4/26. President Bush gave a speech in Minneapolis, Minnesota to the annual convention of the American Association of Community Colleges. He addressed many technology related topics.

Summary. Bush spoke about the importance of innovation to the U.S. economy. To promote and incent innovation he advocated making the research and development tax credit permanent. He also advocated federal spending on research and education. However, he said nothing about incenting innovation through copyright, patent and other intellectual property rights.

He also spoke about the importance of promoting broadband deployment. He said that he wants to see multiple providers, affordable service, and broadband "spread to all corners of the country". To promote broadband he advocated banning taxes on broadband access. He also said that the federal government must increase access to federal land for fiberoptic cables and transmission towers (but he said nothing about obstacles to broadband deployment posed by local governmental entities that control access to rights of way).

Bush also advocated setting standards for broadband over powerline (which is the subject of a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proceeding), and providing more spectrum for wireless broadband. He also expressed his support for the FCC, and for FCC Chairman Michael Powell in particular.

Bush also proposed converting the medical records system from paper to electronic files, and stated that the federal government is setting standards for electronic records.

Finally, he promoted community colleges, to train workers for jobs in new technologies. And, he opposed isolationist trade policies.

Broadband Deployment. Bush stated that one of his goals "is to make sure that we have access to the information that is transforming our economy through broadband technology. I'm talking about broadband technology in every part of our country." He added that "it also is going to be an important way to make sure that we're an innovative society."

Bush lauded the benefits of broadband based distance learning and telemedicine. He said that "the expansion of broadband technology will mean education literally will head into the living rooms of students. That will even make the system more flexible and more available and more affordable."

"Educators understand the great value of broadband technology", said Bush. "It's the flow of information and the flow of knowledge which will help transform America and keep us on the leading edge of change. And we've got to make sure that flow is strong and modern and vibrant."

Regarding telemedicine, he stated that "if you're from a state where there's a lot of rural people, there's nothing better than to be able to transfer information quickly from a rural doc to a hospital for analysis in order to save lives. It's happening all around our country. The ability to send an x-ray image in seven seconds and have a response back in ten minutes with a preliminary analysis oftentimes will save lives. But you hear us talk about making sure health care is accessible and affordable. One way to do so is to hook up communities and homes to broadband."

Bush reiterated the statement that he made in his March 29, 2004 speech in Albuquerque, New Mexico -- that the U.S ought to have universal and affordable access to broadband by 2007. See, story titled "Bush Calls for Universal Broadband Access by 2007" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 865, March 29, 2004.

He stated on April 26 that "I'm talking about broadband technology to every corner of our country by the year 2007 with competition shortly thereafter."

He added that "we've got to make sure that there's competition for your -- for your demand. We need more than just one provider available for not only community colleges but also for consumers. In our society, the more providers there are, the better the quality will be and the better the pricing mechanism will be."

Broadband Access Taxes. Bush said that "Broadband technology must be affordable. In order to make sure it gets spread to all corners of the country, it must be affordable. We must not tax broadband access. If you want broadband access throughout the society, Congress must ban taxes on access."

The Senate resumed its long delayed consideration of S 150 on April 26. This bill, titled the "Internet Non-Discrimination Act" would ban taxes on internet access. The House passed its version of the bill last fall.

S 150, as passed by the Senate Commerce Committee, makes the ban of the 1998 Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) permanent, sunsets the grandfather language of the ITFA after October 1, 2006, provides that the moratorium applies to telecommunications services "to the extent such services are used to provide Internet access", and adds an exemption for any taxes imposed to fund universal service subsidies.

However, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Sen. Thomas Carper (D-DE) and others are seeking to water any legislation down with exceptions that would permit various taxes on internet access.

Broadband and Access to Rights of Way. Bush then said that "a proper role for the government is to clear regulatory hurdles so those who are going to make investments do so." For example, the federal government can "increase access to federal land for fiberoptic cables and transmission towers."

The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released a report titled "Improving Rights-of-Way Management Across Federal Lands: A Roadmap for Greater Broadband Deployment Report by the Federal Rights-of-Way Working Group" in April 26.

