4/17. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) spoke at a lunch hosted by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) regarding the research and development tax credit, and promoting research and competitiveness generally.

On October 19, 2007, Sen. Hatch (at right) and others introduced S 2209 [LOC | WW], the "Research Credit Improvement Act of 2007". The Congress first enacted an R&D tax credit in 1981. However, it has always done so on a temporary basis. Sen. Hatch has long been an advocate of the credit, and making it permanent.

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO), and Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) are among the cosponsors of the bill.

The last extension of the R&D credit expired at the end of 2007. The Congress has allowed the credit to expire in the past, but has then always retroactively extended it.

Sen. Hatch said that "we are probably looking at a two year extension". He added that it may be included as part of another bill, such as a bill of Sen. Baucus and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) to deal with other tax issues, or the agriculture bill.

He also said that the Congress acts like it assumes that the business community expects retroactive extensions. He said that "we are in a thought rut".

John Engler, head of the NAM, also spoke at the lunch. He noted that "Sarbanes Oxley will not let you speculate about a tax credit that is not in the law", so companies have had to remove reference to anticipated R&D credits in financial statements.

Dan Larson of Texas Instruments (TI) also spoke. He said that the R&D tax credit keeps semiconductor industry jobs in the U.S. and creates new jobs. He added that while only 13% of TI's sales are in the U.S., 61% of its plant is in the U.S. He also said that TI spends $2.5 Billion per year on research and development.

On some technology related issues there is only weak correlation between support for an initiative and party affiliation. Some of the major technology initiatives have had bipartisan leaders. For example, in the 1990s Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) teamed up to defend encryption rights, while former Rep. Chris Cox (R-CA) and former Rep. Ron Wyden (D-OR) jointly promoted the original Internet Tax Freedom Act. The just introduced Cell Tax Fairness Act is sponsored by Rep. Lofgren and Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT). See, story titled "Reps. Lofgren and Cannon Introduce Cell Tax Fairness Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,748, April 16, 2008. Sen. Hatch's bill, S 2209 has bipartisan support.

Some initiatives to promote technology, such as free trade agreements and more H1B visas, have drawn more support from Republicans. Nevertheless, legislators of both parties have worked together.

In contrast, Sen. Hatch's presentation to the NAM was partisan and confrontational. He not only argued the merits of the R&D tax credit; he argued that the problem in obtaining an extension is Democrats. He went on to argue that future Democratic legislation on other will threaten U.S. businesses and U.S. competitiveness.

He said that there is "going to be a partisan showdown" over the R&D credit.

He continued that the R&D tax credit gets "shabby treatment" because the Senate has an "idiotic budget process". He said that the Democrats' "paygo" process means only raising taxes, but not reducing spending.

He added that the R&D tax credit faces a "timing" problem, because the Congress must also address the alternative minimum tax (AMT) patch problem. He elaborated that since the AMT patch will reduce tax collections, and Democrats will not reduce spending, there have to be tax increases, such as through letting the R&D tax credit expire.

Sen. Hatch praised Sen. Charles Schumer's (D-NY) fundraising prowess as Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Sen. Hatch also noted that some of the companies represented in the luncheon audience were responding to Sen. Schumer's (at right) requests for contributions. He said that these companies "are sowing the seeds of their own destruction".

He began his presentation by emphasizing the importance of not "breaking ranks".

Sen. Hatch also said, with respect to the 2008 elections, "the question is will the Senate continue to be the firewall against the heinous bills that the Democrats bring up".

He said that "the betting is that the Republicans are going to loose a few Senators at minimum". He said Sen. Schumer is predicting a Democratic gain of nine Senators. Sen. Hatch said that for Senate Republicans in 2008, winning means not loosing more than two or three seats. The key number, he said, is sixty. If Democrats control sixty seats, then they can defeat filibusters.

Sen. Hatch also spoke broadly about research and U.S. competitiveness.

He said that "other nations are trying to entice research from our shores", and cited the example of Ireland, which has both a lower corporate tax rate, and an R&D tax credit. He continued that "once research leaves, it is very hard to get it back".

Engler said that Ireland "makes tax policy a selling point" and that "research and development incentives are a very big part of that".

The NAM also distributed a memorandum at the event titled "International R&D Tax Incentives". It argues that now even France has a better R&D tax incentive policy than the U.S.

