4/19. President Bush gave a speech in Hershey, Pennsylvania about terrorism and the USA PATRIOT Act. He said that all of the provisions of the Act that are scheduled to expire should be permanently extended, that several new provisions should be added, and that the various legislative proposals to roll back certain provisions of the Act should all be rejected.

The speech was long, focused, and specific. Bush discussed several existing sections of the PATRIOT Act, and several proposed additions.

USA PATRIOT Act is an acronym for "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001". It was passed quickly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 by the 107th Congress as HR 3162. It became Public Law 107-56 on October 26, 2001.

While the PATRIOT Act is a huge bill that addresses a wide range of issues, much of what President Bush discussed relates to Title II of the Act, covering electronic surveillance. The PATRIOT Act modified numerous sections of the criminal code, which is codified at Title 18, and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which is codified at 50 U.S.C. § 1861, et seq.

Other sections of the PATRIOT Act address topics such as biological weapons, border protection, terrorist financing infrastructure, and immigration and alien detention and deportation, and assisting victims of terrorism. President Bush did not focus on these issues.

President Bush (at right) discussed the war on terrorism generally. Then he reviewed many of the provisions in the PATRIOT Act, and explained why they make sense.

He then said that "I want you to keep in mind what I've just told you about the Patriot Act the next time you hear somebody attacking the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act defends our liberty. The Patriot Act makes it able for those of us in positions of responsibility to defend the liberty of the American people. It's essential law."

The President emphasized several provisions of the PATRIOT Act that are scheduled to expire. He said that "The reason I bring it up is because many of the Patriot Act's anti-terrorism tools are set to expire next year, including key provisions that allow our intelligence and law enforcement agencies to share information. In other words, Congress passed it and said, well, maybe the war on terror won't go on very long, and, therefore, these tools are set to expire. The problem is, the war on terror continues."

Also, President Bush did not use this speech to advocate certain other changes to criminal law and procedure, foreign intelligence law, or communications law, that are not addressed in the PATRIOT Act, but which do pertain to combating terrorism. For example, Bush made no proposals regarding cyber crimes, encryption controls, or expanding the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA).

See also, White Press Office release on the President's speech.

Extension of the PATRIOT Act. Bush said that "I'm starting today to call on the United States Congress to renew the Patriot Act and to make all of its provisions permanent."

The PATRIOT Act provides that numerous of its provisions "shall cease to have effect on December 31, 2005". The following sections of Title II of the PATRIOT Act are scheduled to sunset:
  § 201 pertaining to "Authority to intercept wire, oral, and electronic communications relating to terrorism"
  § 202 pertaining to "Authority to intercept wire, oral, and electronic communications relating to computer fraud and abuse offenses"
  § 203(b) pertaining to "Authority to share electronic, wire and oral interception information" of criminal investigations
  § 203(d) pertaining to sharing "Foreign intelligence information"
  § 204 pertaining to "Clarification of intelligence exceptions from limitations on interception and disclosure of wire, oral, and electronic communication"
  § 206 pertaining to "Roving surveillance authority under the FISA"
  § 207 pertaining to "Duration of FISA surveillance of non-United States persons who are agents of a foreign power"
  § 209 pertaining to "Seizure of voice-mail messages pursuant to warrants"
  § 212 pertaining to "Emergency disclosure of electronic communications to protect life and limb"
  § 214 pertaining to "Pen register and trap and trace authority under FISA"
  § 215 pertaining to "Access to records and other items under the FISA"
  § 217 pertaining to "Interception of computer trespasser communications"
  § 218 pertaining to "Foreign intelligence information"
  § 220 pertaining to "Nationwide service of search warrants for electronic evidence"
  § 223 pertaining to "Civil liability for certain unauthorized disclosures"
  § 225 pertaining to "Immunity for compliance with FISA wiretap".

President Bush then reviewed several specific sections that are either scheduled to sunset, or that pending bills would sunset or modify.

Information Sharing. Bush stated that "before September the 11th, law enforcement, intelligence, and national security officials were prevented by legal and bureaucratic restrictions from sharing critical information with each other, and with state and local police departments."

