Rep. Dreier (at right) stated in a release that "If we can provide an incentive for businesses to invest in new products, we will stimulate the kind of economic activity that will create jobs and enhance overall business expansion. My bill is geared toward the technology industry because it has proven itself to be a real engine of economic growth. This industry is currently hurting, but if brought back to life, it can lead the way toward a stronger, more vibrant economy."

The bill includes a provision creating a three year depreciation period for certain wireless telecommunications equipment, advanced services equipment, and network or network system equipment, and a three year amortization period for research expenses for software development.

The bill would also provide a one year depreciation schedule for "qualified technological equipment", which is currently a five year depreciation schedule, and all software purchases, which is currently a three year depreciation schedule.

A different, but related bill, HR 1411 (107th), the Expensing Technology Reform Act of 2001, was introduced in the 107th Congress by Rep. Jerry Weller (R-IL). See also, HR 2597 (107th), the Broadband Deployment and Telework Incentive Act of 2001, which was introduced in the 107th Congress by Rep. Scott McGinnis (R-CO).

Rep. Dreier's bill was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee. Rep. Dreier is Chairman of the House Rules Committee.

3/12. Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT), Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV), and Rep. Joe Baca (D-CA) introduced HR 1223, the Internet Gambling Licensing and Regulation Commission Act. The bill would delay Congressional consideration of legislation pertaining to internet gambling while a commission studies internet gambling.

The bill would establish a five member entity titled the "Internet Gambling Licensing and Regulation Study Commission". Four of its five members would be picked by Congressional leaders. These four would then pick a fifth member to chair the commission.

This commission would be tasked with conducting "a comprehensive study of the existing legal framework governing Internet gambling and the issues involved with the licensing and regulation of Internet gambling", and then proposing "changes to Federal laws and regulations to provide for the licensing and regulation of Internet gambling in the United States".

However, the bill specifies the content of these legislative recommendations. These recommendations shall "preserve the prerogatives of States with respect to intrastate gambling and wagering within their borders", but "include measures to discourage, prohibit, or prevent United States citizens from wagering with unlicensed Internet gambling operations outside of the United States".

These recommendations shall also provide "measures to prevent minors from gambling online" and "measures to prevent the use of Internet gambling as a money laundering channel for terrorists and criminal enterprises".

The recommendations must also "provide for the appropriate taxation of Internet gambling enterprises", but otherwise, "consider and, where possible, remain consistent with the goals, principles, and obligations of the United States in other international negotiations governing electronic commerce".

These recommendations must also "preserve tribal sovereignty with respect to gaming and Internet gaming".

The bill was referred to three House committees, Judiciary, Commerce and Financial Services. Rep. Conyers is the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. Rep. Cannon is also a member. Neither Rep. Berkley nor Rep. Baca sits on any of the Committees with jurisdiction.

Rep. Conyers (at right) stated in a release [PDF] that "You might remember a failed experiment the U.S. government tried in the 1920s called Prohibition. Today, Congress is rushing to pass a similar ill-conceived prohibition of Internet gambling. Gaming prohibitionists believe they can stop the millions of Americans who gamble online by prohibiting the use of credit cards to gamble on the Internet. Just as outlawing alcohol did not work in the 1920s, current attempts to prohibit online gaming will not work, either."

On March 13, the House Financial Services Committee approved HR 21, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Funding Prohibition Act of 2003. This bill would attempt to bar internet gambling operations access to the U.S. financial services system by banning the use of credit cards, wire transfers, or any other bank instrument to fund gambling transactions. See story titled "House Committee Approves Internet Gambling Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 623, March 14, 2003.

Also, the Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, March 18 on proposals to regulate illegal internet gambling. See, notice.

Rep. Berkley, who represents the city of Las Vegas, stated in a release that "Regulating web based gaming is difficult at best. ... Gaming technology is still a moving target, and before we try again this year to pin governing legislation on it, it is appropriate that we fully understand its size and shape."

3/12. Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) introduced HR 1252, the E-Rate Termination Act. The bill would amend 47 U.S.C. § 254, the universal service section of the Communications Act, to eliminate the language which the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has relied upon as authority for creating its cross subsidy program for schools and libraries known as the e-rate.

The e-rate program subsidizes telecommunications services, internet access, and internal wiring for public and private secondary schools, libraries, and rural health clinics. HR 1252 would remove language providing universal service support for schools and libraries. However, it would retain support for health clinics.

Rep. Tancredo has long been the leading critic of the schools and libraries program in the House, and has introduced related legislation in the past. The bill was referred to the House Commerce Committee. The bill has no original cosponsors.

