9/15. The House Science Committee (HSC) held a hearing titled "Cybersecurity: How Can the Government Help Address Vulnerabilities in Critical Industries?"

Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), the Chairman of the Committee, wrote in his opening statement [PDF] that "We still pay inadequate attention to cybersecurity research and operations in both the government and private sector. We shouldn’t have to wait for the cyber equivalent of a Hurricane Katrina -- or even and Hurricane Ophelia might serve -- to realize that we are inadequately prepared to prevent, detect and respond to cyber attacks."

Donald Andy Purdy, the acting Director of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) National Cyber Security Division (NCSD), wrote in his prepared testimony [PDF] that "Cyber-related research and development (R&D) is vital to improving the resiliency of the Nation's critical infrastructures." Most of his prepared testimony reviews the organization and activities of the NCSD.

Andrew Geisse, CIO of SBC, wrote in his prepared testimony [PDF] that "Behind the networks that move voice and data, are many applications, private networks, and computing resources. These resources support the operations, administration, maintenance, and provisioning services of our telecommunications infrastructure. These information systems and networks provide SBC and other carriers the ability to manage this complex industry supporting the dial tone and Internet connections that we have all come to expect as a part of our daily lives."

"Communications plays ever increasing importance to health industries, emergency first responders, 911 services, law enforcement, banking, power, and other parts of our society that serve critical functions", wrote Geisse. "With the growing use of wireless technologies, we must recognize that those wireless systems still rely on an underlying physical transport, use of back-end systems and applications that may interconnect with other carriers. As we have recently witnessed in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, if the supporting infrastructure is disrupted, communication fails. A cyber disruption could cause similar impacts as a physical disruption."

He recommended that the government focus on "the education of the consumers regarding cybersecurity matters", and on "security standards and collaborative support organizations". He argued that "Legislation should not always be necessary to bring industry attention to technical priorities. However, providing research assistance, grants, and funds to focus the information technology industry to work towards security standards and best practices is necessary."

He also recommended that the criminal laws should "carry serious penalties for cybersecurity issues and that the instigators are prosecuted to the full extent of the law. It must become a major crime. It is no longer just kids playing with computers. The attacks are serious."

See also, prepared testimony [PDF] of David Kepler (Dow Chemical), prepared testimony [PDF] of John Leggate (BP), and prepared testimony [PDF] of Gerald Freese (American Electric Power).

9/15. The Senate Banking Committee held a hearing on numerous pending nominations, including those of David McCormick (to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration), Darryl Jackson (to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce), and Franklin Lavin (to be Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade).

See also, story titled "Bush Nominates McCormick and Jackson for Export Control Office" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,165, June 30, 2005.

Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY), a member of the Committee, used the hearing to advocate enactment of the Export Administration Act. The previous act has expired. The Congress came close to enacting replacement legislation in the 107th Congress in 2001. The Senate approved S 149, the "Export Administration Act of 2001", sponsored by Sen. Enzi, by a vote of 85-14, just prior to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Support for the legislation then dissipated.

S 149 would have modernized export control laws. It would have eased restraints on most dual use products, such as computers and software, but increased penalties for violations. It also would have eliminated the use of Million Theoretical Operations Per Second (MTOPS) based limits to control the export of high performance computers.

Sen. Enzi (at right) stated at the September 15 hearing that "I have been working to reauthorize the Export Administration Act for over seven years now. During this time, my staff and I have worked diligently with all parties to craft legislation that would correct some of the critical shortcomings in the current regulation. In some ways, we have been successful."

He continued that the Department of Commerce (DOC), and its Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), which administers the export control regime, have "streamlined some of the licensing processes and relieved some of the burden that technology companies face by doing business overseas. I applaud them on their efforts. However, they need statutory authority to make substantive improvements to law enforcement and control mechanisms. Congress should be committed to granting this authority."

He also stated that "The federal government has limited resources to deal with the control of dual-use exports developed within the United States. Molding export controls that focus our priorities on those products and nations that may threaten our national security is good policy.  Not only will it make our controls more effective, it will strengthen our ability to craft multilateral controls that truly keep our dual-use technology out of the wrong hands. It is very difficult for the United States to tell our international partners to stop selling goods and technology to bad actors, when we don’t have a statute in place that controls our own sales."

