1/11. President Bush announced his intent to nominate Judge Michael Chertoff to be Secretary of Homeland Security. If confirmed by the Senate, he will replace Tom Ridge as head of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Also, at a White House event to introduce Chertoff, Bush mentioned cyberterrorism.

Chertoff (at left) is currently a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (3rdCir). Before that, he was Assistant Attorney General (AAG) in charge of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Criminal Division. In 1995 and 1996, he was Special Counsel to the Senate committee conducting the Whitewater investigation. He has also held many federal prosecutorial positions.

He worked at the law firm of Latham & Watkins after his work for the Whitewater committee, and before his appointment to the DOJ in the Spring of 2001.

President Bush stated at a White House event that "Under the direction of Secretary Tom Ridge, the Department of Homeland Security has improved airline security, enhanced the protection of our borders and ports of entry, and taken vital steps to safeguard the nation's critical infrastructure."

Bush added that "The Department of Homeland Security will also continue working to reduce the nation's vulnerabilities to weapons of mass destruction and cyberterrorism. We are engaged in a daily mission to prepare effective responses to any future attack and to closely coordinate homeland security efforts with state and local officials." See, transcript.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), the Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, stated in a release that "Michael Chertoff is a strong candidate for this important post. Since his time as Chief of the Criminal Division at the Justice Department, prior to his appointment to the federal bench, Judge Chertoff has been a key figure in the nation's legal efforts to fight terrorism." She added that "The Committee will begin its review of his nomination and hold a confirmation hearing as soon as possible."

Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT), the ranking Democrat on the Committee, stated in a release that the DHS "is still struggling to integrate its many component parts into a well-organized machine. It has not yet articulated a clear homeland security strategy. And it is behind in its work to catalog and assess threats to the nation’s core energy, telecommunications, water, transportation, and financial networks. High turnover and scarce resources are partially to blame. But, ultimately, the Department will succeed only with muscular leadership from the top."

Chertoff was AAG in the DOJ at the time of the terrorists attacks of September 11, 2001. He was one of the drafters of the USA PATRIOT Act. He testified, and accompanied Attorney General John Ashcroft when he testified, regarding the USA PATRIOT Act on several occasions.

For example, he testified before the House Judiciary Committee (HJC) on September 24, 2001. See, story titled "Electronic Surveillance Debated" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 272, September 25, 2001. He also testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on November 28, 2001. See, stories titled "Chertoff Discusses Electronic Surveillance Under USA PATRIOT Act" and "Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on Anti Terrorist Measures" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 317, November 29, 2001.

Chertoff also testified before the HJC's Subcommittee on Crime on June 12, 2001 regarding cybercrime. See, prepared testimony.

Chertoff also submitted prepared testimony for, but did not appear at, a Subcommittee on Crime hearing on HR 556, the "Unlawful Internet Gambling Funding Prohibition Act", and HR 3215, the "Combating Illegal Gambling Reform and Modernization Act" on November 29, 2001. See, story titled "House Committee Holds Hearing on Internet Gambling Bills" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 318, November 30, 2001.

1/11. Robert Liscouski, Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), announced that he will leave in early February. See, DHS release.

Most of the top leaders of the DHS have either left, or announced their imminent departures. In the areas of critical infrastructure protection, and cyber security, all of the political appointees responsible for policy are either gone or going.

Amit Yoran was the Director of the National Cyber Security Division (NCSD) of the Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection Directorate (IAIP) at the DHS. He resigned on October 1, 2004. Yoran came to the DHS with an extensive background in information security. He has not been replaced.

See, stories titled "Amit Yoran Named Head of Cyber Security Division" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 740, September 16, 2003; and "Cyber Security Chief Yoran Resigns" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 989, October 4, 2004.

Liscouski, who has a background in technology, was Yoran's superior. And, he is now leaving. Liscouski's superior is Frank Libutti, the Under Secretary for Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection. Libutti, a former Marine General, announced on December 23 that he will soon leave the DHS. See, DHS release.

Moreover, Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge announced at the end of November that he would resign. See, story titled "Tom Ridge Resigns" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,028, December 1, 2004. And, on December 20, James Loy, Deputy Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, announced that he will remain at the DHS until March 1, 2005, or until a successor is confirmed.