He elaborated that "We had -- one group of the FBI knows something, but they couldn't talk to the other group in the FBI -- because of law and bureaucratic interpretation. You cannot fight the war on terror unless all bodies of your government at the federal, state, and local level are capable of sharing intelligence on a real-time basis. We could not get a complete picture of terrorist threats, therefore. People had -- different people had a piece of the puzzle, but because of law, they couldn't get all the pieces in the same place. And so we removed those barriers, removed the walls. You hear the talk about the walls that separate certain aspects of government; they have been removed by the Patriot Act. And now, law enforcement and intelligence communities are working together to share information to better prevent an attack on America."

§ 203 pertains to the sharing of criminal investigation information. § 203(b), pertaining to authority to share electronic, wire and oral interception information, is scheduled to sunset. § 203(d), pertaining to foreign intelligence information, is also scheduled to sunset. However, § 203(a), pertaining to grand jury information, is not scheduled to sunset.

Both the Sen. Leahy and Sen. Craig bills would both sunset both §§ 203(b) and 203(d). See story, titled "Bush Opposes Congressional Proposals to Roll Back Parts of PATRIOT Act", also in this issue.

Also, § 701 of the PATRIOT Act (which is not in Title II, and is not scheduled to sunset) provides for the expansion of regional information sharing system to facilitate federal state local law enforcement response to terrorist attacks.

Roving Wiretaps. President Bush stated that "Before September the 11th, investigators had better tools to fight organized crime than to fight international terrorism. That was the reality. For years, law enforcement used so-called roving wire taps to investigate organized crime. You see, what that meant is if you got a wire tap by court order -- and, by the way, everything you hear about requires court order, requires there to be permission from a FISA court, for example."

He continued that "So the crime boss, he'd be on the cell phone, maybe thinking somebody is listening to him, would toss the cell phone and get on another cell phone. And the law allowed for our drug busters to follow the person making the calls, not just a single phone number. So it made it more difficult for a drug lord to evade the net that we were trying to throw on him to capture him with."

He added that "We couldn't use roving wire taps for terrorists. In other words, terrorists could switch phones and we couldn't follow them. The Patriot Act changed that, and now we have the essential tool. See, with court approval, we have long used roving wire taps to lock up monsters -- mobsters. Now we have a chance to lock up monsters, terrorist monsters."

§ 206 of the PATRIOT Act, pertaining to "Roving surveillance authority under the FISA", amended 50 U.S.C. § 1805. § 206 provides in full that "Section 105(c)(2)(B) of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1805(c)(2)(B)) is amended by inserting `, or in circumstances where the Court finds that the actions of the target of the application may have the effect of thwarting the identification of a specified person, such other persons,' after `specified person'."

§ 206 is scheduled to sunset. Both the Craig and Leahy bills would also sunset this section.

Critics of roving wiretap authority state that it does not specify the target of the wiretap or the place to be wiretapped, and that this increases the likelihood that the conversations of innocent people will be intercepted.

Delayed Notification of Search Warrants (aka Sneak and Peak). "The Patriot Act authorizes what are called delayed notification search warrants", said President Bush. "These allow law enforcement personnel, with court approval, to carry out a lawful search without tipping off suspects and giving them a chance to flee or destroy evidence. It is an important part of conducting operations against organized groups."

He added that "Before September the 11th, the standards for these kind of warrants were different around the country. It made it hard to have kind of a national strategy to chase down what might be a terrorist group. The Patriot Act provided a clear national standard and now allows these warrants to be used in terrorism cases. And they're an important tool for those who are on the front line of using necessary means, with court order, to find these terrorists before they hurt us."

The relevant section of the PATRIOT Act is § 213. It is not scheduled to sunset. However, there are legislative proposals to modify the procedure for obtaining delayed notification of search warrants, including the Leahy and Craig bills.

§ 213 provides that 18 U.S.C. § 3103a is amended by adding the following language:

"(b) DELAY -- With respect to the issuance of any warrant or court order under this section, or any other rule of law, to search for and seize any property or material that constitutes evidence of a criminal offense in violation of the laws of the United States, any notice required, or that may be required, to be given may be delayed if--
  (1) the court finds reasonable cause to believe that providing immediate notification of the execution of the warrant may have an adverse result (as defined in section 2705);
  (2) the warrant prohibits the seizure of any tangible property, any wire or electronic communication (as defined in section 2510), or, except as expressly provided in chapter 121, any stored wire or electronic information, except where the court finds reasonable necessity for the seizure; and
  (3) the warrant provides for the giving of such notice within a reasonable period of its execution, which period may thereafter be extended by the court for good cause shown."

