9/12. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) and others introduced HR 2885 [LOC | WW | PDF], the "Legal Workforce Act", a bill to make the federal government's E-Verify program mandatory.

The E-Verify program is an information technology (IT) based national identification system, one use of which is to transfer responsibility for enforcing immigration law to employers. It would require all employers to participate in a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) run program that is based upon accessing electronic databases that include names and social security numbers (SSNs).

This bill is premised upon the assumptions that the government is capable of creating an IT based system that can enable employers to ascertain whether job applicants are eligible to be employed in the U.S., and that by effectively preventing ineligible persons from working, aliens will have little incentive to illegally enter into or stay in the US.

There is already a federal E-Verify program; however, employer participation is voluntary.

Rep. Smith (at right) stated in a release that "E-Verify is a web-based program that quickly identifies individuals working illegally in the United States and protects jobs for legal workers by checking the Social Security numbers of new hires."

He also criticized President Obama for not seeking such a mandate. Rep. Smith stated that "Last week, President Obama gave yet another job creation speech that was aimed at protecting one job -- his own." Rep. Smith added that "if President Obama is indeed focused on putting 23 million unemployed or underemployed Americans back to work, there is one element that is missing from his jobs plan: a federal E-Verify requirement."

This bill has 14 original cosponsors, all of whom are Republicans.

The program is currently voluntary. It was created by Title IV of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, Public Law No. 104-208. The program is codified at 8 U.S.C. § 1324a notes. This bill would expand the program, and make it mandatory, and permanent. Other bills, introduced in prior Congresses, were not enacted into law. See, for example, HR 3308 [LOC | WW], the "Secure America Through Verification and Enforcement Act of 2009" or "SAVE Act", in the 111th Congress.

The HJC is scheduled to mark up this bill on Thursday, September 15.

The HJC held a hearing on February 10, 2011. See especially, prepared testimony of Richard Stana of the Government Accountability Office (GAO). He wrote that there are "erroneous tentative nonconfirmations (TNC), or situations in which work-authorized employees are not automatically confirmed by E-Verify".

HR 2885 would provide that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) "shall establish and administer a verification system" that "responds to inquiries ... through ... toll-free electronic media concerning an individual's identity and whether the individual is authorized to be employed".

The bill would also require the DHS to maintain "records of the inquiries that were made" and "of verifications provided (or not provided)". (Parentheses in original.)

The bill would require the DHS to compare "the name and social security account number provided in an inquiry against such information maintained by the" U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) "in order to validate (or not validate) the information provided regarding an individual whose identity and employment eligibility must be confirmed". (Parentheses in original.)

The SSA databases contain errors. This can cause the DHS to return an erroneous TNC that wrongfully prevents a person from working.

Second, an employee may list his or her name in a manner that is not consistent with the SSA's listing of that same person. This too can cause the DHS to return an erroneous TNC that prevents someone from working.

Stana testified that in Fiscal Year 2009 about 2.3 percent of queries resulted in final determinations of ineligibility. He added that the error rate for false negatives is unknown because of employees who do not contest their determinations.

Third, illegal immigrants who are ineligible to work can circumvent the process by assuming the identity of eligible persons. The E-Verify program erroneously verifies their eligibility for employment. Stana wrote in his prepared testimony that "identity fraud remains a challenge because employers may not be able to determine if employees are presenting genuine identity and employment eligibility documents that are borrowed or stolen. E-Verify also cannot detect cases in which an unscrupulous employer assists unauthorized employees." Stana's prepared testimony does not attempt to quantify these false positives.

To address the problem of identity theft, the bill provides that SSNs that have been the subject of "multiple use in the employment eligibility verification system", or "otherwise suspected or determined to have been compromised by identity fraud ... shall be blocked from use" by this E-Verify program.

The bill provides that victims of identity theft, and any other "legitimate holder of the number" would then have the burden of proving their right to work.

In addition, the bill would all but eliminate legal recourse for individuals who have been wrongfully terminated or denied employment as a result of erroneous operation of the E-Verify system.

