12/9. Distributed denial of service (DDS) attacks on December 8, 2010, targeted public web sites operated by MasterCard, Visa, PayPal, Amazon, and others. The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times (story), and other new media have reported that the attacks are motivated by revenge for the companies' disassociation from WikiLeaks.

MasterCard stated in a release that it "has made significant progress in restoring full-service to its corporate website. Our core processing capabilities have not been compromised and cardholder account data has not been placed at risk. While we have seen limited interruption in some web-based services, cardholders can continue to use their cards for secure transactions globally."

While the effects of these DDS attacks have mainly been nuisance and publicity, proponents of cyber security legislation seized upon these attacks to call for legislation.

For example, Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), a cosponsor of S 3480 [LOC | WW], the "Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act", stated in a release that "Today's events, once again, underscore the necessity for more robust cybersecurity efforts in the United States."

Sen. Carper (at right) continued that "Time and time again, hackers have demonstrated their ruthless yet effective techniques to attack critical cyber networks, and today they used those sophisticated techniques to bring down two financial giants in MasterCard and Visa. Whether it's cyber crime or cyber terrorism, clearly the United States needs effective leadership from the federal government to successfully combat these kinds of attacks and mitigate the damage."

Sen. Carper also stated that S 3480 "encourages the government and the private sector to work together to address this growing threat and provides the tools and resources for America to be successful in this critical effort."

The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee (SHSGAC) approved S 3480 on June 24, 2010. However, the full Senate has not passed it. The lead sponsor is Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT). There are two cosponsors: Sen. Carper and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME).

The companion bill in the House is HR 5548 [LOC | WW], sponsored by Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA). Its one cosponsor is Rep. Peter King (R-NY), who was selected this week by House Republicans to be Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee (HHSC) in the 112th Congress.

HR 5548 has been referred not only to the HHSC, but also to five other committees (Judiciary, Intelligence, Oversight, Armed Services, and Education and Labor), and numerous subcommittees. None have taken any action on the bill.

While several Senators, Representatives and technology groups list comprehensive cyber security legislation as a major priority, the 111th Congress is about to conclude without enacting a cyber security bill.

The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) marked up S 773 [LOC | WW], the "Cybersecurity Act of 2009", on March 24, 2010. However, the full Senate has not passed that bill. See, stories titled "Senate Commerce Committee Amends Cybersecurity Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,064, March 25, 2010, and "Senate Commerce Committee to Mark Up Revised Cyber Security Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,064, March 20, 2010.

The Congress did enact HR 2701 [LOC | WW], the "Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010", a huge bill which also creates a Cybersecurity Task Force. See, story titled Congress Enacts Cyber Security Measures" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,137, October 1, 2010.

The Department of Commerce (DOC) issued a Notice of Inquiry on cyber security in July. See, story titled "Department of Commerce Issues Cyber Security Notice of Inquiry" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,113, July 28, 2010.

12/2. Sen. John Ensign (R-NV), Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT), and Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) introduced S 4004 [LOC | WW], the "Securing Human Intelligence and Enforcing Lawful Dissemination Act" or "SHIELD Act".

The three issued a release in which Sen. Lieberman stated that this bill will "help derail the very real threat posed to human intelligence sources by WikiLeaks". He added that "This legislation will help hold people criminally accountable who endanger these sources of information that are vital to protecting our national security interests."

However, the bill, if enacted, would reach more than WikiLeaks. Moreover, it bears some attributes of a hastily written first draft. See, related story in this issue titled "Commentary: Expansion of Espionage Law".

Bill Summary. This bill would amend 18 U.S.C. § 798, regarding "Disclosure of classified information". This section is also sometimes referred to as the Espionage Act, or a section of the Espionage Act. This section criminalizes the disclosure of certain "classified information" in "any manner prejudicial to the safety or interest of the United States or for the benefit of any foreign government to the detriment of the United States".

The bill would add to this any "transnational threat", which is defined by the bill as "any transnational activity (including international terrorism, narcotics trafficking, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the delivery systems for such weapons, and organized crime) that threatens the national security of the United States". (Parentheses in original.)

The statute currently criminalizes the disclosure of four enumerated categories of classified information (including information about codes and cryptographic systems, information about communication intelligence activities, communication obtained from communications intelligence).

