6/19. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) released yet another discussion draft [156 pages in PDF] Sen. Ted Stevens' (R-AK) bill titled the "Communications, Consumers' Choice, and Broadband Deployment Act".

This bill was introduced as S 2686. However, this latest discussion draft is numbered HR 5252, which is the number of the Rep. Joe Barton's (R-TX) communications reform bill.

On June 8, 2006, the House amended and approved HR 5252, the "Communications Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement Act of 2006" (COPE Act). See, story titled "House Approves COPE Act, Without Network Neutrality Amendment" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,388, June 9, 2006.

Both HR 5252, as approved by the House, and Sen. Stevens' bill, address various communications related issues, including network neutrality, video franchising, municipal broadband, and universal service subsidies. However, the two bills are quite different.

The SCC held a hearing on the bill on June 13. See, story titled "Senate Commerce Committee Holds Hearing on Communications Reform Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,391, June 14, 2006. At that hearing Sen. Stevens said that the bill ought to enable the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to address "net neutrality issues that affect consumers, and let the basic providers, the large providers, hire their attorneys to battle out" their disputes. He added that "When it comes to interfering with the marketplace, in terms of major expenditures of capital, I think we should stay away." The latest discussion draft incorporates these principles.

The latest version of Sen. Stevens' (at left) bill contains a completely rewritten Title IX, which pertains to network neutrality. In the previous version of the bill, this title contained only one section, 901, titled "Neutral Networks for Consumers". It provided for annual studies by the FCC for five years, but no legislative mandates.

Consumer Bill of Rights. The new Title IX contains an "Internet Consumer Bill of Rights Act of 2006". It requires, at Section 903, that,

"each Internet service provider shall allow each subscriber to---
  (1) access and post any lawful content of that subscriber’s choosing;
  (2) access any web page of that subscriber's choosing;
  (3) access and run any voice application, software, or service of that subscriber's choosing;
  (4) access and run any video application, software, or service of that subscriber's choosing;
  (5) access and run any email application, software, or service of that subscriber's choosing;
  (6) access and run any search engine of that subscriber's choosing;
  (7) access and run any other application, software, or service of that subscriber’s choosing;
  (8) connect any legal device of that subscriber's choosing to the Internet access equipment of that subscriber, if such device does not harm the network of the Internet service provider; and
  (9) receive clear and conspicuous information, in plain language, about the estimated speeds, capabilities, limitations, and pricing of any Internet service offered to the public."

Title IX defines the term "internet service" as "any service that provides access to the public Internet directly to the public", and the term "subscriber" as "a retail end user that purchases Internet service".

This section protects only "subscribers" from certain potential business practices of their "internet service providers". It does not regulate the relationship between service providers and internet content companies.

Free Speech Rights. Section 904 contains two clauses under the heading of "Application of the First Amendment".

First, it provides that "no Federal, State, or local government may limit, restrict, ban, prohibit, or otherwise regulate content on the Internet because of the religious views, political views, or any other views expressed in such content unless specifically authorized by law". What this clause means is another question. The First Amendment's free speech clause, and its incorporation into the Fourteenth Amendment, already limits governments attempts to regulate expression. Moreover, no government can authorize the violation of First Amendment rights.

Second, it provides that "no Internet service provider engaged in interstate commerce may limit, restrict, ban, prohibit, or otherwise regulate content on the Internet because of the religious views, political views, or any other views expressed in such content unless specifically authorized by law". The First Amendment only regulates state action. This appears to be an attempt to extend a limited First Amendment like restriction to internet service providers.

Stand Alone Internet Access Service. Section 905 of the draft bill requires that "An Internet service provider shall offer to any potential subscriber any Internet service such provider offers without requiring that subscriber to purchase or use any telecommunications service, information service, IP-enabled voice service, video service, or other service offered by such Internet service provider."

The House bill also has a stand alone offering requirement. It provides that "A broadband service provider shall not require a subscriber, as a condition on the purchase of any broadband service the provider offers, to purchase any cable service, telecommunications service, or VOIP service offered by the provider."

The House bill only affects broadband offerings, while the Senate draft affects all internet access offerings.

Exceptions. Section 906 of the Senate draft allows internet service providers to "protect the security, privacy, or integrity of the network", "facilitate diagnostics, technical support, maintenance, network management, or repair of the network or service of such provider", "prevent or detect unauthorized, fraudulent, or otherwise unlawful uses of the network or service of such provider", "block access to content, applications, or services that Federal or State law expressly authorizes to be blocked, including child pornography", provide parental controls, and allow subscribers to block content.