1/4. The U.S. District Court (DNH) issued a stipulated preliminary injunction order [9 pages in PDF] in FTC v. Seismic Entertainment Productions, Inc. This is a civil action alleging unfair and deceptive trade practices, in violation of Section 5(a) of the FTC Act, in connection with fraudulent dissemination of spyware. The defendants admit no wrongdoing, but are enjoined from continuing their allegedly unlawful practices, pending trial.

On October 6, 2004, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a civil complaint [14 pages in PDF] in District Court against Seismic Entertainment Productions, Inc., Smartbot.net, Inc., and Sanford Wallace.

The complaint alleges deceptive marketing by the defendants of purported anti-spyware software named "Spy Wiper" and "Spy Deleter", that is actually spyware. It states that "Defendants, in numerous instances, have exploited particular vulnerabilities in certain versions of the Microsoft Internet Explorer web browser (“IE web browser”) to reconfigure consumers’ computers by installing software code onto their computers without their knowledge or authorization. The software code, among other things, (a) changes the IE web browser’s home page; (b) modifies the IE web browser’s search engine; and (c) downloads and installs various advertising and other software programs ... ; and (d) causes an incessant stream of pop-up advertisements to be displayed."

See, story titled "FTC Files Complaint Against Spyware Con Artists" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 994, October 11, 2004.

The District Court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on October 21, 2004. The present preliminary injunction replaces and supercedes that TRO.

This case is FTC v. Seismic Entertainment Productions, Inc., et al., U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire, D.C. No. 04-377-JD, Judge Joseph Diclerico presiding.

There is currently no spyware specific statute. The House, but not the Senate, approved two spyware related bills late last year. On October 5, 2004, the House approved HR 2929, the "Securely Protect Yourself Against Cyber Trespass Act", or SPY ACT, by a vote of 399-1. See, Roll Call No. 495. On October 7, 2004, the House approved HR 4661, the "Internet Spyware (I-SPY) Prevention Act of 2004", by a vote of 415-0. See, Roll Call No. 503.

HR 2929 is the House Commerce Committee's spyware bill. It prohibits certain conduct with respect to spyware, and gives the FTC civil enforcement authority. HR 4661 is the House Judiciary Committee's spyware bill. It amends Title 18 to provide criminal penalties for three of the most egregious uses of spyware.

Rep. Mary Bono (R-CA), the sponsor of HR 2929 in the 108th Congress, introduced HR 29 on January 4, 2005, the first day of the 109th Congress. It is a reintroduction of last year's bill. The original cosponsors include Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), the Chairman of the House Commerce Committee.

1/11. IBM released a document [20 pages in PDF] titled "IBM Statement of Non-Assertion of Named Patents Against OSS". It lists the numbers and titles of 500 U.S. patents held by IBM. This document, and associated releases, state that others may use the inventions disclosed in these patents, without license or payment of royalties, subject to certain conditions and exceptions. This statement applies only to open source software use. And, this statement is revoked as to anyone who asserts an intellectual property claim against open source software.

These 500 patents constitute about 5% of IBM's 10,000 software patents. One can retrieve the full text of each of these patents by entering the patent number in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) patent search page.

IBM stated in its announcement that "It is our intent that this pledge be legally binding and enforceable by any open source software developer, distributor, or user who uses one or more of the 500 listed U.S. patents and/or the counterparts of these patents issued in other countries."

The document states that "IBM hereby commits not to assert any of the 500 U.S. patents listed below, as well as all counterparts of these patents issued in other countries, against the development, use or distribution of Open Source Software."

IBM defines the key term "Open Source Software" as "any computer software program whose source code is published and available for inspection and use by anyone, and is made available under a license agreement that permits recipients to copy, modify and distribute the program’s source code without payment of fees or royalties. All licenses certified by opensource.org and listed on their website as of 01/11/2005 are Open Source Software licenses for the purpose of this pledge."

There is another huge exception stated at the end of the document. IBM retains the option of suing anyone for infringement of any of these 500 patents if they "assert patents or other intellectual property rights of its own against Open Source Software". The document does not define "other intellectual property".

IBM states that "the commitment not to assert any of these 500 U.S. patents and all counterparts of these patents issued in other countries is irrevocable except that IBM reserves the right to terminate this patent pledge and commitment only with regard to any party who files a lawsuit asserting patents or other intellectual property rights against Open Source Software".

Open Source Software, as defined here by IBM, hypothetically, could infringe the intellectual property rights of others. Thus, anyone who uses Open Source Software that uses any of the claims in any of IBM 500 patents would be subject to a lawsuit by IBM, if that user were to defend its legitimate intellectual property rights.

