5/6. Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), and Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA) introduced HR 1800 [LOC | WW | PDF], the "FISA Sunsets Reauthorization Act of 2011".

This short bill would extend the sunsets of three provisions of surveillance law -- related to Section 215 authority, roving wiretaps, and lone wolf terrorists. For more on the surveillance provisions at issue, and the history of extension of their sunset dates, see story titled "House and Senate Extend Expiring Surveillance Provisions" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,054, March 3, 2010.

This bill would extend the Section 215 and roving wiretaps sunsets to December 31, 2017. It would permanently extend lone wolf authority.

The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will meet to mark up this bill at 10:00 AM on Thursday, May 12, 2011. See, HJC notice. The HJC's Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security  will first hold a hearing titled "The USA PATRIOT Act: Dispelling the Myths" at 10:00 AM on Wednesday, May 11.

These three provisions are set to expire on May 27, 2011. See, story titled "Obama Signs Three Month Extension of Surveillance Provisions" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,198, February 25, 2011.

5/9. Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WV), the Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee (SCC), introduced S 913 [LOC | WW | PDF], the "Do-Not-Track Online Act of 2011". However, this title is not a description of its contents.

The title of this bill includes the word "track". Introductory clauses and section titles also use the word "track". Sen. Rockefeller's summary of the bill states that it enables individuals not to have the online activities "tracked". However, the substantive language of this 13 page bill does not reference either "track" or "tracking". Instead, this bill would authorize the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to write and enforce rules pertaining to the "collection and use of personal information on an individual" by "providers of online services". As introduced, it would create a regulatory regime for providers of online services. Online tracking would be just one regulated activity.

The bill does not define either "online services" or "providers of online services". Nor does it define "personal information", or any other term. The bill would transfer broad authority to the FTC to construct the new regulatory regime.

Sen. Rockefeller (at right) stated in a release that "Recent reports of privacy invasions have made it imperative that we do more to put consumers in the driver's seat when it comes to their personal information".

He added that "I believe consumers have a right to decide whether their information can be collected and used online. This bill offers a simple, straightforward way for people to stop companies from tracking their movements online."

This bill would require the FTC to write rules "that establish standards for the implementation of a mechanism by which an individual can simply and easily indicate whether the individual prefers to have personal information collected by providers of online services, including by providers of mobile applications and services", and that prohibits "such providers from collecting personal information on individuals who have expressed" such a preference.

The bill would provide an exception for the "collection and use of personal information on an individual ... to the extent ... necessary to provide a service requested by the individual, including with respect to such service, basic functionality and effectiveness, so long as such information is anonymized or deleted upon the provision of such service"

It would also provide an exception for the collection and use of personal information to the extent that "the individual ... receives clear, conspicuous, and accurate notice on the collection and use of such information; and ... affirmatively consents to such collection and use".

Not only does this bill not define "personal information", it does not state that the personal information which an individual can instruct providers of online services not to collect or use is information that the individual transmitted in online activity, such as web sites visited, or other information collection in the nature of online tracking. This bill does not even state that the information at issue be collected online by provider of online services.

HR 654 [LOC | WW], the "Do Not Track Me Online Act", introduced by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) and others on February 11, 2011, is an example of a bill that is actually drafted to enable internet users to prevent the collection and use of online tracking data. Sen. Rockefeller's bill does not resemble HR 654.

Rep. Speier's bill contains language that is also found in the state of California's SB 761, introduced by state Sen. Alan Lowenthal (D).

As of May 9, 2011, HR 654 had 14 cosponsors. All are Democrats. Half represent California districts.

What Sen. Rockefeller has actually introduced is a bill that would create a very broad and undefined regulatory regime for the collection and use by online service providers of personal information.

This bill would give the FTC authority to write such rules under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) process, rather than the Magnusson Moss Act process that applies to FTC rulemakings. The APA process would enable the FTC to act with less transparency and procedural fairness for affected entities.

The bill would also give the FTC civil enforcement authority. It would also give the states enforcement authority.