Section 910 contains two further exceptions. First, it provides that "Nothing in this title shall ... preclude an Internet service provider from displaying advertisements in connection with a broadband service". Second, it provides that "Nothing in this title shall ... apply to a service in which Internet service is not the primary service, such as a video service offered under Title VI of the Communications Act ..."

Adjudicative Enforcement by FCC. The Senate draft bill then provides that the FCC must write procedural rules that establish an adjudicatory enforcement of the Consumer Bill of Rights set out in Section 903, but that it must not write substantive rules on the same subject.

Section 907(a) provides that the FCC "shall, by rule, establish an adjudicatory enforcement procedure under which -- (1) any subscriber aggrieved by a violation of the requirements of section 903 may initiate an enforcement action by filing a complaint, in such form and in such manner as the Commission may prescribe; and (2) the Commission shall make a determination, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, with respect to any bona fide complaint not later than 120 days after the date on which such complaint is received."

But then, Section 908 provides that "Except as provided in section 907(a), the Commission shall not --- (1) promulgate any regulations implementing this title; nor (2) enlarge or modify the obligations imposed on Internet service providers through the adjudicatory process under section 907."

This FCC adjudicatory process would only address alleged violations of the Section 903 Consumer Bill of Rights. It would not encompass alleged violations of Section 904 (free speech) or Section 905 (stand alone service).

If this draft were enacted into law, then, while the FCC would be barred from promulgating substantive rules regarding the extent of consumers' network neutrality rights, the FCC would write orders in adjudicatory proceedings that would contain legal guidance regarding the extent of consumers' network neutrality rights, which it might follow in subsequent adjudicatory proceedings. The FCC would likely create substantive law one way or the other. Also, judicial review of such adjudicatory orders would be available only to parties to such proceedings, while judicial review is more broadly available in rule making proceedings.

The SCC is scheduled to mark this bill on Thursday, June 22, at 2:00 PM.

6/15. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Paul Atkins gave a speech in which he addressed the Sarbannes Oxley Act, its Section 404, and the SEC's rules implementing Section 404.

Atkins (at right) said that "We will continue to work on a more rational approach to implementing Section 404."

Smaller public companies, and especially high tech companies, and their supporters in the Congress, have argued that the SEC's implementation of Section 404 imposes considerable burdens on smaller companies, without benefiting investors. They seek change.

The American Electronics Association (AEA) released a report [23 pages in PDF] last year titled "Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404: The Section of Unintended Consequences and its Impact on Small Business". It states that "Skyrocketing implementation costs have put high-tech companies in the position of having to delay major projects at a time when many are struggling to compete with low-cost competition from Asia. Section 404 implementation is the quintessential example of the law of unintended consequences, with the biggest victim being small business."

Also, on May 8, 2006, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report [93 pages in PDF] titled "Sarbanes-Oxley Act: Consideration of Key Principles Needed in Addressing Implementation for Smaller Public Companies". The report finds that smaller public companies face disproportionately higher costs of compliance than do larger companies, and that the Act creates other difficulties for smaller companies. See, story titled "GAO Reports that Section 404 of Sarbanes Oxley Burdens Small Public Companies" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,366, May 9, 2006.

Atkins said, in the English language version of his June 15 speech, that "I am confident that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act can offer considerable benefits to shareholders. The emphasis on good controls over financial reporting is laudable. Section 404 focuses on the integrity of financial information and seeks to give shareholders additional insight into the credibility of financial statements."

However, he added that "There has been much discussion within and outside of the SEC regarding ways in which individual provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may be imposing a greater cost than was anticipated, or than may be justified by the benefits imparted to investors. Reducing these costs is essential. Reflecting this, the SEC and other agencies are actively seeking approaches that would mitigate the costs of implementing Section 404. I can assure you that in the coming months, the SEC and the PCAOB will be considering steps to cut the costs while maintaining the benefits of Section 404."

He said that the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board's (PCAOB) Auditing Standard Number 2 (AS2) [300 pages] "will be revised", and that "the SEC will monitor the PCAOB's efforts to improve Section 404 oversight".

He said that the SEC has "announced an additional postponement of Section 404 for smaller filers, including smaller foreign private issuers, such that they will now be required to comply with the management assessment required by Section 404 for fiscal years beginning on or after December 16, 2006."

He also said that "In the next few weeks, we expect to solicit views on the management assessment process to ensure that the guidance we ultimately propose addresses the needs and concerns of public companies. We will also seek input on the appropriate role of outside auditors in connection with the management assessment required by Section 404, and on the manner in which outside auditors provide the required attestation."