It contains numerous recommendations regarding the application and permitting process. These recommendations pertain to access to information, application procedures, timeliness of reviews, review procedures, and assessment of fees. However, nothing in this report proposes guaranteeing any broadband service provider access to any federal land, limiting fees that can be charged, or setting fixed decision making deadlines.

Bush also released a memorandum for the heads of executive departments and agencies on April 26, 2004 titled "Improving Rights-of-Way Management Across Federal Lands to Spur Greater Broadband Deployment". It directs federal entities to follow the recommendations of the NTIA report.

Neither the NTIA report, the President's memorandum, nor the President's speech deals with access to rights of way controlled by state and local governments. These permitting authorities pose the greater obstacle to broadband deployment.

Broadband and the FCC. Bush also addressed the FCC. He said that "Regulatory policy has got to be wise and smart as we encourage the spread of this important technology. There needs to be technical standards to make possible new broadband technologies, such as the use of high-speed communication directly over power lines. Power lines were for electricity; power lines can be used for broadband technology. So the technical standards need to be changed to encourage that."

The FCC has already issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding broadband over powerline systems. The FCC adopted this NPRM on February 12, 2004. See, story titled "FCC Adopts Broadband Over Powerline NPRM" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 836, February 13, 2004. The FCC released the text of this NPRM on February 23, 2004. This NPRM is FCC 04-29 in ET Docket Nos. 03-104 and 04-37. See also, notice in the Federal Register, March 17, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 52, at Pages 12612-12618.

Bush also praised the FCC and Powell. He said that "we're going to continue to support the Federal Communications Commission. Michael Powell -- Chairman Michael Powell, under his leadership, his decision to eliminate burdensome regulations on new broadband networks availability to homes. In other words, clearing out the underbrush of regulation, and we'll get the spread of broadband technology, and America will be better for it."

Bush also discussed spectrum management in vague terms. He said that "we need to open up more federally controlled wireless spectrum to auction in free public use, to make wireless broadband more accessible, reliable, and affordable. Listen, one of the technologies that's coming is wireless."

Innovation. Bush also discussed innovation. He said that "America leads the world because of our system of private enterprise and a system that encourages innovation. And it's important that we keep it that way. See, I think the proper role for government is not to try to create wealth, but to create an environment in which the entrepreneurial spirit flourishes."

He added that "The government can help as well, though, by providing research scholars. I mean, one of the things we've got to recognize is that if we want to be competitive in the future, that we've got to encourage research and development so that the next wave of technology is America's wave of technology."

He said that this can be furthered by two policies: federal subsidization of research, and tax breaks for corporate research. He stated that he has proposed "raising federal spending on research and development to $132 billion".

He also said that "I think we ought to encourage private sector companies to do the same, to invest in research. And therefore, I believe the tax credits that are critical for encouraging of research ought to be a permanent part of tax code. They're set to expire. Congress ought to make tax cuts permanent."

Notably, in this discussion of encouraging innovation, he said nothing about intellectual property rights. Bush also gave a speech back on November 18, 2003 in which he discussed innovation, without mentioning intellectual property. He said then that ""the prosperity, and social vitality and technological progress of a people are directly determined by extent of their liberty. Freedom honors and unleashes human creativity -- and creativity determines the strength and wealth of nations." See, TLJ story titled "Bush Says Liberty Creates Innovation Which Creates Wealth".

Community Colleges. Bush also discussed community colleges. He said that "I want to talk about the role of community colleges in the out years as we promote a new generation of American innovation."

He continued that "the people closest to the situation in each community are those who can best devise a strategy to meet the growing demand for workers and the need to make sure the workers have the appropriate skill sets."

Bush cited the example of a community college in Florida that provides training in "robotics, in lasers, and phototonic technology". He said that "there's a demand for these kind of workers, and what the community college system does is it provides a fantastic opportunity for job training, for new educational opportunities."