9/15. The House Financial Services Committee's Subcommittee on Financial Institutions will hold a hearing on HR 3505, the "Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act of 2005", on Thursday, September 22.

This is a large bill that is mostly not related to technology. However, it contains some provisions that pertain to the electronic storage and transfer of financial data, and the privacy of the individuals and entities to which such data relates.

Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) and Rep. Dennis Moore (KS) introduced this bill on July 28, 2005.

§ 602 of the bill would both the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the Federal Credit Union Act to require the federal banking agencies and the National Credit Union Administration to engage in certain data sharing with other agencies and persons.

§ 605 of the bill would permit any federal banking agency to "cause any and all records, papers, or documents kept by the agency or in the possession or custody of the agency to be ... preserved in any electronic medium or format which is capable of ... being read or scanned by computer ..."

§ 617 of the bill would amend § 503 of the Gramm Leach Bliley Act, which is codified at 15 U.S.C. § 6803. § 6803 pertains to "Disclosure of institution privacy policy". § 617 of HR 3505 would to create an exemption to the annual notice requirement for certain financial institutions.

§ 621 of the bill would amend § 1101 of the Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978, which is codified at 12 U.S.C. § 3401. § 1101 is the definitional section of the Act. § 621 of HR 3505 would amend the definition of "financial institution" to also include "any lender who advances funds on pledges of personal property".

§ 705 of the bill would require the Department of the Treasury to "conduct a study on the feasibility of developing and implementing interfaces and templates for use in electronic communications between financial institutions ... and the Secretary, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, and other Federal financial institution regulatory agencies." The bill also defines the term "interfaces" as "the point and method of interaction between any 2 or more electronic data storage and communication systems that permits and facilitates active electronic communication between or among the systems", and the term "templates" as "authoring software that ensures that data entered into it will adhere to a consistent format and content scheme".

9/15. The House Republican Conference appointed Rep. Peter King (R-NY) Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee (HHSC). He replaces former Rep. Chris Cox (R-CA), who is now the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In addition, Rep. Ginny Waite (R-FL) was named to fill a vacancy on the HHSC. See, HHSC release.

9/15. President Bush announced his intent to designate Santanu Baruah to be acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. See, White House release.

9/15. President Bush nominated Karan Bhatia to be a Deputy U.S. Trade Representative. He had previously announced his intent to make this nomination. See, White House release.

9/15. The Senate approved HR 2862, the "Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006" by a vote of 91-4. See, Roll Call No. 235. The House approved a different version of the bill on June 16, 2005, by a vote of 418-7. See, Roll Call No. 268. This bill contains appropriations for most of the technology related agencies in the executive branch, including the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), Antitrust Division, Criminal Division, Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), and National Science Foundation (NSF).

9/15. The Senate Judiciary Committee completed its hearing on the nomination of Judge John Roberts to be Chief Justice of the United States.

9/15. Robert Portman, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), and Peter Mandelson, the European Trade Commissioner, held a news conference in which they discussed the Doha round of trade negotiations. See, transcript.

9/15. The four Commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) held a meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. See, prepared statement [PDF] of Kevin Martin, prepared statement [PDF] of Kathleen Abernathy, prepared statement [PDF] of Michael Copps, and prepared statement [PDF] of Jonathan Adelstein. See also, FCC's video [RAM] of the meeting.

9/13. The National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) rejoined the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA). See, IIPA release [PDF].

9/9. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) joined Internet2 as corporate members. See, RIAA release.

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Notices & Disclaimers
Copyright 1998 - 2005 David Carney, dba Tech Law Journal. All rights reserved.

The House will not meet. The next meeting is Monday, September 19.

The Senate will not meet.  The next meeting is Monday, September 19.

