5/21. The Supreme Court of the U.S. issued its opinion [56 pages in PDF] in Bell Atlantic v. Twombly, reversing the judgment of the U.S. Court of Appeals (2ndCir). This is a victory for Verizon (successor of Bell Atlantic) and other incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs).

Justice Souter wrote the opinion of the Court. He summarized the issue and the holding as follows: "Liability under §1 of the Sherman Act, 15 U. S. C. §1, requires a ``contract, combination . . . , or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce.´´ The question in this putative class action is whether a §1 complaint can survive a motion to dismiss when it alleges that major telecommunications providers engaged in certain parallel conduct unfavorable to competition, absent some factual context suggesting agreement, as distinct from identical, independent action. We hold that such a complaint should be dismissed."

This case was brought by the class action law firm of Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman. Nominally, the lead plaintiff is William Twombly. Milberg Weiss seeks to represent all subscribers of local telephone and/or high speed internet services since 1996. It has a history of troubled client relations. See, story titled "Milberg Weiss Indicted for Paying Illegal Kickbacks to Class Action Plaintiffs" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,375, May 22, 2006.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court (SDNY), alleged violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act, which is codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1. It provides in relevant part, that "Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is declared to be illegal. Every person who shall make any contract or engage in any combination or conspiracy hereby declared to be illegal shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished ..."

The complaint alleges that Bell Atlantic and other incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) conspired with one another to keep competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) from competing successfully in their respective territories. It also alleges that there is an agreement among the defendants not to compete with each other. However, the complaint does not allege that there is any document that constitutes or memorializes any such agreements. Rather, it makes assertions regarding the motives and parallel conduct of the defendants.

The District Court held that parallel conduct alone does not constitute a violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. Therefore, it dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.

Milberg Weiss appealed. The Court of Appeals reversed the District Court. See, story titled "2nd Circuit Vacates in Twombly v. Bell Atlantic" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,226, October 4, 2005.

The Supreme Court granted certiorari on June 26, 2006. See, story titled "Supreme Court Grants Cert in Bell Atlantic v. Twombly" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,399, June 26, 2006.

Justice Souter wrote that "The inadequacy of showing parallel conduct or interdependence, without more, mirrors the ambiguity of the behavior: consistent with conspiracy, but just as much in line with a wide swath of rational and competitive business strategy unilaterally prompted by common perceptions of the market."

The Court held, in the context of a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, that "stating such a claim requires a complaint with enough factual matter (taken as true) to suggest that an agreement was made. Asking for plausible grounds to infer an agreement does not impose a probability requirement at the pleading stage; it simply calls for enough fact to raise a reasonable expectation that discovery will reveal evidence of illegal agreement. And, of course, a well-pleaded complaint may proceed even if it strikes a savvy judge that actual proof of those facts is improbable, ..." (Footnote omitted. Parentheses in original.)

Furthermore, "an allegation of parallel conduct and a bare assertion of conspiracy will not suffice. Without more, parallel conduct does not suggest conspiracy, and a conclusory allegation of agreement at some unidentified point does not supply facts adequate to show illegality. Hence, when allegations of parallel conduct are set out in order to make a §1 claim, they must be placed in a context that raises a suggestion of a preceding agreement, not merely parallel conduct that could just as well be independent action."

The opinion of the Court then compares historically competitive markets to the phone and broadband markets. "In a traditionally unregulated industry with low barriers to entry, sparse competition among large firms dominating separate geographical segments of the market could very well signify illegal agreement, but here we have an obvious alternative explanation. In the decade preceding the 1996 Act and well before that, monopoly was the norm in telecommunications, not the exception." It continues that "The ILECs were born in that world, doubtless liked the world the way it was, and surely knew the adage about him who lives by the sword. Hence, a natural explanation for the noncompetition alleged is that the former Government-sanctioned monopolists were sitting tight, expecting their neighbors to do the same thing."

It adds that the "Congress may have expected some ILECs to become CLECs in the legacy territories of other ILECs, but the disappointment does not make conspiracy plausible."

The Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals, and remanded, with six other Justices joining in the opinion of the Court. Justice Stevens dissented. Justice Ginsburg joined in most of his opinion.

This case attracted numerous amicus curiae briefs.