Bush also discussed workforce productivity and economic growth. He said that "not only does the community college system help somebody get employed, they help somebody to become a more productive worker. And there's a lot of talk about productivity in our society. Productivity provides interesting and important challenges. First of all, the more productive your workforce is, the faster your economy has to grow. See, if you've got -- if a worker can produce more goods and services per hour than in the past, in order to add new workers, the economy has to grow faster than productivity. And it's a challenge. And that's why we can't become isolated from the rest of the world. We've got to reject economic isolationism."

Bush's emphases on training rather that protectionism, and on community colleges rather than other educational institutions (such as research universities, liberal arts colleges, or large state universities), are similar to those of Federal Reserve Board (FRB) Chairman Alan Greenspan.

For example, on March 11, 2004 Greenspan testified at a House Education and Workforce Committee hearing titled "The Changing Nature of the Economy: The Critical Roles of Education and Innovation in Creating Jobs & Opportunity in a Knowledge Economy". He argued against protectionist policies, and in favor of education. He stated that "One area in which educational investments appear to have paid off is our community colleges."

Similarly, on December 12, 2003, Greenspan gave a speech in which he suggested that the appropriate policy is not protectionism, but retraining workers "for new job skills that meet the evolving opportunities created by our economy has become so urgent in this country. A major source of such retraining has been our community colleges, which have proliferated over the past two decades."

Electronic Medical Records. Bush also proposed converting the medical records system from paper to electronic records. He said that "The 21st century health care system is using a 19th century paperwork system. Doctors use paper files to keep tracks of their patients. Pharmacists have to figure out the handwriting of a doctor. Vital medical information is scattered in many places. X-rays get misplaced. Problems with drug interaction are not systematically checked. See, these old methods of keeping records are real threats to patients and their safety and are incredibly costly. Modern technology hasn't caught up with a major aspect of health care and we've got to change that. We've got to change it."

He argued that patients "should have personal electronic medical files available that accurately and securely keep a patient's medical history ... In other words, medicine ought to be using modern technologies in order to better share information, in order to reduce medical errors, in order to reduce cost to our health care system by billions of dollars. To protect patients and improve care and reduce cost, we need a system where everyone has their own personal electronic medical record that they control and they can give a doctor when they need to."

He proposed that "Within ten years, every American must have a personal electronic medical record."

He added that the role of the federal government in this conversion is developing technical standards for these records.

Bush also referenced privacy. He said that "Patients will have control over their privacy. I fully understand there's a issue of privacy. And the people who ought to determine the extent of privacy, their privacy, of course, is the patient, the consumer."

2/26. On April 26, the Supreme Court denied certiorari in North Carolina Pay Phone Association v. FCC, a case involving whether the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has authority under 47 U.S.C. § 276 to regulate the rate charged for a pay telephone line provided by a local exchange carrier (LEC) that is not a Bell operating company (BOC).

The FCC issued an order in which it concluded that Section 276 does not explicitly forbid non-BOC LECs from discriminating. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) issued its opinion [17 pages in PDF] affirming the FCC's order on July 11, 2003. See also, story titled "DC Circuit Upholds FCC Payphone Order" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 697, July 14, 2004.

The North Carolina Pay Phone Association then filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court, which petition the Supreme Court just denied. See, Order List [9 pages in PDF] at page 7. This is Supreme Court No. 03-897.

The Office of the Solicitor General wrote in its brief in opposition that "Section 276 does not give the Commission general authority to regulate the rates charged by LECs for payphone lines, which are considered an intrastate service. Rather, the authority Congress gave the Commission over line rates extends only to BOCs and not to non-BOC LECs. In particular, Congress crafted ``nondiscrimination safeguards´´ that apply only to the BOCs. 47 U.S.C. 276(a)."

