which are now spread around various government
agencies, should be merged into one department. However, there
was discussion about some of the details of implementation.
There was also sharp disagreement among certain witnesses on
one key issue -- information sharing regarding threats to
critical infrastructures. In particular, witnesses differed on
whether to create a FOIA exemption to incent companies to
provide information to the federal government.
Section 204 of the bill, as introduced, provides, in full,
that "Information provided voluntarily by non-Federal
entities or individuals that relates to infrastructure
vulnerabilities or other vulnerabilities to terrorism and is
or has been in the possession of the Department shall not be
subject to section 552 of title 5, United States Code."
Rep. Tauzin discussed how September 11 ringleader Mohamed Atta
sought a loan for a crop dusting airplane, and an aerial map
of Washington DC. "That map represented to him,
obviously, a source of information upon which he might plan,
or his friends, might plan an attack upon this city. It calls
to our attention the importance in this legislation of
amending the Freedom of Information Act to make sure that road
maps, vulnerability assessments, of assets, both public and
private, other road maps of sensitive installations, and
sensitive places in this country, are not so easily available
to people who might have improper motives, such as Mr. Mohamed
Atta, and using those roads to hurt this country or its
people. Balancing the needs of freedom of information in this
country ... is going to be a difficult challenge for this
Committee of Congress ..."
The fourth panel of witnesses to testify before the Committee
included five representatives of industry, all of whom argued
for the necessity of enacting the new FOIA exemption. See,
prepared testimony of Guy
Copeland (VP of Computer Sciences Corporation, testifying
on behalf of the Information
Technology Association of America), William
Smith (EVP, Network Operations, BellSouth), Kenneth
Watson (Cisco Systems), Lynn
Costantini (North American Electric Reliability Council),
and John
Sullivan (Boston Water and Sewer Commission).
BellSouth's William Smith stated that "we have received
numerous requests for sensitive information -- such as lists
of critical facilities -- from federal, state and local
authorities. From the perspective of a corporation such as
BellSouth, these requests are troubling because if such a list
were released publicly, whether through a FOIA request or
through accidental disclosure, it could provide terrorists
with a road map directing them to our most critical
locations." He added that BellSouth was also concerned
about third party liability, antitrust liability, and giving
information to its competitors.
He continued that "With respect to FOIA, many companies
are hesitant to voluntarily share sensitive information with
the government because of the possible release of this
information to the public. BellSouth currently shares
cyber-related intrusion information with the Telecom
Information Sharing and Analysis Center -- the Telecom ISAC --
located within the NCC. However, because of the concerns
just noted, the information sharing is done on a limited
basis, within trusted circles, and strictly within a fashion
that will eliminate any liability or harm from FOIA requests
for BellSouth information. This is neither maximally efficient
nor effective."
Smith concluded that "We also support Section 204 which
provides an important FOIA exemption for information regarding
infrastructure and other vulnerabilities that is provided
voluntarily. Finally, we support the FOIA and antitrust
protections embodied in H.R.
2435, the Cyber Security Information Act."
Guy Copeland of CSC stated that "sharing information
about corporate information security practices is inherently
difficult. Companies are understandably reluctant to share
sensitive proprietary information about prevention practices,
intrusions, and actual crimes with either government agencies
or competitors. Information sharing is a risky proposition
with less than clear benefits. No company wants information to
surface that they have given in confidence, and that may
jeopardize -- through misunderstanding or misperception --
their market position, strategies, customer base, investor
confidence or capital investments, and certainly no company
wants information to surface that could aide terrorists or
criminals."
Copeland added that "Government agencies seek detailed
data about computer attacks for the purposes of better law
enforcement, earlier detection, and the promotion of best
practices in government and industry. Today, however,
corporate counsels advise their clients not to share
voluntarily the details of computer attacks with government
agencies because the risk that such data could ultimately be
divulged through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) -- even
over the agency’s objections -- is unacceptably high."
The fourth panel also included two witnesses who testified in
opposition to the FOIA exemption. David Sobel,
General Counsel of the Electronic
Privacy Information Center (EPIC), testified that
"Section 204 would cast a shroud of secrecy over one of
the Department of Homeland Security's critical functions,
removing any semblance of meaningful public accountability. If
Section 204, or a similar secrecy provision, is enacted, the
public will be unable to hold the new Department accountable
should it fail to make effective use of information it
obtains. ``What did DHS know and when did it know it?´´ is a
question that will go unanswered."
Sobel is an experienced, aggressive and successful FOIA
litigator who has obtained records pertaining to carnivore,
CALEA, and other technology related topics.