"We also anticipate that we will issue guidance to management to assist in its performance of a top-down, risk-based assessment of internal control over financial reporting. To ensure that this guidance is of help to non-accelerated filers and smaller public companies, we intend that this guidance will be scalable and adaptable to their individual circumstances", said Atkins.

Finally, he said that "The PCAOB will propose revisions to AS 2 that will ensure that auditors take a top-down approach to their audits and that they use a risk-based approach. The PCAOB will also revisit and clarify what, if any, role the auditor should play in evaluating the company's process of assessing internal control effectiveness."

Atkins spoke via teleconference to the French Association Of Corporate Governance in Paris, France.

Many small tech companies seek reform through the SEC rulemaking process. However, if the SEC does not act, the Congress might enact legislation. Most members of Congress that seek reform have waited, either for the SEC to act, or for Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) and Rep. Mike Oxley (R-OH) to leave the Congress. Both are retiring at the end of the current Congress.

However, on May 17, 2006, Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL) and others introduced HR 5405, the "Competitive and Open Markets that Protect and Enhance the Treatment of Entrepreneurs Act", or COMPETE Act. Also on May 17, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and others in introduced the companion bill in the Senate, S 2824.

The introduction of these bills was timed to coincide with an SEC conference on Section 404 held on May 17, 2006.

Section 404 is titled "Management assessment of internal controls". It currently provides, in full, as follows:

(a) RULES REQUIRED- The Commission shall prescribe rules requiring each annual report required by section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m or 78o(d)) to contain an internal control report, which shall--
   (1) state the responsibility of management for establishing and maintaining an adequate internal control structure and procedures for financial reporting; and
   (2) contain an assessment, as of the end of the most recent fiscal year of the issuer, of the effectiveness of the internal control structure and procedures of the issuer for financial reporting.
(b) INTERNAL CONTROL EVALUATION AND REPORTING- With respect to the internal control assessment required by subsection (a), each registered public accounting firm that prepares or issues the audit report for the issuer shall attest to, and report on, the assessment made by the management of the issuer. An attestation made under this subsection shall be made in accordance with standards for attestation engagements issued or adopted by the Board. Any such attestation shall not be the subject of a separate engagement.

HR 5405 and S 2824 would add a new subsection 404(c) that, among other things, creates an exemption for smaller public companies. It would apply to any company that either "has a total market capitalization for the relevant reporting period of less than $700,000,000", "has total product revenue for that reporting period of less than $125,000,000", or "has fewer than 1500 record beneficial holders of securities".

6/19. Robert Zoellick (at left) resigned as Deputy Secretary of State. He will go to work for Goldman Sachs Group. No replacement for Zoellick has been announced. See, statements by Zoellick and Secretary of State Condi Rice. During President Bush's first term, Zoellick was the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). His replacement as USTR, Robert Portman, recently left the Office of the USTR to become head of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

6/19. Phil Bond (at right) was named P/CEO of the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA). Bond previously worked for Monster Worldwide. Before that, he worked at the Department of Commerce, where he was Chief of Staff to former Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans, and Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology. Before that, he worked for former Rep. Jennifer Dunn (R-WA). The previous head of the ITAA, Harris Miller, resigned in January of 2006 to run for a seat in the U.S. Senate. He narrowly lost in the Democratic primary on June 13 to James Webb, who will face Sen. George Allen (R-VA) in the November general election. The interim President of the ITAA was Robert Laurence.

6/19. Federal Reserve Board (FRB) Governor Mark Olson was named Chairman of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) until 2010. See, SEC release.

6/19. Kayla Gillan was re-appointed to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). She has been a member since 2002. See, SEC release.

6/19. Vice President Richard Cheney gave a speech, and answered questions, at the Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize Luncheon in Washington DC. He spoke in vague terms about electronic surveillance, and news stories about government surveillance. He said that "the technology has evolved so dramatically in the telecommunications area in the last several years that the FISA Act does not fit precisely all circumstances that we now are faced with. But we work very closely with the FISA courts in terms of carrying out our duties and responsibilities in that area." He also said that "I do believe that there need to be secrets", and that "the fact of the matter is that there have been stories written that are damaging, if you will, from the standpoint of national security". See, transcript.