1/10. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) released its annual list of the top 10 private sector patent recipients. For the year 2004, IBM was once again the top patent recipient.

Jon Dudas, the head of the USPTO, stated in a release that "Increasingly, patents have become an essential ingredient of our economic vitality, paving the way for investment in commerce and in research and development, and creating jobs for millions of Americans."

1/11. Nicholas Godici, the Commissioner for Patents at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), will not seek reappointment as Commissioner for Patents. His term expires on March 29, 2005. See, USPTO release.

1/11. John Connors, the Chief Financial Officer of Microsoft, will leave to become a partner at a Seattle area venture capital firm. See, Microsoft release.

1/11. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a notice in the Federal Register stating that February 10, 2004 is the deadline to submit comments to the USPTO regarding revisions to the rules of practice in patent cases to implement the Cooperative Research and Technology Enhancement Act of 2004 (CREATE Act). See, Federal Register, January 11, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 7, at Pages 1818-1824. This bill was S 2192 in the 108th Congress. President Bush signed it on December 10, 2004. See, story titled "President Signs CREATE Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,037, December 14, 2004.

1/10. The European Commission issued a release in which it stated that it "has launched a public consultation on how to make the benefits of Information and Communication Technologies available to the widest possible range of citizens, including to older people and people with disabilities. This consultation is a first step in the Commission’s endeavour to remove the technical challenges and difficulties that people with disabilities and others experience when trying to use electronic products or services such as computers, mobile phones or the Internet."

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The House will not meet. It will next meet on January 20, 2005.See, Republican Whip Notice.

The Senate will not meet. It will next meet on January 20, 2005.

RESCHEDULED FOR JANUARY 26. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold a Broadband PCS Spectrum Auction. This is Auction No. 58. See, notice [3 pages in PDF].

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir), Panel E, will hear oral argument in Frazier v. Roessel Cine Photo Tech (No. 04-1060). See, FedCir calendar. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir), Panel F, will hear oral argument in NEC Solutions v. U.S (No. 04-1085), and Shock-Tek v. Trek Bicycle Corporation (04-1324). See, FedCir calendar. Location: Courtroom 203, 717 Madison Place, NW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host a luncheon. The featured speaker will be Robert Kahn, President of the Corporation for National Research Initiatives (CNRI). He will discuss digital object architecture and information management on the internet. The other speakers will include Blair Levin (Managing Director of Legg Mason), John Freeman (equity analyst at Precursor) and James Lucier (Washington analyst at Prudential Securities). See, notice and registration page. Media queries should be directed to Patrick Ross at 202 289-8928 or pross@pff.org. Other queries should be directed to Brooke Emmerick at 202 289-8928 or bemmerick@pff.org. Location: Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 1330 Maryland Ave., SW.

12:15 - 5:00 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a conference titled "Envisioning the Future of Digital Public Service Media". The speakers will be Jim Barksdale (former CEO of Netscape), Reed Hundt (former Chairman of the FCC), Michael Calabrese (NAF), Pat Mitchell (PBS), Mary Kadera (PBS), Kyra McGrath (WHYY-TV, Philadelphia), Bill Wilson (Kentucky Educational Television), Henry Kelly (Federation of American Scientists), Deron Triff (Digital Public Square Initiative), Bill Legere (KTOO-TV, Juneau), Jeff Clarke (KQED-TV, San Francisco), John Lawson (Association of Public Television Stations), Jim Pagliarini (Twin Cities Public Television, Minnesota), Marita Rivero (WGBH, Boston), Robert Shuman (Maryland Public Television), Kathleen Cox (Corporation for Public Broadcasting), and Jeffrey Bobeck (Association of Public Television Stations). See, notice. RSVP to Swati Pandey at pandey@newamerica.net or 202 986-2700. Location: Wiley Rein & Fielding, Ground Floor Conference Center, 1776 K Street, NW.

1:30 - 3:30 PM. The WRC-07 Advisory Committee's Informal Working Group 2: Satellite Services and HAPS will meet. See, FCC notice [PDF]. Location: Leventhal Senter & Lerman, 2000 K St., NW, 7th Floor Conference Room.

9:30 AM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold a meeting. See, agenda [PDF]. The event will be webcast by the FCC. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW, Room TW-C05 (Commission Meeting Room).