The ACLU's Laura Murphy stated in a release that this bill "will be a key step forward toward bringing Americans' privacy rights up to date. While we spend more and more of our lives online, our ability to control the collection, sharing and use of the information we share is severely lacking. A 'do not track' list will give Americans the chance to both opt out of opportunistic marketing tactics and keep their personal information out of the hands of the government. The Senate should make this important bill a priority to ensure that Americans have the control they deserve over their online information."

5/5. Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY) introduced HR 1752 [LOC | WW], the "Keeping Children Safe Act of 2011", a bill to require that baby monitors carry labels that warn that signals can be intercepted.

This bill would require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to promulgate regulations requiring a warning label to be displayed on the packaging of analog baby monitors regarding possible interception.

This bill was referred to the House Commerce Committee (HCC). Rep. Crowley (at right) is a member. There are no original cosponsors.

This bill would mandate warning labels on "the packaging of a baby monitor" that state, either that "Sounds captured by this device may be easily heard by potential intruders outside your home", or "Images and sounds captured by this device may be easily viewed or heard by potential intruders outside your home", depending whether the device also captures images.

The bill defines covered baby monitors as "one or more analog transmitting devices that wirelessly transmit images or sounds to one or more receiving devices, .. allows an individual to see images of or hear sounds made by another individual from a short distance within or around a residence; and ... is designed for use by an individual to monitor a child in the care of such individual in a residential setting".

5/5. Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) introduced HR 1772 [LOC | WW], the "Distracted Driving Prevention Act of 2011".

This is a reintroduction of HR 3994 [LOC | WW], the "Distracted Driving Prevention Act of 2009", which Rep. Engel introduced in the 111th Congress. HR 1772 (112th) is very similar, but not identical, to HR 3994 (111th).

HR 3994 was referred to both the House Commerce Committee (HCC) and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (HTIC). Neither Committee took any action in the 111th Congress. The just introduced HR 1772 was referred to the same two Committees. Rep. Engel is a member of the HCC. There are no original cosponsors of HR 1772.

The related bill in the Senate in the 111th Congress was S 1938 [LOC | WW], the "Distracted Driving Prevention Act of 2009". Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WV) introduced that bill on October 27, 2009. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) held an executive session on June 9, 2010, at which it approved that bill. See, story titled "Senate Commerce Committee Approves Distracted Driving Prevention Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,096, June 17, 2010. The full Senate did not pass that bill.

Hr 1772 constitutes an attempt to regulate conduct that, in the US federal system, falls under state powers. Hence, the bill would attempt to leverage federal grants -- and the threat to withhold grants -- to states to compel states enact the regulatory regime sought by this bill.

The exercise of police powers, including enacting and enforcing criminal and traffic laws, is predominantly a matter of state activity. Moreover, many states have already enacted legislation pursuant to their police powers to prohibit individual conduct while driving that may cause distraction. The federal government does have authority to regulate interstate commerce, and it uses this authority to regulate the activities of the commercial enterprises that provide communications services and equipment. However, this bill is not directed at communications companies. It seeks to regulate individual conduct.

This bill would create a distracted driving grant program, to be administered by the Department of Transportation (DOT). States would only be eligible for grants if they enacted, or modified, distracted driving statutes to meet the requirements of this bill.

The bill would require a statute that "prohibits the use of a personal wireless communications device by a driver for texting while driving",

The bill would further require a statute that "prohibits a driver from holding a personal wireless communications device to conduct a telephone call while driving".

However, the bill would allow exceptions for use by individuals for contacting emergency services, for use by emergency services, for use with of hands free devices, and other things.

This bill would also provide for DOT regulation of "the use of electronic or wireless devices, including cell phones and other distracting devices, by an individual employed as the operator of ... a commercial motor vehicle ... or ... a school bus ..."

5/9. Representatives of the governments of the United States and the People's Republic of China are meeting on May 9 and 10 under the rubric of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (SED).

The White House news office released a statement regarding a May 9 SED meeting attended by President Obama. It makes no reference to intellectual property. Vice President Joe Biden gave a speech on May 9 in which he touched on intellectual property, free trade, and human rights, among other issues.

