12/22. The Senate passed HR 3082 [LOC | WW], an omnibus appropriations bill, on December 21, 2010, by a vote of 79-16. See, Roll Call No. 289. The House passed the bill on December 21 by a vote of 193-165. See, Roll Call No. 662. President Obama signed it on December 22, 2010. See, White House news office release. It is now Public Law No. 111-322.

The votes were partisan. In the House, Republicans voted 1-146, and Democrats voted 192-19. In the Senate, 15 of the 16 votes against were cast by Republicans.

This bill provides additional funding for the NTIA, and another extension of the exemption of the FCC's universal service tax and subsidy programs from the Antideficiency Act, but no ban on implementation of the FCC's just adopted BIAS rules.

More Funding for the NTIA. HR 3082 provides more funding for the Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The bill does not, however, specify how this is to be spent.

HR 1 [LOC | WW], the huge spending bill passed by the Congress in February of 2009, provided $7.2 Billion to the NTIA and Rural Utilities Service (RUS) for the purpose of promoting broadband. Much of this money is being spent via multi-year grants. Neither 2009 bill nor other bill, however, appropriated funds for the government to conduct ongoing oversight of these grants. See, story titled "Legislators Urge Funding for NTIA BTOPs Grants Oversight" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No 2,141, October 12, 2010.

The NTIA also has responsibilities with respect to spectrum management and policy, and other matters.

The just enacted HR 3082 provides that "The Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011 (Public Law 111–242) is further amended by ... adding the following ... Sec. 148. Notwithstanding section 101, the level for `Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Salaries and Expenses´ shall be $40,649,000." (Parentheses in original.)

Public Law No. 111-242 was HR 3081 [LOC | WW], a previous FY 2011 continuing appropriations bill. Section 101 of that bill provides for continued funding "at a rate for operations as provided in the applicable appropriations Acts for fiscal year 2010".

The FY 2010 appropriations bill that covered the NTIA was HR 3288 [LOC | WW], the "Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010", which is now Public Law No. 111-117.

HR 3288 provided the following appropriation for the NTIA:

"salaries and expenses ... For necessary expenses, as provided for by law, of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), $19,999,000, to remain available until September 30, 2011: Provided, That, notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 1535(d), the Secretary of Commerce shall charge Federal agencies for costs incurred in spectrum management, analysis, operations, and related services, and such fees shall be retained and used as offsetting collections for costs of such spectrum services, to remain available until expended: Provided further, That the Secretary of Commerce is authorized to retain and use as offsetting collections all funds transferred, or previously transferred, from other Government agencies for all costs incurred in telecommunications research, engineering, and related activities by the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences of NTIA, in furtherance of its assigned functions under this paragraph, and such funds received from other Government agencies shall remain available until expended."

HR 3288 also provided that:

"public telecommunications facilities, planning and construction ... For the administration of grants, authorized by section 392 of the Communications Act of 1934, $20,000,000, to remain available until expended as authorized by section 391 of the Act: Provided, That not to exceed $2,000,000 shall be available for program administration as authorized by section 391 of the Act: Provided further, That, notwithstanding the provisions of section 391 of the Act, the prior year unobligated balances may be made available for grants for projects for which applications have been submitted and approved during any fiscal year."

Universal Service and the Antideficiency Act. HR 3082 once again provides for a one year extension of the exception that provides that the FCC's universal service tax and subsidy programs are not subject to certain provisions of the Antideficiency Act.

HR 3082 provides that "The Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011 (Public Law 111–242) is further amended by ... adding the following ... Sec. 155. Section 302 of the Universal Service Antideficiency Temporary Suspension Act is amended by striking `December 31, 2010´ each place it appears and inserting `December 31, 2011´." (Parentheses in original.)

The Universal Service Antideficiency Temporary Suspension Act (USATSA) was originally enacted as Title III of HR 5419 (108th Congress). It provides that Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) universal service taxes collected pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 254, and the FCC's universal service subsidy programs conducted under the rubric of this section, are not subject to certain provisions of the Antideficiency Act. See, story titled "Bush Signs Telecom Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,045, December 28, 2004.

FCC BIAS Rules. HR 3082 does not include any language prohibiting the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from spending funds on the implementation or enforcement of its just adopted, but not yet released, Report and Order regarding regulation of broadband internet access service (BIAS).