The bill would provide that the only recourse for "an error of the verification mechanism" is under the Federal Tort Claims Act, and the only remedy is an injunction to correct the erroneous information. The bill would also prohibit class action litigation.

The bill would also subject both employers and workers to criminal prosecution, and imprisonment, for violation of the mandates contained in the bill.

The bill would also create a "Biometric Employment Eligibility Verification pilot program".

The bill enumerates two purposes for this national identification system -- to enforce immigration laws, and to "assist in the protection of the critical infrastructure". Nothing in the bill limits future expansion of the uses of this system. However, the bill provides that this would be an electronic database system; the bill does not authorize the issuance of "national identification cards".

Rep. Smith stated in his release that the system will be "quick, and easy to use". In contrast, the bill provides for "confirmation or a tentative non-confirmation of an individual's identity and employment eligibility within 3 working days". Also, in the case of "tentative non-confirmation", the DHS may take another "10 working days" to provide a final response. Moreover, the DHS "may extend this deadline". Hence, the DHS could take as long as it wants to render a decision as to whether any individual is eligible to work.

See also, story titled "DHS Expands E-Verify to Include Passport Photo Matching" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,153, November 11, 2010.

This is not Rep. Smith's only bill pertaining to the use of electronic databases to pursue government policy objectives. He is also the sponsor of HR 1981 [LOC | WW], the data retention bill passed by the HJC on July 28, 2011. See, stories in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,278, August 3, 2011.

9/12. The U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission released a paper titled "China's Foreign Assistance in Review: Implications for the United States".

This paper states that foreign assistance provided by the People's Republic of China (PRC) is growing, and potentially undermining the policy objectives of foreign assistance provided by democratic governments, such as government reform, market reforms, human rights, and democracy.

This paper reports that the PRC is using foreign assistance to gain access to oil, gas and other natural resources, to isolate Taiwan, to gain access to foreign consumer markets, and to promote its telecommunications sector.

The paper states that "China's foreign assistance has grown dramatically over the last decade, challenging established notions of what foreign aid consists of and how it should be invested. China often focuses its assistance on its own strategic objectives and economic needs, such as developing infrastructure to expand access to oil, gas, and other natural resources needed for China’s development, and increasing market access for Chinese products."

This assistance "lacks requirements that come with Western aid such as governmental reform and human rights protections". However, "China does expect beneficiaries of its aid to meet certain standards of its own, such as diplomatic loyalty on issues such as Taiwan". Its goal is "isolating Taiwan" and deterring other nations from "engaging with what China considers a rogue province".

The paper states that this foreign assistance is often conditioned on access to domestic consumer markets. For example, "as part of China's $20 billion loan package to Venezuela in 2010, the Venezuelan government was required to use a portion of the funds to purchase 300,000 consumer appliances from the Chinese company Haier as well as to use Chinese companies to extract the oil needed to pay back the loan."

The PRC is also using foreign assistance to promote is telecommunications sector. It states, for example, that "China's commercial and development assistance often go hand-in-hand in Africa, especially in the telecommunications sector. In 2009, China invested $10 billion in developing Africa's telecommunications and extractive industries, making China the largest single investor in Africa." (Footnote omitted.)

The paper continues that "Loans to fund and operate telecommunications infrastructure have been tied to China's state-controlled companies Huawei and ZTE, which together have been awarded more telecommunications contracts in Africa than any other telecom company in the world. For example, in 2007, Zambia was granted a $48 million loan from China to improve the country's telecommunication sector. Huawei was contracted to provide all equipment and services for the loan. A 2009 China Export-Import Bank loan to Zimbabwe will fund, among other things, a fiber-optic network under the Indian Ocean to the East African Submarine Cable System, with the condition that all technology and services be contracted from Chinese companies." (Footnotes omitted.)