The May 9 release, states, in full, that "The President and the U.S. delegation met today in the Oval Office with China’s Special Representatives to the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue, Vice Premier Wang Qishan and State Councilor Dai Bingguo. They exchanged views on a broad range of economic, security and other issues of importance to both countries. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to building a cooperative partnership that is comprehensive in scope, cooperative in nature, and yields positive achievements that benefit our people. They agreed that concrete actions by both sides are needed to build such a partnership. The President encouraged China to implement policies that support sustained and balanced global growth as well as a more balanced bilateral economic relationship. They also discussed ways to advance our common nonproliferation objectives, including working together to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program, to meet its international commitments and to avoid destabilizing behavior. The President underscored his preference for a diplomatic solution to both challenges. The President raised U.S. concerns about the current human rights situation in China, and underscored his support for the universal rights of freedom of expression and worship, and of access to information and political participation."

Vice President Biden stated in his May 9 speech that "Last year our trade with China supported over 500,000 jobs here in the United States, and we made tangible progress during President Hu's visit, especially in the areas of innovation, intellectual property, and exports, all of which we're following up on. Over the next two days, we need to build on this momentum and to make sure our commitments are aggressively implemented so we can continue to move."

Biden also said that "We seek to cooperate to advance our mutual interests in not only promoting economic growth that is strong, sustainable and balanced, but trade that is free and is fair."

He also said that "We have vigorous disagreement in the area of human rights. We’ve noted our concerns about the recent crackdown in China, including attacks, arrests and the disappearance of journalists, lawyers, bloggers and artists. And again, no relationship that’s real can be built on a false foundation. Where we disagree, it’s important to state it."

He also mentioned students. "Over the last three decades, our people have become increasingly linked through education, through work and through travel. Last year, 130,000 Chinese were studying in the United States. They’re really good. We’re going to try to keep some of them."

Robert Holleyman, head of the Business Software Alliance (BSA), stated in a release on May 9 that "Four out of five software programs installed on personal computers in China continue to be pirated ... This represents commercial theft of nearly $8 billion a year. China’s commitments to curb piracy have simply failed to produce results. BSA members, including many of the largest software producers in the world, have seen no significant increase in sales to China. The Obama administration’s trade and economic team should continue pressing China to reduce software piracy in a way that produces real results."

Holleyman added that "US businesses in all industries compete daily with otherwise legal companies in China that are stealing the software that drives their manufacturing or helps run their business. The unfair competitive advantage that results is harming businesses in every sector of the US economy."

He concluded that "China has committed to ensuring that all of its government agencies use only legally purchased software, and it has announced pilot projects to promote that practice in state-owned enterprises, but we are not seeing tangible results."

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Notices & Disclaimers
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The House will meet at 12:00 NOON for morning hour, and at 2:00 PM for legislation business. It will consider non-technology related items. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule for week of May 9.

The Senate will meet at 10:00 AM for morning business.

8:00 -10:00 AM. Broadband Census News LLC will host a panel discussion titled "Digital Video Recorders, the Cablevision Decision, and Industry Licensing Agreements". Breakfast will be served. 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.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Feature Group IP West v. FCC, App. Ct. No. 10-1257, a petition for review of orders of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) denying a petition for forbearance from applying certain FCC rules regarding intercarrier compensation. See, FCC's brief [70 pages in PDF]. Judges Tatel, Griffith, and Randolph will preside. Location: Courtroom 11, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee's (SJC) Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law will hold a hearing titled "Protecting Mobile Privacy: Your Smartphones, Tablets, Cell Phones and Your Privacy". The witnesses will be Jessica Rich (Deputy Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection),
Jason Weinstein (Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the DOJ's Criminal Division), Justin Brookman (Center for Democracy and Technology), Alan Davidson (Google), Ashkan Soltani, Bud Tribble (Apple), and
Jonathan Zuck (Association for Competitive Technology). The SJC will webcast this hearing. See, SJC notice. See also, April 20 letter from Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) to Apple CEO Steve Jobs, and story titled "Sen. Franken Writes Steve Jobs Regarding Location Data Retention by iPhones and 3G iPads" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,224, April 20, 2011. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

11:00 AM - 1:00 PM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "Competition in the Internet Ecosystem". The speakers will be Robert Atkinson (ITIF), Jeffrey Eisenach (Navigant Economics), Michael Calabrese (New America Foundation), and Jonathan Sallet (O'Melveny and Meyers). See, notice and registration page. Location: Room 1539, Longworth Building, Capitol Hill.

