3/5. The House Democratic leadership announced on February 29, 2008, the "Possible consideration of Legislation Regarding the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act" on the House floor during the week of March 3. See, Rep. Steny Hoyer's schedule for week of March 3. The House Democratic leadership subsequently removed this item from the agenda for the week.

Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO), the Republican Whip, stated in a release on March 5 that "Since the Protect America Act expired on February 16th, the majority has allowed a dimmer switch to gradually darken our nation’s ability to track and monitor terrorists abroad. It has now been almost three weeks since our intelligence agents have had the tools they needed to do their job."

Rep. Blunt added that "The Democratic Leadership's delays are as unnecessary as they are unacceptable. The solution is easy and a majority of the House agrees. The time for negotiations has come and gone -- the overwhelming Senate vote was just one clear signal. If their bill was brought to a vote, it would pass and become law -- finally allowing our nation to track the terrorists who wish to bring us harm, without having to cut through bureaucratic red tape."

President Bush and Rep. Blunt want the House to pass S 2248 [LOC | WW], the "Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2007", which the Senate passed on February 12, 2008.

It provides, among other things, immunity in the many civil lawsuits that have been filed against communications companies in connection with their cooperation with the federal government in surveillance and search operations. See also, story titled "Senate Rejects Efforts to Remove Immunity Language from FISA Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,716, February 12, 2008.

The House passed its FISA reform bill on November 15, 2007. It is HR 3773 [LOC | WW], the "Responsible Electronic Surveillance That is Overseen, Reviewed, and Effective Act of 2007" or "RESTORE Act". The House Democratic leadership, which controls the agenda, will not schedule a vote on S 2248.

On February 29, 2008, Ed Black, head of the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), wrote in a letter [PDF] to members of the House that FISA reform legislation "should not provide retroactive immunity to corporations that may have participated in violations of federal law. CCIA represents an industry that is called upon for cooperation and assistance in law enforcement. To act with speed in times of crisis, our industry needs clear rules, not vague promises that the U.S. Government can be relied upon to paper over Constitutional transgressions after the fact."

S 1927 [LOC | WW], the "Protect America Act", was enacted into law in August of 2007. However, it expired on February 16, 2008. It contained a retroactive immunity provision.

2/29. President Bush signed an executive order that creates a new President's Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB) and a new Intelligence Oversight Board (IOB).

The new PIAB and IOB will replace the old PIAB and IOB created by Executive Order 12333 on December 4, 1981. The PIAB will have 16 members. The IOB will have five members selected by the President from the members of the PIAB. Current members of the old entities will continue as members of the new entities.

The new PIAB shall "assess the quality, quantity, and adequacy of intelligence collection, of analysis and estimates, and of counterintelligence and other intelligence activities, assess the adequacy of management, personnel and organization in the intelligence community, and review the performance of all agencies of the Federal Government that are engaged in the collection, evaluation, or production of intelligence or the execution of intelligence policy and report the results of such assessments or reviews ..."

The just signed executive order does not reference either "privacy" or "civil liberties". Nor does it not reference the Constitution, except to state that the authority for this executive order is "the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America".

However, it does provide that the IOB "shall ... inform the President of intelligence activities that the IOB believes ... may be unlawful ... and ... are not being adequately addressed by the Attorney General, the DNI, or the head of the department concerned ..."

The 1981 order does provide that surveillance and search "procedures shall protect constitutional and other legal rights", and enumerated specific limitations. The just signed order does not state that it revokes the 1981 order.

However, it does revoke Executive Order 12863, signed by former President Bill Clinton on September 13, 1993, which also pertains to these intelligence, surveillance and search oversight bodies.

2/28. The U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir) issued its opinion in USA v. Barsumyan, overturning a criminal sentencing provision banning use of computers.

Aram Barsumyan was prosecuted for, plead guilty to, and sentenced for, illegal possession of device making equipment in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1029(a)(4), in connection with his production for forged credit cards. He appealed his sentence, which included a ban on accessing or using "any computer or computer-related devices in any manner".

As part of his scheme, he provided a scanning device to a woman (a federal undercover agent) to scan actual credit cards at a hotel. She later returned the scanner to him with credit card data. He then downloaded the data to a computer.

The Court of Appeals upheld his jail time (only 21 months) but vacated the computer use condition. It wrote that "one can only speculate as to the outer limits of this proscription -- cellular phones? ATMs? Driving a modern car? Checking out groceries using a bar code scanner?" It concluded that the condition is "sweeping and inappropriate".

This case is U.S.A. v. Aram Barsumyan, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, App. Ct. No. 07-50251, a appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, D.C. No. CR-06-00867-GAF-1, Judge Gary Feess presiding. Judge Milan Smith wrote the opinion of the Court of Appeals, in which Judges Jerome Farris and Russell Holland (DCAK), sitting by designation, joined.

