3/20. President Bush announced his intent to nominate Frank Libutti to be Under Secretary for Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection at the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Libutti is currently the New York City Police Department's Deputy Commissioner of Counter Terrorism. He was previously Special Assistant for Homeland Security at the Department of Defense (DOD). See, White House release.

Libutti (at right) recently retired from the U.S. Marine Corps, with the rank of Lieutenant General. His Marine Corps biography reflects a long and distinguished career of military service. It does not reflect a background in information or communications technology.

The Homeland Security Act of 2002, HR 5005 (107th) and Public Law No. 107-296, creates two directorates, both headed by an Under Secretary, that have science and technology responsibilities. First, there is the Title II Directorate for Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection, which has primary responsibility for information sharing and cyber security matters. Title II also creates the positions of Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection and Assistant Secretary for Information Analysis. Second, there is the Title III Directorate for Science and Technology, which has primarily responsibility for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats. However, the responsibilities of the Title III Directorate include supporting the Title II Directorate "by assessing and testing homeland security vulnerabilities and possible threats".

Libutti has been picked to head the Title II Directorate. Robert Liscouski and Paul Redmond were previously nominated for the two Title II Assistant Secretary positions. Charles McQueary was previously named to head the Title III directorate.

Section 201 of the Homeland Security Act provides that "the responsibilities of the Under Secretary for Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection shall" include, in addition to information analysis and sharing responsibilities, the following:

"To develop a comprehensive national plan for securing the key resources and critical infrastructure of the United States, including power production, generation, and distribution systems, information technology and telecommunications systems (including satellites), electronic financial and property record storage and transmission systems, emergency preparedness communications systems, and the physical and technological assets that support such systems."

"To establish and utilize, in conjunction with the chief information officer of the Department, a secure communications and information technology infrastructure, including data-mining and other advanced analytical tools, in order to access, receive, and analyze data and information in furtherance of the responsibilities under this section, and to disseminate information acquired and analyzed by the Department, as appropriate."

"To ensure, in conjunction with the chief information officer of the Department, that any information databases and analytical tools developed or utilized by the Department -- (A) are compatible with one another and with relevant information databases of other agencies of the Federal Government; and (B) treat information in such databases in a manner that complies with applicable Federal law on privacy."

See also, story titled "Bush Fills More Tech Positions at DHS", TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 623, March 14, 2003, and story titled "Bush To Nominate McQueary for Science and Technology Position at DHS", TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 581, January 13, 2003.

3/20. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a report [huge PDF file] titled "Telecommunications Industry Revenues". The report states that total telecommunications services revenues increased by 3% from 2000 to 2001.

The revenues of the wireless industry grew by 20%. The revenues of competitive local telephone companies grew 36%. Toll service revenues declined 9%. Incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) revenues increased 1%.

This report contains data for 2001, and historical data from previous years. This annual report is based upon data filed by carriers on FCC Form 499-A (Telecommunications Reporting Worksheet), FCC Form 457 (Universal Service Worksheet), or FCC Form 431 (TRS Fund Worksheet).

This report also contains preliminary data on 2002, based upon FCC Form 499-Q, which is incomplete data. This data shows continued growth in the wireless industry, and for competitive local telephone companies. This data also shows declines for ILECs and toll service.

The report was written by Jim Lande and Kenneth Lynch of the Industry Analysis & Technology Division of the Wireline Competition Bureau.

3/20. EDS announced that Michael H. Jordan is its new Ch/CEO, replacing Richard Brown, and Jeffrey Heller is its new P/COO, effective immediately. See, EDS release.

3/20. Uttam Dhillon was named Chief Counsel and Deputy Staff Director of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security. He was previously Policy Director of the House Republican Policy Committee. Before that, he was an attorney with the law firm of Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy. He was also an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles. Bill Schulz was named Chief Counsel for the Policy Committee. He is a former Special Master for the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and former hill staffer. Vincent Sollitto was named Communications Director of the Homeland Security Committee. He was previously VP for Corporate Communications and External Affairs at PayPal, which was acquired by eBay last year. Before that, he was Communications Director for Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ). Before that, he was Press Secretary for Rep. Chris Cox (R-CA), who is now the Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee.