Sen. Hatch also said that the H1B visa issue is related. He explained that the U.S. educates foreigners at U.S. universities all the way through to Ph.D.s, only to then "force them to leave" the U.S.

"We do a lot of things that are really stupid", said Sen. Hatch.

Sen. Hatch also warned that Democrats will be pushing legislation demanded by organized labor in the next Congress.

Sen. Hatch also discussed energy policy at length.

He did not discuss S 1145 [LOC | WW], the "Patent Reform Act of 2007". Companies represented in the luncheon audience have taken different positions on this bill. Nor did he discuss any copyright related bills or issues.

4/17. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report [24 pages in PDF] titled "Internal Revenue Service: Assessment of the Fiscal Year 2009 Budget Request" that summarizes, explains, and comments upon the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2009.

The proposal would increase spending on enforcement, but greatly decrease spending on business systems, which include information technology (IT), e-filing, data security, and human IT resources. Two Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) reports released earlier this month summarize IT security weaknesses and identity theft problems at the IRS, and recommend that the IRS do more to address these problems.

The Bush administration proposed a 4.3% increase in the IRS budget for FY 2009. The proposal includes a 7% increase in enforcement spending. In contrast, it contains a 16.6% decrease in funding for the IRS's Business Systems Modernization (BSM) programs.

Funding for the IRS's Modernized e-File (MeF) program would decrease from $55.8 Million in FY 2008 to a proposed $25 Million in FY 2009. The GAO report finds that the MeF "is the project with the largest difference between the requested budget and the FY 2008 enacted amount."

The GAO report notes that "efforts to address human capital challenges continue, but more work remains".

The GAO report does not address funding to deal with the IRS's data security weaknesses. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) released a report titled "Inadequate Security Controls Over Routers and Switches Jeopardize Sensitive Taxpayer Information", and dated March 26, 2008.

This TIGTA report states that "Because the IRS sends sensitive taxpayer and administrative information across its networks, routers on the networks must have sufficient security controls to deter and detect unauthorized use. Access controls for IRS routers were not adequate, and reviews to monitor security configuration changes were not conducted to identify inappropriate use. A disgruntled employee, contractor or a hacker could reconfigure routers and switches to disrupt computer operations and steal taxpayer information in a number of ways, including diverting information to unauthorized systems."

The TIGTA released a second report titled "Outreach Has Improved, but More Action Is Needed to Effectively Address Employment-Related and Tax Fraud Identity Theft", and dated March 25, 2006. It states that "The IRS has not placed sufficient emphasis on employment-related and tax fraud identity theft strategies. Specifically, its prevention strategy does not include pursuing individuals using another person’s identity, unless their cases directly relate to a substantive tax or conspiracy violation. IRS policy is that the actual crime of identity theft will only be investigated by the Criminal Investigation Division if it is committed in conjunction with other criminal offenses having a large tax effect."

This TIGTA report adds that 'The IRS officials informed us ... the IRS does not have sufficient enforcement resources to address most of these cases."

The TIGTA stated in an April 9 release that "The IRS needs to do more to combat the growing problem of employment-related and tax-fraud identity theft".

In contrast, the IRS's budget proposal suggests that the IRS intends to do less.

The GAO report lists some of the major IRS BSM projects. "Key tax administration projects include CADE, which is intended to provide the modernized database foundation to replace the existing Individual Master File processing system that contains the repository of individual taxpayer information; AMS, which is intended to enhance CADE by providing applications for IRS employees and taxpayers to access, validate, and update accounts on demand; and MeF, which is to provide a single standard for filing electronic tax returns."

The proposed IRS budget contains almost no increase in funding for taxpayer services. The GAO report finds that "Spending on taxpayer service would increase by less than 1 percent, which would result in reduced staffing, but the level of taxpayer service would be maintained by realizing efficiency gains, in part, through increases in electronic filing."

4/16. The Senate Judiciary Committee's (SJC) Subcommittee on Crime held a hearing titled "Challenges and Solutions for Protecting our Children from Violence and Exploitation in the 21st Century".

See, statement by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chairman of the SJC. See also, prepared testimony of McGregor Scott (U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California), prepared testimony [PDF] of Flint Waters (Office of the Attorney General of the State of Wyoming), prepared testimony of Robert Moses (High Technology Crimes Unit, Delaware State Police), prepared testimony of Randall Hillman (Alabama District Attorneys Association), prepared testimony of Michelle Collins (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children), and prepared testimony of Grier Weeks (National Association to Protect Children).

Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) introduced S 1738 [LOC | WW], the "Combating Child Exploitation Act of 2007" on June 28, 2007.

Sen. Leahy wrote that "I hope that this legislation will provide another chance for the Judiciary Committee to show that, by working together and incorporating new technology, we can make important strides to protect America's children from exploitation."

This bill provides that "There is established within the Office of Justice Programs in the Department of Justice, under the general authority of the Attorney General, an Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force".

This bill also provides that "The Attorney shall establish additional computer forensic capacity to address the current backlog for computer forensics, including for child exploitation investigations", and authorizes appropriations.

This bill also amends 18 U.S.C. § 2516 regarding "Authorization for interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications". Section 2516 already contains a huge list of offenses that may serve as a predicate offense for the issuance of a wiretap order by a federal judge at the request of the Department of Justice (DOJ). This statutory list contains numerous federal crimes relating to sex and pornography.

S 1738 would add to the list of predicate offenses for the issuance of a wiretap order by state court judges to state prosecutors. It would add "crimes against children, including child exploitation, child obscenity, or other crimes dangerous to the life, limb, and well-being of minor children".

McGregor Scott, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, offered a bleak and sinister description of the internet in his testimony. He wrote that "the Internet and other communications technologies are increasingly used by sexual predators and abusers as tools for exploiting and victimizing our children. These technologies have contributed to a significant increase in the proliferation and severity of child pornography."

As the Internet and related technologies have grown, children have become increasingly at risk of being" solicited online. He said that "Law enforcement is uncovering an escalating number of enticement cases, where perpetrators contact children through the Internet or other technologies and arrange to meet ..."

"The Internet", wrote Scott, "has become a tool for evil in the hands of those who seek to exploit and abuse our children."

4/17. The U.S. District Court (DC) issued an memorandum opinion [18 pages in PDF] in Breakman v. AOL, remanding the case back to the Superior Court for the District of Columbia.

Paul Breakman filed a complaint in the Superior Court alleging unlawful trade practices in violation of the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Procedures Act by failing to disclose material facts regarding pricing plans. He brought the action on behalf of similarly situated consumers.

AOL removed the action to the federal court, asserting the removal of class actions provision of the federal Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA), as well as diversity of citizenship.

The District Court remanded the case back to the Superior Court. It reasoned that since the DC Act authorizes a private attorney general suit, and this is distinct from a class action within the meaning of the CAFA, federal jurisdiction cannot rest on the CAFA. It also concluded that since the most that a consumer can recover under the DC Act is $1,628.63, the minimum amount in controversy threshold for diversity jurisdiction ($75,000) is not met.

This case is Paul Breakman v. AOL LLC, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, D.C. No. 08-246 (JDB), Judge Paul Bates presiding.

4/10. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee's (HOGRC) Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs held a hearing titled "Investigation into the Sale of Sensitive, In-Demand Military Equipment and Supplies on the Internet".

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) submitted a report [35 pages in PDF] titled "Internet Sales: Undercover Purchases on eBay and Craigslist Reveal a Market for Sensitive and Stolen U.S. Military Items".

The GAO wrote that "We found numerous defense-related items for sale to the highest bidder on eBay and Craigslist from January 2007 through March 2008. A review of eBay and Craigslist policies and procedures determined that, although these Web sites have taken steps to regulate their user communities and define items that are prohibited from sale, there are few safeguards to prevent sensitive and stolen defense-related items from being sold to either domestic or foreign users of these sites."

In addition, the report finds that "Many of these items were stolen from the U.S. military."

The report also notes that its previous GAO reports have found that "our undercover investigators purchased items from the Government Liquidation Web site that should not have been sold to the public", including "digital microcircuits used in F-14 fighter aircraft".

The report identifies some of the sensitive defense items sold through eBay or Craigslist: "Two F-14 components", "Night vision goggles, a uniform "that could be used by a terrorist to pose as a U.S. service member", and body armor.

Craigslist's CEO, Jim Buckmaster, wrote in his prepared testimony [PDF] that the "nature of its 450 distinct local marketplaces discourages the use of craigslist by people who are interested in acquiring military equipment for export outside of the United States."