Also on April 26, the Supreme Court denied certiorari in AT&T v. Bobby Gene Allen, a class action lawsuit against AT&T involving the collection of a city sales taxes by AT&T from non-residents of that city. The Supreme Court wrote that "The motion of Council on State Taxation for leave to file a brief as amicus curiae is granted. The petition for a writ of certiorari is denied." The action was brought in state court in Oklahoma. The trial court certified the class. The Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals affirmed the certification. The Oklahoma Supreme Court declined to review the case. AT&T then filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court, which petition the Supreme Court just denied. See, Order List [9 pages in PDF] at page 7. This is Supreme Court No. 03-1046.

4/26. The Supreme Court denied certiorari in in Senior Technologies, Inc. v. R.F. Technologies, Inc., No. 03-1042, a patent case. See, Order List [9 pages in PDF] at page 3.

4/23. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) issued its opinion [14 pages in PDF] in California Metro Mobile Communications, Inc. v. FCC, affirming the order of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). CMMC is a provider of mobile radio equipment and two way radio service. It applied to the FCC for a license to operate a trunked radio station on Very High Frequency (VHF) channels in the Industrial/Business radio pool of the Private Land Mobile Radio (PLMR) services. CMMC appealed the FCC's order denying review of the decision of its FCC's Public Safety and Private Wireless Division to modify CMMC’s trunked radio station by removing one frequency.

4/26. The Senate voted 74-11 for a motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to consider to S 150, the "Internet Tax Non-discrimination Act of 2003", a bill to extend that ban on internet access taxes. See, Roll Call No. 71. See also,

The original Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) imposed a temporary ban on taxes on internet access, and multiple or discriminatory taxes on e-commerce, subject to a grandfather clause. It expired in 2001. The Congress passed the Internet Non-Discrimination Act (INDA) in late 2001. It extended the ban of the ITFA through November 1, 2003. This extension has expired.

In the current Congress, the House version of the extension bill, which is again titled the "Internet Non-Discrimination Act" makes the ban of the ITFA permanent. It also eliminates the grandfather clause. Finally, it provides that the moratorium applies to telecommunications services, "to the extent such services are used to provide Internet access". The House has passed this bill.

In the current Congress, the Senate version of the INDA (S 150) that was passed by the Senate Commerce Committee makes the ban of the ITFA permanent, sunsets the grandfather language of the ITFA after October 1, 2006, provides that the moratorium applies to telecommunications services "to the extent such services are used to provide Internet access", and adds an exemption for any taxes imposed to fund universal service subsidies.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) was one of the eleven Senators to vote against moving forward with consideration of S 150. On February 12, 2004 he and others introduced S 2084, the "Internet Tax Ban Extension and Improvement Act". The title of the bill is not descriptive of its content. It would nominally extend the Internet Tax Freedom Act through November 1, 2005. However, it would also allow a range of new taxes that could be imposed by state and local governments.

President Bush gave a speech in Minneapolis, Minnesota on April 26. He stated that "Broadband technology must be affordable. In order to make sure it gets spread to all corners of the country, it must be affordable. We must not tax broadband access. If you want broadband access throughout the society, Congress must ban taxes on access."

Adam Thierer of the Cato Institute stated in a release on April 26 that "If Congress fails to renew the Internet Access Tax moratorium, it could open the floodgates of state and local taxation of online services and activities. We should not let state and local government turn this global medium into their latest cash cow."

More Background on Senate Bill. See, story titled "Senate Commerce Committee Approves Bill to Extend Internet Tax Moratorium" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 709, August 1, 2003; story titled "Sen. Alexander Introduces Bill Regarding Internet Tax Moratorium" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 838, February 17, 2004; and story titled "Senators Write in Opposition to State Taxation of Internet Access" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 845, February 27, 2004.

Background on House Bill. Rep. Cox introduced the bill on HR 49, the "Internet Tax Nondiscrimination Act", on January 7, 2003. See, story titled "Rep. Cox and Sen. Wyden Introduce Bill to Make Permanent Net Tax Ban" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 580, January 10, 2003. The House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law held a hearing on April 1, 2003. See, story titled "House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Bill to Make Internet Tax Moratorium Permanent" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 635, April 2, 2003. The Subcommittee approved the bill on May 22, 2003. The full Committee amended and approved the bill on July 16, 2003. See, story titled "House Judiciary Committee Approves Internet Tax Bill", also published in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 700, July 17, 2003. The full House passed the bill on September 17, 2003.