6/19. The U.S. Court of Appeals (10thCir) issued an opinion [50 pages in PDF] in In Re Qwest Communications International, Inc. Securities Litigation, regarding assertion of the attorney client (AC) and work product (WP) privileges. Qwest produced certain documents for the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) during their investigations. Subsequently, parties to civil litigation sought those same documents. Qwest asserted asserted AC and WP privileges. The District Court held that Qwest waived the AC and WP privileges by voluntarily providing the documents to the DOJ and SEC. The Court of Appeals denied Qwest's petition for writ of mandamus. It rejected Qwests argument that there was only a selective or limited waiver. This case is App. Ct. No. 06-1070, a petition for writ of mandamus to the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, D.C. No. 01-CV-1451-REB-CBS.

6/19. The European Commission (EC) announced that it adopted "two initiatives to put a legally sound framework in place for the transfer of PNR (Passenger Name Records) data to the United States". See, release. On May 30, 2006, the European Union's (EU) Court of Justice (COJ) issued its judgment in European Parliament v. Council of the European Union, annulling the 2004 agreement [7 pages in PDF] between the U.S. and the EU regarding providing airlines' PNR data to the U.S. government. See, section titled "More News" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,389, June 12, 2006.

6/16. Jason Hafemeister, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, gave a speech, and answered questions, in Geneva, Switzerland, regarding agricultural trade and the stalled Doha round negotiations.

6/9. Robert Cresanti, the Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology, gave a speech titled "Technology Administration Revivification of U.S. S&T Competence & Competitiveness" to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The House will meet at 9:30 AM for morning hour, and at 11:00 AM for legislative business. It will consider several non-technology related items under suspension of the rules. The House will also consider HR 5631, the "Department of Defense Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2007", subject to a rule. See, Republican Whip Notice.

The Senate will meet at 9:30 AM. It will resume consideration of S 2766, the defense authorization bill.

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee (HCC) will meet to mark up several bills, including HR __, a bill that has not yet been introduced regarding studying and promoting the use of energy efficient computer servers. The meeting will be webcast by the HCC. Press contact: Larry Neal (Barton) at 202-225-5735 or Terry Lane (Barton) at 202-225-5735. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

POSTPONED TO JUNE 22. 10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will meet to mark up S 2686, the "Communications, Consumer's Choice, and Broadband Deployment Act of 2006". See, notice. Press contact: Aaron Saunders (Stevens) at 202-224-3991 or Andy Davis (Inouye) at 202-224-4546. The meeting will be webcast by the SCC. Location: __.

12:30 - 2:00 PM. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will host an event titled "Intellectual Property Forum Featuring Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez". See, notice and registration page. Location: Chamber, 1615 H Street, NW.

1:30 PM. The Consumers Union (CU) and other groups will host a news conference regarding the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) media ownership rules. The speakers will be Gene Kimmelman (Consumers Union), Linda Foley (Newspaper Guild-CWA), Gary Flowers (Rainbow/PUSH), Nancy Zirkin (Leadership Conference on Civil Rights), Andrew Schwartzman (Media Access Project and Media and Democracy Coalition), and Craig Aaron (Free Press). To participate telephonically, the call in number is 888-913-9974, and the passcode is 47020. Press contact: Craig Aaron at 202-265-1490, x25. Location: CU, 1101 17th St. NW, Suite 500.

2:00 PM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection will hold a hearing titled "Privacy in the Commercial World II". See, notice. The witnesses will be Meg Whitman (eBay), Tom Lenard (Progress & Freedom Foundation), Peter Swire (Ohio State University law school), Scott Taylor (HP), and Evan Hendricks (Privacy Times). The hearing will be webcast by the HCC. Press contact: Larry Neal (Barton) at 202-225-5735 or Paul Flusche (Stearns) at 202-225-5744. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will hold the first of three hearings on single firm conduct. The speakers will be Deborah Majoras (FTC Chairman), Thomas Barnett (Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division), Dennis Carlton (University of Chicago Graduate School of Business), and Herbert Hovenkamp (University of Iowa College of Law). See, notice. Location: FTC, Room 432, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Judicial Practice Committee will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "The Judicial Year in Review". See, registration form [PDF]. Prices vary. The deadline to register is 5:00 PM on June 16. Location: Wiley Rein & Fielding, 1776 K Stree, NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the transfer of licenses associated with the AT&T, BellSouth, and Cingular transaction. This is nominally a license transfer proceeding, but is also in the nature of an antitrust merger review. This proceeding will be governed by "permit but disclose" ex parte communications procedures under Section 1.1206 of the FCC's rules. See, FCC notice [10 pages in PDF] and FCC web page for its AT&T/SBC/Cingular merger review. This proceeding is WC Docket No. 06-74.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM legislative business. It will consider several non-technology related items under suspension of the rules. The House may also consider HR 9, a voting rights bill, and HR 4890, the "Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 2006", subject to rules. See, Republican Whip Notice.