He stated that "an advertisement can be posted in only one of craigslist's 450 cities. There is no function permitting an advertisement to be posted throughout craigslist. In fact, posting the same advertisement to multiple cities or areas violates craigslist's terms of use, and we have implemented technical measures to prevent cross-posting to multiple areas. Similarly the search feature within craigslist is restricted to searching one city site".

eBay's Tod Cohen wrote in his prepared testimony [4 pages in PDF] about how eBay works with the Department of Defense to flag and remove listings of potentially illegal military items, and with law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute illegal activities.

See also, opening statement of Rep. John Tierney (D-MA), Chairman of the Subcommittee, and HOGRC's web page with hyperlinks to prepared testimony of other witnesses.

The House will next meet at 12:30 AM on April 22, 2008.

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

12:30 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Engineering and Technical Practice Committee will host an event titled "Tour of T-Mobile Wireless Switch Office". See, registration form [PDF]. This event is free. Registration required; limit of 15. Location: T-Mobile wireless switching office, 12050 Baltimore Ave., Beltsville, MD.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) applications for a grant for the Pan-Pacific Education and Communications Experiments by Satellite (PEACESAT) Program. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 19, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 54, at Pages 14777-14780.

5:00 PM. Extended deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding SP 800-73-2, Part 1 [40 pages in PDF] titled "Interfaces for Personal Identity Verification -- Part 1: End-Point PIV Card Application Namespace, Data Model, and Representation", SP 800-73-2, Part 2 [28 pages in PDF] titled "Interfaces for Personal Identity Verification -- Part 2: End-Point PIV Card Application Card Command Interface", SP 800-73-2, Part 3 [19 pages in PDF] titled "Interfaces for Personal Identity Verification -- Part 3: End-Point PIV Client Application Programming Interface", and SP 800-73-2, Part 4 [16 pages in PDF] titled "Interfaces for Personal Identity Verification -- Part 4: The PIV Transitional Interface and Data Model Specification".

Deadline to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) regarding the OUSTR's complaint to the World Trade Organization (WTO) regarding the People's Republic of China's (PRC) WTO restrictions on financial information services and financial information suppliers. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 24, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 57, at Pages 15544-15545.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding competitive bidding procedures for its Auction 78, the AWS-1 and Broadband PCS auction, which is scheduled to commence on July 29, 2008. See, DA 08-767 and notice in the Federal Register, April 16, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 74, at Pages 20664-20672.

Passover begins at sundown.

The House will not meet.

Day one of a three day conference hosted by the Wireless Communications Association International (WCAI) titled "WCAI 2008: Capitalizing on the 4G/WiMax Eco-System". Location: Grand Hyatt Hotel, 1000 H St., NW.

TIME? Day one of a two day invitation only conference hosted by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) titled "BSA High-Tech General Counsel Forum". See, notice. Location?

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding interference protection rights for LPFM stations. The FCC adopted this item on November 27, 2007, and released the text on December 11, 2007. It is FCC 07-204 in MB Docket No. 99-25. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 6, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 45, at Pages 12061-12065, and Public Notice [PDF] (DA 08-531).

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding expanding the local number portability (LNP) requirements and numbering related rules, including compliance with N11 code assignments, to interconnected voice over internet protocol (VOIP) providers. The FCC adopted this NPRM on October 31, 2007, and released the text on November 8, 2007. See, story titled "FCC Extends LNP Requirements to Interconnected VOIP" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,668, November 2, 2007. This NPRM is FCC 07-188 in WC Docket Nos. 07-243 and 07-244. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 21, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 35, at Pages 9507-9515.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking regarding its Technology Innovation Program (TIP). See, notice in the Federal Register, March 7, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 46, at Pages 12305-12312.

The House will meet at 12:30 PM.

8:30 - 10:00 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), Brookings Institute and Council on Competitiveness will host an event to release and review a paper "Boosting Productivity, Innovation, and Growth Through a National Innovation Foundation" and a second paper titled "Clusters for Competitiveness: A New Federal Role for Stimulating Regional Economies". RSVP to Kathleen Kruczlnicki at 202-797-6319 or kkruczlnicki at brookings dot edu. See, notice. A light breakfast will be served at 8:00 AM. Location: National Press Club, 529 14th St.,  NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "The Future of the Internet". See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

Day two of a three day conference hosted by the Wireless Communications Association International (WCAI) titled "WCAI 2008: Capitalizing on the 4G/WiMax Eco-System" . Location: Grand Hyatt Hotel, 1000 H St., NW.