He also stated that "It should not go unnoticed that we
are discussing the desire of private companies to keep secret
potentially embarrassing information at a time when the
disclosure practices of many in the business world are being
scrutinized. If a company is willing to fudge its financial
numbers to maintain its stock price, what assurance would we
have that it was not hiding behind a ``critical infrastructure´´
FOIA exemption in order to conceal gross negligence in its
maintenance and operation of a chemical plant or a
transportation system?"
During the question and answer session Sobel stated that he
knows of no cases where information useful to terrorists has
been divulged as a result of a FOIA response. He added that
the asserted problem is "purely hypothetical".
BellSouth's Smith responded that the reason that there have
been no such cases is that companies like BellSouth are
withholding such information from the government.
Few members of the Subcommittee were present to hear any part
of the testimony of the contentious fourth panel. Only Rep. Ed Whitfield
(R-KY), Rep. Richard Burr
(R-NC), and Rep. Peter
Deutsch (D-FL) participated.
The third panel of witnesses was a group of government
witnesses. They generally agreed that information sharing
between government entities, and between government and
industry, needs to be improved. However, they did not endorse
creating a new FOIA exemption for this purpose, or an
antitrust exemption.
See, prepared testimony of Samuel
Varnado (Director, Infrastructure and Information Systems
Center, Sandia National Laboratories), Donald
Cobb (Associate Director for Threat Reduction, Los Alamos
National Laboratory), Robert
Dacey (Director, Information Security Issues, General
Accounting Office), John
Tritak (Director, Critical Infrastructure Assurance
Office, Department of Commerce), and James
McDonnell (Director, Energy Security and Assurance
Program, Department of Energy).
On other issues, Rep.
Heather Wilson (R-NM) stated that the research and
development provisions in the bill are weak. She elaborated
that the U.S. needs to "leverage our technological
superiority" to successfully fight terrorism. Rep. Bart Stupak
(D-MI), a former police officer, commented on the chain of
command of the proposed Department of Homeland Security. He
stated that there needs to be "vertical authority",
rather than the "horizontal chain of command" as the
bill is currently written. He added that "I don't want
merely a shuffling of chairs at the table." |
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|
| More News |
7/9. The Office of the U.S.
Trade Representative (USTR) published a notice
in the Federal Register announcing that it is requesting
comments on China's compliance with the commitments it made in
connection with its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO),
and that the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) will hold a
hearing on China's compliance on September 18, 2002. The
deadline to submit written comments is 12:00 NOON on September
10. The deadline to request to testify is September 5. See,
Federal Register, July 9, 2002, Vol. 67, No. 131, at Pages
45580 - 45581.
7/9. The New Mexico
Public Regulation Commission (PRC) recommended to the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) that Qwest has
satisfied the last of Section
271's 14 point checklist. Qwest announced that it will
file with the FCC its Section 271 application to provide in
region interLATA service in the state of New Mexico
"within the next few weeks". See, Qwest
release. |
|
|
| About Tech Law Journal |
Tech Law Journal publishes a free access web site and
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to the TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert is $250 per year. However, there
are discounts for entities with multiple subscribers. Free one
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news items are not published in the web site until one month
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information page.
Contact: 202-364-8882; E-mail.
P.O. Box 4851, Washington DC, 20008.
Privacy
Policy
Notices
& Disclaimers
Copyright 1998 - 2002 David Carney, dba Tech Law Journal. All
rights reserved. |
|
|
|
| House Passes Tech Talent
Act |
7/9. The House passed HR 3130,
the Tech Talent Act, by a voice vote. The bill would authorize
the appropriation of $25 Million for FY 2002 for the National Science Foundation
(NSF) for a grant program intended to increase the number of
college students pursuing degrees in science, mathematics,
engineering, and technology.
Sherwood Boehlert
(R-NY) said in his statement
during the floor debate on the bill that "The problem is
that fewer and fewer American college students are majoring in
mathematics, engineering, technology, or science, particularly
in the physical sciences. This is a source of growing concern
for many reasons. First, and most obviously, the nation needs
to constantly replenish its supply of scientists,
mathematicians and engineers to have a workforce that can
compete in this increasingly technological world."
He continued that the bill "takes aim at this problem
directly by providing incentives for colleges and universities
-- including community colleges -- to increase the number and
quality of science, math, engineering and technology majors.
Under the bill, the National Science Foundation (NSF) would
provide grants to improve undergraduate science, math and
engineering education that are contingent on the grantee
increasing the number of graduating majors in those fields by
a specific amount, without reducing quality."
Rep. Lamar Smith
(R-TX), a cosponsor of the bill, stated that "This
legislation will encourage more students to pursue science and
mathematics studies. We need knowledgeable students today, for
successful high tech companies tomorrow." |
|
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| Wednesday, July 10 |
The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business.
9:30 AM. The House
International Relations Committee will meet to mark up HR 5005,
the Homeland Security Act. Location: Room 2172, Rayburn
Building.