8:30 AM - 2:30 PM. The American Antitrust Institute (AAI) will host a one day conference titled "The IP Grab -- The Struggle Between Intellectual Property Rights & Antitrust". See, conference agenda. Location: National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold a hearing titled "The Analog Hole: Can Congress Protect Copyright and Promote Innovation?". The scheduled witnesses are LeVar Burton (Directors Guild of America), Dan Glickman (Motion Picture Association of America), Gary Shapiro (Consumer Electronics Association), Chris Cookson (Warner Bros. Entertainment), Matt Zinn (TiVo Inc.), and Gigi Sohn (Public Knowledge). See, notice. The SJC frequently cancels or postpones hearings without notice. Press contact: Courtney Boone at 202-224-5225. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

9:30 AM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold a meeting. See, agenda [PDF] and story titled "FCC Announces Agenda for June 21 Meeting" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,392, June 15, 2006. The event will be webcast by the FCC. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW, Room TW-C05 (Commission Meeting Room).

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold the first of two hearings titled "Internet Data Brokers and Pretexting: Who has Access to Your Private Records?". See, notice. The hearing will be webcast by the HCC. Press contact: Larry Neal (Barton) at 202-225-5735 or Terry Lane (Barton) at 202-225-5735. Location: Room 2322, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will meet to mark up several bills, including HR 1956, the "Business Activity Tax Simplification Act of 2005", HR 5520, the "Veterans Identity Protection Act", HRes 819, "Requesting the President and directing the Attorney General to submit to the House of Representatives all documents in the possession of the President and the Attorney General relating to requests made by the National Security Agency and other Federal agencies to telephone service providers requesting access to telephone communications records of persons in the United States and communications originating and terminating within the United States without a warrant", and HRes 845, "Requesting the President and directing the Secretary of Defense and the Attorney General to transmit to the House of Representatives not later than 14 days after the date of the adoption of this resolution, documents relating to the termination of the Department of Justice's Office of Professional Responsibility's investigation of the involvement of Department of Justice personnel in the creation and administration of the National Security Agency's warrantless surveillance program, including documents relating to Office of Professional Responsibility's request for and denial of security clearances". See, notice. The meeting will be webcast by the HCC. Location: Room 2154, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Armed Services Committee's (HASC) Subcommittee on Strategic Forces will hold a hearing on space. The witnesses will include David Cavossa of the Satellite Industry Association (SIA). Location: Room 2212, Rayburn Building.

11:00 AM. The Cato Institute will host a panel discussion titled "U.S. Trade Policy in the Wake of Doha: Why Unilateral Liberalization Makes Sense". The speakers will include Jagdish Bhagwati, (Columbia University) and Daniel Ikenson (Cato). Cato will also webcast the event. Lunch will follow the program. See, notice and registration page. Location: Cato, 1000 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

2:00 PM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet will hold a hearing titled "Universal Service: What Are We Subsidizing and Why? Part 1: The High-Cost Fund". See, notice. The hearing will be webcast by the HCC. Press contact: Larry Neal (Barton) at 202-225-5735, Terry Lane (Barton) at 202-225-5735 or Sean Bonyun (Upton) at 202-225-3761. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Technology, Innovation, and Competitiveness will hold a hearing titled "Accelerating the Adoption of Health Information Technology". The witnesses will be Carolyn Clancy (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality), Newt Gingrich (Center for Health Transformation), John Halamka (Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel), Mark Leavitt (Certification Commission for Health Information Technology), Michael Raymer (GE Healthcare), Kevin Hutchinson (SureScripts), Phillip Ragon (InterSystems Corporation). See, notice. Press contact: Aaron Saunders (Stevens) at 202-224-3991 or Andy Davis (Inouye) at 202-224-4546. Location: Room 562, Dirksen Building.

