5/3. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security approved HR 4777, the "Internet Gambling Prohibition Act", by voice vote, without amendment. The bill has 131 cosponsors.

The Subcommittee held a hearing on this bill on April 5, 2006. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), the sponsor of the bill, wrote in his prepared testimony at that hearing that "Current federal law already prohibits interstate gambling over telephone wires. However, because the Internet does not always travel over telephone wires, these laws, which were written before the invention of the Internet, have become outdated." He added that HR 4777 "brings the current prohibition against wireline interstate gambling up to speed with the development of new technology. It also makes clear once and for all that the prohibition is not limited to sports-related bets and wagers."

Rep. Goodlatte (at right) also stated that HR 4777 "will add a new provision to the law that would prohibit a gambling business from accepting certain forms of non-cash payment, including credit cards and electronic transfers. This bill also provides an enforcement mechanism to address the situation where the gambling business is located offshore but accepts money from bank accounts in the United States. The bill also provides an additional tool to fight illegal gambling by giving Federal, State, local and tribal law enforcement new injunctive authority to prevent and restrain violations of the law."

He also said the "H.R. 4777 will return control to the states by protecting the right of citizens in each State to decide through their State legislatures if they want to allow gambling within their borders."

See also, April 5, 2006, prepared testimony [5 pages in PDF] of Bruce Ohr, of the Department of Justice's Criminal Division. He expressed concern that the bill would allow interstate wagering by the horse racing industry. See also, prepared testimony [8 pages in PDF] of John Kindt (University of Illinois) and prepared testimony [9 pages in PDF] of Sam Vallandingham (Independent Community Bankers of America).

On March 15, 2006, the House Financial Services Committee amended and approved, by voice votes, HR 4411, the "Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006". See, story titled "House Financial Services Committee Approves Internet Gambling Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,330, March 16, 2006.

HR 4777 is a criminal prohibitions bill within the jurisdiction of the HJC. HR 4411 is targeted at the financial transactions that fund what already constitutes unlawful internet gambling. It provides that no one engaged in the "business of betting or wagering" may knowingly accept certain financial transactions, including checks, electronic fund transfers, and credit card debt, in connection with "unlawful Internet gambling". The bill then requires the Department of the Treasury (DOT) and the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) to write regulations that require each "designated payment system" to identify and block these restricted transactions through the establishment of policies and procedures. The bill requires each "financial transaction provider" to comply with these DOT/FRB regulations. The bill also contains numerous exemptions and limitations.

5/2. Nine Democrats on the House Commerce Committee (HCC) issued a statement [10 pages in PDF] explaining their opposition to HR 5252, the "Communications Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement Act of 2006", or "COPE Act", which the HCC approved on April 26, 2006.

See, story titled "Amendment by Amendment Summary of Full Committee Mark Up of COPE Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,360, April 28, 2006.

They wrote that "The COPE Act represents a dramatic departure from historic communications policy goals of universal service, localism, and diversity."

The majority of the statement focuses on Title I of the bill, which creates a national cable franchise. The nine wrote that it "grants new cable operators access to a community’s public rights-of-way without any obligation to serve the entire community. ... Currently, cable operators must offer their services throughout entire franchise areas. Commonly referred to as a ``buildout´´ requirement, this universal service principle is a recognition that as part and parcel of using the public rights-of-way, cable operators must extend service to all the public."

The nine also wrote about network neutrality. They stated that "The corrosion of historic policies of nondiscrimination by the imposition of artificial bottlenecks by broadband network owners endangers economic growth, innovation, job creation, and First Amendment freedom of expression on such networks. Broadband network owners should not be able to determine who can and who cannot offer services over broadband networks or over the Internet. The detrimental effect to the digital economy would be quite severe if such conduct were permitted and became widespread. The COPE Act permits such conduct and as a result, puts the Internet in jeopardy."

Title II of the COPE Act provides that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is authorized to enforce its August 2005 policy statement [3 pages in PDF] regarding network neutrality through case by case adjudicatory proceedings. At the full Committee mark up on April 26 Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA), Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), and Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA) offered an amendment [5 pages in PDF] that would have imposed a broader network neutrality mandate. It failed on a roll call vote of 22-34.

The nine Democrats commented that "That policy statement, however, is a broadly-worded, imprecise statement of ``feel-good´´ rhetoric intended to guide future agency decision-making but not, as the FCC Chairman indicated, to result in any enforceable protections or specific behavior requirements. It was not adopted subject to the thoroughness of the Administrative Procedures Act's (APA) notice-and-comment process. It was not adopted with any notion of enforcement attached to it. In essence, the COPE Act requires the FCC to enforce something that is of highly dubious enforceability."