See, story titled "FCC Adopts BIAS Rules" and related stories in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,186, December 22, 2010. See also, story titled "Senators Seek to Use Appropriations Process to Block FCC BIAS Rules" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,181, December 17, 2010, and "Sen. Hutchison Threatens to Keep the FCC From Implementing Broadband Regulations" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,165, December 1, 2010.

On December 16, 2010, Sen. Kay Hutchison (R-TX) offered Amendment No. 4820. Had it been adopted, it would have provided that:

"None of the funds appropriated by this Act may be used by the Federal Communications Commission to adopt or implement, or otherwise bring or litigate any claim or otherwise intervene in, join, participate, or support any claim in any Federal or State court relating to any --
   (1) open Internet-based rules, protocols, or standards; or
   (2) rules, protocols, or standards regulating the behavior of broadband Internet access service providers with respect to discrimination of broadband traffic, network management practices, managed services, specialized services, or paid prioritization."

This amendment was cosponsored by Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), Sen. John Ensign (R-NV), Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Sen. John Thune (R-SD), Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK).

Transportation IT. HR 3082 also addresses the Department of Transportation's (DOT) "Implementation of Future Strategic Highway Research Program". It provides that certain funds may be used for "implementation of research products related to the future strategic highway research program, including development, demonstration, evaluation, and technology transfer activities."

This research pertains asphalt and bridges, which do not implicate information technology. However, it also involves research regarding remote sensing and spatial information technologies.

12/22. President Obama signed S 30 [LOC | WW], the "Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009". See, White House news office release.

The Senate passed it on February 23, 2010. The House passed it on December 15. See, story titled "House Passes Truth in Caller ID Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,180, December 16, 2010.

This is a very limited bill. It prohibits caller ID spoofing, but only if the purpose is to defraud or cause harm. Telemarketers, debt collectors, information brokers, private investigators, stalkers, and others remain free to spoof caller ID information so long as they do not do it with intent to defraud or cause harm.

Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), the sponsor of the House version of this bill, HR 1258 [LOC | WW], issued a release on December 21 that states that spoofing "is the term describing technology to falsify the name and phone number appearing on Caller ID. For example, a spoofer's call can show the call to be from a bank to persuade a person to give their Social Security and/or credit card numbers or other personal information. This information is then used to fraudulently obtain credit cards or withdraw money from a person’s bank account."

Rep. Engel (at right) explained that "The main difference between Rep. Engel's legislation and the Senate version heading to the President is both bills exempt legitimate uses of the technology, such as domestic violence shelters. However, the House bill cracks down on people who use the technology to ``defraud or deceive,´´ whereas the Senate bill is ``to defraud, cause harm, or wrongfully obtain anything of value.´´ In addition, the Senate bill lays out specific penalties for breaking these rules, whereas the House bill left it up to the Federal Communications Commission to define their own penalties."

He added that currently, "a person need only to log onto a website, put in his or her phone number, the number they are calling, and the number they want to appear on the Caller ID. The website calls back – connects to the person they are calling and masks their true identity. Even the sound of his or her voice can be altered.  Rep. Engel reminds everyone to not provide personal information over the phone".

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), the sponsor of the bill, issued a release on December 15 that states that this bill "aims to protect the elderly from scam artists who fake their information on caller ID systems. The maximum penalty would be a $10,000 fine and a year in jail."

This bill amends 47 U.S.C. § 227 to provide that "It shall be unlawful for any person within the United States, in connection with any telecommunications service or IP-enabled voice service, to cause any caller identification service to knowingly transmit misleading or inaccurate caller identification information with the intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongfully obtain anything of value, unless such transmission is exempted ..."

It adds that "Nothing in this subsection may be construed to prevent or restrict any person from blocking the capability of any caller identification service to transmit caller identification information."

It also requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to write implementing regulations within six months. The bill also provides for criminal prosecution for persons who "willfully and knowingly" violate the prohibition. It also provides for enforcement by states.

12/21. The House and Senate passed HR 5116 [LOC | WW], a bill to authorize the appropriation of $46 Billion over three years for NSF, NIST, DOE and other government research activities. It also authorizes giving grant money for the construction of innovation clusters and research parks. It is ready for President Obama's signature.

This is a massive appropriations authorization bill for the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Department of Energy (DOE) and other agencies.

This bill had also previously been a vehicle for a provision to eliminate pay for federal employees officially disciplined for viewing, downloading, or exchanging pornography on their work computers. An earlier House version included this. The bill as enacted does not include it.