S 4004 would add two additional categories of classified information. First, it would add information "concerning the human intelligence activities of the United States or any foreign government". The bill defines "human intelligence" as "all procedures and methods employed in the collection of intelligence through human sources".

Neither Section 798 nor S 4004 define "intelligence". Confusingly, "intelligence" is used in two senses: first, information gathered, and second, procedures and methods for gathering information. Also, nothing in Section 798 or the bill associate the word "intelligence" with information gathered by, or information gathering processes of, any enumerated US government agencies.

Second, the bill would add as an additional category of classified information, information "concerning the identity of a classified source or informant of an element of the intelligence community of the United States". Neither Section 798 nor S 4004 define "intelligence community" or enumerate any agencies.

This bill was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC). None of the three original sponsors are members.

WikiLeaks. The sponsors of this bill characterize it as a way to deal with WikiLeaks. Sen. Ensign stated that "Julian Assange and his cronies, in their effort to hinder our war efforts, are creating a hit list for our enemies by publishing the names of our human intelligence sources".

Sen. Ensign (at right) continued that "Our sources are bravely risking their lives when they stand up against the tyranny of al-Qaeda, the Taliban and murderous regimes, and I simply will not stand idly by as they become death targets because of Julian Assange. Let me be very clear, WikiLeaks is not a whistleblower website and Assange is not a journalist."

Sen. Brown stated that "The reckless behavior of WikiLeaks has compromised our national security and threatened the safety of our troops overseas, and this bipartisan legislation gives the Department of Justice a tool to prevent something like this from happening again ... While I strongly support government transparency, certain information must be kept classified in order to protect innocent American lives during this time of war and global terrorism."

12/9. Sen. John Ensign (R-NV), Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT), and Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) introduced S 4004 [LOC | WW], the "Securing Human Intelligence and Enforcing Lawful Dissemination Act" or "SHIELD Act" on December 2, 2010. It would amend 18 U.S.C. § 798 in a manner that might broadly expand espionage law.

See, related story in this issue titled "Senators Introduce Bill to Amend Espionage Act to Reach WikiLeaks and Others".

Section 798 is one part of Chapter 37 of the criminal code. It is a successor to the same espionage statute that has been rewritten and litigated many times over the years. In 1919, parts of the predecessor statute were challenged in Schenck v. US, 249 U.S. 47, the landmark Supreme Court opinion which upheld the statute against a First Amendment challenge, but established the "clear and present danger" standard.

The current Section 798 is limited mainly to cryptographic matters, communications intelligence systems, and protecting the secrecy of the activities of the National Security Agency (NSA). Other sections of Chapter 37 criminalize certain espionage activities directed at "information respecting the national defense", harboring persons who engage in such activities, photographing defense installations, and aerial photography of defense installations.

S 4004 would broaden the reach of the statute.

First, the bill would amend the statute to criminalize disclosing information "concerning the human intelligence activities of the United States or any foreign government" that is in "any manner prejudicial to the safety or interest of the United States or for the benefit of any foreign government or transnational threat to the detriment of the United States".

Sen. Ensign states that a purpose of the bill is to protect "names" of "source" who "become death targets" by WikiLeaks publication. Sen. Lieberman used the phrase, "endanger these sources". However, the bill would reach all "human intelligence activities", which includes "procedures and methods", and names of persons who would not become death targets, or endangered, by disclosure of their names.

This bill contains no language limiting its reach to disclosures that might endanger the lives or safety of sources, or anyone else.

Second, the current statute criminalizes disclosing certain information to foreign governments. The bill would add "transnational activity", which would belatedly update the statute to encompass terrorism not associated with any government.

However, the bill also contains a very broad definition of "transnational" that would reach disclosures to "narcotics trafficking" and "organized crime". Neither Section 798 nor the bill define "organized crime".

These additions would encompasses much activity. Moreover, these are criminal activities not ordinarily subjected to espionage laws. The bill could turn the espionage laws from a tool for protecting defense secrets, into a tool for prosecuting drug traffickers and wide range of other defendants. Disclosure by a defendant of "the identity of a classified source or informant" to "organized crime" could be criminalized.