The paper adds that "These developments suggest a risk that Chinese telecommunications infrastructure may edge out U.S. businesses from regional markets. A 2011 U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission report noted that as China expands its telecommunications goods and services in emerging markets, it is able to influence the development of telecom standards, thereby increasing the ability of Chinese companies to compete in those markets." (Footnote omitted.)

9/6. Sprint Nextel filed a complaint [68 pages in PDF] in the U.S. District Court (DC) against AT&T, AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Deutsche Telekom alleging violation of federal antitrust laws in connection with the proposed acquisition of T-Mobile USA by AT&T.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a complaint [25 pages in PDF] on August 31, 2011, seeking to enjoin the transaction. See, story titled "DOJ Files Complaint to Block AT&T Acquisition of T-Mobile USA" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,298, August 31, 2011.

Sprint Nextel alleges violation of Section 7 of the Clayton Act, which is codified at 15 U.S.C. § 18. It alleges that the relevant product markets are (1) mobile wireless services to consumers, (2) postpaid wireless services to consumers, (3) business and government accounts, and (4) backhaul. It alleges that for mobile wireless services to consumer and postpaid wireless services to consumers the relevant geographic market is the US. For backhaul, the relevant geographic markets are local.

Sprint Nextel seeks a permanent injunction.

This case is Sprint Nextel Corporation v. AT&T, Inc., AT&T Mobility LLC, T-Mobile USA, Inc. and Deutsche Telekom AG, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, D.C. No. 1:11-cv-01600, Judge Ellen Huvelle presiding.

9/8. President Obama nominated Stephanie Thacker to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. See, White House news office release and release. She is a partner in the law firm of Guthrie & Thomas in Charleston, West Virginia. Before that, she prosecuted sex and porn cases for the Department of Justice (DOJ).

9/8. President Obama nominated Gregg Costa to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. See, White House news office release.

9/8. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) held an executive business meeting at which it approved by voice votes the nominations of Morgan Christen (to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit), Yvonne Rogers ( USDC/NDCal), Richard Andrews (USDC/DDel), Scott Skavdahl (USDC/DWyo), Jennifer Zipps (USDC/DAriz), and Sharon Gleason (USDC/DAk). See, SJC release. The SJC also held over consideration of the nominations of Edgardo Ramos (USDC/SDNY), Andrew Carter (USDC/SDNY), Jesse Furman (USDC/SDNY), and Rodney Gilstrap (USDC/EDTex). These four are again on the agenda for the executive business meeting of September 15, 2011. See, notice.

9/8. President Obama nominated Kathryn Keneally to be Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Tax Division. See, White House news office release. She is a partner in the New York office of the law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski.

9/6. President Obama announced his intent to appoint Mona Sutphen and Philip Zelikow to be members of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board. Mona Sutphen is a Managing Director at UBS. Before that, she was President Obama's White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy. Before that, she worked for Stonebridge International LLC and Currenex, an online institutional foreign exchange trading platform. Zelikow is a history professor at the University of Virginia. See, White House news office release.

9/2. David Robbins was named Managing Director of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), effective September 12, 2011. He replaces Steve VanRoekel. See, FCC release.

9/9. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published a notice in the Federal Register that announces, recites, and sets the effective date (September 9, 2011) for, rules changes that repeal of certain obsolete rules. See, Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 175, Friday, September 9, 2011, at Pages 55817-55819. The FCC announced these changes on August 24, 2011. See, story titled "FCC Repeals Fairness Doctrine, Broadcast Flag, and Other Rules" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,293, August 25, 2011.

9/8. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published a notice in the Federal Register that announces, describes, recites, and sets the effective dates for, its reinstatement and revision of its video description rules. See, Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 174, Thursday, September 8, 2011, at Pages 55585-55606. The FCC adopted its Report and Order (R&O) [48 pages in PDF] on August 25, 2011. These rules mandate that audio be added to certain television programming to describe video content for the benefit of blind and visually impaired people. See, story titled "FCC Reinstates Video Description Rules" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,294, August 26, 2011.