The bill's full title is the "America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Reauthorization Act of 2010". This produces the shorter acronym title, "America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010".

The original COMPETES Act authorized appropriations through FY 2010. See, HR 2272 (110th Congress) [LOC | WW], the "America Competes Act of 2007", Public Law No. 110-69. The original COMPETES bill focused on science and technology. The just passed bill expands into other areas.

The House passed a previous version of this bill on May 28, 2010. "House Passes Competes Reauthorization Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,091, June 3, 2010. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) approved a related bill, S 3605 [LOC | WW], on July 22, 2010. See, story titled "Senate Commerce Committee Approves COMPETES Reauthorization Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,110, July 21, 2010. The Senate passed an amended version of HR 5116 on December 17, 2010. The House passed the Senate version of HR 5116 on December 22, 2010, by a vote of 228-130.

(An earlier vote was held under suspension of the rules, which requires a two thirds majority. It failed to pass. See, story titled "House Rejects America Competes Reauthorization Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,086, May 21, 2010.)

Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN), the retiring Chairman of the House Science Committee (HSC), stated during House debate on December 21 that "We need to double-down on our investments in science and technology." See, Congressional Record, December 21, 2010, at Page H8841.

Rep. Gordon (at right) said that this bill "keeps our basic research agencies on a doubling path. It continues to invest in high-risk, high-reward energy technology development. It will help improve STEM education, and it will help unleash the American spirit of innovation."

Rep. Gordon also asserted that "COMPETES is, and will continue to be, a bipartisan, bicameral effort about which every Member can feel proud." Actually, this bill was enacted in partisan fashion by a lame duck Congress. Democrats voted 212-0. Republicans voted 16-130. See, Roll Call. No. 659.

Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX) stated in the House that "this measure continues to be far too expensive, particularly in light of the new and duplicative programs it creates. ... And, unfortunately, this bill still goes way beyond the goals and direction of the original America COMPETES, taking us from good, solid fundamental research and much too far into the world of commercialization, which many of us on this side of the aisle do not believe is the proper role of the Federal Government."

Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) said that "working on consequential pieces of legislation in a lame duck session, outside of the proper legislative process, is simply wrong".

He also said that "this COMPETES reauthorization is the perfect example of why we need to end lame duck legislation. It contains reckless spending and misguided policy initiatives. The closed-door process through which it was developed is irresponsible at a time when the Federal deficit has ballooned to $1.5 trillion, and our national debt will soon eclipse $14 trillion. These unprecedented figures are not deterring our Democratic colleagues from authorizing over $45 billion of spending, $7 billion of which is new spending in this bill."

Phil Bond, the head of Tech America, stated in a release on December 20 that "America Competes authorizes critical spending and coordination for basic research and science, technology engineering and math education programs. Investments in these areas directly affect our economic performance in the midst of a shaky recovery. The success of America's innovation industries -- and the jobs we expect them to create --- depend upon a thriving public-private ecosystem that produces new insights and top talent. Our competitors in the global economy are on the verge of vaulting ahead with the aid of tremendous public investments in basic research and STEM education. The U.S. must renew its own commitment."

The House will not meet. It will next meet on January 5, 2011.

The Senate will not meet. It will next meet on January 5, 2011.

Christmas Day (observed). This is a federal holiday. See, Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) web page titled "2010 Federal Holidays".

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding regulating the billing and notice practices of mobile service providers. The FCC adopted and released this NPRM on October 14, 2010. It is FCC 10-180 in CG Docket Nos. 10-207 and 09-158. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 26, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 227, at Pages 72773-72777. See also, story titled "FCC Adopts Bill Shock NPRM" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,142, October 19, 2010.

Deadline to submit comments to the Copyright Office (CO) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding notices of termination of certain grants of transfers and licenses of copyright under 17 U.S.C. § 203. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 26, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 227, at Pages 72771-72773.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Transportation's (DOT) Intelligent Transportation Systems Program Advisory Committee (ITSPAC) in advance of its meeting on January 6-7, 2011, in Oakland, California. See, notice in the Federal Register, December 14, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 239, at  Page 77955.

No events listed.

No events listed.

No events listed.