This bill continues a trend begun with the enactment of the surveillance provisions of Title II of the 2001 USA PATRIOT Act (see, HR 3162, 107th Congress, Public Law 107-56) of blurring the lines between foreign intelligence activities and criminal prosecution activities. Recall for example, Section 218 of the 2001 Act, which amended Section 1804 of Title 50 to provide that "(a) Each application for an order approving electronic surveillance ... shall include ... (7) a certification ... (B) that a significant purpose of the surveillance is to obtain foreign intelligence information". Previously, the standard was "primary purpose". This opened the door for issuance of FISA orders when criminal investigation and prosecution is also a purpose.

On December 16 at 9:30 AM the House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will hold a hearing titled "Espionage Act and the Legal and Constitutional Issues Raised by WikiLeaks". See, notice.

12/8. Jon Baumgarten, an attorney in the Washington DC office of the law firm of Proskauer Rose, spoke at a panel discussion on Capitol Hill on Wednesday morning, December 8, 2010, on copyright issues. He responded to a question about copyright infringement and WikiLeaks publication of diplomatic cables.

He stated that "publications of the U.S. government are not protected by copyright in the U.S.". Hence, the U.S. government as a plaintiff could not prevail in a copyright infringement action in a U.S. court.

However, he added that it is an "open question" as whether U.S. government works are protected abroad by the copyright laws of other nations. "That is largely an unanswered question."

"On the other hand, the works of foreign governments, with some exceptions, are protected by copyright in the U.S."

He did not comment on other potential legal remedies.

Stanford McCoy, the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Intellectual Property, spoke at the same event. He did not assess WikiLeaks' potential liability for infringement. However, he mentioned the disclosure of non-public negotiation drafts of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Act (ACTA) and quipped that the "USTR was a WikiLeaks victim before WikiLeaks was cool".

12/9. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) introduced S 4021 [LOC | WW] | PDF], the "Internet and Cybersecurity Safety Standards Act". This bill would require that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) write a cost benefit analysis regarding the possibility of mandating cyber security standards for individuals, and then requiring that their internet access providers enforce these standards.

Setting and enforcing societal standards is a government function. Nevertheless, the Congress frequently considers proposals to shift enforcement activities to private sector intermediaries, particularly when the internet is involved. For example, existing statutes, and proposals, regarding the regulation internet porn, gambling, and copyright infringement, either place or would place enforcement responsibilities on internet access providers and associated financial intermediaries.

The just introduced bill would impose no new regime. It merely requires the DHS to conduct a study of the possibility of instituting a new regulatory regime.

It would require the DHS to conduct an analysis of "the costs and benefits of requiring providers to develop and enforce minimum Internet and cybersecurity safety standards for users of computers". It would require that the DHS write a report for Congressional committees within one year, and specify whether such standards should be "voluntary or mandatory".

The bill would apply to "Internet service providers, communications service providers, electronic messaging providers, electronic mail providers, and other persons who provide a service or capability to enable computers to connect to the Internet".

The bill would require the DHS to consider what impact such a regime would have on "homeland security, the global economy, innovation, individual liberty, and privacy".

The bill is silent on the question of how a mandatory standards regime would work. The bill has nothing regarding compensating internet access service providers for their efforts.

12/9. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report [39 pages in PDF] titled "Information Security: National Nuclear Security Administration Needs to Improve Contingency Planning for Its Classified Supercomputing Operations".

The report states that the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) "provides classified supercomputing capabilities for assessing the performance of nuclear weapons. In the absence of nuclear weapons testing -- which ceased in 1992 -- the simulation capabilities of NNSA's supercomputers are a necessary means to determine the effects of changes to current weapons systems and to determine a level of confidence in the performance of future untested systems."

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), and Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) requested a study of the NNSA's contingency planning.

The report finds that "Contingency and disaster recovery planning and testing for NNSA's classified supercomputing systems have not been fully implemented at each of the three weapons laboratories -- Los Alamos, Sandia, and Livermore."

Rep. Markey stated in a release that "The work of our nuclear weapons laboratories' supercomputing facilities is essential for our national security -- doing the computer analysis to respond to emergencies, analyzing the intelligence we gather to stop terrorist attacks, and making sure our nuclear bombs operate".