3/20. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that William Tolbert, Associate Director of the Division of Corporation Finance, will leave the SEC. See, SEC release.

3/19. The House Science Committee (HSC) held a hearing on HR 766, the Nanotechnology Research and Development Act of 2003. It would authorize the appropriation of $2.1 Billion over three years for nanotechnology research and development programs at the National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The majority of the funding would go to the NSF. HSC Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) said in his opening statement that "nanotechnology can be a key to future economic prosperity and might improve our lives and that the federal government needs to play a role in making that so." He also announced that the HSC will hold another hearing on April 9 on the societal consequences of nanotechnology. See, prepared testimony of witnesses: Richard Russell (Associate Director for Technology at the Office of Science and Technology Policy), Thomas Theis (IBM Research Division), James Roberto (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Carl Batt (Nanobiotechnology Center at Cornell University), and Alan Marty (JP Morgan Partners). See also, HSC release and story titled "Representatives Introduce Bill To Authorize Nanotech R&D Funding", TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 606, February 18, 2003.

3/19. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division filed a Competitive Impact Statement (CIS) with the U.S. District Court (DC) in U.S. v. Gemstar-TV Guide. On February 6, 2003, the DOJ filed a complaint in U.S. District Court against Gemstar-TV Guide and its subsidiary, TV Guide, alleging that they entered into agreements to fix prices and allocate markets and customers, and that they began jointly conducting their interactive program guide business, eliminating competition between them in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1. The complaint also alleged that they executed a merger agreement that required the filing of the Notification and Report Forms under Section 7A of the Clayton Act. The DOJ and these defendants have also reached a proposed settlement. The DOJ now files this CIS, pursuant to the requirements of the Antitrust Process and Penalties Act, 15 U.S.C. § 16, to set forth information necessary to enable the District Court and the public to evaluate the proposed final judgment.

3/13. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a Stipulated Order of Preliminary Injunction [20 pages PDF scan] with the U.S. District Court (SDFl) in FTC v. 30 Minute Mortgage, Inc. On January 9, the FTC filed its complaint [20 page PDF scan] in the District Court against 30 Minute Mortgage, Gregory P. Roth and Peter W. Stolz alleging violation of the FTC Act, the Truth in Lending Act, the Gramm Leach Bliley Act, and the FTC's Privacy Rule in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain personal financial information from consumers. The defendants sent spam messages to consumers claiming to be a national mortgage lender offering 3.95% 30 year mortgages. The defendants further provided hyperlinks in the spam messages to web pages containing purported mortgage application forms. The defendants then sold the information that they gathered. The District Court entered a preliminary injunction order on March 14. See, FTC release.

3/13. The U.S. District Court (CDCal) granted summary judgment to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in its civil action against Arash Aziz-Golshani in connection with his manipulation of stock prices by spreading false information on internet message boards. The District Court permanently enjoining him from violations of the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and ordering him to pay disgorgement in the amount of $339,392, plus prejudgment interest of $82,696. See, SEC release.

3/19. Commerce Secretary Don Evans announced a "Standards Initiative". He stated in a release that "The Bush Administration remains committed to promoting competition and opening new markets for U.S. goods ... Standards and testing are key to our international competitiveness. But more and more we are hearing that foreign standards and testing requirements are keeping our products out of foreign markets. This is the wrong approach that reduces efficiencies, limits competition and increases prices for the consumer goods. This eight-point initiative is an effort to create a more level playing field around the world."

3/20. The Copyright Office (CO) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing that it will hold a series of hearings on possible exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's (DMCA) prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works.

The CO just completed a round of written comments. March 10 was the extended deadline to submit reply comments to the Copyright Office (CO) in response to its current rulemaking proceeding concerning exemptions to the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA. The CO has published 50 original comments and 272 reply comments in its web site.

The CO hearings will be held in Washington DC on Friday, April 11, Tuesday, April 15, Wednesday, April 30, and Friday, May 2, beginning at 9:30 AM. The CO also announced that it will hold hearings in California in May, but it has not yet announced the dates, times and locations.

Persons wishing to testify must submit requests to the CO by April 1.

See, relevant statutory sections at 17 U.S.C. §§ 2101-2105. See also, Federal Register, March 20, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 54, at Pages 13652 - 13653.