4:00 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold a hearing on judicial nominations. See, notice. The SJC frequently cancels or postpones hearings without notice. Press contact: Courtney Boone at 202-224-5225. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM legislative business. It will consider several non-technology related items under suspension of the rules. The House may also consider HR 9, a voting rights bill, and HR 4890, the "Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 2006", subject to rules. See, Republican Whip Notice.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold an executive business meeting. See, notice. The SJC frequently cancels or postpones meeting without notice. Press contact: Courtney Boone at 202-224-5225. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

9:30 - 11:30 AM. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will hold the second of three hearings on single firm conduct. This hearing will address selling. The speakers will be Patrick Bolton (Columbia University Business School), Kenneth Elzinga (University of Virginia), Douglas Melamed (Wilmer Hale), and Janusz Ordover (New York University). See, notice. Location: FTC, Room 432, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

10:30 AM. The House Ways and Means Committee's Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures will hold a hearing titled "Hearing on the Impact of International Tax Reform on U.S. Competitiveness". See, notice. Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building.

1:00 - 4:00 PM. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will hold the third of three hearings on single firm conduct. This hearing will address buying. The speakers will be Tim Brennan (University of Maryland), John Kirkwood (Seattle University School of Law), Janet McDavid (Hogan & Hartson), Steven Salop (Georgetown University Law Center), and Frederick Warren-Boulton (Microeconomic Consulting & Research Associates, Inc.). See, notice. Location: FTC, Room 432, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

2:00 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will meet to mark up S 2686, the "Communications, Consumer's Choice, and Broadband Deployment Act of 2006". See, notice. Press contact: Aaron Saunders (Stevens) at 202-224-3991 or Andy Davis (Inouye) at 202-224-4546. The meeting will be webcast by the SCC. Location: __.

2:00 PM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold the second of two hearings titled "Internet Data Brokers and Pretexting: Who has Access to Your Private Records?". See, notice. The witnesses will include Paul Kilcoyne (DHS/ICE). The hearing will be webcast by the HCC. Press contact: Larry Neal (Barton) at 202-225-5735 or Terry Lane (Barton) at 202-225-5735. Location: Room 2322, Rayburn Building.

2:00 PM. The House International Relations Committee's (HIRC) Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations will meet to mark up several bills, including HR 4780, the "Global Online Freedom Act of 2006". See, notice. Location: Room 2172, Rayburn Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, and International Security will hold a hearing titled "Assuring Healthy Initiatives in Health Information Technology". See, notice. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

3:00 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee's (SJC) Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights will hold a hearing titled "AT&T and BellSouth Merger: What Does it Mean for Consumers?". See, notice. The SJC frequently cancels or postpones hearings without notice. Press contact: Courtney Boone at 202-224-5225. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) regarding its Draft Special Publication 800-85B [149 pages in PDF] titled "PIV Data Model Test Guidelines". PIV is an acronym for Personal Identity Verification.

The Republican Whip Notice states that "there are no votes expected in the House".

8:30 AM - 4:00 PM. The Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) will hold a mostly closed meeting. The open portion will be from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. See, notice in the Federal Register, June 9, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 111, at Pages 33477-33478. Location: U.S. Secret Service HQ (closed portions), and St. Regis Hotel, 923 16th & K Streets, NW (open portion).

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association's Intellectual Property Law Section will host a panel discussion titled "Nuts and Bolts of Section 337 Practice Before the International Trade Commission". The speakers will include Maureen Browne (Adduci Mastriani & Schaumberg) and Karin Norton (US International Trade Commission). The price to attend ranges from $15-$40. For more information, call 202-626-3463. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association's Taxation Section will host a panel discussion titled "Taxing the Digital World: How do States Tax Downloads and other Electronic Stuff?". The speakers will include Mark Nebergall (Software Finance and Tax Executives Council), Matthew Tomalis (Federation of Tax Administrators), and Stephen Kranz (Council On State Taxation). The price to attend ranges from $15-$27. For more information, call 202-626-3463. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

12:00 NOON. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) will host a panel discussion titled "Policymakers' Guide to Radio Frequency Identification". The participants will include Robert Cresanti (Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology) and Dan Caprio (Progress & Freedom Foundation). See, notice. Location: Room B339, Rayburn Building, Capitol Hill.

CANCELLED. 6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Transactional Practice Committee will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "Private Equity Fund and Lender Issues in FCC-Regulated Businesses". See, registration form [PDF]. Prices vary. The deadline to register is 5:00 PM on June 23. Location: Akin Gump, 1333 New Hampshire Ave., NW.

Day one of a four day conference hosted by the Wireless Communications Association International (WCAI). At 8:30 AM, FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein will speak. At 8:50 AM, there will be a panel discussion titled "The Great Debate: BWA Spectrum For Consumer Broadband And/Or Public Safety?". At 4:45 PM there will be an panel discussion titled "Wireless Stakes In The 'Net Neutrality' Debate". See, conference web site. Location: Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington DC.

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