John Thorne, Deputy General Counsel of Verizon, stated in a release that "The Supreme Court's decision embraces an important principle about protecting the freedom of firms to make unilateral decisions on what markets to enter or not enter. Today's decision is the fifth in a series of Supreme Court decisions establishing that firms will not be challenged under antitrust for making independent choices that benefit consumers."

He continued that "The court's decision in Brooke Group affirmed the freedom to lower prices. The court's decision in Discon (in which Verizon's predecessor NYNEX was the petitioner) affirmed the freedom to choose suppliers. The court's decision in Trinko (in which Verizon was the petitioner) affirmed the freedom to invest. The court's decision in Weyerhauser affirmed the freedom to expand output. Today's decision affirms the freedom to decide when and how to enter new markets." (Parentheses in original.)

"Consumers benefit when companies of every size have the right to lower prices, choose suppliers, invest, expand output, and enter new markets freely."

This case is Bell Atlantic Corporation, et al. v. William Twombly, et al., Supreme Court of the U.S., Sup. Ct. No. 05-1126, a petition for writ of certiorari to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, App. Ct. No. 03-9213. Judge Sack wrote the opinion of the Court of Appeals, in which Judges Raggi and Hall joined. The Court of Appeals heard an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Gerald Lynch presiding. See also, Supreme Court docket.

5/17. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) introduced HRes 414, a resolution expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding use of copyrighted software by foreign governments.

The resolution recites in its findings that U.S. "copyright industries face high rates of piracy in many foreign countries, portions of which are attributable to unauthorized software use by government agencies, as well as the use of official government computers and networks to commit all types of copyright infringement". It continues that "most foreign countries and territories have not yet undertaken measures mandating the authorized use of software by government agencies, and those that do mandate the use of authorized software by government agencies often fail to implement these commitments".

The resolution states that "foreign governments should work diligently to legalize all computer software used by government agencies in order to give full effect to copyrights associated with computer software, consistent with the applicable provisions of the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, and the World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty".

Moreover, "foreign governments should require all government agencies to adopt and implement appropriate procedures" and "require that contractors and other recipients of government funds or financial assistance have appropriate systems and controls in place".

In addition, foreign governments should ensure that "government computers and networks are not used to facilitate copyright infringement".

The resolution was referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Foreign governments are not bound by resolutions adopted by the U.S. Congress.

5/16. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold a hearing titled "Rogue Online Pharmacies: The Growing Problem of Internet Drug Trafficking".

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) wrote in his opening statement that "Rogue online pharmacies increasingly have become a source for the illegal supply of controlled substances. Dangerous and addictive prescription drugs are too often only a click away without the proper constraints of local doctors and pharmacists."

On March 23, 2007, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) introduced S 980, the "Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2007". Sen. Leahy stated that "We have legislation referred to this Committee that would create potent new tools for law enforcement to prosecute those who illegally sell drugs online, and allow state authorities to shut down online pharmacies even before they get started. I look forward to working with the Senators from California and Alabama on these matters."

See also, prepared testimony of Francine Haight (founder of Ryan's Cause), prepared testimony of Joseph Rannazzisi (Office of Diversion Control, Drug Enforcement Administration), prepared testimony of Joseph Califano (National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University), prepared testimony of Philip Heymann (Harvard Law School), and prepared testimony of Thomas McClellan (Treatment Research Institute).

5/21. The House approved HR 2272, the "21st Century Competitiveness Act of 2007", by voice vote. This is a huge composite bill that contains numerous other bills pertaining to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education and research bills, and other matters. This bill includes HR 362, HR 363, HR 1068, HR 1867 and HR 1868, each of which has already been approved by the House as stand alone bills.

5/17. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) held an executive business meeting at which it approved, without amendment, S 1027, the "Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2007" or "PACT Act", a bill to regulate internet tobacco sales to facilitate the collection of federal, state, and local taxes.

5/17. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet held a hearing on broadband mapping and data collection. See, prepared testimony [7 pages in PDF] of Larry Cohen (Communications Workers of America), prepared testimony [4 pages in PDF] of Walter McCormick (U.S. Telecom Association), prepared testimony [16 pages in PDF] of Steve Largent (CTIA -- The Wireless Association), prepared testimony [9 pages in PDF] of Kyle McSlarrow (National Cable and Telecommunications Association), prepared testimony [22 pages in PDF] of Ben Scott (Free Press), prepared testimony [9 pages in PDF] of Brian Mefford (ConnectKentucky), and prepared testimony [14 pages in PDF] of George Ford (Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal and Economic Public Policy Studies).