9/8. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski gave a speech to school students in Washington DC in which he extolled the virtues of broadband internet access.

9/8. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) held an executive business meeting at which it held over consideration of S 1151 [LOC | WW], the "Personal Data Privacy and Security Act of 2011", S 1408 [LOC | WW], the "Data Breach Notification Act", and S 1535 [LOC | WW], the "Personal Data Protection and Breach Accountability Act of 2011". See also, story titled "Senate Judiciary Committee to Take Up Data Privacy, Security and Breach Bills" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,299, September 1, 2011. These three bills are again on the agenda for the executive business meeting of September 15, 2011. See, notice.

9/6. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Michael Copps gave another speech in which he lamented the state of news reporting, and "all the glitzy and often unimportant infotainment that too often passes for news". He suggested that news reporting should involve the "public sector", "schools", "and civic organizations, government and philanthropies, community media centers, libraries and PEG stations". He also stated that the founding fathers of the US "built postal roads and subsidized the costs of distributing news so that citizens everywhere in the land would have the news and information they needed".

9/1. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security published a notice in the Federal Register that requests comments regarding the effect of its foreign policy based export controls., including certain encryption products, microprocessors, and cameras, and communication intercepting devices, software and technology. The deadline to submit comments is October 3, 2011. See, Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 170, Thursday, September 1, 2011, at Pages 54426-54428.

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Notices & Disclaimers
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The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule for the week.

The Senate will meet at 2:00 PM.

12:00 NOON - 2:30 PM. The Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (MMTC) will host a panel discussion titled "USF Reform: Its Impact on Minorities and the Underserved". The speakers will include Blair Levin (Aspen Institute). This event is open to the public. The deadline to register is 5:00 PM on September 9. Register at dhonig at crosslink dot net. Lunch will be served. Location: Westin Georgetown Hotel, Washington Ballroom, 2350 M St. NW.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Broadband Committee will host a brown bag lunch. Blair Levin (Aspen Institute) will address Gig.U. Location: Hogan Lovells, 555 13th St., NW.

6:30 - 8:00 PM. Phil Verveer, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy, will give a speech, and receive questions and comments, regarding cross national data flows, and international data protection and privacy regulatory regimes. Free. Registration required: contact khenein at willkie dot com. No reporters. Locaton: Willkie Farr & Gallagher, 1875 K St., NW.

EXTENDED TO SEPTEMBER 23. Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in response to its proposal to revise the Trademark Rules of Practice and the Rules of Practice for Filings Pursuant to the Madrid Protocol regarding the requirements for specimens and for affidavits or declarations of continued use or excusable nonuse in trademark cases. See, original notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 133, Tuesday, July 12, 2011, at Pages 40839-40844. See also, extension notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 175, Friday, September 9, 2011, at Pages 55841-55842.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Third Notice of Proposed Rule Making (3rdNPRM) [32 pages in PDF] regarding the impact of the enactment of the Local Community Radio Act of 2010 (LCRA) on "the procedures previously adopted to process the approximately 6,500 applications which remain pending from the 2003 FM translator window". The FCC adopted and released this item on July 12, 2011. It is FCC 11-105 in MM Docket No. 99-25 and MB Docket No. 07-172. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 146, Friday, July 29, 2011, at Pages 45491-45499, and story titled "FCC Adopts LPFM NPRM" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,258, July 14, 2011.

The House will meet at 12:00 NOON for morning hour, and at 2:00 PM for legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule for the week.

The Senate will meet at 10:00 AM.

9:00 AM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee (RPTAC) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 162, Monday, August 22, 2011, at Pages 52312-52313. Location: DOC, Room 3884, Hoover Building, 14th Street between Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues, NW.

9:30 - 11:30 AM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) and Senate Intelligence Committee (SIC) will hold a joint hearing titled "The State of Intelligence Reform 10 Years After 9/11". See, notice. Location: Room HVC-210, Capitol Visitor Center.