3/5. President Bush nominated Neil Patel to be Assistant Secretary for Communications Information at the Department of Commerce, that is, head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Meredith Baker, the acting head of the NTIA, has announced her departure. The last confirmed head of the NTIA was John Kneuer. Patel is currently Assistant to the Vice President for Domestic and Economic Policy. Previously, he was Assistant General Counsel at UUNET Technologies. See, White House release. See also, statement [PDF] of FCC Chairman Kevin Martin praising Patel

3/3. President Bush announced his intent to appoint Fran Townsend to be a member of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB). See, White House release.

3/5. Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), Chairman of the House Commerce Committee (HCC), and Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), Chairman of the HCC's Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, sent a letter [3 pages in PDF] to Meredith Baker (acting head of the NTIA), Kevin Martin (Chairman of the FCC), and the other FCC Commissioners regarding the funding for the DTV converter box program. The two expressed concern about whether federal funding for the coupon program will be sufficient to pay for all coupon requests. They requested that "on the dates of March 31, September 30, and December 31 of this year, you inform us in writing regarding whether you anticipate that additional funds will be needed for the TV converter box program in order to accommodate coupon requests from any eligible household".

2/29. President Bush signed into law HR 5264 [LOC | WW], the "Andean Trade Preference Extension Act of 2008". See, White House release.

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The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. It will consider HR 2857 [LOC | WW], the "Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act". See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for March 6.

The Senate will meet at 9:30 AM. It will resume consideration of S 2663 [LOC | WW], the "Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act".

Day one of a three day conference hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and others titled "7th Symposium on Identity and Trust on the Internet" or "IDtrust 2008". See, notice. The basic price to attend is $110. Location: NIST, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property (SCIIP) will meet to mark up HR 4279 [LOC | WW], the "Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2007". See, HJC notice and story titled "Representatives Introduce PRO IP Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,683, December 5, 2008. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes consideration of several bills, including S 2449 [LOC | WW], the "Sunshine in Litigation Act of 2007", and S 352 [LOC | WW], the "Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2007". The agenda also includes consideration of the nominations of Kevin O'Connor (to be Associate Attorney General) and Gregory Katsas (to be Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Civil Division). The agenda also includes consideration of the nominations of Brian Stacy Miller (to be a Judge of the U.S. District for the Eastern District of Arkansas), James Randal Hall (U.S.D.C., S.D. Georgia), John Mendez (U.S.D.C., E.D. California), and Stanley Thomas Anderson (U.S.D.C., W.D. Tennessee). The SJC rarely follows its published agendas. All of the above listed agenda items have been on prior agendas. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Finance Committee (SFC) will hold a hearing titled "Administration's 2008 Trade Agenda". See, notice. Location: Room 215, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The House Intelligence Committee will hold a closed hearing titled "Intelligence Budget Overview". See, notice. Location: Room H-405, Capitol Building.

1:30 PM. The House Appropriations Committee's (HAC) Select Intelligence Oversight Panel will hold a hearing titled "National Intelligence Program Budget". Location: Room H-140, Capitol Building.

2:00 - 6:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Privacy and Data Security Committee will host an event titled "3rd Annual ABA/FCBA Privacy & Data Security for Communications and Media Companies". For more information contact Jenell Trigg at 202-416-1090 or strigg at lsl-law dot com. See, registration form [PDF]. Location: Hogan & Hartson, 555 13th St., NW.

The House will not meet.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Cable Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "FCC's Program Bundling NPRM". The speakers will be Bradley Gillen (EchoStar), Jeffrey Eisenach (Criterion Economics), and Bill LeBeau (NBC Universal). Location: Arnold & Porter, Room 213, 555 12th St., NW.

Deadline for states to submit applications to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for grants related to the implementation of the identification systems mandates of the REAL ID Act. See, DHS release and story titled "DHS Announces Minimal REAL ID Act Grants" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,708, January 31, 2007.

Deadline to submit comments to the President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) regarding matters discussed at its February 28, 2008, meeting by teleconference (the NSTAC's Global Positioning Systems report, the results of the NSTAC's investigation of the global network infrastructure environment, and the NSTAC's Network Security Scoping Group). See, notice in the Federal Register, February 4, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 23, at Pages 6521-6522.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding pole attachments and 47 U.S.C. § 224. The FCC adopted this NPRM on October 31, 2007, and released the text [40 pages in PDF] on November 20, 2007. This NPRM is FCC 07-187 in WC Docket No. 07-245. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 6, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 25, at Pages 6879-6888, and story titled "FCC Sets Comments Deadlines for Pole Attachments NPRM" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,714, February 8, 2008.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in its proceeding titled "In the Matter of Petition to Establish Procedural Requirements to Govern Proceedings for Forbearance Under Section 10 of the Communications Act of 1934, as Amended". The FCC adopted this NPRM on November 27, 2007, and released the text [25 pages in PDF] on November 30, 2007. This item is FCC 07-202 in WC Docket No. 07-267. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 6, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 25, at Pages 6888-6895, and story titled "FCC Sets Comments Deadlines for Forbearance NPRM" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,714, February 8, 2008.