Business Records. Bush stated that "Before September the 11th, law enforcement could more easily obtain business and financial records of white-collar criminals than of suspected terrorists. See, part of the way to make sure that we catch terrorists is we chase money trails. And yet it was easier to chase a money trail with a white-collar criminal than it was a terrorist. The Patriot Act ended this double standard and it made it easier for investigators to catch suspected terrorists by following paper trails here in America."

President Bush is speaking about § 215 of the PATRIOT Act, which is inconspicuously titled "Access to records and other items under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act". It has, however, turned out to be one of the most controversial provisions of the Act.

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) only applies to foreign powers, and agents of foreign powers, including international terrorists. § 501 of the FISA enables the FBI to obtain from a judge or magistrate an order requiring the production business records. While the statute does not expressly include library records, it is not disputed that library records could be obtained. Although, Attorney General John Ashcroft has stated in September 2003 that it has not been used to obtain library records.

§ 215 rewrote § 501 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which is codified in Title 50 as § 1861. It pertains to "Access to Certain Business Records for Foreign Intelligence and International Terrorism Investigations". § 215 (of the PATRIOT Act) replaced §§ 501-503 (of the FISA) with new language designated as §§ 501 and 502.

Currently, § 501 (as amended by § 215) requires that an application to a judge or magistrate "shall specify that the records concerned are sought for an authorized investigation conducted in accordance with subsection (a)(2) to obtain foreign intelligence information not concerning a United States person or to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities." Allowing § 215 to sunset, or passing a bill such as Sen. Craig's, would raise the standards for obtaining a FISA order for business records.

The American Library Association (ALA) has been the most vocal opponent of § 215. And, Attorney General John Ashcroft has rebutted its criticisms. See also, stories titled "Ashcroft Says American Library Association Attacks on PATRIOT Act Are Hysteria and Hyperbole" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 740, September 16, 2003; "Ashcroft and Critics Continue Debate Over Section 215 Access to Business Records" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 745, September 24, 2003; "Ashcroft Addresses Roving Wiretaps and Access to Business Records" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 746, September 25, 2003; and "Ashcroft Defends PATRIOT Act in Speech" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 781, November 18, 2003.

Proposal Regarding Administrative Subpoenas. President Bush stated that "there are some additional things that Congress should do -- must do, in my judgment -- to strengthen authorities and penalties to defend our homeland. There's something called administrative subpoenas -- this is the authority to request certain types of time-sensitive records without the delay of going through a judge or a grand jury."

Bush argued that "These are critical for many types of investigations. For example, today they're used for health care fraud cases. In other words, those who investigate can use an administrative subpoena to run down somebody cheating the health care system. Yet, in terrorism cases, where speed is of the essence, officials are barred from using administrative subpoenas."

"That doesn't seem to make much sense to me", said Bush.

President Bush has advanced this proposal before. He gave a speech at the FBI Academy at Quantico, Virginia, on September 10, 2003 in which he stated that the Congress should pass legislation giving law enforcement new tools, including administrative subpoena power, to fight terrorism. Also, on September 9, Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL) introduced HR 3037, the "Antiterrorism Tools Enhancement Act of 2003", for this purpose. See, story titled "Bush Proposes Expanded Administrative Subpoena Power" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 738, September 12, 2003.

Bush's Other Proposals. President Bush also used his speech in Hershey to propose other changes to federal law.

First, he proposed making it permissible for Judges to deny bail in terrorism cases. He stated that "People charged with certain crimes today, including some drug offenses, are eligible for bail only in limited circumstances. But terrorist-related crimes are not on that list. Think about what that means. Suspected terrorists could be released, free to leave the country, or worse, before their trial. And that doesn't make any sense. The disparity makes no sense. If a dangerous drug dealer can be held without bail, the Congress should allow the same treatment for terrorists."

Second, the President proposed that the death penalty should be available in terrorist crimes that result in death. He stated that "Under existing law, the death penalty applies to many serious crimes that result in death, including sexual abuse and certain drug-related offenses. Some terrorist crimes that result in death do not quality for capital punishment. That makes no sense to me. We ought to be sending a strong signal: If you sabotage a defense installation or nuclear facility in a way that takes an innocent life, you ought to get the death penalty, the federal death penalty."