The Supreme Court is between terms. The opening conference of its October 2005 Term will be held on September 26.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Kidd Communications v. FCC, No. 04-1274. Judges Garland, Silberman and Williams will preside. Location: Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

9:30 AM - 12:45 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "Supreme Court Review and Preview 2005". The speakers will be Judge Richard Roberts (U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia), Beth Brinkmann (Morrison & Foerster), Michael Dreeben (Office of the Solicitor General), and Thomas Goldstein (Goldstein Howe). The price to attend ranges from $80-$125. For more information, call 202-626-3488. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

POSTPONED. 10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection will hold a hearing titled "Protecting Property Rights After Kelo". See, notice. The hearing will be webcast by the HCC. Press contact: Larry Neal at 202 225-5735. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

Deadline to submit comments to the Office of Federal Financial Management (OFFM) in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regarding the use of multiple principal investigators (PIs) on awards made under federal research and research related programs. See, notice in the Federal Register, July 18, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 136, at Page 41220 - 41222.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Interim Chief Copyright Royalty Judge in response to the request for further comments regarding rules for the delivery and format of records of use of sound recordings for statutory licenses under 17 U.S.C. § 112 and 17 U.S.C. § 114. The Interim Chief Copyright Royalty Judge, on behalf of the Copyright Royalty Board, issued the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on April 27, 2005. The Board has received comments, which reflected sharp divisions among the parties. It now poses further questions. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 70, No. 143, at Pages 43364 - 43368.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to the Public Notice [27 pages in PDF] of August 17, 2005, regarding four proposals (which are attached to the Public Notice) submitted to the FCC by members and staff of the FCC's Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service regarding universal service subsidies for rural carriers. One of these proposals also proposes expanding the services that are taxed to support universal service subsidies. (See, Public Notice, at page 18.)

The House will meet at 12:00 NOON.

The Senate will meet at 2:00 PM. It will resume consideration of HR 2744, the agriculture appropriations bill.

2:30 PM. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing on the nomination of Boyden Gray to be the US Representative to the European Union. See, notice. Location: Room 419, Dirksen Building.

9:00 AM. The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) will meet. The agenda includes an update on nanotechnology. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 6, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 171, at Pages 53029 - 53030. Location: Room 100, National Academies Keck Center, 500 5th St., NW.

9:30 AM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) North American Numbering Council (NANC) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 31, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 168, at Page 51814. Location: FCC, 445 12th St., SW., Room TW-305.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the opinion of the Supreme Court in the Kelo takings clause case. Press contact: Blain Rethmeier (Specter) at 202 224-5225, David Carle (Leahy) at 202 224-4242 or Tracy Schmaler (Leahy) at 202 224-2154. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing on several nominations, including Emil Henry (to be Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions at the Department of the Treasury), and Patrick O’Brien (to be Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing at the Department of the Treasury). See, notice. Location: Room 538, Dirksen Building.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "Ten Ways to Protect Intellectual Property When Drafting E-Commerce Agreements". The speaker will be Walter Effross (American University law school). The price to attend ranges from $80-$125. For more information, call 202-626-3488. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

RESCHEDULED FROM SEPTEMBER 14? 9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee may hold a hearing titled "Able Danger and Intelligence Information Sharing". This involves data mining. Press contact: Blain Rethmeier (Specter) at 202 224-5225, David Carle (Leahy) at 202 224-4242 or Tracy Schmaler (Leahy) at 202 224-2154. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

CANCELLED. 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Network Reliability and Interoperability Council (NRIC) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 31, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 168, at Page 51814. Location: FCC, 445 12th St., SW., Room TW-305. See, notice [PDF] of cancellation.

10:30 AM - 1:30 PM. The Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host an event titled "Net Neutrality or Net Neutering in a Post- Brand X World: Self-Regulation, Policy Principles, and Legal Mandates in the Broadband Marketplace". The speakers will include Tom Tauke (Verizon), Randolph May (PFF), Peter Pitsch (Intel), Dan Brenner (National Cable and Telecommunications Association), Gigi Sohn (Public Knowledge), David McClure (U.S. Internet Industry Association), and Adam Thierer (PFF). Lunch will be served. See, notice and registration pages. Location: Capital Hilton, 1001 16th Street, NW.