9:30 AM - 4:30 PM. The FTC and DOJ
will continue their series of events titled Competition and
Intellectual Property Law and Policy in the Knowledge Based
Economy. This event will be a panel of speakers addressing
"Federal Circuit Jurisprudence: Substantive Trends and
Analysis". The first session, running from 9:30 AM to
12:00 NOON, will address "Trends in Federal Circuit
Jurisprudence". The second session, running from 1:30 PM
to 4:30 PM, will address "Patent Law Analysis in Federal
Circuit Jurisprudence". For more information, call Gina
Talamona at 202 514-2007. See, FTC
notice. Location: Room 432, FTC Main, 600 Pennsylvania
Ave, NW.
LOCATION CHANGE. 10:00 AM.
The House Commerce
Committee's Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the
Internet will hold a hearing titled Corporation for Public
Broadcasting Oversight and a Look Into Public Broadcasting in
the Digital Era. The scheduled witnesses include Robert
Coonrod (Corporation for Public Broadcasting), Pat Mitchell
(Public Broadcasting Service), Kevin Klose (National Public
Radio), Andrea Lafferty (Traditional Values Coalition), John
Lawson (Association for Public Television Stations), Michael
Willner (Insight Communications), and Laura Walker (WYNC-FM).
Press contact: Ken Johnson or Jon Tripp at 202 225-5735.
Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.
10:00 AM. The House Armed
Services Committee will hold a hearing on HR 5005,
the Homeland Security Act. Location: Room 2118, Rayburn
Building.
10:00 AM. The House
Science Committee will meet to mark up HR 5005,
the Homeland Security Act. Webcast. Location: Room
2318, Rayburn Building.
10:00 AM. The House
Judiciary Committee will hold a meeting to mark up several
bills, including and HR 5005,
the Homeland Security Act. Webcast. Press contact: Jeff
Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202 225-2492. Location: Room 2141,
Rayburn Building.
CANCELLED. 10:00
AM. The Senate
Judiciary Committee will hold an executive business
meeting.
10:00 AM. The U.S.
Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Reiffin
v. Microsoft, No. 01-1380, a patent case. Location:
Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.
10:30 AM. The House
Ways and Means Committee will meet to mark up HR 5005,
the Homeland Security Act. Location: Room 1100,
Longworth Building.
12:00 NOON. Treasury Secretary Paul
O'Neil will give a luncheon speech titled "The
Economy, Investors and Corporate Governance". The
price to attend is $45 for members and $90 for non members.
See, online
registration page. Location: U.S. Chamber of Commerce,
1615 H Street, NW.
2:00 - 3:30 PM. The FTC's Bureau of
Competition will hold a public workshop on merger
investigation best practices. This is the last workshop of
a seven part, five city, series. This event will focus on
accounting and financial data. See, FTC release.
Location: FTC, Room 332, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.
3:00 PM. The House
Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and
Consumer Protection will meet to mark up HR 5058,
the Financial Accounting Standards Board Act. Webcast.
Press contact: Ken Johnson or Jon Tripp at 202 225-5735.
Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.
6:00 - 8:00 PM. The FCBA will
host a Continuing Legal Education seminar titled Global
Telecom Markets: Issues and Strategies for Representing
Clients Abroad. This seminar will cover telecom trade and
market access issues, transaction financing and approval, and
the ITU.
Deadline to submit comments to the Bureau of Industry and Security
(BIS), formerly known as the Bureau of Export Administration
(BXA), in response to its Notice of Inquiry regarding
"the current limit for use of License Exception TSR for
exports and reexports of technology and software on the
Commerce Control List (CCL) of the Export Administration
Regulations (EAR) under Export Classification Control Numbers
(ECCNs) 4D001 and 4E001". BIS states that "These
ECCNs control technology and software that can be used for the
development, production, or use of computers. The goal of this
notice of inquiry is to collect information from industry that
will assist BIS in evaluating whether the current TSR
eligibility level of 33,000 Millions of Theoretical Operations
per Second (MTOPS) for exports and reexports to most countries
should be adjusted, taking into consideration the control
level for the export of computer equipment and the control
policies of other member countries of the Wassenaar
Arrangement." See, notice
in the Federal Register. |
|
|
| Thursday, July 11 |
The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business.
CANCELLED. 9:00
AM. The Senate
Judiciary Committee will hold a hearings to examine
oversight of the Department of Justice and the impact of a new
Department of Homeland Security.
10:00 AM. The Senate
Judiciary Committee will hold an executive business
meeting. See, notice.
Press contact: Mimi Devlin at 202 224-9437. Location: Room
226, Dirksen Building.