5/18. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Memorandum Opinion and Order (MO&O) [6 pages in PDF] in its proceeding titled "In the Matter of Improving Public Safety Communications in the 800 MHz Band". It addresses the standard for determining the acceptability of costs that Sprint Nextel Corporation is required to pay in connection with the 800 MHz rebanding process. The five FCC Commissioners released a joint statement [PDF] in which they wrote that this "clarifies questions about the acceptability of certain relocation costs. Now that this arcane but contentious economic issue has been resolved, we look forward to the parties moving ahead with the more important and worthwhile work of conducting actual rebanding. We also hope that our action today will spur the parties to reorient their approach to this process." This MO&O is FCC 07-92 in WT Docket No. 02-55.

5/18. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released the text [PDF] of its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in its proceeding titled "In the Matter of Third Periodic Review of the Commission's Rules and Policies Affecting the Conversion To Digital Television". It pertains to broadcasters' transition to digital television (DTV). The FCC adopted this NPRM back at its meeting of April 25, 2007, but did not release it until May 18, 2007. This NPRM states that initial comments will be due within 30 days after publication of a notice in the Federal Register, and that reply comments will be due within 45 days of such publication. The FCC has not yet published this notice. This NPRM is FCC 07-70 in MB Docket No. 07-91.

5/17. The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in a release that the Kansas City, Missouri School District (KCMSD) "has agreed to relinquish over $13.6 million in claims for federal funds and to pay the United States $66,000 as a civil settlement relating to false claims and false statements" in connection with its participation in the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) fraud plagued e-rate subsidy program. The DOJ added that the KCMSD "pursued claims for payments for a contract that had been cancelled, did not comply with the mandatory competitive bidding process, and improperly extended contracts to avoid re-bidding".

5/14. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [38 pages in PDF] in its proceeding titled "In the Matter of High-Cost Universal Service Support Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service". This NPRM seeks public comments on the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service's recommendation that the FCC impose an interim, emergency cap on the amount of high cost support that competitive eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) may receive. This NPRM states that initial comments will be due within 14 days after publication of a notice in the Federal Register, and that reply comments will be due within 21 days of such publication. The FCC has not yet published this notice. This item is FCC 07-88 in WC Docket No. 05-337 and CC Docket No. 96-45.

5/21. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) announced an agreement between trade negotiators of the U.S. and Indonesia "to formally establish working groups intended to deepen U.S.-Indonesia economic relations in four key areas: intellectual property rights, agricultural and industrial goods, services and investment". See, OUSTR release.

5/21. The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a notice in the Federal Register that announces that its Deemed Export Advisory Committee (DEAC) will meet on June 19, 2007, from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM, in Boston, Massachusetts. This notice also sets a deadline of 5:00 PM on May 30, 2007, to submit requests to make presentations at this meeting. See, Federal Register, May 21, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 97, at Page 28467. The BIS regulates exports of dual use products, including computers, components, software and encryption products. Deemed exports include employment practices of companies that make dual use products.

5/14. The Department of Justice (DOJ) issued another release regarding its latest guilty plea associated with its online piracy initiative titled "Operation FastLink".

The House will meet at 9:00 AM for morning hour, and at 10:00 AM for legislative business. It will consider HR 1525, the "Internet Spyware (I-SPY) Prevention Act of 2007". See, story titled "House Crime Subcommittee Approves Spyware Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,573, May 2, 2007. See, Rep. Hoyer's weekly calendar [PDF].

The Senate will meet at 10:00 AM. It will resume consideration of S 1348, a bill pertaining to immigration and other matters.

9:00 - 10:00 AM. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Robert Atkinson, head of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), will release a report on patent reform. RSVP to Torey Liepa at tliepa at itif dot org. Location: Room 2226, Rayburn Building.

9:15 AM. The U.S. and the People's Republic of China (PRC) will begin the second meeting of the Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED). One of many issues on the agenda is the PRC's failure to protect intellectual property rights. Opening statements will be at 9:15 AM. Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger will speak at 9:45 AM. Location: Mellon Auditorium, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Federal Bar Association's (FBA) Capitol Hill Chapter will host an event titled "Luncheon with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., Chief Justice of the United States". See, notice and registration form [PDF]. Location: West Conference Room, Supreme Court of the United States (enter through either the Maryland Ave. or 1st Street, NE, entrances.)