12:00 NOON -1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) International Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch. The topic will be Mobile Satellite Services/Ancillary Terrestial Component (MSS/ATC). The speakers will be Anna Gomez (Deputy Chief of the FCC's International Bureau), Howard Griboff (FCC International Bureau), Jennifer Manner (VP Regulatory Affairs of Mobile Satellite Ventures), and Tim Farrar (Telecom, Media and Finance Associates, Inc.). No RSVP requested. Location: Hogan & Hartson, 555 13th St., NW, 13th Floor.

12:00 NOON - 1:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a seminar titled "Current Topics in Patent Law: Interference Practice and Patent Reform". The speaker will be Charles Gholz (Oblon Spivak McClelland Maier & Neustadt). The price to attend ranges from $10-$30. For more information, call 202-626-3463. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

6:30 - 8:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event titled "Happy Hour". Location: 14K Restaurant at the Hamilton Crowne Plaza Hotel, 14th and K Streets, NW.

EXTENDED FROM AUGUST 22. Extended deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to it notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding low power FM rules. The FCC adopted its order and NPRM on March 16, 2005, and released it on March 17, 2005. It is FCC 05-75 in MM Docket No. 99-25. See, original notice in the Federal Register, July 7, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 129, at Pages 39217 - 39227. See also, FCC notice [PDF] extending the deadlines.

9:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property will hold a hearing titled "Reducing Peer-To-Peer Piracy (P2P) on University Campuses: A Progress Update". The hearing will be webcast by the HJC. Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202 225-2492. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

9:00 AM - 1:00 PM. The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) Aviation Security Advisory Committee (ASAC) will meet. The agenda includes "final report and recommendations of the Secure Flight Privacy/IT Working Group". See, notice in the Federal Register, September 1, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 169, at Page 52119. Location: Residence Inn by Marriott, Pentagon City, 550 Army Navy Drive, Arlington, VA.

RESCHEDULED FROM SEPTEMBER 13. 10:00 AM. The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing on "the financial services industry's responsibilities and role in preventing identity theft and protecting sensitive financial information". See, notice. Location: Room 538, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Financial Services Committee's Subcommittee on Financial Institutions will hold a hearing on HR 3505, the "Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act of 2005". See also, story titled "House Subcommittee to Hold Hearing on Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1215, September 15, 2005. Location: Room 2128, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "Communications in Disaster". The first panel will address the protection of critical communications infrastructure in a disaster. The second panel will address communications for first responders. See, notice. The hearing will be webcast by the SCC. Press contact: Melanie Alvord (Stevens) 202 224-8456 or Melanie_Alvord at commerce dot senate dot gov, or Andy Davis (Inouye) at 202 224-4546 or Andy_Davis at commerce dot senate dot gov Location: Room 562, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The President's Export Council Subcommittee on Export Administration (PECSEA) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, July 21, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 139, at Pages 42027 - 42028. Location: Room 4832, Department of Commerce, 14th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues, NW.

5:00 - 7:00 PM. William Baumol will give a lecture titled "How Regulators Can Be Misled By Simplistic Theory". He is the author of, among other works, the book titled "The Free Market Innovation Machine" [Amazon]. The event is hosted by the AEI Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies. See, notice. Location: American Enterprise Institute, 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

EXTENDED FROM SEPTEMBER 1. Extended deadline to submit reply comments to the Copyright Office regarding its first report to the Congress required by the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act of 2004. See, original notice in the Federal Register, July 7, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 129, at Pages 39343 - 39345. See also, notice extending deadlines in the Federal Register, August 15, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 156, at Page 47857.

EXTENDED FROM SEPTEMBER 9. Extended extended deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its notice of second further proposed rulemaking regarding horizontal and vertical cable ownership limits. The FCC adopted this Second Further NPRM on May 13, 2005, and released it on May 17, 2005. This item is FCC 05-96 in MM Docket No. 92-264. See, original notice in the Federal Register, June 8, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 109, at Pages 33679 - 33687. See also, notice of extension of deadlines, in the Federal Register, July 6, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 128, at Pages 38848 - 38849. See also, notice [PDF] of further extension.