While the e-rate enjoys wide support in the Congress, it is also plagued with problems of fraud and abuse. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL), a leading supporter of the e-rate program, used the February 26 hearing of the House Commerce Committee's Telecom and Internet Subcommittee on the FCC's forthcoming triennial review order to urge the FCC Commissioners to solve the e-rate fraud problem.

Also, on March 13, Rep. Billy Tauzin, Chairman of the Commerce Committee, wrote a letter to FCC Chairman Michael Powell regarding waste, fraud and abuse in the FCC's e-rate program. He asked the FCC to produce numerous relevant records.

3/14. The U.S. Court of Appeals (2ndCir) issued its split opinion in In Re Pennie & Edmonds. This is a trademark case. However, this appeal results from the District Court's sua sponte post trial sanction of the law firm of Pennie & Edmonds for violating Rule 11(b)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure by submitting a false affidavit of a client. The issue on appeal was the mens rea requirement for such a sanction. Judge Jon Newman, writing for the Appeals Court, wrote that subjective bad faith is required. Judge Underhill dissented, arguing that the test is objective reasonableness.

The District Court concluded that the law firm acted with subjective good faith, but imposed sanction upon the law firm based upon the absence of an objectively reasonable belief as to the truth of the affidavit. The Appeals Court vacated the sanction. The Court wrote that "We conclude that where, as here, a sua sponte Rule 11 sanction denies a lawyer the opportunity to withdraw the challenged document pursuant to the ``safe harbor´´ provision of Rule 11(c)(1)(A), the appropriate standard is subjective bad faith."

Judge Underhill wrote in his lengthy dissent that "Prior to 1983, the imposition of sanctions under Rule 11 required a finding of subjective bad faith. When amending Rule 11 in 1983, however, the drafters abandoned the subjective bad faith standard and adopted a standard of ``reasonableness under the circumstances.´´ Since adoption of the 1983 amendments, the Supreme Court and every court of appeals has held that district courts should apply an objective reasonableness test when deciding whether Rule 11 has been violated. With today's decision, the Second Circuit becomes the first and only court to hold that the 1993 amendments to Rule 11 reverted to the pre-1983 subjective bad faith standard for even a subset of Rule 11 sanctions. The majority bases its holding principally on a single sentence from the Advisory Committee notes to the 1993 amendments and on its own policy analysis. In my view, neither basis can support the weight of today's decision."

3/17. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that the deadline to submit applications for grants under the Technology Opportunities Program (TOP) for FY 2003 is April 23, 2003. The NTIA wrote in a notice in the Federal Register that the "TOP supports this mission through funding demonstrations of new telecommunications and information applications for the provision of educational, cultural, health care, public information, public safety, or other social services". See, Federal Register, March 17, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 51, at Pages 12678 - 12683. See also, NTIA release

3/17. The Department of Commerce (DOC) published in its web site its new contract with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) dated March 13, 2003.

3/13. Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, and Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), introduced S 624, an untitled bill to authorize the extension of nondiscriminatory treatment, also known as normal trade relations treatment, to the products of the Russian Federation. Also, Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), the ranking Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, and others, introduced HR 1224, the companion bill in the House.

The House will meet at 12:30 PM for morning hour and at 2:00 PM for legislative business. It will consider several non tech related items under suspension of the rules. The Supreme Court is in recess until March 23.

Day two of a three day conference titled "Open Source for National and Local eGovernment Programs in the U.S. and EU". See, agenda. For more information, contact Tony Stanco at 202 994-5513 or Stanco@seas.gwu.edu. Location: George Washington University, The Marvin Center Grand Ballroom, 800 21st Street, NW.

8:25 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology. Pre-registration is required. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 4, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 42, at Pages 10205-10206. Location: Employees Lounge, Administration Building, NIST, Gaithersburg, MD.

9:00 AM - 12:45 PM. The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) will host a half day conference titled "Beyond the IT Bubble". It will examine "the next phase in the information technology revolution and government's role in facilitating its positive impact on economic growth". Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) will deliver the keynote luncheon address at 12:15 PM. For more information, contact Karin Kullman or Eric Wortman at 202 547-0001. RSVP to TechProject@dlcppi.org or contact Brian Newkirk at 202 608-1245. Location: Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill, 400 New Jersey Avenue, NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on the nomination of Mark Everson to be Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Location: Room 215, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing on proposals to regulate illegal internet gambling. Location: Room 538, Dirksen Building.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Mass Media Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch. The speaker will be Barbara Kreisman, Chief of the FCC Media Bureau's Video Division. For more information, contact Frank Jazzo at jazzo@fhhlaw.com. RSVP to Wendy Parish at wendy@fcba.org. Location: NAB, 1771 N St., NW, 1st Floor Conference Room.