The Supreme Court is in recess.

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.

10:00 AM. The Senate Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Homeland Security will hold a hearing on the proposed budget for FY 2004 for the Department of Homeland Security. Location: Room 106, Dirksen Building.

2:00 PM. The House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet will hold a hearing on HR 1320, the Commercial Spectrum Enhancement Act. The hearing will be webcast. Press contact: Ken Johnson or Jon Tripp at 202 225-5735. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

Deadline to submit requests to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to participate as a panelist in its workshops regarding the role of technology in helping consumers and businesses protect the privacy of personal information, including the steps taken to keep their information secure. The FTC will hold a workshop titled "The Consumer Experience" on May 14, and another workshop titled "The Business Experience" on June 4. See, FTC release and notice in the Federal Register, February 26, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 38, at Pages 8904 - 8906.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on pending judicial nominees, including Edward Prado (to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit), Cecilia Altonaga (Southern District of Florida), Richard Bennett (District of Maryland), Dee Drell (Western District of Louisiana), Leon Holmes (Eastern District of Arkansas), Susan Braden (Federal Claims), and Charles Lettow (Federal Claims). Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Online Communications Committee will host a brown bag lunch. The topic will be "wireline broadband issues". The speaker will be Brent Olson, Deputy Chief of the FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau's Competition Policy Division. No RSVP is necessary. Location: Kelley Drye & Warren, 1200 19th St., NW, Suite 500.

8:00 AM - 2:30 PM. The Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) will host a conference titled "Securing Cyberspace: A Government Industry Partnership for the Future". At 8:30 AM, Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), Chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, will speak. At 8:55 AM, Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), Chairman of the House Science Committee, will speak. At 9:55 AM, Sen. Robert Bennett (R-UT), will speak. At 1:30 PM, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) will speak. The ITAA states that the event is "By invitation only" and "Expected Attendees: Hill Members and Staff, Public Media, Industry Reps. & other Public/Private Sector partners". See, notice. Location: Room G-50, Dirksen Building.

11:00 AM. The Cato Institute will host a book forum on the book The Half-Life of Policy Rationales: How New Technology Affects Old Policy Issues [Amazon sales rank on March 16: 1,844,100]. The speakers will be Daniel Klein (co-editor), Jerry Ellig (Acting Director, Office of Policy Planning at the Federal Trade Commission), Donald Boudreaux (George Mason University), and Robert Atkinson (Progressive Policy Institute). Lunch will follow. See, notice and registration page. Location: Cato, 1000 Massachusetts Avenue, NW.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host a CLE seminar titled "What Every Practitioner Needs to Know about Telecommunications Access - Policy and Practice Related to Persons with Disabilities". The speakers will be Bryan Tramont (FCC), Tom Chandler (FCC), Richard Ellis (Sprint), Mike Fingerhut (Sprint), Pam Gregory (FCC), Karen Strauss (Gallaudet University), Paul Schroeder (American Foundation for the Blind), and Claude Stout (Telecommunications for the Deaf). The prices to attend range from $50 to $80. RSVP to Wendy Parish at wendy@fcba.org. Location: Wiley Rein & Fielding, 1750 K St., NW, 10th Floor.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding a proposed set of rules pertaining to "plug and play" cable compatibility. On December 19, 2002, fourteen consumer electronics companies and seven cable operators announced that they have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding a national plug and play standard between digital television (DTV) products and digital cable systems. See, document [78 pages in PDF] consisting of the MOU, proposed rules to be promulgated by the FCC, and a letter to FCC Chairman Michael Powell and others. See also, FCC release [MS Word] of January 7 announcing the FNPRM, and notice in the Federal Register, January 16, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 11, at Pages 2278 - 2283. This is CS Docket 97-80, and PP Docket 00-67. For more information, contact Susan Mort in the FCC's Media Bureau at 202 418-7200 or smort@fcc.gov.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Cable Practice and Legislation Committees will host a brown bag lunch. The speakers will be Bill Baily (Majority Counsel, Senate Commerce Committee) and James Assey (Minority Counsel, Senate Commerce Committee). RSVP to Wendy Parish at wendy@fcba.org. Location: NCTA, 1724 Massachusetts Ave., NW, 2nd floor conference room.