They argued that the Markey amendment "preserved the Internet as we today know it. It told broadband behemoths to keep their hands off the Net. And without its inclusion, the COPE Act blesses the broadband designs of a small handful of large corporations over the aspirations of thousands of smaller companies, entrepreneurs, innovators, and individual citizens. The network neutrality amendment must be added to this bill."

The nine who joined in the statement are Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA), Rep. Michael Doyle (D-PA), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA), and Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).

4/27. Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) introduced HR 5219, the "The Judicial Transparency and Ethics Enhancement Act of 2006". Also on April 27, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) introduced S 2678, the companion bill in the Senate.

These bills would create an Office of the Inspector General in the judicial branch. This OIG would have the power to take sworn testimony, issue subpoenas, and enforce subpoenas through civil actions.

Rep. Sensenbrenner (at right) is the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee (HJC). Rep. Smith is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property. Sen. Grassley is a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Rep. Sensenbrenner stated in a release that "Integrity and accountability are the hallmarks of a public servant's trust with the public. It's my hope an independent Inspector General for the Judicial Branch will help restore some of this trust with the public that has been damaged by the actions of some Federal judges who have carelessly ignored the ethical guidelines established. In addition, an IG will serve as a public watchdog to root out waste, fraud, and abuse and ensure the Third Branch's taxpayer-funded resources are utilized in an appropriate manner, just as IGs do throughout the Executive Branch."

He added that this IG "will not have any authority or jurisdiction over the substance of a judge's opinions. Judicial independence of opinions is a sacred foundation of our constitutional form of government of checks and balances and separation of powers that must not be tampered with."

The Chief Justice of the United States would pick the head of this IG office.

There is also a whistleblower protection section in the bill. It provides that "No officer, employee, agent, contractor or subcontractor in the Judicial Branch may discharge, demote, threaten, suspend, harass or in any other manner discriminate against an employee in the terms and conditions of employment because of any lawful act done by the employee to provide information, cause information to be provided, or otherwise assist in an investigation regarding any possible violation of Federal law or regulation, or misconduct, by a judge or any other employee in the Judicial Branch, which may assist the Inspector General in the performance of duties under this chapter."

5/4. President Bush nominated Jerome Holmes to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Tenth Circuit. Consequently, Bush withdrew his nomination of Holmes to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. See, White House release.

5/4. President Bush nominated Valerie Baker to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. See, White House release.

5/4. President Bush nominated Charles Rosenberg to be the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia for the term of four years. See, White House release. If confirmed by the Senate, Rosenberg will replace Paul McNulty, who resigned to become Deputy Attorney General. See also, story titled "Bush Picks Paul McNulty to Be Deputy Attorney General" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,238, October 24, 2005.

5/3. Pam Turner will resign as the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs at the end of May. See, DHS release.

5/3. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Deborah Tate named Susan Fisenne to be her Confidential Assistant. See, FCC release [PDF].

5/3. President Bush gave a speech in Washington DC in which he again promoted his American Competitiveness Agenda. He advocated making the R&D tax credit permanent, more federal funding of basic research, and more federal funding of math and science education.

5/3. Federal Reserve Board (FRB) member Susan Bies gave a speech in which she discussed the role of the FRB in approving innovations in capital instruments.

5/3. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a comment [8 pages in PDF] with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking regarding rules changes affecting continuation practice. The USPTO proposed changes would allow each patent applicant to file one continuation as a matter of right, but would require that second and subsequent continuation filings be supported by a showing that the amendment, argument or evidence contained in the filing could not have been submitted earlier, during either the prosecution of the initial application or the first continuation. The FTC supports the USPTO's proposed rules changes, "because it accommodates the legitimate uses of continuations, limits abuses that can harm the competitive process, and promotes the patent system's ability to provide incentives to innovate by reducing pendency."

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The House will not meet. It will next meet on Monday, May 8.