1:00 - 2:00 PM. Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), Chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, will speak at a luncheon hosted by the Council for Excellence in Government. He will speak about Congressional oversight of the E-Government Act of 2002, and other topics. Lunch will start at 12:30 PM. Press contact: Sue Ducat at 202 530-3223 or sducat@excelgov.org. Location: State Room, Mayflower Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Ave.

2:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee will mark up HR 1104, the Child Abduction Prevention Act. This wide ranging bill. Section 201 would amend 18 U.S.C. § 2516 to expand the list of predicate offenses that may serve as the basis for the issuance of a wiretap order. Each new predicate relates to sexual exploitation crimes against children. Section 201 is similar to HR 1877 (107th Congress) which passed the House on May 21, 2002 by a vote of 396-11. See, Roll Call No. 175. The Senate did not pass the bill. The hearing will be audio webcast. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

2:00 - 3:00 PM. The National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (NTCA) and the Rural Utilities Service's (RUS) will host a webcast event at which they will provide an "overview of the Rural Broadband Access Loan and Guarantee Program". To participate, contact Aaryn Slafky (NTCA) at 703 351-2087 or aslafky@ntca.org by March 17.

3:00 PM. The House Rules Committee will meet to adopt a rule for consideration of HR 975, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2003. Sections 231 and 232 of the bill pertain to protection of personally identifiable information in bankruptcy proceedings. Location: Room H-312, Capitol Building.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business.

Day three of a three day conference titled "Open Source for National and Local eGovernment Programs in the U.S. and EU". See, agenda. For more information, contact Tony Stanco at 202 994-5513 or Stanco@seas.gwu.edu. Location: George Washington University, The Marvin Center Grand Ballroom, 800 21st Street, NW.

9:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. Day two of a two day meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology. Pre-registration is required. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 4, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 42, at Pages 10205-10206. Location: Employees Lounge, Administration Building, NIST, Gaithersburg, MD.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) North American Numbering Council will meet. Location: FCC, Room TW-C305 (Commission Meeting Room), 445 12th Street, SW.

9:00 - 9:30 AM. Commerce Secretary Donold Evans, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Grant Aldonas, and Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology Phil Bond will host an event to announce "an eight-point ``Standards Action Plan´´ aimed at creating greater competition in the global marketplace and better coordination of Commerce standards programs and training". See, notice. For more information, contact Trevor Francis at 202 482-4883. Location: Department of Commerce, 14th & Constitution, Secretary's Conference Room, 5th floor.

10:00 AM. The House Science Committee will hold a hearing on HR 766, the Nanotechnology Research and Development Act of 2003. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold an executive business meeting. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State, and the Judiciary will hold a hearing on the President's budget request for fiscal year 2004 for the Department of Commerce. Location: Room S-146, Capitol Building.

10:00 AM. Dane Snowden, Chief of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau, will hold a media briefing to discuss the work of the bureau, including telemarketing reform, slamming rules, disability issues, tribal issues, and consumer outreach. RSVP to Rosemary Kimball at 202 418-05111 or rkimball@fcc.gov. Location: Conference Room CY B-511.

10:30 AM. The House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Homeland Security will hold a hearing. Tom Ridge, the Secretary of Homeland Security, will testify. Location: Room 2359, Rayburn Building.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee will host a luncheon panel discussion titled "Government Pattern Analysis: Securing Terrorists While Preserving Privacy?" Peter Swire of Ohio State University will moderate. RSVP to rsvp@netcaucus.org or or 202 638-4370. Location: Room HC-5, Capitol Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State, and the Judiciary will hold a hearing on President Bush's budget request for fiscal year 2004 for the Department of Commerce (DOC). Location: Room S-146, Capitol.

12:15 PM. Jim Bird (head of the Federal Communications Commission's Office of General Counsel's Transactional Team), Don Stockdale (FCC's Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis), Walt Strack (FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau), and Jim Barker (Latham & Watkins) will speak at a luncheon on FCC antitrust merger reviews. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) web site states that "This meeting will be off the record". For more information, contact Lauren Kravetz at 202 418-7944 or lkravetz@fcc.gov. This event had originally been scheduled for February 19, but was postponed due to snow. Location: Willkie Farr & Gallagher, 1875 K St., NW.

The Supreme Court will return from recess.

4:00 PM. Polk Wagner (University of Pennsylvania Law School) will present a draft paper titled "Is the Federal Circuit Succeeding? An Empirical Look at Claim Construction". For more information, contact Robert Brauneis at 202 994-6138 or rbraun@main.nlc.gwu.edu. Location: George Washington University Law School, Faculty Conference Center, Burns Building, 5th Floor, 720 20th Street, NW.

Deadline to submit applications to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for financial assistance for FY 2003 for its 2003 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) in several areas, including electronics and electrical engineering and information technology. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 20, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 34, at Pages 8211-8226.