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir), Panel H, will hear oral argument in Checkpoint Systems v. All Tag Security (No. 04-1395). See, FedCir calendar. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir), Panel I, will hear oral argument in Pause Technology v. Tivo (No. 04-1263). See, FedCir calendar. Location: Courtroom 203, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The Antitrust Modernization Commission (AMC) will hold a public meeting. See, notice [PDF] in the Federal Register, December 7, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 234, at Page 70627. For more information, contact 202 233–0701 or info@amc.gov. Location: Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Rooms A & B, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

12:00 NOON. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Mass Media Practice Committee and Cable Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch. The topic will be the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Report and Order and FNPRM [54 pages in PDF] on the children's programming obligations of digital broadcasters. The speakers will be Barbara Kreisman (Chief of the FCC's Media Bureau's Video Division), Kim Matthews (FCC) and Mary Beth Murphy (FCC). See, story titled "FCC Adopts Report and Order Re Children's Programming Obligations of DTV Broadcasters" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 975, September 13, 2004. RSVP to John Logan at jlogan@dlalaw.com by 12:00 NOON on Wednesday, January 12. Submit written questions for the speakers to Ann Bobeck at abobeck@nab.org by Tuesday, January 11. The deadline to submit comments to the FCC in response to the NPRM is March 1, 2005. The deadline for reply comments is April 1. Location: Dow Lohnes & Albertson, 8th Floor, 1200 New Hampshire Ave., NW.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) program titled "Practical Review and Update to the Madrid Protocol". The speakers will be David Starr (Nath & Associates), Carla Calcagno (Rothwell Figg Ernst & Manbeck), Jay Hines (Oblon Spivak), and a representative of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. See, notice. Prices vary from $70 to $115. For more information, call 202 626-3488. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.

TIME? The Department of Defense's (DOD) Defense Science Board Task Force on Global Positioning System will meet. The agenda includes review of issues dealing with Galileo and other future radio navigation satellite systems. This meeting is closed to the public. See, notice in the Federal Register, December 10, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 237, at Page 71803. Location: Strategic Analysis Inc., 3601 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA.

EXTENDED TO FEBRUARY 14. Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Public Notice [4 pages in PDF] (DA 04-3891) of December 14, 2004 seeking comments on the report of Avatar Environmental, LLC regarding migratory bird collisions with communications towers. See, Public Notice [2 pages in PDF] (DA 04-4021) of December 22, 2004 extending deadlines. This proceeding is WT Docket No. 03-187.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Northpoint Technology v. FCC, No. 04-1052. Judges Edwards, Henderson and Randolph will preside. Location: Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

9:30 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Department of State's International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet to prepare for the International Telecommunications Union's ITU-T Study Group 2 (Service Definitions, Numbering, Routing, and Global Mobility) meeting. See, the ITU's calendar of meetings. See, notice in the Federal Register, December 30, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 250, at Pages 78515-78516. For more information, including the location, contact minardje@state.gov. Location: undisclosed.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) Wireless Telecommunications Practice Committee will host a lunch. The speakers, Scott Delacourt, Cathy Seidel and Peter Tenhula of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB), will address "WTB hot topics". The price to attend is $15.00. Registrations are due 5:00 PM on Tuesday, January 11. See, registration form [PDF]. Location change: Sidley Austin, 6th Floor, 1501 K Street, NW. Wiley Rein & Fielding, 1776 K Street, NW, Ground Floor Conference Center.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding wireless services in rural areas. On September 27, 2004, the FCC released the text [137 pages in PDF] of its Report and Order and FNPRM. The FCC adopted this item at its July 8, 2004 meeting. This item is 04-166 in WT Docket Nos. 02-381, 01-14, and 03-202. See, notice in the Federal Register, December 15, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 240, at Pages 75174 - 75185.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding the application of 47 U.S.C. 251(h)(2) to the reclassification of competitive local exchange carriers (LECs) to incumbent LECs. This is the Mid-Rivers Telephone Cooperative, Inc. proceeding. This NPRM is FCC 04-252 in WC Docket No. 02-78. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 30, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 229, at Pages 69573 - 69578.

EXTENDED TO FEBRUARY 28. Deadline to submit comments to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) regarding its three year Strategic Plan [73 pages in PDF]. See, ICANN's November 16, 2004 notice. See also, ICANN's web page with information about the Strategic Plan.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recommendations for focus areas in the upcoming US-China Workshop on Standards and Conformity Assessment (to be held in late August or early September 2005). See, notice in the Federal Register, December 17, 2004. Vol. 69, No. 242, at Pages 75515 - 75516.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and other federal offices will be closed in observance of Martin Luther King's birthday. See, Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) list of federal holidays.