10:00 AM. The House
Judiciary Committee will hold a meeting to continue its
mark up several bills, including and HR 5005,
the Homeland Security Act. Webcast. Press contact: Jeff
Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202 225-2492. Location: Room 2141,
Rayburn Building.
10:00 AM. The House
Government Reform Committee will meet to mark up HR 5005,
the Homeland Security Act. See, release.
Location: Room 2154, Rayburn Building.
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM. The FTC and DOJ
will continue their series of events titled Competition and
Intellectual Property Law and Policy in the Knowledge Based
Economy. This event will be a panel of speakers addressing
"Federal Circuit Jurisprudence: Jurisdiction, Choice of
Law, and Competition Policy Perspectives". The first
session will run from 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM. The second session
will run from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM. For more information, call
Gina Talamona at 202 514-2007. See, FTC
notice. Location: Room 432, FTC Main, 600 Pennsylvania
Ave, NW.
12:00 NOON. Sen. John
McCain (R-AZ), the ranking Republican on the Senate Commerce
Committee, will hold a press conference regarding
"corporate governance reform". Location: First
Amendment Room, National Press
Club, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor.
2:00 PM. The Senate
Finance Committee will hold a hearing on S 848,
the Social Security Number Misuse Prevention Act. Location:
Room 215, Dirksen Building.
Deadline to submit comments to the FCC regarding
its Declaratory Ruling and Second Further Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking clarifying that providers of Internet protocol
telecommunications relay services are eligible for
reimbursement from the Interstate TRS Fund. See, FCC
notice [PDF]. |
|
|
| Friday, July 12 |
The House will meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. No
votes are expected after 6:00 PM.
10:00 AM. Hearing before the U.S.
District Court (EDVa) in Washington Post v. Gator
on the Washington
Post's motion for preliminary injunction. Plaintiffs
allege web based copyright infringement in their complaint
[99 pages in PDF] and Memorandum
in Support of Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction
[35 pages in PDF]. Tape recorders and cameras are prohibited
in the courtroom. Location: Room 800, 8th Floor, Bryan
Courthouse, 401 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, VA.
12:00 NOON. The Cato Institute
will host a briefing titled Profiling and National IDs:
Security and Freedom in a Free Society. The speakers will
be Charlotte Twight (author of Dependent on D.C.: The Rise of
Federal Control over the Lives of Ordinary Americans), Robert
Levy (Cato), and Timothy Lynch (Cato). See, registration
page. Lunch will follow. Location: Room B-354, Rayburn
Building.
12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Progress
and Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host a panel discussion
titled When Wireless Grows Up: Mandates vs. Markets for a
‘Mature’ Industry. The scheduled speakers include Rudy
Baca (Precursor Group), Steven Berry (CTIA)
and Kevin Krufky (office of Sen. Sam Brownback).
See, PFF
notice. To register, contact Rebecca Fuller at 202
289-8928 or rfuller @pff.org.
Location: Room B340, Rayburn Building.
TIME? Commerce Secretary Donald
Evans will hold an online chat on AOL with small
investors. |
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| Monday, July 15 |
12:30 PM. Larry Mefford (Assistant Director, FBI Cyber
Division) will give a speech. Pre-registration is required to
attend; contact Kristin Woolley at 703 284-5323 or kwoolley @itaa.org.
Location: Oracle Corporation, 1910 Oracle Way, Reston, VA.
Day three of four of the National
Association of Patent Practitioners' annual meeting. See, registration
and information page. At 9:00 AM, Steve Kunin (Deputy
Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy) will speak. At
10:00 AM, Robert Clarke (Office of Patent Legal
Administration) will speak on Section
102(e). At 12:15 PM, Nicholas Godici (Commissioner of
Patents) will give the luncheon address. Location: Wyndam
Washington, 1400 M Street, NW. |
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| Tuesday, July 16 |
9:30 AM. The FCC will hold a
meeting. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW, Room TW-C05.
LOCATION CHANGE. 10:00 AM.
The Senate Banking
Committee will hold a hearing. Federal Reserve Board
Chairman Alan
Greenspan will deliver his semi annual report on
monetary policy. See also, media
advisory regarding procedures for covering this hearing.
Press contact: Jesse Jacobs at 202 224-1654. Location: Room
216, Hart Building.
10:00 AM. The Senate
Finance Committee will hold a hearing to examine homeland
security and international trade issues. Location: Room 215,
Dirksen Building.
2:00 PM. The Senate
Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Administrative
Oversight and the Courts will hold a hearing to examine the FBI's computer
hardware problems. Press contact: Mimi Devlin at 202
224-9437. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.
Deadline to submit reply comments to the FCC regarding
its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the consequences
of the FCC's classification of cable modem service as an
information service. This is CS Docket No. 02-52. See, FCC
release [PDF] and notice
in Federal Register. |
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