12:30 PM. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee (HOGRC) will hold a hearing titled "The Future of Capital Formation". See, notice. Location: Room 2154, Rayburn Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Intelligence Committee (SIC) will hold a closed hearing. Location: Room 219, Hart Building.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [58 pages in PDF] regarding development of a technical interoperability framework for a nationwide public safety broadband network in the 700 MHz band. The FCC adopted this NPRM on January 25, 2011, and released the text on January 26, 2011. It is FCC 11-6 in PS Docket No. 06-229, WT Docket 06-150, and WP Docket 07-100. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 24, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 37, at Pages 10295-10299.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to some portions of its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [139 pages in PDF] regarding changes to the two universal service tax and subsidy programs titled "Lifeline" and "Link Up". The FCC adopted this NPRM on March 3, 2011, and released the text on March 4, 2011. It is FCC 11-32 in WC Docket Nos. 11-42 and 03-109, and CC Docket No. 96-45. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 23, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 56, at Pages 16481-16519.

Deadline to submit requests to participate in the Department of Transportation's (DOT) Intelligent Transportation Systems Program Advisory Committee's (ITS/PAC) web conference on ITS. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 25, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 79, at Page 22940.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislation business. It will consider non-technology related items. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule for week of May 9.

8:30 AM - 4:30 PM. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will host an event titled "Examing Phone Bill Cramming". See, notice and event web page. Location: FTC Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

8:55 AM - 3:00 PM. The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission will hold a hearing titled "The Implications of China's Military and Civil Space Programs". See, notice in the Federal Register, May 2, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 84, at Pages 24565-24566. Location: Room H-309, Capitol Building.

9:00 AM - 4:15 PM. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will host an event titled "Examining Phone Bill Cramming: A Discussion". See, notice and agenda. Location: FTC Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security will hold a hearing titled "The USA PATRIOT Act: Dispelling the Myths". The witnesses will be former Rep. Bob Barr (R-GA), Bruce Fein (Campaign for Liberty), Patrick Rowan (McGuire Woods, and former Assistant Attorney General in charge of the DOJ's National Security Division), and Ed Mullins (Sargeants Benevolent Association of New York City). See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Finance Committee (SFC) will hold a hearing titled "The U.S.- Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement". See, notice. Location: Room 215, Dirksen Building.

10:15 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee's (SJC) Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights will hold a hearing titled "The AT&T/T-Mobile Merger: Is Humpty Dumpty Being Put Back Together Again?". The witnesses will be Randall Stephenson (P/CEO of AT&T), Philipp Humm (P/CEO of T-Mobile USA), Daniel Hesse (CEO of Sprint Nextel), Hu Meena (P/CEO of Cellular South), Gigi Sohn (Public Knowledge), and Larry Cohen (Communications Workers of America). See, notice. The SJC will webcast this hearing. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) will preside. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "Ethical Traps in E-Discovery". Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice and registration page.

3:00 PM. The House Rules Committee (HRC) will meet to adopt a rule for consideration of HR 754 [LOC | WW], the "Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011". See, notice. Location: Room H-313, Capitol Building.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit requests to testify at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) June 1, 2011, hearing regarding its ex parte and inter partes reexamination proceedings. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 25, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 79, at Pages 22854-22861. See also, story titled "USPTO to Hold Hearing on Inter Partes Reexamination Proceedings" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,226, April 26, 2011.

6:00 - 7:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event. The speaker will be Geoffrey Stone (University of Chicago law school). The deadline to register is 12:00 NOON on May 9. Prices vary. Location: Davis Wright Tremaine, 1919 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

EXTENDED TO JULY 11. Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to the December 3, 2010, petition for declaratory ruling (PDR) filed by the CTIA regarding the scope of the federal ban on state and local entry regulation, codified at 47 U.S.C. § 332(c)(3)(A), and the state of Connecticut's new regulatory regime for wireless service provides. See, CTIA's PDR part 1 and part 2. This proceeding is WT Docket No. 11-35.. See, CTIA's request to extend comment deadlines, and FCC's extension notice in the Federal Register, April 18, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 74, at Pages 21742-21743.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislation business. It will begin consideration of HR 754 [LOC | WW], the "Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011", subject to a rule. See, stories titled "Intelligence Authorization Bills Seek to Counter WikiLeaks" and "Commentary: Information Sharing and National Security Leaks" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,235, May 7, 2011. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule for week of May 9.