4/20. The story titled "Bush Addresses PATRIOT Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 879, April 19, 2004 listed the sections of Title II of the PATRIOT Act that are scheduled to sunset. This list should also have included § 203(d) pertaining to sharing "Foreign intelligence information".

4/19. The U.S. Court of Appeals (4thCir) issued its opinion [6 pages in PDF] in USA Foundation v. Phillips Foods, affirming the District Court's dismissal of a complaint on the grounds that consumers lack standing to bring suit under the Lanham Act.

The Made in the USA Foundation is a nonprofit consumer membership organization. Phillips Foods is a Maryland Corporation that sells, among other things, crab cakes. The USA Foundation asserts that Phillips sells crab cakes that are 90% Asian crab meat, and 10% U.S. crab meat, and labels these crab cakes as "Made in the U.S.A."

The USA Foundation filed a complaint in U.S. District Court (DMd) against Phillips Foods, alleging violation of the Lanham Act, and in particular, making a false designation of origin in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1125. The District Court dismissed for lack of standing.

The Appeals Court affirmed. It wrote that "This is the first time we have been presented with the consumer standing issue. However, in an earlier case involving commercial parties, we noted in passing that the Lanham Act is ``a private remedy [for a] commercial plaintiff who meets the burden of proving that its commercial interests have been harmed by a competitor’s false advertising.´´" The Court quoted its early opinion in Mylan Laboratories, Inc. v. Maktari, 7 F.3d 1130 (4th Cir. 1993).

The Court added that "Our statement in Mylan Laboratories is consistent with the basic approach of other circuits that requires the Lanham Act plaintiff to be engaged in commercial activity. We endorse that approach today and hold that a consumer does not have standing under the Lanham Act to sue for false advertising."

This case is Made in the USA Foundation v. Phillips Foods, Inc., et al., U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, App. Ct. No. 03-1752, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, at Baltimore, Judge Benson Legg presiding, D.C. No. CA-02-1290-L.

4/19. Sue McNeil was named to head the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) newly created Office of Intergovernmental Affairs (IGA) in the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB). She is currently the CGB's Special Counsel for Intergovernmental Affairs. She will be a liaison to state, local, and tribal governments, and other federal regulatory agencies. She has also worked for Sprint, Lucent, the law firm of Latham & Watkins, Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA). See, FCC release [PDF]

4/19. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein named Geraldine Taylor to be his Confidential Assistant. She previously worked for the law firm of Dow Lohnes & Albertson. See, FCC release [PDF].

4/19. Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge gave a speech at a meeting of the Radio-Television News Directors Association and Foundation in Las Vegas, Nevada. He said that "In an earlier era, Alexis de Tocqueville said the press in America does not ``just guarantee liberty; [it] maintain[s] civilization.´´  Today, in an era of 24-hour satellite coverage and instant Internet communication, that is no less true." He also said that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) "will work to strengthen vertical communication systems and significantly increase protections around our nation's most vital assets -- our bridges and water supplies, telecommunications and cyber-systems, chemical and nuclear facilities, hospitals and laboratories, food processing systems and more."

4/19. President Bush also expressed opposition to several pending bills in his speech in Hershey, Pennsylvania on April 19. He said, "And yet some senators and congressmen not only want to let the provisions expire, but they want to roll back some of the act's permanent features. And it doesn't make any sense. We can't return to the days of false hope. The terrorists declared war on the United States of America. And the Congress must give law enforcement all the tools necessary to protect the American people."

The bill that likely concerns the President the most is S 1709, the "Security and Freedom Ensured Act of 2003" (SAFE Act), because it is sponsored by a Republican, Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID), and because nearly one-fifth of the Senate is cosponsoring the bill.

On January 28, 2004, Attorney General John Ashcroft wrote a letter [4 page PDF scan] to Senate leaders in which he opposed passage of S 1709. He made many of the same points in his letter that President Bush made in his speech. Ashcroft added that, if passed by the Congress, the President might veto it. However, the President made no veto threat in his speech.

See also, story titled "Ashcroft Opposes Senate Bill to Roll Back PATRIOT Act Provisions" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 827, February 2, 2004.

Bush delivered his speech in a large swing state during a Presidential election year. But, he did not characterize the debate as one between Republicans and Democrats. This may be because some of this key opponents on these issues are Republicans. Although, the majority of the cosponsors of these bills are Democrats.