TIME? Day two of a two day invitation only conference hosted by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) titled "BSA High-Tech General Counsel Forum". See, notice. Location?

9:00 AM. Day one of a two day partially closed meeting of the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Information Systems Technical Advisory Committee. The agenda for April 23, 2008, includes "Atomic Layer Deposition and Cluster Tools" (ALD) and "Equipment Performing Analog-to-Digital Conversions". See, notice in the Federal Register, April 8, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 68, at Pages 19049-19050. This notice does define or explain "Atomic Layer Deposition" (ALD). It is a chemical process for creating thin layers of film, as thin as one atom, on, among other things, semiconductors. Nor does the notice discuss uses of ALD by Intel, AMD, or other semiconductor manufacturers. See, Intel paper that references ALD. Location: Room 3884, DOC, 14th St. between Constitution and Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

RESCHEDULED FROM APRIL 16. 10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "National Security Letters: The Need for Greater Accountability and Oversight". The witnesses will be James Baker (former Counsel for Intelligence Policy, Department of Justice), Gregory Nojeim (Center for Democracy and Technology), and Michael Woods (former Chief, National Security Law Unit, Office of the General Counsel, FBI). Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

12:00 NOON. The Cato Institute will host a book event. The speakers will be Eric Lichtblau, author of Bush’s Law: The Remaking of American Justice [Amazon], and Timothy Lynch (Cato). On December 16, 2005, the New York Times published a story by James Risen and Lichtblau titled "Bush Lets U.S. Spy on Callers Without Courts", which disclosed a federal surveillance operation involving warrantless intercepts. See also, story titled "Bush, Gonzales & Hayden Discuss Presidential Intercepts and PATRIOT Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,276, December 20, 2005. Lunch will be served after the program. And see, NYT's listing of articles by Lichtblau. See, notice and registration page. This event will be webcast by Cato. Location: Cato, 1000 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

DATE AND TIME CHANGE. 2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "Phantom Traffic". The SCC notice states that this hearing "will examine concerns regarding traffic over telephone networks that is sent without identifying information used for intercarrier billing purposes". Location Room 253, Russell Building.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) HLS/Emergency Communications and Privacy and Data Security Committees will host an event titled "Issues Arising When Privacy and National Security Concerns Collide". The event qualifies for continuing legal education (CLE) credits. Prices vary. See, notice and registration page. Registrations and cancellations are due by 5:00 PM on April 21. Location: Wilmer Hale, 1875 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

Day three of a three day conference hosted by the Wireless Communications Association International (WCAI) titled "WCAI 2008: Capitalizing on the 4G/WiMax Eco-System". Location: Grand Hyatt Hotel, 1000 H St., NW.

9:00 AM - 2:00 PM. The Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) will host an event titled "IPI's Third Annual World Intellectual Property Day Event". The first panel is titled "Digital Technologies: Emerging Challenges, Evolving Strategies"; the speakers will be Solveig Singleton (IPI), Mitch Bainwol (RIAA), Dan Glickman (MPAA), and Steve Largent (CTIA). The second panel is titled "Social and Economic Benefits of IP: Who Wins? Who Loses?"; the speakers will be Susan Finston (IPI), Lien Verbauwhede Koglin (WIPO), Michael Gollin (Venable law firm), and Mohit Mehrotra (Excel Life Sciences). The third panel is titled "The Intellectual Property Marketplace: The Role of IP Valuation and Tech Transfer"; the speakers will be Bartlett Cleland (IPI), Usha Balakrishnan (Collaborative Social Responsibility Solutions), Abha Divine (Techquity), and Robert Cresanti (Ocean Tomo). The fourth panel is titled "Combating (Dangerous) Counterfeits: How Countries are Policing their Borders"; the speakers will be Chris Israel (IPI), Mike DuBose (Chief, Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section, Department of Justice), Nick Smith (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), and Dave Walters (Cisco). This event is free. Lunch will be provided. RSVP to Erin Humiston at 972-874-5139 or erin at ipi dot org. Location: 5th floor, Reserve Officer Association, 1 Constitution Ave., NE.