The Senate will meet at 9:30 AM for morning business.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in ACE v. FCC. This is a challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) order that provides that facilities based broadband service providers and interconnected VOIP providers are subject to requirements under the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). The FCC adopted this item at its August 5, 2005, meeting. See, story titled "FCC Amends CALEA Statute" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,191, August 9, 2005. The FCC released the text [59 pages in PDF] of this item on September 23, 2005. It is FCC 05-153 in ET Docket No. 04-295 and RM-10865. See also, story titled "FCC CALEA Order Challenged" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,240, Wednesday, October 26, 2005. See also, ACE brief [71 pages in PDF] and FCC brief [52 pages in PDF]. This case is American Council on Education, et al. v. FCC and USA, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, App. Ct. Nos. 05-1404, 1408, 1438, 1451 and 1453, Judges Sentelle, Brown and Edwards presiding. Location: Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

12:00 NOON. The Cato Institute will host a program titled "Cato Scholars Square Off: Resolved: The Bush NSA Surveillance Program Is Illegal". The speakers will be the Cato Institute's Robert Levy and Roger Pilon. Lunch will follow the program. See, notice and registration page. Location: Cato, 1000 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

Day four of a four day conference hosted by the Association for Computing Machinery titled "16th Annual Conference on Computer, Freedom and Privacy". See, conference web site. Location: L'Enfant Plaza Hotel.

? May 5 may be the deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to ENUM LLC's petition for limited waiver to allow it to obtain North American Numbering Plan (NANP) numbering resources. The FCC's notice [PDF] states that this deadline both May 5 and May 9.

The House will meet at 2:00 PM.

9:30 AM - 5:00 PM. The Antitrust Modernization Commission (AMC) will hold another in a series of hearings. This one will address criminal remedies and civil remedies. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 21, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 77, at Page 20643. Location: Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

Day one of a two day conference hosted by the American Cable Association (ACA) titled "Washington Summit". See, event brochure [PDF]. Location: __.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its second further notice of proposed rulemaking (2ndFNPRM) regarding the obligation of television licensees to provide educational programming for children and the requirement that television licensees protect children from excessive and inappropriate commercial messages. See, text [14 pages in PDF] of this 2ndFNPRM. The FCC adopted this item at its meeting of March 17, 2006. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 27, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 58, at Pages 15145-15147; and story titled "FCC Adopts Further NPRM Re Children's Programming Obligations" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,332, March 20, 2006. This item is FCC 06-33 in MM Docket No. 00-167.

Deadline to submit nominations to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for three members of the Patent Public Advisory Committee and for three members of the Trademark Public Advisory Committee. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 15, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 50, at Pages 13358-13359.

Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that proposes to eliminate the Disclosure Document Program. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 6, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 66, at Pages 17399-17401.

7:45 AM - 3:45 PM. Day one of a two day, partially closed, meeting of the National Science Foundation (NSF). See, notice in the Federal Register: May 3, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 85, at Pages 26117-26118. Location: 4201 Wilson Blvd, Room 1235, Arlington, VA.

9:00 AM - 3:00 PM. The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Advanced Technology Program Advisory Committee will hold a partially closed meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 26, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 80, at Pages 24645-24646. Location: NIST, Administration Building, Employees' Lounge, Gaithersburg, MD.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Earthlink v. FCC, App. Ct. No. 05-1087. This is a petition for review of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) orders granting petitions for forbearance from the obligations of 47 U.S.C. § 271 to provide unbundled access to certain broadband elements. See, FCC brief [50 pages in PDF]. Judges Sentelle, Brown and Edwards will preside. Location: Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Department of State's (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet to prepare for the CITEL PCC.II (Radiocommunication including Broadcasting) meetings on June 20-23, 2006, in Lima, Peru, and on October 17-20, 2006, in San Salvador, El Salvador. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 29, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 60, at Page 15798. Location: __.

Day two of a two day conference hosted by the American Cable Association (ACA) titled "Washington Summit". See, event brochure [PDF]. Location: __.

? May 9 may be the deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to ENUM LLC's petition for limited waiver to allow it to obtain North American Numbering Plan (NANP) numbering resources. The FCC's notice [PDF] states that this deadline is both May 5 and May 9.

7:45 AM - 3:45 PM. Day two of a two day, partially closed, meeting of the National Science Foundation (NSF). The agenda of the 8:15 AM session on May 10 includes several topics, including "Global Environment for Networking Innovations" and "NSF's Cyberinfrastructure Vision", See, notice in the Federal Register: May 3, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 85, at Pages 26117-26118. Location: 4201 Wilson Blvd, Room 1235, Arlington, VA.

9:00 AM - 5:30 PM. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) will host a roundtable meeting regarding the reporting and auditing requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, including Section 404 requirements. See, SEC notice. Location: SEC.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host a conference titled "Internet Security Summit". The speakers will include Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Deborah Majoras. See, notice. Press contact: Amy Smorodin at 202-289-8928 or asmorodin at pff dot org. Location: Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill, 400 New Jersey Ave., NW.