The House will meet at 12:30 PM for morning hour and at 2:00 PM for legislative business. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM. The House will consider several non technology related items under suspension of the rules. See, Republican Whip Notice.

9:30 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing titled "Telecommunications Policy Review". The speakers will be David Dorman (Ch/CEO of AT&T), Richard Notebaert (Ch/CEO of Qwest), and James Geiger (CEO of Cbeyond Communications). The hearing will be webcast. See, notice. Press contact: Rebecca Fisher at 202 224-2670. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

9:30 AM. Philips Electronics and the National Retail Federation will host a panel discussion titled "Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Technology". Location: Holeman Lounge, National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor.

POSTPONED. 9:30 - 10:30 AM. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein will host an event titled "press breakfast". The notice requests an RSVP to Anne Perkins (202-418-2314) in Commissioner Adelstein's office by April 26. Location: FCC, 8th Floor Conference Room.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

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.

1:30 - 4:00 PM. The U.S. International Telecommunication Advisory Committee Meeting-Radiocommunication Sector (ITAC-R) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 30, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 61, at Page 16631. Location: Room 6 B 516, 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 the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) and related issues. This is RM-10865. See, FCC notice [PDF] (DA 04-700). See also, TLJ table titled "Summary of Comments Submitted to the FCC in Response to the DOJ's CALEA Petition".

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.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM. The House will consider several non technology related items under suspension of the rules. See, Republican Whip Notice.

9:00 AM - 1:00 PM. Day two 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.

9:30 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing titled "Telecommunications Policy Review". The speakers will be Adam Thierer (Cato Institute), Charles Ferguson (Brookings Institution), George Gilder (Discovery Institute), Reed Hundt (McKinsey & Company), and Raymond Gifford (Progress & Freedom Foundation). The hearing will be webcast. See, notice. Press contact: Rebecca Fisher at 202 224-2670. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet will meet to mark up a bill to reauthorize the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act. The hearing will be webcast. Press contact: Larry Neal or Jon Tripp at 202 225-5735. See, notice. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The House Science Committee's Subcommittee on Environment, Technology, and Standards will hold a hearing titled "Fiscal Year 2005 National Institute of Standards and Technology Budget: Views from Industry". The hearing will be webcast. Press contact: Joe Pouliot at Joe.Pouliot@mail.house.gov or 202 225-6371. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

12:00 NOON. The Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host a luncheon. The speakers will be Richard Notebaert (Ch/CEO of Qwest Communications), Anna-Marie Kovacs (Janney Montgomery Scott), Frank Governali (Goldman Sachs), and Blake Bath (Lehman Brothers). See, notice and online registration page. Press contact: David Fish at 202 289-8928 or dfish@pff.org. Location: Rotunda Room, Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Online Communications Committee will host a brown bag lunch. The speaker will be Hillary Brill, Legislative Director for Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA). RSVP to Evelyn Opany at 202 689-7163. Location: Piper Rudnick, 1200 19th Street, NW.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM. The House will consider several non technology related items under suspension of the rules. See, Republican Whip Notice.

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

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection will hold a hearing titled "Spyware: What You Don't Know Can Hurt You". The hearing will be webcast by the Committee. See, notice. Press contact: Larry Neal or Jon Tripp at 202 225-5735. Location: Room 2322, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The House Science Committee will hold a hearing titled "H.R. __, High Performance Computing Revitalization Act of 2004". The hearing will be webcast. Press contact: Joe Pouliot at Joe.Pouliot@mail.house.gov or 202 225-6371. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State, and the Judiciary will hold a hearing on intellectual property issues. Location: Room 192, Dirksen Building.