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) will host a lunch titled "Intellectual Property: Fueling the Growth of India’s Knowledge Economy". The speaker will be Prabuddha Ganguli (CEO VISION-IPR). RSVP to Sonia Blumstein at 205-620-2087 or soniab at ipi dot org. Location: Bobby Van's Grill, 1201 New York Ave., NW (12th and New York Ave.).

2:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a closed brown bag lunch titled "Emerging Issues in Internet Pharmacies and Online Prescribing of Drugs". The speakers will be Linda Marks (Department of Justice's Office of Consumer Litigation), Michael Mapes (Drug Enforcement Administration), Sondra Mills (Department of Justice), and Katherine Layman (Cozen O'Connor). The price to attend ranges from $0 to $15. See, notice. For more information, contact 202-626-3463. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, Level B-1, 1250 H St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "Resolving Domestic and International IP Disputes Through Arbitration and Mediation". The speakers will be Ignacio de Castro (Deputy Director of the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center), Peter Michaelson (Michaelson and Associates), Jay Alexander (Milbank Tweed), Stephen Belisle (Fitzpatrick Cella Harper & Scinto). The price to attend ranges from $10 to $30. See, notice. For more information, contact 202-626-3463.Location: DC Bar Conference Center, Level B-1, 1250 H St., NW.

1:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law will hold a hearing titled "Internet Tax Freedom Act: Internet Tax Moratorium". The witnesses will be Jerry Johnson (Oklahoma Tax Commission Oklahoma City), Scott Mackey (Kimbell Sherman Ellis Montpelier), Mark Murphy (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees), David Quam (National Governors Association Washington), and John Rutledge (The Heartland Institute). See, notice Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

2:00 PM. Frontline Wireless will hold a news conference to present a report titled "The Design of the 700 MHz Spectrum Auction: An Opportunity to Promote Competition and Public Safety" by Andrzej Skrzypacz and Robert Wilson, both of whom will speak. Location: Covington & Burling, 11th floor, 1201 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Common Carrier Committee will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "The Evolution of Common Carrier Regulation and Its Future Applicability in an IP World". The speakers will be Thomas Jones (Willkie Farr & Gallagher), Richard Metzger (Lawler Metzger), Howard Symons (Mintz Levin), Chris Libertelli (Skype), Brita Strandberg (Harris Wiltshire & Grannis), and Bryan Tramont (Wilkinson Barker Knauer). The price to attend ranges from $50 to $125. See, registration form [PDF]. Location: Sidley Austin, 1501 K St., NW. (The DC Bar Association's notice lists an event at the same date and time, with the same title, but at Skadden Arps, 6th floor, 1501 K St., NW. For more information, contact Kerry Loughney 202-293-4000.)

TIME? The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee's (COMSTAC) working groups will meet. Location: undisclosed.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Hoyer's weekly calendar [PDF].

9:00 AM - 1:00 PM. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will host an event titled "Privacy Impact Assessments at DHS -- A Tutorial on How to Write PIAs". See, notice in the Federal Register, May 11, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 91, at Page 26821. Location: GSA Regional Headquarters Building, 7th and D Streets, SW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "Communications, Taxation and Federalism". The witnesses will be James White (Director of Tax Policy and Administration, GAO), Annabelle Canning (Verizon), Jeff Dircksen (National Taxpayer Union Foundation), David Quam (National Governors Association), and Harley Duncan (Federation of Tax Administrators). See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

10:00 AM. The House Science Committee (HSC) will meet to mark up bills. See, notice. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

10:45 AM. The U.S. and the People's Republic of China will continue the second meeting of the Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED). The U.S. delegation will hold a news conference at 11:30 AM. Location: Environmental Protection Agency, East Building, 1201 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

3:00 - 5:00 PM. Day one of a three day meeting of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission titled "The Extent of the Government's Control of China's Economy, and Implications for the United States". See, notice in the Federal Register, May 10, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 90, at Page 26688. Location: Room 385, Russell Building, Capitol Hill.

TIME? The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC) will meet. Location: FAA, Headquarters Building, 800 Independence Ave., SW.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers' Committee (YLC) will host an event titled "End of the YLC Year Party". For more information, contact Chris Fedeli at 202-973-4274 or chrisfedeli at dwt dot com. Location: Karma, 1919 I St., NW.