9:15 AM - 1:30 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a conference titled "Key Issues in Telecommunications Policy". See, notice. Press contact: Veronique Rodman at 202-862-4871 or vrodman at aei dot org. Location: 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

9:15 AM - 3:30 PM. The President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) will meet. Most of this meeting will be closed to the public. From 9:15 through 10:15 AM the NSTAC will discuss in open session the work of the Emergency Communications & Interoperability Task Force, Telecommunications and Electric Power Interdependency Task Force, Legislative and Regulatory Task Force, and Research and Development Task Force. From 10:15 AM through 3:30 PM the NSTAC will meet in closed session to discuss emergency communications & interoperability, international implications of the NGN, and regional coordination, planning, and exercises. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 27, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 81, at Page 24859. Location: Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center.

12:00 NOON. The Cato Institute will host a panel discussion titled "Parental Power: TV Indecency, the FCC, and the Media's Response". The speakers will include Jack Valenti (former head of the Motion Picture Association of America) and Penny Nance (Special Advisor in the FCC's Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis). Lunch will follow the program. See, notice and registration page. Location: Cato, 1000 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host an event titled "Software and Business Method Patentability: A Changing Landscape?". The speakers will include Scott Alter (Wilmer Hale). The price to attend ranges from $10 to $30. For more information, call 202-626-3463. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

2:00 PM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection will hold a hearing titled "Social Security Numbers in Commerce: Reconciling Beneficial Uses with Threats to Privacy". See, notice. The hearing will be webcast by the HCC. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Auction 65 is scheduled to begin. This is an auction of 800 MHz Air-Ground Radiotelephone Service Licenses.

9:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Crime will hold a hearing HR __, the "Cyber-Security Enhancement and Consumer Data Protection Act of 2006". See, notice. The hearing will be webcast by the HJC. Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202-225-2492. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Charter Communications and Advance/Newhouse Communications v. FCC, a case regarding cable operators and integrated navigation devices. It is App. Ct. No. 05-1237. See, FCC's brief [43 pages in PDF]. Judges Ginsburg, Tatel and Garland will preside. Location: Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

MOVED TO MAY 3. 9:30 AM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold a meeting. The event will be webcast by the FCC. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW, Room TW-C05 (Commission Meeting Room).

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The Department of State's International Telecommunication Advisory Committee will meet to prepare for meetings of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) WPIE and CISP committee meetings of May 29-31, 2006. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 19, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 75, at Pages 20153-20154. Location: Room 2533, Harry Truman Building, 2201 C Street, NW.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The Department of State's (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet to prepare for the CITEL PCC.I (Telecommunication) meetings on May 23-26, 2006 in San Domingo, Dominican Republic, and on September 12-15, 2006, in Washington DC. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 29, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 60, at Page 15798. Location: __.

3:00 - 5:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Engineering and Technical Practice Committee will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "Master Class: Engineering Essentials and the Role of Technology in Telecommunications Policy Reform". See, registration form [PDF]. Location: Hogan & Hartson, 555 13th Street, NW.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding ACA International's petition for an expedited clarification and declaratory ruling concerning the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) rules. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 26, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 80, at Pages 24634-24635. This is CG Docket No. 02-278.

10:00 AM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) entity titled "Independent Panel Reviewing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Networks" will hold a meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 26, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 80, at Pages 24708-24709. Location: FCC Commission Meeting Room, Room TW-C305,FCC, 445 12th Street, SW.

12:00 NOON. Deadline to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) regarding the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the U.S. and Malaysia. The USTR seeks comments on "electronic commerce issues", "trade-related intellectual property rights issues", "barriers to trade in services", and other topics. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 22, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 55, at Pages 14558-14559.

12:00 NOON - 1:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "Software and Business Method Patentability: A Changing Landscape?". The speakers will include Scott Alter (Wilmer Hale). 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.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Wireless Telecommunications Practice Committee will host a lunch. The topic will be former FCC Bureau Chief's perspectives on the wireless industry. The speakers will be John Muleta, Michele Farquhar, Regina Keeney, and Dan Phythyon. The price to attend is $15. Reservations and cancellations are due by May 9 at 5:00 PM. See, registration form [PDF]. Location: Sidley Austin, 1501 K Street, 6th Floor.

Recommended deadline to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and the Department of Labor regarding the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the United States and Malaysia on U.S. employment, including labor markets. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 31, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 62, at Pages 16349-16350.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding pulver.com's and Evslin's petition [18 pages in PDF] for a rulemaking regarding number porting in emergencies. See, FCC notice [PDF] and story titled "Pulver Asks FCC to Require Greater Number Porting in Emergencies" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,329, March 14, 2006.