Daylight savings time begins.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Wireline Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "A Practitioner’s Guide to the ``Other´´ Broadband Policy Makers: A View From the FTC and NTIA". The speakers will be Milton Brown (NTIA) and Lisa Hone (FTC). Location: Wilkinson Barker & Knauer, Suite 700, 2300 N St., NW.

9:00 AM - 2:00 PM. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will host an event titled "Health Information Technology: Increasing Transparency and Enhancing Quality and Value in America's Health Care". Prices vary. Breakfast and lunch will be served. See, notice. Location: Chamber, 1615 H St., NW.

9:30 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet will hold a hearing titled "The Role of Private Equity in the Communications Marketplace". The hearing will be webcast by the HCC. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee's (SCC) Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Innovation will hold a hearing titled "The FY 2009 Budget Proposal to Support U.S. Basic Research". The witnesses will be John Marburger (Director of the Executive Office of the President 's Office of Science and Technology Policy), Arden Bement (Director of the National Science Foundation), James Turner (acting Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology). See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Mass Media Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Localism Requirements and Proposals: Déjà vu all over again?". The speakers will be Bill Freedman and Holly Saurer of the FCC's Media Bureau. Location: Holland & Knight, 2099 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

1:00 - 6:00 PM. The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board's (ATBCB) Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee (TEITAC) will meet by conference call. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 24, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 16, at Page 4132.

2:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Antitrust Task Force will hold a hearing titled "Net Neutrality and Free Speech on the Internet". See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The Department of State's (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will hold one of a series of meetings to discuss the U.S. positions for the March and April 2008 meeting of the ITU-T Study Group 3 and related issues of the international telecommunication regulations. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 4, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 23, at Page 6547. Location?

4:00 PM. Deadline to submit prospective applications to the Department of Labor's (DOL) Employment and Training Administration (ETA) regarding its Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Opportunities in the Workforce System Initiative. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 15, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 10, at Pages 2529-2543.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) State and Local Practice Committee will host an event titled "State Implementation and Merger Conditions". This event qualifies for continuing legal education (CLE) credits. Location: Bingham McCutchen, 2020 K St., NW.

Day one of a three day conference hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Federal Information Systems Security Educators' Association (FISSEA) titled "FISSEA Annual Conference". See, notice. The basic price to attend is $205. Registrations are due by February 25, 2008. Location: NIST, Red Auditorium, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.

10:00 - 11:30 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "ITIF Forum on Network Management". The speakers will be Rob Atkinson (ITIF), Richard Bennett, and Brett Glass (owner of an ISP in Wyoming ISP). This event will also be webcast. It will also be telecast, listen only; to participate, call 724-444-7444; the ID number is 13397. See also, notice and registration page. Location: ITIF, Suite 200, 1250 I St., NW.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host a brown bag lunch titled "Understanding Technical Issues Involved in the DTV Transition". The speakers will be Bill Check (NCTA), Rich Klein (WNYT-TV, Albany, New York), Stacy Fuller (Directv). Location: Willkie Farr & Gallagher, Suite 200, 1875 K St., NW.

Day two of a three day conference hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Federal Information Systems Security Educators' Association (FISSEA) titled "FISSEA Annual Conference". See, notice. The basic price to attend is $205. Registrations are due by February 25, 2008. Location: NIST, Red Auditorium, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.

8:30 AM - 4:30 PM. The Department of Transportation's (DOT) Intelligent Transportation Systems Program Advisory Committee will hold a meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 12, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 29, at Page 8102. Location: Oklahoma Conference Room, West Building, DOT, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE.

9:30 AM. The House Commerce Committee (HCC) will hold a hearing titled "Department of Commerce Budget for Fiscal Year 2009". The hearing will be webcast by the HCC. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Star Wireless v. FCC, App. Ct. No. 07-1190. Judges Henderson, Rogers and Brown will preside. Location: Location: 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Diversity and Mass Media Committees will host a brown bag lunch titled "Modification of the newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership rule". The speakers will be Anne Swanson (Dow Lohnes), John Sturm (Newspaper Association of America), Frank Montero (National Association of Minority Media Executives), Angela Campbell (Institute of Public Representation), Jane Mago (National Association of Broadcasters), and Joe Torres (Free Press). For more information, contact Parul Desai at pdesai at mediaaccess dot org. Location: Georgetown University Law Center, Hotung International Building, Room 2000, 600 New Jersey Ave., NW.

Day three of a three day conference hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Federal Information Systems Security Educators' Association (FISSEA) titled "FISSEA Annual Conference". See, notice. The basic price to attend is $205. Registrations are due by February 25, 2008. Location: NIST, Red Auditorium, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.