He added that "Just as every student learns to back up computer files for their homework, so the NNSA needs to be prepared to maintain its vital operations even if a fire or a terrorist attack wipes their hard drives. There is nothing super about a supercomputing facility saying that the dog ate its homework. I urge DOE to quickly address the weaknesses identified in this report."

12/9. Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI), Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee (HWMC) for the incoming 112th Congress, and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee (SFC), released a summary of the "final, bipartisan agreement on tax negotiations".

It states that "The agreement extends through 2011 traditional tax ``extenders´´ on both the business side (like the Research & Experimentation tax credit) and the individual side (like the deduction for state and local sales taxes)." (Parentheses in original.)

The House and Senate have put off until next week adoption of legislation to implement any extension of expiring tax provisions.

Sen. Grassley (at right) stated in this summary that "Raising taxes would be the worst thing we could do in this economy."

Tech America (TA) issued a release on December 9 that states that "This package is a strong step toward greater certainty in the midst of a very foggy recovery, and we strongly urge passage. Today's economic climate represents the worst time to raise taxes on anyone, particularly the many American entrepreneurs owning small businesses."

The TA continued that "The extension of the R&D tax credit in this package is nearly a full year overdue and would allow technology companies to commit to new and expanded innovation programs on U.S. shores, which means creating and sustaining hundreds of thousands of well-paying American jobs. That said, a permanent, strengthened incentive remains badly needed if the Unites States is to improve its mediocre standing in the ranks of national R&D incentives offered by global competitors. Allowing businesses to write-off investments next year is a strong, short-term incentive that will bolster the recovery."

However, most of the pubic debate involves tax tax cuts instituted in 2001 and 2003.

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the Democratic Majority Leader, stated on MSNBC's Hardball that "There are a lot of things in the President's package to grow the economy, to encourage people to invest, to give them breaks on investing and buying capital products now rather than later…However, our position was pretty clear and the President’s position was pretty clear that we didn't think that freezing taxes on upper income, which would make the deficit worse, but not grow the economy, was good policy." (Transcription by office of Rep. Hoyer.)

See also, story titled "Congress May Extend R&D Tax Credit" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,172, December 8, 2010.

The House will not meet. It will next meet on Monday, December 13, but only in pro forma session. It will next meet for legislative business on Tuesday, December 14.

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

Supreme Court conference day (discussion of argued cases, and decision on cert petitions). Closed.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Juniper Network Services, Inc. v. SSL Services, Inc., App. Ct. No. 2010-1107, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (NDCal) in a patent case involving the issue of personal jurisdiction. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Alcohol Monitoring Systems, Inc. v. Actsoft, Inc., App. Ct. No. 2010-1250, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (DColo) in a patent case involving the issue of personal jurisdiction. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. Deadline to submit pubic comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) regarding its Special 301 out of cycle review of the Philippines and Thailand. These reviews pertain to identifying countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 12, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 218, at Pages 69519-69520.

5:00 PM. Extended deadline to submit comments to the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Internet Policy Task Force regarding the relationship between the availability and protection of online copyrighted works and innovation in the internet economy. See, original notice in the Federal Register, October 5, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 192, at Pages 61419-61424, and extension notice in the Federal Register, November 26, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 227, at Pages 72790. See also, story titled "Commerce Department Extends Comment Deadline for Online Copyright NOI" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,164, November 24, 2010.

Day one of an eight event sponsored by the SANS Institute titled "SANS Cyber Defense Initiative 2010". See, event web site. On December 10-14, there will be a five day series of courses titled "Law of Data Security and Investigations". The five one day courses will be "Fundamentals of IT Security Law and Policy", "E-Records, E-Discovery and Business Law", "Contracting for Data Security", "The Law of IT Compliance: How to Conduct Investigations", and "Applying Law to Emerging Dangers: Cyber Defense". CLE credits. Location: Marriott Wardman Park, 2660 Woodley Road, NW.

The House will meet in pro forma session.

8:30 AM. Day one of a two day partially closed meeting of the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Emerging Technology and Research Advisory Committee. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 26, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 227, at Pages 72792-72793. Location: Room 3884, DOC, Hoover Building, 14th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues, NW.

9:00 AM. 9:30 AM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council (CSRIC) will meet. See, original notice in the Federal Register, November 30, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 229, at Pages 74050-74051, and supplemental notice in the Federal Register, December 8, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 235, at Pages 76465-76466. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room (Room TW-C305), 445 12th St., SW.