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

9:00 AM. The House Ways and Means Committee (HWMC) will hold a hearing titled "The Need for Comprehensive Tax Reform to Help American Companies Compete in the Global Market and Create Jobs for American Workers". See, notice. Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will meet to mark up HR 1800 [LOC | WW | PDF], the "FISA Sunsets Reauthorization Act of 2011". See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "Economic Ramifications of Cyber Threats and Vulnerabilities to the Private Sector". The witnesses will be Gordon Snow (Assistant Director of the FBI's Cyber Division), Harriet Pearson (IBM), Sara Santarelli (Verizon), and Thomas Kellermann (AirPatrol Corp.) See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda again includes consideration of the nominations of Virginia Seitz (to be Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Office of Legal Counsel), Donald Verrilli (DOJ Solicitor General), Lisa Monaco (AAG in charge of the DOJ's National Security Division), Bernice Donald (Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (6thCir)), Henry Floyd (USCA/4thCir), Kathleen Williams (USDC/SDFl), Nelva Ramos (USDC/SDTex), Richard Jackson (USDC/DColo), and Sara Darrow (USDC/CDIll). The agenda also again includes consideration of S 623 [LOC | WW], the "Sunshine in Litigation Act". The SJC rarely follows its published agendas. The SJC will webcast this event. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) will hold a hearing titled "Export Controls, Arms Sales, and Reform: Balancing U.S. Interests, Part 1". The witnesses will be Ellen Tauscher (Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security), Eric Hirschorn (head of the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security), and James Miller (Department of Defense). See, notice. Location: Room 2172, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed hearing titled "FY 2012 Budget Overview". Location: Room HVC-304, Capitol Visitor Center.

10:30 AM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold an event titled "open meeting". See, tentative agenda and story titled "FCC Releases Tentative Agenda for May 12 Meeting" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,225, April 25, 2011. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

12:00 NOON - 1:45 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a panel discussion titled "Can the FCC Convert Satellite Spectrum into Wireless Competition?". The speakers will be Sanjiv Ahuja (Ch/CEO of LightSquared), Reed Hundt (REH Advisors LLP), Parul Desai (Consumers Union), Bill Ingram (Cricket/Leap), Larry Krevor (Sprint Nextel), Michael Calabrese (NAF), and Sascha Meinrath (NAF). See, notice. Location: National Press Club, Holeman Lounge, 529 14th St., NW.

2:30 PM. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Reform Committee (SHSGRC) will hold a hearing titled "Ten Years After 9/11: Is Intelligence Reform Working?". See, notice. The SHSBRC will webcast this hearing. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding its draft FIPS-180-4 [35 pages in PDF] titled "Secure Hash Standard (SHS)". See also, notice in the Federal Register, February 11, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 29, at Pages 7817-7818.

The House will meet at 9:00 AM for legislation business. It will continue consideration of HR 754 [LOC | WW], the "Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011", subject to a rule. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule for week of May 9.

RESCHEDULED FROM MAY 3. 10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Communications and Technology will hold a hearing titled "FCC Process Reform". The witnesses will be the five members of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). See, notice. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Foreign Affairs Committee's (HFAC) Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights will hold a hearing titled "China’s Latest Crackdown on Dissent". See, notice. Location: Room 2172, Rayburn Building.

1:00 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Office of Law Enforcement Standards (OLES) and the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Office for Interoperability and Compatibility (OIC) will host a teleconferenced meeting regarding testing for conformity with interoperability standards for public safety communications. This meeting pertains to Project 25 (P25). These agencies state that "An initial goal of P25 is to specify formal standards for interfaces between the components of a land mobile radio (LMR) system. LMR systems are commonly used by emergency responders in portable handheld and mobile vehicle-mounted devices. Although formal standards are being developed, no process is currently in place to confirm that LMR equipment advertised as P25-compliant meets all aspects of P25 standards." The deadline to request to attend is May 6. The deadline to submit written comments is May 6. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 29, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 83, at Pages 23992-23993.