Extended deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in its proceeding titled "In the Matter of Effects of Communications Towers on Migratory Birds". This NPRM [40 pages in PDF] is FCC 06-164 in WT Docket No. 03-187. The FCC adopted this NPRM on November 3, 2006. It released it on November 17, 2006. See, FCC's notice of extension [PDF] (DA 07-72), and notice in the Federal Register, January 26, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 17, at Pages 3776-3777.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding its rules governing wireless licenses in the 698-806 MHz Band (700 MHz Band). See, notice in the Federal Register, May 2, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 84, at Pages 24238-24253. The FCC adopted its Report and Order and FNPRM [170 pages in PDF] on April 25, 2007, and released it on April 27, 2007. This FNPRM is FCC No. 07-72 in WT Docket No. 06-150, CC Docket No. 94-102, WT Docket No. 01-309, WT Docket No. 03-264, WT Docket No. 06-169, PS Docket No. 06-229, and WT Docket No. 96-86.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA), the Interstate Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) Fund Administrator, annual payment formula and fund size estimate for the Interstate TRS Fund for the period July 2007 through June 2008. See, public notice (DA 07-1978) and notice in the Federal Register, May 16, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 94, at Pages 27570-27571. This proceeding is CG Docket No. 03-123.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Hoyer's weekly calendar [PDF].

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Day two of a three day meeting of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission titled "The Extent of the Government's Control of China's Economy, and Implications for the United States". See, notice in the Federal Register, May 10, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 90, at Page 26688. Location: Room 562, Dirksen Building, Capitol Hill.

12:00 NOON. The Cato Institute will host a panel discussion titled "Are Civil Liberties at Risk in the War on Terror?". The speakers will be Andrew McCarthy (Foundation for Defense of Democracies' Center for Law & Counterterrorism), Bruce Fein (American Freedom Agenda), and Timothy Lynch (Cato). See, Cato notice. Lunch will be served after the program. Location: Cato, 1000 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Wireless Committee will host a lunch titled "A Discussion on Carterfone in the Wireless World". The speakers will be Michael Altschul (CTIA), Christopher Libertelli (Skype Communications), Mary Beth Richards (Deputy Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection). The price to attend is $15. See, registration form [PDF]. Registrations and cancellations are due by May 22. Location: Latham & Watkins, 10th Floor, 555 11th St., NW.

Rep. Hoyer's weekly calendar [PDF] states that "no votes are expected in the House".

8:30 AM - 12:30 PM. Day three of a three day meeting of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission titled "The Extent of the Government's Control of China's Economy, and Implications for the United States". See, notice in the Federal Register, May 10, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 90, at Page 26688. Location: Room 385, Russell Building, Capitol Hill.

Deadline to submit comments to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) regarding its interim final rule that establishes procedures for the public to obtain information from the PCLOB under the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The comment deadline and the effective date are both May 25. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 10, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 68, at Pages 17789-17792.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding installation of smaller antennas by Fixed Service (FS) operators. This NPRM is FCC 07-38 in WT Docket No. 07-54. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 25, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 79, at Pages 20494-20499.

Memorial Day.

The House will not meet on Monday, May 28 through Friday, June 1, due to the Memorial Day District Work Period. See, House 2007 calendar.

The House will not meet on Monday, May 28 through Friday, June 1, due to the Memorial Day District Work Period. See, Senate 2007 calendar.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and other federal offices will be closed. See, Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) list of federal holidays and 5 U.S.C. § 6103.

2:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Advisory Committee on Diversity for Communications in the Digital Age will hold an organizational meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, May 15, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 93, at Pages 27309-27310. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room (Room TW-C305), 445 12th St., SW.

Deadline to submit comments to eight federal regulatory agencies in response to their joint notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding implementation of the privacy provisions of the Gramm Leach Bliley Act. This NPRM proposes a safe harbor model privacy form that financial institutions may use to provide disclosures under the privacy rules. The eight agencies are the Department of the Treasury's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), Federal Reserve System (FRS), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). See, notice in the Federal Register, March 29, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 60, at Pages 14939-15000.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its request to update the record in its equal access and nondiscrimination proceeding. The FCC issued its original Notice of Inquiry (NOI) in February of 2002. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 28, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 59, at Pages 14554-14555. This proceeding is CC Docket No. 02-39. See also, Public Notice (DA 07-1071) [PDF] released on March 7, 2007.

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