11:00 AM - 2:00 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (SMAC) will meet by teleconference. The call in number is 1-888-769-8761; the passcode is 2684385. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 26, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 227, at Page 72792. The agenda includes discussion of a report of the SMAC's Incentives Subcommittee, including spectrum fees, strengthening OMB Circular A11, and the Spectrum Innovation Fund.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division regarding the proposed final judgment in USA v. American Express, et al., D.C. No. CV-10-4496. The DOJ initiated an action against American Express, MasterCard and Visa alleging violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act, which is codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1, in connection with their alleged anticompetitive conduct at the point of sale. The settlement, which covers only MasterCard and Visa, requires public notice and comment, and approval by the District Court. The DOJ's notice in the Federal Register states that comments are due within 60 days of publication of its notice in the Federal Register. However, it does not fix an actual date. See, Federal Register, October 13, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 197, at Pages 62858-62874. See also, story titled "DOJ and States Bring Antitrust Action Against Credit Card Companies" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,139, October 5, 2010.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [25 pages in PDF] regarding commercial radio operator licenses for maritime and aviation radio stations who perform certain functions performed within the commercial radio operators service. The FCC adopted this item on August 31, 2010, and released the text on September 8, 2010. It is FCC 10-154 in WT Docket No. 10-177. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 29, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 209, at Pages 66709-66715.

Deadline for Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Michael Copps to respond to Rep. Joe Barton's (R-TX) interrogatories regarding his proposal that broadcasters be subjected to a public value test (PVT). See, story titled "Copps Wants to Impose Public Value Test on Broadcasters" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,168, December 4, 2010. See also, Rep. Barton's letter and story titled "Barton Questions Copps Regarding Public Value Test" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,171, December 7, 2010.

The House will meet at 2:00 PM for legislative business. Votes will be postponed until 6:00 PM. The House may adopt legislation to extend certain expiring tax provisions.

RESCHEDULED FOR FEBRUARY 8. 8:00 -10:00 AM. Broadband Census News LLC will host a panel discussion titled "Meet The Chinese Embassy IP Attache". The speakers will be Fuli Chen (Intellectual Property Rights Attache for the Chinese Embassy to the US), Steven Adkins (Orrick), Drew Clark, and others. Breakfast will be served. This event is free and open to the public. See, notice and registration page. This event is also sponsored by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) and the Public Knowledge (PK). Location: Clyde's of Gallery Place, 707 7th St., NW.

8:30 AM. Day two of a two day partially closed meeting of the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Emerging Technology and Research Advisory Committee. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 26, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 227, at Pages 72792-72793. Location: Room 3884, DOC, Hoover Building, 14th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues, NW.

10:30 AM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will host an event titled "Generation Mobile Forum". The speakers will include FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. The topics to be discussed include cyber bullying. Location: McKinley Technology High School, Auditorium, 151 T St., NE.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Mass Media Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Views from the Fourth Estate". The speakers will be Amy Schatz (Wall Street Journal), Cecilia Kang (Washington Post), Kim Hart (Politico), and Dennis Wharton (NAB). The FCBA bars reporters from some of its events. Location: Wiley Rein, 1776 K St., NW.

2:30 PM. The Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Bureau of Economics will host a presentation by Wallace Mullin (George Washington University Department of Economics). He will present a paper [PDF] titled "Diversity, Social Goods Provision, and Performance in the Firm". For more information, contact Loren Smith at lsmith2 at ftc dot gov or Tammy John at tjohn at ftc dot gov. Location: Room 8089, 1800 M St., NW.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding practice before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) in ex parte patent appeals. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 15, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 219, at Pages 69827-69849.

6::00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host an event titled "Intellectual Property Law 2010: Year in Review Series:Copyright and Trademark Update". The speakers will be Brian Banner (H&A Intellectual Property Law) and Terence Ross (Crowell & Moring). The price to attend ranges from $89 to $129. For more information, contact 202-626-3488. See, notice. CLE credits. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business.