Moreover, two of the Republican Senators who have taken positions against that of the President are facing serious re-election contests this year -- Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA). Bush would like to maintain, and increase, the Republican majority in the Senate.

The following table summarizes six bills that are relevant to President Bush's speech.

Craig Bill. On October 2, 2003, Sen. Craig (at right), Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL), Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID), Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), Sen. John Sununu (R-NH), Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) introduced S 1709, the "Security and Freedom Ensured Act of 2003". There are now 19 sponsors.

See, story titled "Senators Craig and Durbin Introduce Bill to Modify PATRIOT Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 753, October 6, 2003.

S 1709 would amend § 501 of the FISA, which was amended by § 215 of the PATRIOT Act, to raise the standards for obtaining an order to obtain business records. President Bush defended the PATRIOT Act's § 215 in his speech.

S 1709 would amend 18 U.S.C. § 2709, which currently requires that "A wire or electronic communication service provider shall comply with a request for subscriber information and toll billing records information, or electronic communication transactional records in its custody or possession made by the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ..." (§ 505 of the PATRIOT Act amended § 2709 of Title 18.) S 1709, at Section 5, would insert an exception: "A library shall not be treated as a wire or electronic communication service provider for purposes of this section."

S 1709 would amend 18 U.S.C. § 3103a to limit the authority to delay notice of search warrants. § 213 of the PATRIOT Act expanded the availability of these sneak and peak warrants. President Bush defended § 213 in his speech.

S 1709 would amend § 105(c) of the FISA, which is codified at 50 U.S.C. § 1805, to limit the use of roving wiretaps. § 206 of the PATRIOT Act expanded the use of the roving wiretaps. President Bush defended § 206 in his speech.

S 1709 would also sunset § 216 of the PATRIOT Act pertaining to "Modification of authorities relating to use of pen register and trap and trace devices", and § 219 of the PATRIOT Act pertaining to "Single-jurisdiction search warrants for terrorism". § 216 expanded the statutory provisions regarding pen register and trap and trace devices (PR&TTD) to make clear that they also apply to online communications. President Bush did not address either of these sections in his speech.

Feingold's Reasonable Notice and Search Act. On October 2, 2003, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) introduced S 1701, the "Reasonable Notice and Search Act", a bill to limit the use of delayed notice warrants, also know as sneak and peak warrants. See, story titled "Sen. Feingold Introduces Bill to Limit Delayed Notice Warrants" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 753, October 6, 2003. This bill has no cosponsors. President Bush defended these warrants in his speech.

Leahy Bill. On October 1, 2003, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and others introduced S 1695, the "PATRIOT Oversight Restoration Act". It pertains to the sunsetting of various provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act. See, story titled "Sen. Leahy Introduces Bill to Expand List of Surveillance Provisions of PATRIOT Act to Be Sunsetted" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 757, October 14, 2003. It would sunset provisions of the PATRIOT Act that the PATRIOT Act set aside for sunsetting. It would also sunset several other provisions.

Murkowski Bill. On July 31, 2003, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced S 1552 [21 pages in PDF], the "Protecting the Rights of Individuals Act", or PRI Act. See, TLJ story titled "Sen. Lisa Murkowski Introduces Bill to Roll Back Surveillance Provisions of PATRIOT Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 712, August 6, 2003.

S 1552 would toughen the requirement for obtaining and pen register and trap and trace orders. It would clarify that pen register and trap and trace orders cannot be used to obtain the subject lines of e-mail messages or any portion of a uniform resource locator (URL) beyond the top level domain. It would raise the standard for obtaining a FISA order from "a significant purpose" of the surveillance must be foreign intelligence gathering, to "the primary purpose". It would eliminate "John Doe" roving wiretaps. It would restrict the circumstances under which the government may delay giving notice of the issuance of a search warrant. It would restrict the government's access to business records under the FISA. It would provide that the FBI's access to the toll billing records and electronic communication transactional records of a "electronic communications service provider" does not apply to libraries. And, it would impose a moratorium on government data mining. Thus, it contains many proposals that President Bush criticized in his speech.

This bill has only one cosponsor, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR). However, Sen. Murkowski both is a Republican, and faces a contested election in November.