No events listed.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Inquiry (NPRM & NOI) [36 pages in PDF] regarding expanding the FCC's location surveillance mandates for mobile communications and devices. The FCC adopted and released this item on September 23, 2010. It is FCC 10-177 in PS Docket No. 07-114 and WC Docket No. 05-196. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 2, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 211, at Pages 67321-67333.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding its draft SP 800-51 Rev. 1 [13 pages in PDF], titled "Guide to Using Vulnerability Naming Schemes", released on December 6, 2010.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding its draft NIST IR-7694 [24 pages in PDF], titled "Specification for the Asset Reporting Format 1.1", released on December 6, 2010.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding its draft NIST IR-7693 [32 pages in PDF], titled "Specification for Asset Identification 1.1", released on December 6, 2010.

12/21. The Senate confirmed Benita Pearson to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. See, Congressional Record, December 21, 2010, at Page S10943.

12/21. The Senate confirmed William Martinez to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. See, Congressional Record, December 21, 2010, at Page S10943.

12/21. House Appropriations Committee (HAC) Democrats announced senior staff appointments for the 112th Congress. See, release.

12/21. Jay Timmons was named P/CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). He will replace John Engler. See, NAM release. Timmons is currently EVP at the NAM.

12/20. Rep. Peter King (R-NY), who will be Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee (HHSC) in the 112th Congress, announced in a release the HHSC Subcommittee Chairmen for the 112th Congress. Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA) will be Chairman of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies. Rep. King stated in a second release that "cybersecurity ... is a top priority of the Committee".

12/20 House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) Republicans announced the Subcommittee Chairman and Committee Vice Chairman for the 112th Congress. See, release.

12/20. Sandra Aistars was named Executive Director of the Copyright Alliance (CA). She replaces Patrick Ross. She has worked for Time Warner since 2003. She is currently VP and Associate General Counsel. Before that, she worked for the law firm of Weil Gotshal & Manges. See, CA release.

12/20. Karen Thorland was named VP and Senior Content Protection Counsel at the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). The MPAA stated in a release that "Beginning on January 18, Thorland will manage domestic content protection civil litigation and will oversee and coordinate the Association's worldwide civil litigation efforts". She previously worked for the law firm of Loeb & Loeb, and before that, for the law firm of Jones Day.

12/16. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Robert McDowell released a statement on the selection of Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) to be Chairman of the House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Communications and Technology in the 112th Congress. "I congratulate my friend," McDowell wrote. "I am delighted that Chairman-designate Walden will play a pivotal role on the communications matters facing our nation given his deep understanding of communications policy combined with his practical business experience as a broadcaster. I look forward to continuing to work with him and all of his colleagues."

12/22. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Memorandum Opinion and Order (MOO) [18 pages in PDF] in its proceeding titled "In the Matter of TCR Sports Broadcasting Holding, L.L.P. d/b/a Mid-Atlantic Sports Network v. Time Warner Cable Inc.". This MOO grants the Application for Review filed by Time Warner Cable (TWC) of the October 2008 Order of the FCC's Media Bureau denying TWCs Petition for Review of an arbitration ruling issued pursuant to the Adelphia Order. This MOO, which the FCC adopted on December 20, 2010, is FCC 10-202.

12/18. President Obama signed into law S 3789 [LOC | WW], the "Social Security Number Protection Act of 2010", which prohibits the use of social security numbers on government-issued checks. See, White House news office release.

12/16. The Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal and Economic Public Policy Studies released a paper [14 pages in PDF] titled "The Impossible Dream: Forbearance After the Phoenix Order". It pertains to Section 10 of the Communications Act, which is codified at 47 U.S.C. § 160, and the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Memorandum Opinion and Order released on June 22, 2010, FCC 10-113. The authors are the Phoenix Center's George Ford and Lawrence Spiwak.

Tech Law Journal publishes a free access web site and a subscription e-mail alert. The basic rate for a subscription to the TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert is $250 per year for a single recipient. There are discounts for subscribers with multiple recipients.

Free one month trial subscriptions are available. Also, free subscriptions are available for federal elected officials, and employees of the Congress, courts, and executive branch. The TLJ web site is free access. However, copies of the TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert are not published in the web site until two months after writing.

For information about subscriptions, see subscription information page.

Tech Law Journal now accepts credit card payments. See, TLJ credit card payments page.

TLJ is published by David Carney
Contact: 202-364-8882.
carney at techlawjournal dot com
P.O. Box 4851, Washington DC, 20008.

Privacy Policy
Notices & Disclaimers
Copyright 1998-2010 David Carney. All rights reserved.