RESCHEDULED FOR DECEMBER 21. 10:30 AM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) may hold an event titled "open meeting". The agenda may include adoption of a network neutrality order. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host an event titled "Intellectual Property Law 2010: Year in Review Series: Patent Update". The speakers will be Eric Wright (Stites & Harbison) and Bradley Wright (Banner & Witcoff). The price to attend ranges from $89 to $129. For more information, contact 202-626-3488. See, notice. CLE credits. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.

Deadline to submit applications to participate in the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Auction 90, regarding certain VHF construction permits. See, FCC September 8, 2010, Public Notice (DA 10-1351 in AU Docket No. 10-147) and notice in the Federal Register, September 23, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 184, at Pages 57947-57952. See also, November 1, 2010, Public Notice (DA 10-2008 in in AU Docket No. 10-147). And see, notice in the Federal Register, December 1, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 230, at Page 74719-74731.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business.

9:30 AM - 5:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) North American Numbering Council (NANC) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 30, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 229, at Pages 74051-74052. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room (Room TW-C305), 445 12th St., SW.

9:30 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will hold a hearing titled "Espionage Act and the Legal and Constitutional Issues Raised by WikiLeaks". See, notice. The HJC will webcast this event. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

9:30 AM - 4:00 PM. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Civil Right Division (CRD) will hold a hearing regarding its four notice of proposed rulemakings (NPRMs) that propose to expand the scope of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to regulate certain communications and information technologies. See, story titled "DOJ/CRD Releases Advance NPRMs Proposing Expansion of ADA" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,111, July 26, 2010. Location: U.S. Access Board, 1331 F St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) will host a lunch. The speaker will be Erwin Chemerinsky. The topic will be "Approaches to First Amendment regulations with the distinctions between traditional mediums disappearing with a lot of discussion of the Fox indecency case". The price to attend ranges from $25 to $40. See, registration form. Registrations and cancellations are due by 12:00 NOON on December 14. Location: Hogan Lovells, 555 13th St., NW.

5:30 - 7:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Homeland Security and Emergency Communications Committee will host an event titled "Holiday Happy Hour Mentoring Opportunity for Young Lawyers. The speakers will include James Barnett (Chief of the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau). For more information, contact Jeff Cohen at jeff dot cohen at mail dot house.gov or Mark Brennan at mark dot brennan at hoganlovells dot com. Location: Mandarin Hotel, Empress Lounge, 1330 Maryland Ave., SW.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [58 pages in PDF] regarding universal service subsidies and certain 3G and next generation wireless services. The FCC adopted and released this item on October 14, 2010. It is FCC 10-182 in WT Docket No. 10-208. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 1, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 210, at Pages 67060-67077. See also, story titled "FCC Adopts NPRM Regarding Universal Service Subsidies for 3G and Next Generation Wireless" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,142, October 19, 2010.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding expanding the FCC's universal service program to subsidize certain 3G and next generation wireless services. The FCC calls this its "Mobility Fund". The FCC adopted and released this item on October 14, 2010. It is FCC 10-182 in WT Docket No. 10-208. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 12, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 218, Page 69374-69395. See also, story titled "FCC Adopts NPRM Regarding Universal Service Subsidies for 3G and Next Generation Wireless" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,142, October 19, 2010.

The House may meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business.

10:00 AM. Deadline for foreign governments to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) regarding its Special 301 out of cycle review of the Philippines and Thailand. These reviews pertain to identifying countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 12, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 218, at Pages 69519-69520.

12:00 NOON. Deadline to submit initial comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) regarding its review of the operation, effectiveness, and implementation of and compliance with various telecommunications agreements, including the World Trade Organization (WTO) General Agreement on Trade in Services. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 18, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 222, at Pages 70770-70771.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding the appropriate date for the termination of analog operations in the low power television and Class A television services. The FCC adopted and released this item on September 17, 2010. This item is FCC 10-172 in MB Docket No. 03-185. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 18, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 200, at Pages 63766-63773.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding assignment of telephone numbers associated with internet based Telecommunications Relay Service (iTRS), Video Relay Service (VRS) and IP Relay. The FCC adopted this item on September 16, 2010, and released the text on September 17. It is FCC 10-161 in CG Docket No. 03-123, WC Docket No. 05-196, and WC Docket No. 10-191. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 2, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 211, at Pages 67333-67341.

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