9:30 - 11:00 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "Spectrum Policy for Innovation". The speakers will be Richard Bennett (ITIF), Larry Downes (TechFreedom), and Blair Levin (Aspen Institute). See, notice. Location: ITIF/ITIC, Suite 610A, 1101 K St., NW.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The House Science Committee (HSC) will hold a hearing titled "STEM in Action: Inspiring the Science and Engineering Workforce of Tomorrow". See, notice. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (SHSGAC) will hold a hearing titled "Ten Years After 9/11: Are We Safer?". The witnesses will be Janet Napolitano (Secretary of Homeland Security), Robert Mueller (FBI Director), and Matthew Olsen (Director of the National Counterterrorism Center). See, notice. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "Civil Rights Division Oversight". See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "The Impact of Social Media on a Divorce Case: Big Brother Is Watching". The speakers will be Dolly Hernandez, Cameron Shilling (McLane Graf Raulerson & Middleton), Peter Theobald (KLG Computer Forensics), and Vikki Ziegler (Walder Hayden & Brogan). Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

12:15 - 1:45 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) International Telecommunications Committee will host a brown bag lunch. The invited speakers are all Federal Communications Commission (FCC) International Bureau Assistant Bureau Chiefs: Kathryn O'Brien, Gardner Foster, Jennifer Gilsenan, Francis Gutierrez, David Strickland, and Walt Strack. For more information, contact Chris Murphy at chris_murphy at inmarsat dot com or Laura Stefani at lstefani at g2w2 dot com. Location: Inmarsat, Suite 1200, 1101 Connecticut Ave., NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) regarding proposed revisions to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 136, Friday, July 15, 2011, at Pages 41958-41985.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule for the week.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission will hold one of a series of public meetings to to consider drafts of material for its 2011 Annual Report to Congress. The topics to be considered in these meeting include "intellectual property protection and its 5-year plan, technology transfers, and outsourcing", and "China's foreign and regional activities and relationships, including those pertaining to Taiwan and Hong Kong". See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 167, Monday, August 29, 2011, at Pages 53717-53718. Location: Conference Room 231, Hall of the States, North Bldg., 444 North Capitol St., NW.

9:00 - 10:30 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "International Benchmarking of National Small and Medium Manufacturers Technology Support Programs". The speakers will be Stephen Ezell (ITIF) and Robert Atkinson (ITIF). See, notice. Location: ITIF/ITIC, Suite 610A, 1101 K St., NW.

10:00 AM - 3:00 PM. The Department of Health and Human Services' (DHHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's (ONCHIT) HIT Policy Committee will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 158, Tuesday, August 16, 2011, at Page 50734. Location: Washington Marriott Hotel, 1221 22nd St., NW.

1:00 - 2:00 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "Patent Misuse After Princo". See, August 30, 2010, opinion [78 pages in PDF] of the U.S. Court of Appeals (FdCir) in Princo Corporation v. USITC. The speakers will be Arthur Burke (Davis Polk & Wardwell), Perry Lange (Wilmer Hale), Bradley Lui (Morrison & Foerster), and Fiona Schaeffer (Jones Day). No CLE credits. See, notice.

1:30 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement will hold a hearing titled "The Investor Visa Program: Key to Creating American Jobs". See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) will meet to mark up the Fiscal Year 2012 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations bill. Location: Room 192, Dirksen Building.

The House will meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule for the week.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission will hold one of a series of public meetings to to consider drafts of material for its 2011 Annual Report to Congress. The topics to be considered in these meeting include "intellectual property protection and its 5-year plan, technology transfers, and outsourcing", and "China's foreign and regional activities and relationships, including those pertaining to Taiwan and Hong Kong". See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 167, Monday, August 29, 2011, at Pages 53717-53718. Location: Conference Room 231, Hall of the States, North Bldg., 444 North Capitol St., NW.

9:00 - 11:00 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "Explaining International Leadership in Electronic Identification Systems". The speakers will be Daniel Castro (ITIF) and Jeremy Grant (NIST). See, notice. