6/29. Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), and ten other Democratic Senators, sent a letter to Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI) and Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS), the Chairman and ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC), objecting to language in the SAC's appropriations bill that provides funding for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for FY 2012 that would prevent the FCC from using any appropriated funds to enforce its rules for the regulation of broadband internet access service (BIAS) providers.

The ten Senators who signed the letter are Sen. Kerry, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM), Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO), and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Sen. Bernard Sanders (D-VT), and Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK).

They wrote that "We side with the agency of expertise and supporters of the rule and urge you to reject any proposals that will prevent the FCC from implementing or enforcing its net neutrality rules."

The FCC promulgated its BIAS rules in its huge Report and Order (R&O) [194 pages in PDF] of late December, 2011.

The FCC adopted the R&O on December 21, 2010, and released the text on December 23, 2010. It is FCC 10-201 in GN Docket No. 09-191 and WC Docket No. 07-52. See also, stories in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,186, December 22, 2010, and TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,188, December 24, 2010.

On April 8, 2011, the House passed HJRes 37, a resolution disapproving the FCC's BIAS rules by a vote of 240-179. See, story titled "House Passes Resolution Disapproving the FCC's BIAS Rules" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,220, April 11, 2011.

The Free Press's Joel Kelsey stated in a release that "We applaud these senators for standing up against this brazen attempt to hand over the keys of the open Internet to AT&T, Comcast and Verizon. This amendment is a poorly disguised play to hijack the budget process in order to prolong a political grudge against the FCC. We hope the Appropriations Committee heeds the advice of the senators on this letter and leaves this amendment where it belongs -- on the cutting room floor."

6/28. Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee (SFC), issued a release on June 28, 2011, that states that the SFC "will hold a ``mock´´ markup of the draft implementing bills for the South Korea, Colombia, and Panama Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) that includes an extension of Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) this Thursday, June 30".

This release adds that the SFC "will consider the draft implementing bills during a ``mock´´ markup because Congress cannot offer amendments to the final implementing bills submitted by the Administration under the Trade Promotion Authority Act".

President Obama also issued a statement regarding the pending free trade agreements between the U.S. and Korea, Panama and Columbia. See, White House news office release.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), the ranking Republican on the SFC stated in a release that "This highly-partisan decision to include TAA in the South Korean FTA implementing bill risks support for this critical job-creating trade pact in the name of a welfare program of questionable benefit at a time when our nation is broke."

Sen. Hatch continued that "This is a clear breach of Trade Promotion Authority and threatens the ability of American exporters and job creators who stand to benefit from the largest bilateral trade agreement in more than a decade. TAA should move through the Congress on its own merit and should stand up to rigorous Senate debate. President Obama should send up our pending trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and Korea and allow for a clean vote."

On June 28, 2011, Sen. Robert Casey (D-PA) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced S 1286 [LOC | WW], another bill pertaining to TAA.

These FTAs also address intellectual property, telecommunications and e-commerce. See for example, text of the the US Korea FTA, and its sections regarding telecommunications [17 pages in PDF], electronic commerce [4 pages in PDF], and intellectual property rights [35 pages in PDF].

Steve Metalitz released a statement on behalf of the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) on June 29, 2011. "We commend the Finance Committee, under the leadership of Senator Baucus, for this significant milestone toward the ratification of the Korea, Colombia, and Panama Free Trade Agreements. These three historic Agreements are major steps forward for U.S. jobs and exports, including for the vital industry sectors that depend on copyright protection. The Agreements contain critical protections for copyright in the digital age"

He wrote that "We urge both the Senate and the House of Representatives to act swiftly in the weeks to come to bring these critical Agreements into force as soon as possible."

Greg Frazier, of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), stated in a release that "We applaud Chairman Baucus for his leadership in moving ahead on the Korea, Colombia and Panama FTAs. These agreements include crucial safeguards against copyright theft that plagues the motion picture industry’s viability overseas and inflicts untold damage on our creative community and workers at home. They will also help open these markets to U.S. filmed entertainment and the jobs the increased exports create."

The US and Korea concluded their original FTA in 2007. See, story titled "US and Korea Announce FTA" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,559, April 2, 2007. However, Congressional Democrats blocked approval. The US and Korea renegotiated this FTA late last year, making changes affecting automobiles and other matters. See, stories titled "US Korea Free Trade Agreement" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,150, November 8, 2010; "US and Korea Fail to Reach Agreement on Free Trade" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,155, November 14, 2010; and "OUSTR Announces Progress on US Korea FTA" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,171, December 7, 2010.

6/28. The Senate confirmed David Cole to be the Deputy Attorney General, the second ranking position at the Department of Justice (DOJ), by a vote of 55-42. See, Roll Call No. 97.

It was a nearly straight party line vote. Five Republicans voted yes: Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO), Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), and Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN). Three Democrats did not vote: Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI), Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), and Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM).

Republicans had been filibustering this nomination. A vote to end this filibuster, which requires 60 votes, failed in May. See also, story titled "Senate Rejects Cloture on Nomination of James Cole to be Deputy Attorney General" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,238, May 11, 2011.

However, Republicans ended the filibuster, and allowed this vote on confirmation, which requires 50 votes.

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC), explained that the filibuster was tied the the DOJ's failure "to respond to legitimate oversight requests" from Sen. Grassley and Sen. Saxbe Chambliss (R-GA), but that the DOJ has recently reached agreements with the two Senators regarding access to information.

6/28. The Senate confirmed Virginia Seitz (at right) to be the Assistant Attorney General (AAG) in charge of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Office of Legal Counsel (OLC). See, Congressional Record, June 28, 2011, at Page S4164.

She was previously a partner in the Washington DC office of the law firm of Sidley Austin. President Obama nominated her in January. See, story titled "Obama Picks Seitz for OLC" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,194, January 6, 2011.

She is the first OLC AAG since 2004. The Senate has not confirmed nominees for this inherently controversial position for almost a decade. The unit has been run by acting AAGs.

Like many DOJ units, the OLC drafts legal opinions. However, it is assigned many of the most important issues, including those in which two or more federal agencies are in conflict, and those which implicate major policy goals of the President.

6/28. The Senate confirmed Lisa Monaco to be the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) National Security Division (NSD). See, Congressional Record, June 28, 2011, at Page S4164.

6/28. President Obama nominated David Nuffer to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah. He is currently a U.S. Magistrate Judge. See, White House news office release and release.

6/28. President Obama nominated Owen Ross to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. He is long time Assistant U.S. Attorney. See, White House news office release and release.

6/23. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) held an executive business meeting at which it held over consideration of the nominations of numerous judicial nominees: Steve Six (to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit), Stephen Higginson (to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit), Jane Milazzo (USDC/EDLa), Alison Nathan (USDC/SDNY), Katherine Forrest (USDC/SDNY), and Susan Hickey (USDC/WDArk).

6/23. President Obama nominated Jennifer Zipps to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. she is currently a U.S. Magistrate Judge. See, White House news office release and release.

6/23. President Obama nominated Rosemary Márquez to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. She is a criminal defense attorney. See, White House news office release and release.

6/21. The Senate confirmed Leon Panetta to be Secretary of Defense by a vote of 100-0. See, Roll Call No. 93.

6/21. The Senate confirmed Michael Simon to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. See, Roll Call No. 92. All of the no votes were cast by Republicans.

6/21. On June 16, 2011, the Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) amended and approved S 1103 [LOC | WW], an untitled bill to extend the term of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Robert Mueller by two years. On June 21, 2011, the SJC reported the bill. See, Report No. 112-23. See also, story titled "Obama Wants to Extend Mueller's Term" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,240, May 13, 2011, and story titled "Sen. Leahy Introduces Bill to Extend Mueller's Term" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,246, May 27, 2011.

The Senate will meet at 9:30 AM. It will resume consideration of S 679 [LOC | WW], the "Presidential Appointment Efficiency and Streamlining Act of 2011".

9:00 - 11:30 AM. The Heritage Foundation (HF) will host an event titled "The China Challenge: Mixing Economics and Security". The speakers will include Sen. Jon Cornyn (R-TX). See, notice. Location: HF, 214 Massachusetts Ave., NE.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "Privacy and Data Security: Protecting Consumers in the Modern World". The witnesses will be Julie Brill (FTC Commissioner), Cameron Kerry (Department of Commerce), Austan Schlick (FCC General Counsel), Scott Taylor (HP), Stuart Pratt (Consumer Data Industry Association), Ioana Rusu (Consumers Union), Tim Schaaff (Sony Network Entertainment International), and Thomas Lenard (Technology Policy Institute). See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

TIME CHANGE. 10:30 AM. 10:15 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "Barriers to Justice and Accountability: How the Supreme Court’s Recent Rulings will Affect Corporate Behavior". See, notice. The SJC will webcast this event. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

5:30 - 6:45 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a discussion of the promotional brochure [47 pages in PDF] titled "The Power of Open". It pertains to the Creative Commons license. The speakers will be Cathy Casserly (Creative Commons), Heather LaGarde, Rebecca MacKinnon (NAF), and Tom Glaisyer (NAF). See, notice. Location: NAF,  Suite 400, 1899 L St., NW.

6:00 PM. There will be an event titled "The Future of Journalism in the Digital Age". For more information, contact Laura Wilcox at 202-466-7230 or wilcoxl at cic dot nche dot edu. Location: National Press Club, First Amendment Lounge, 13th Floor, 529 14th St., NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) following its 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.

The Senate will meet at 9:30 AM. It will consider the nomination of David Petraeus to be Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

There will be no weekly executive business meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC).

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host an event titled "The Pending Free Trade Agreements and Trade Adjustment Assistance". The keynote speaker will be Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee (SFC). The other speakers will be Sallie James (Cato), Howard Rosen (Peterson Institute for International Economics), and Claude Barfield (AEI). See, notice. Location: AEI, 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

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

3:00 PM. The Senate Finance Committee (SFC) will meet in executive session to "Review and Make Recommendations on Proposed Legislation Implementing the U.S-Korea Free Trade Agreement, the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, the U.S.-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement, as well as the Associated Proposed Statements of Administrative Action". See, notice. Location: Room 215, Dirksen Building.

4:30 PM. There will be an event hosted by the American Constitution Society titled "2010-2011 Supreme Court Review". See, notice. For more information, contact Chi-Ser Tran at 202-393-6181 or ctran at acslaw dot org. This event is free. Location: National Press Club, Ballroom, 13th Floor, 529 14th St., NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding its draft SP 800-57 Part 1 Revision 3 [143 pages in PDF] titled "Recommendation for Key Management: Part 1: General".

Independence Day.

This is a federal holiday. See, OPM list of 2011 federal holidays.

The House will not meet.

The Senate will not meet.

The National Press Club will be closed.

The House will not meet.

EXTENDED TO AUGUST 4. Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Inquiry (NOI) [46 pages in PDF] regarding how its rules and policies could be modified to provide greater economic, market entry, communication adoption opportunities, and incentives for Native Nations. This notice is FCC 11-30 in CG Docket No. 11-41. The FCC adopted it on March 3, 2011, and released the text on March 4, 2011. See, notice in the Federal Register: April 5, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 65, at Pages 18759-18761. See also, extension notice (DA 11-873).

8:00 AM - 3:00 PM. The National Science Foundation's (NSF) National Science Board will hold a closed meeting to discuss the NSF FY 2013 budget. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 123, Monday, June 27, 2011, at Page 37380.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Heritage Foundation (HF) will host an event titled "Supreme Court's 2010 - 2011 Term". The speakers will include Neal Katyal (Principal Deputy Solicitor General). See, notice. Location: HF, 214 Massachusetts Ave., NE.

2:00 PM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a hearing titled "Federal Government Spectrum Use". See, notice. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

10:30 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a hearing titled "The Views of the Independent Agencies on Regulatory Reform". See, notice. Location: Room 2322, Rayburn Building.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its 4th Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [16 pages in PDF] regarding out of band emission limits for mobile Broadband Radio Service (BRS) and Educational Broadband Service (EBS) devices operating in the 2496-2690 MHz band. This item is FCC 11-81 in WT Docket No. 03-66 and RM-11614. The FCC adopted this FNPRM on May 24, 2011, and released the text on May 27, 2011. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 109, Tuesday, June 7, 2011, at Pages 32901-32906.

10:00 AM. The House Homeland Security Committee's (HHSC) Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response and Communications will hold a hearing titled "Communicating With the Public During Emergencies: An Update on Federal Alert and Warning Efforts". See, notice. Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Inquiry (FNOI) requesting information to assist it in preparing its annual reports to the Congress on the status of competition in markets for the delivery of video programming. 47 U.S.C. § 548(g) mandates that these reports be prepared annually. However, the FCC does not comply with this statute. See, notice in the Federal Register, May 4, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 86, at Pages 25345-25352. This FNOI is FCC 11-65 in MB Docket No. 07-269.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in connection with its June 28, 2011, event titled "Helping Consumers Harness the Potential of Location-Based Services". This proceeding is WT Docket No. 11-84. See, FCC notice.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in connection with June 21 event titled "Patent Standards Workshop". See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 93, Friday, May 13, 2011, at Pages 28036-28038, and FTC release of May 9, 2011. See also, story titled "FTC to Hold Workshop on Standard Setting and Patents" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,242, May 16, 2011.

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