12:15 - 2:00 PM. The Forum on Technology and Innovation will host a luncheon titled "The Impact of Expensing Stock Options on the Tech Industry". The speakers will be Dick Grannis (VP and Treasurer of Qualcomm), Karen Kerrigan (Chairman of the Small Business Survival Committee), and Roberto Mendoza (Chairman of IFL). See, registration page. Location: Room 902, Hart Building, Capitol Hill.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Media Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch. The topic will be the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) television license renewal process. The speakers will be Barbara Kreisman and staff of the FCC's Video Division. RSVP to John Logan at jlogan@dlalaw.com. Location: Dow Lohnes & Albertson, 1200 New Hampshire Ave., NW.

2:30 PM. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Subcommittee on International Operations and Terrorism will hold a hearing to examine Middle East broadcasting. Location: Room 419, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM - 2:00 PM. The AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies will host a pair of panel discussions titled "Intellectual Property Rights in Frontier Industries: Software and Biotech". At 10:15 AM there will be a panel titled "Biotechnology and IPR". At 12:00 NOON there will be a luncheon panel discussion titled "Software and IPR". The speakers will be Scott Wallsten (AEI-Brookings), David Mowery (UC Berkeley), Dan Burk (University of Minnesota), and Starling Hunter (MIT). Location: AEI, 1150 17th St., NW, 12th Floor.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host a panel discussion titled "Accelerating the Transition to Digital TV: Developments at the FCC and in Congress". The speakers will be Ken Ferree (Chief of the Federal Communications Commission's Media Bureau), John Kneuer (National Telecommunications and Information Administration), Thomas Lenard (PFF), and Steve Sharkey (Motorola). Lunch will be served. See, notice and registration page. Press contact: David Fish at 202-289-8928 or dfish@pff.org. Location: Room 253, Russell Building, Capitol Hill.

Deadline to submit applications to the Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) for Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) Program grants. Paper copies must be postmarked and mailed, shipped, or sent overnight no later than April 30, 2004, to be eligible for FY 2004 grant funding. Electronic copies must be received by April 30, 2004, to be eligible for FY 2004 grant funding. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 1, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 40, at Pages 9576-9582.

Deadline to submit applications to the Privacy Office of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for membership on its new Data Integrity, Privacy, and Interoperability Advisory Committee. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 9, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 69, at Page 18923.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding unwanted mobile service commercial messages and the CAN-SPAM Act. This is CG Docket No. 04-53. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 31, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 62, at Pages 16873 - 16886.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding auction procedures for the September 15, 2004 Automated Maritime Telecommunications System Spectrum Auction. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 20, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 76, at Pages 21110 - 21114.

Deadline for the President to submit a report to the Congress on the operations of the Directorate of Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection of the Department of Homeland Security and the Terrorist Threat Integration Center. This report is required by Section 359 of HR 2417, the "Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004". See, story titled "Bush Signs Intelligence Authorization Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 799, December 15, 2003.

The Supreme Court will begin a recess. (It will return on May 17, 2004.)

9:00 - 10:30 AM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a panel discussion titled "The Audiovisual Services Sector in the GATS Negotiations". The audiovisual services sector includes movies, television, radio. See, notice. Location: AEI, 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Typeright v. Microsoft, No. O3-1197. Location: Courtroom 203, 717 Madison Place, NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding whether certain rules should be repealed or modified because they are no longer necessary in the public interest. The FCC released this NPRM on January 12, 2004. This item is FCC 03-337 in WC Docket No. 02-313. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 18, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 53, at Pages 12814-12826.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding broadband over powerline systems. The FCC adopted this NPRM on February 12, 2004. See, story titled "FCC Adopts Broadband Over Powerline NPRM" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 836, February 13, 2004. The FCC released the text of this NPRM on February 23, 2004. This NPRM is FCC 04-29 in ET Docket Nos. 03-104 and 04-37. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 17, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 52, at Pages 12612-12618.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rule Making and Order [53 pages in PDF] regarding cognitive radio technologies and software defined radios. This item is FCC 03-322 in ET Docket No. 03-108 and ET Docket No. 00-47. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 17, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 31, at Pages 7397 - 7411, and story titled "FCC Releases Cognitive Radio Technology NPRM" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 808, December 31, 2003.