Feingold Library Bill. Sen. Feingold introduced S 1507, the "Library, Bookseller, and Personal Records Privacy Act", on July 31, 2003. It addresses the business records issue of § 215 of the PATRIOT Act, and provides further privacy protections for booksellers and libraries (including libraries providing internet access). It has eleven other sponsors, all of whom are Democrats.

Otter Bill. On October 21, 2003, Rep. Butch Otter (R-ID) introduced HR 3352, the "Security and Freedom Ensured Act of 2003 (SAFE) Act". This bill is similar, but not identical, to S 1709. See, story titled "Rep. Otter Introduces Bill to Amend PATRIOT Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 764, October 23, 2003.

HR 3352 has 57 sponsors, including 7 Republicans. The cosponsors include Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), Rep. George Nethercutt (R-WA), Rep. Vern Ehlers (R-MI), Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL), Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), and Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID).

The House will meet at 2:00 PM for legislative business. The House will consider several non technology related items under suspension of the rules. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM. See, Republican Whip Notice.

The Senate will meet at 9:45 AM to begin consideration of consideration of S 2290, the asbestos bill.

The Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Intel v. AMD, a case regarding the availability of a discovery order from a U.S. District Court, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1782, for a complainant in an antitrust matter before the European Commission. See, Order List [8 pages in PDF] at page 1. See, story titled "Supreme Court Grants Certiorari in Intel v. AMD", also published in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 776, November 11, 2003; and story titled "9th Circuit Rules on Discovery in U.S. for EC Antitrust Proceeding" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 446, June 7, 2002.

10:00 PM. The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight will hold a hearing titled "Pirates of the 21st Century: The Curse of the Black Market". The hearing will review the effectiveness of the federal government's efforts to enforce existing intellectual property rights. See, notice. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

1:00 - 5:00 PM. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) Nanotechnology Customer Partnership will meet. RSVP to Jill Warden at 571 272-1267 or Jill.Warden@uspto.gov. See, notice. Location: Conference Center, Rooms 1D70 and 1D80, Jefferson Building, 500 Dulany Street, Alexandria, VA.

2:30 PM. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Subcommittee on International Economic Policy, Export and Trade Promotion will hold a hearing to examine a ten year perspective and implications for the future regarding the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Location: Room 216, Hart Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on Financial Management, the Budget, and International Security will hold a hearing titled "Oversight Hearing on Expensing Stock Options: Supporting and Strengthening the Independence of the Financial Accounting Standards Board". See, notice. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

Extended deadline to submit comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in response to its notice in the Federal Register requesting comments regarding a National Do Not E-mail Registry. Section 9 of S 877, the "Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pormography and Marketing Act of 2003" (CAN-SPAM Act), requires the FTC to write a report to the Congress on establishing a nationwide Do Not E-Mail Registry. It is due by June 16, 2004. See, story titled "FTC Announces CAN-SPAM Act Rulemaking" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 855, March 15, 2004. The notice (setting the original comment deadline of March 31, 2004) is published in the Federal Register, March 11, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 48, at Pages 11775-11782. See also, FTC release summarizing the notice. The notice (extending the deadline to April 20, 2004) is published in the Federal Register, April 9, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 69, at Pages 18851 - 18852.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The agenda includes consideration of several non technology related items under suspension of the rules. See, Republican Whip Notice.

7:45 AM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host a breakfast. The speaker will be John Rogovin, General Counsel of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Prices vary. The buffet will begin at 7:45 AM. Location: Mayflower Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW.

10:00 AM. The House Financial Services Committee's (HFSC) Subcommittee on Capital Markets will hold a hearing to evaluate the Financial Accounting Standards Board's (FASB) exposure draft on share-based payments, or stock options, and its effects on publicly traded companies. See, HFSC release. Location: Room 2128, Rayburn Building.

? 10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing. Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge will testify regarding visas and machine readable and biometric requirements for passports. Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202 225-2492. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:30 AM. The House Homeland Security Committee's Subcommittee on Infrastructure and Border Security and Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Science and Research and Development, will hold a joint hearing to examine the relationship between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the critical infrastructure sectors. The witnesses will be Robert Liscouski (DHS, Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection), George Newstrom (Secretary of Technology, Virginia), Robert Dacey (General Accounting Office), Dave McCurdy (Internet Security Alliance), Diane Hei (Information Sharing and Analysis Center Council). See, notice. Location: undisclosed.