12:00 NOON. Deadline to submit reply comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) regarding various trade related telecommunications issues. The USTR seeks comments on "Whether any WTO member is acting in a manner that is inconsistent with its commitments under the WTO Basic Telecommunications Agreement or with other WTO obligations", "Whether Canada or Mexico has failed to comply with their telecommunications commitments or obligations under NAFTA", "Whether Chile or Singapore or any other FTA partner with an Agreement that comes into force on or before January 1, 2005 has failed to comply with their telecommunications commitments or obligations under the respective FTAs", "Whether other countries have failed to comply with their commitments under additional telecommunications agreements", and "Whether there remain outstanding issues from previous Section 1377 reviews". See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 69, No. 226, Wednesday, November 24, 2004, at Page 68439.

9:00 AM. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing on the nomination of Condi Rice to be Secretary of State. Location: Room 216, Hart Building.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (2FNPRM) regarding reducing barriers to secondary markets for spectrum rights. See, notice in the Federal Register, December 27, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 247, at Pages 77560 - 77568. This 2FNPRM is a part of a larger item that the FCC adopted on July 8, 2004, and released on September 2, 2004. See, story titled "FCC Adopts Second Secondary Markets Report and Order" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 934, July 9, 2004; and story titled "FCC Releases Second Secondary Markets Report and Order" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 969, September 3, 2004. See also, story titled "FCC Sets Comment Deadlines on 2FNPRM Regarding Secondary Markets for Spectrum" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,045, December 28, 2004.

8:30 AM - 12:00 NOON. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will host a meeting to discuss the policy, privacy, and security issues associated with Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12, titled "Common Identification Standard for Federal Employees and Contractors." The keynote speaker will be Karen Evans, Administrator for E-Government and Information Technology is the keynote speaker. The event is free and open to the public. However, January 11 is the deadline to register. Contact Sara Caswell at Sara.caswell@nist.gov or 301 975-4634. Location: auditorium, Potomac Center Plaza, 550 12th Street, SW (near the Smithsonian and L’Enfant Plaza metro stations).

9:00 AM. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing on the nomination of Condi Rice to be Secretary of State. Location: Room 216, Hart Building.

9:30 AM - 5:00 PM. The North American Numbering Council (NANC) will meet. See, FCC notice [PDF] and notice in the Federal Register, December 3, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 232, at Page 70259. Location: FCC, Room TWC305, 445 12th, SW.

9:30 AM - 12:30 PM. The Federal Information Systems Security Educators' Association (FISSEA) will host a workshop on NIST Special Publication 800-16, titled "Information Technology Security Training Requirements: A Role- and Performance-Based Model". See, Part 1 [845 KB in PDF], Part 2 [96 KB in PDF], and Part 3 [374 KB in PDF]. Preregistration is required. See, notice. Location: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), North Building.

12:00 NOON. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Common Carrier Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch. The topic will be the FCC's Remand Order on unbundled network elements. The speakers will include Tom Hughes (SBC) and Praveen Goyal (Covad Communications). RSVP to cmburnett@hhlaw.com by Friday, January 7. Location: Hogan & Hartson, Moot Courtroom, 555 13th St., NW.

2:00 PM. The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on the nomination of Michael Leavitt to be Secretary of Health and Human Services. Location: Room 215, Dirksen Building.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The Department of State's International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet to prepare for the International Telecommunications Union's (ITU) Telecommunication Standardization Advisory Group (TSAG) meeting. See, the ITU's calendar of meetings. See, notice in the Federal Register, December 20, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 243, at Page 76027. For more information, including the location, contact Julian Minard at minardje@state.gov. Location: undisclosed.

2:00 PM. The Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) will host an event titled "Improving the Ed Tech RFP: What Works and What Doesn't". See, notice. The price to participate is $40 for non-members of the SIIA. This event will be webcast and telecast only.

2:30 PM. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on the nomination of Samuel Bodman to be Secretary of Energy. Location: Room 366, Dirksen Building.

4:00 - 5:00 PM. The President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) will meet via conference call. The NSTAC addresses issues and problems related to implementing national security and emergency preparedness communications policy. This meeting is be closed to the public. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 4, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 2, at Page 370.