9:00 AM. Day two of a two day partially closed meeting of the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Information Systems Technical Advisory Committee. The April 24, 2008, meeting is closed, and its agenda is undisclosed. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 8, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 68, at Pages 19049-19050. Location: Room 3884, DOC, 14th St. between Constitution and Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold an executive session. See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes consideration of S 2533 [LOC | WW], the "State Secrets Protection Act". The agenda also includes consideration of three judicial nominees: Mark Davis (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia), David Kays (U.S.D.C., Western District of Missouri), and Stephen Limbaugh, (U.S.D.C., Eastern District of Missouri). The SJC rarely follows its published agendas. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Department of State's (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet by conference call to prepare advice on submission of contributions to ITU-T SG16. (This is the International Telecommunication Union's Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) Technical Study Group Sixteen (Multimedia terminals, systems and applications).) See, notice in the Federal Register, February 28, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 40, at Page 10854. To participate, call 1-210-839-8500 or 1-888-455-9640. The passcode is 52902.

12:00 NOON - 6:30 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Engineering Advisory Committee. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 2, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 64, at Page 18007. Location: NSF, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1235, Arlington, VA.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The National Economists Club will host a lunch titled "Strings Attached? The Economics and Politics of Sovereign Wealth Funds". The speaker will be Tim Adams (Lindsey Group, and former Under Secretary of Treasury for International Affairs). Location: Chinatown Garden Restaurant, 2nd floor, 618 H St.,  NW.

2:00 PM. The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs's (SHSGA) Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management will hold a hearing titled "Beyond Control: Reforming Export Licensing Agencies for National Security and Economic Interests". See, notice. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee's (SCC) Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Innovation will hold a hearing titled "National Nanotechnology Initiative: Charting the Course for Reauthorization". See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

TIME?. The Department of State's (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet. The agenda may include advice for the U.S. government on the ITU World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly 2008 (WTSA 08), meetings of the Telecommunication Sector Advisory Group (TSAG), and group meetings on the International Telecommunication Regulations, cybersecurity, and other subjects. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 28, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 40, at Page 10854. Location?

Deadline to submit nominations for two positions on the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Universal Service Administrative Company's (USAC) Board of Directors. See, FCC notice.

8:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. Day two of a two day meeting of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Engineering Advisory Committee. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 2, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 64, at Page 18007. Location: NSF, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1235, Arlington, VA.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) regarding a broadcast television substitution in Riverside, California. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 11, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 48, at Pages 12928-12929.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding competitive bidding procedures for its Auction 78, the AWS-1 and Broadband PCS auction, which is scheduled to commence on July 29, 2008. See, DA 08-767 and notice in the Federal Register, April 16, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 74, at Pages 20664-20672.

4/17. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released a report [28 pages in PDF] titled "1710-1755 MHz Spectrum Band Relocation: First Annual Progress Report". The report provides table summaries, by departments and systems, of the first year of relocation activity. The Congress provided for relocation of government users of spectrum in the 1710-1755 MHz band in the Commercial Spectrum Enhancement Act (CSEA). It was enacted as part of HR 5419 (108th Congress). It is Title II of Public Law No. 108-494. See, story titled "Congress Approves Telecom Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,035, December 10, 2004. In September of 2006, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) concluded its Auction No. 66, the AWS-1 auction of this spectrum. See, story titled "FCC Completes First Advanced Wireless Services Spectrum Auction" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,454, September 21, 2006.

4/15. The U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir) issued its opinion [20 pages in PDF] in Warner Brothers v. Golden Channels, a contract dispute between a U.S. licensor of television programming and an Israeli cable television company. The District Court entered judgment for Warner Brothers (WB), and awarded damages of $19,315,960 for past amounts due and future benefit of the bargain damages for future sales. The District Court reversed and remanded on the issue of damages. WB is entitled to "whatever was due for the performance it had rendered through December 9, 2002", when WB notified Golden that it was terminating the contract. The opinion contains a lengthy discussion of the contract, relevant cable TV program licensing terms, and negotiations, as well as competition between cable and satellite television. This case is Warner Brothers International Television Distribution v. Golden Channels & Co., U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, App. Ct. Nos. No. 05-55374 and No. 05-55421, appeals from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Judge Margaret Morrow presiding, D.C. No. CV-02-09326-MMM. Judge Andrew Kleinfeld wrote the opinion of the Court of Appeals, in which Judges John Noonan and Richard Paez joined.

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