12:00 NOON. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Transactional Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "M&A Opportunities in Telecom & Media". The speakers will be Michael Price (Evercore Partners) and Chuck Wiebe (BIA Capital). RSVP to Ava Smith 202 371-7201 or asmith@skadden.com. Location: Skadden Arps, 700 14th St., NW, 11th Floor.

1:00 - 5:00 PM. Day one of a three day meeting of the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) will hold a meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 12, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 70, at Page 19240. Location: 1110 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 820.

2:00 PM. The House Government Reform Committee's Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and the Census will hold a hearing titled "Protecting Our Nation’s Cyber Space: Educational Awareness for the Cyber Citizen". The witnesses will be Orson Swindle (Federal Trade Commission), Amit Yoran (National Cyber Security Division, DHS), Larry Clinton (Internet Security Alliance), Andrew Howell (U. S. Chamber of Commerce), Rodney Petersen (EDUCAUSE), and Douglas Sabo (National Cyber Security Alliance). For more information, contact Juliana French at 202 225-6751. Location: Room 2154, Rayburn Building.

Deadline to submit comment to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding its "Pre-Publication Final" draft [67 pages in PDF] of NIST Special Publication 800-37, titled "Guide for the Security Certification and Accreditation of Federal Information Systems". Comments should be addressed to sec-cert@nist.gov.

The House will meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. The agenda includes consideration of several non technology related items under suspension of the rules. See, Republican Whip Notice.

9:00 AM. The House Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing to receive the Report of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack. William Graham, the Chairman of the Commission, and other members, will testify. Location: Room 2118, Rayburn Building.

9:00 - 10:30 AM and 1:00 - 5:00 PM. Day two of a three day meeting of the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) will hold a meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 12, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 70, at Page 19240. Location: 1110 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 820.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Verizon v. FCC, No. 03-1396. Judges Ginsburg, Garland and Roberts will preside. Location: Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave.

9:00 AM - 1:00 PM. Day three of a three day meeting of the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) will hold a meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 12, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 70, at Page 19240. Location: 1110 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 820.

10:00 AM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Technological Advisory Committee will hold a meeting. The agenda includes broadband wireless and spam. See, notice [PDF] and agenda [PDF]. The event will be audio webcast. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, Room TW-C305, 445 12th Street, SW.

10:00 AM - 5:30 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Enhanced 911 Coordination Initiative. See, agenda [PDF]. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to the Department of Justice's (DOJ) petition for a rulemaking proceeding [PDF] regarding surveillance of voice over internet protocol (VOIP), regulation of VOIP related technologies, the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), and related issues. This is RM-10865. See, FCC notice [PDF] (DA 04-700).

Deadline to submit applications to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for grants under the Technology Opportunity Program (TOP). Grant applications must be either postmarked no later than April 27, 2004, or hand-delivered no later than 5:00 PM EST on April 27, 2004. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 17, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 31, at Pages 7452 - 7454, story titled "NTIA Publishes Notice Regarding TOP Grants" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 839, February 18, 2004; and the NTIA's TOP web page.

4/16. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) issued its opinion [12 pages in PDF] in AT&T v. FCC, a petition for review of an order of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding coinless payphone compensation. The Appeals Court denied the petition. This case is AT&T Corporation, petitioner, v. FCC and USA, respondents, and WorldCom, intervenor, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, App. Ct. No. 03-1017.

4/19. The U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir) issued its opinion [8 pages in PDF] in Computer Task Group v. Brotby affirming the District Court's dismissal for failure to comply with pre-trial discovery orders. William Brotby worked for Computer Task Group (CTG) as an information technology consultant. He signed a non-disclosure and non-solicitation agreement whereby he agreed not to work for any of CTG's customers, and not to disclose or use confidential or proprietary information after leaving CTG. While at CTG he worked on a project for Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. He then left CTG and went to work for Alyeska. CTG filed a complaint in U.S. District Court (DAlaska) against Brotby alleging breach of contract, and various business torts. Brotby did not provide responsive answers to written interrogatories. Despite numerous court orders compelling him to comply, he continued his dilatory and evasive tactics. Eventually, the District Court dismissed the complaint. Brotby appealed. The Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal. This case is Computer Task Group, Inc. v. William Brotby, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, App. Ct. No. 01-36006.