4:45 - 6:15 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "Cloud Computing: Will It Reduce IT Costs?". Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice and registration page.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit applications to participate in the June 20, 2001, cyber security research workshop hosted by the National Coordination Office for Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NCO/NITRD) titled "Abnormal Behavior Detection Finds Malicious Actors". This is part of its series titled "Assumption Buster Workshops". See, NITRD issue summary, and notice in the Federal Register, April 25, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 79, at Pages 22925-22926.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [152 pages in PDF] regarding disability access and S 3828 [LOC | WW], the "Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010" (CVAA), signed into law on October 8, 2010, and S 3304 [LOC | WW]. This NPRM proposes to adopt rules implementing the new Section 716 of the Communications Act. The CVAA, at S 3304, Title I, Section 104, gives the FCC sweeping direction and authority to regulate "user equipment, network equipment, and software" to ensure that it is "accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities". The FCC adopted this item on March 2, 20111, and released the text on March 3, 2011. It is FCC 11-37 in CG Docket No. 10-213, WT Docket No. 96-198, CG Docket No. 10-145. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 14, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 49, at Pages 13799-13849.

The House will be in recess the week of Monday, May 16 through Friday, May 20.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Warren C. Havens v. FCC, App. Ct. No. 02-1359. Judges Sentelle, Ginsburg and Garland will preside. Location: 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

12:00 NOON - 3:00 PM. The Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) will host an event titled "Growing Trade, Growing Jobs: The Benefits and Challenges of Free Trade". The keynote speakers will be Stan McCoy (Assistant USTR for IP & Innovation) and Mike Moore (New Zealand Ambassador to the US). There will also be a panel titled "How Expanding Trade Benefits U.S. Job Creation" and another panel titled "Pending Challenges: Exploring Patents, Copyrights, Data Flow & IT Services". This event is free and open to the public. To register, contact Erin Humiston at erin at ipi dot org or 972-874-5139. Location: Holeman Lounge, National Press Club, 529 14th St., NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its 2nd Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (2ndFNPRM), regarding broadcasting near tribal lands. This item is FCC 11-28 in MB Docket No. 09-52. The FCC adopted and released this item on March 3, 2011. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 16, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 51, at Pages 14362-14366.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding video relay service (VRS) rates. The FCC adopted this item on April 14, 2011, and released it on April 15, 2011. It is FCC 11-62 in CG Docket Nos. 10-51 and 03-123. See, notice in the Federal Register, May 2, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 84, at Pages 24442-24443.

8:00 -10:00 AM. Broadband Census News LLC will host a panel discussion titled "International Hacking and Cybersecurity: Is the Internet Secure Enough?" "AT&T - T-Mobile: Going Big or Going Home?". Breakfast will be served. This event is open to the public. The price to attend is $47.12. See, notice and registration page. This event is also sponsored by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and USTelecom. Location: Clyde's of Gallery Place, 707 7th St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "Waves of Innovation: Spectrum Allocation in the Age of the Mobile Internet". The speakers will be Charles Jackson (George Washington University), Matthew Hussey (office of Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)), Thomas Hazlett (George Mason University), Steven Crowley, and Richard Bennett (ITIF). See, notice and registration page. Location: Room 2168, Rayburn Building, Capitol Hill.

TIME? The National Coordination Office for Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NCO/NITRD) will host a workshop on cyber security research  titled "Distributed Data Schemes Provide Security". See, NITRD issue summary and notice in the Federal Register, March 28, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 59, at Page 17158-17159. Location: __, Gaithersburg, MD.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [158 pages in PDF] regarding video description rules. This would reinstate and modify the video description rules adopted by the FCC in 2000, and subsequently vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals, pursuant to S 3828 [LOC | WW], the "Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010" (CVAA), signed into law on October 8, 2010, and S 3304 [LOC | WW], at Title II, Section 202. The FCC adopted this item on March 2, 20111, and released the text on March 3, 2011. It is FCC 11-36 in MB Docket No. 11-43. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 18, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 53, at Pages 14856-14871.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding possible elimination of ten year old rules, pursuant to Section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 18, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 53, at Pages 14871-14882.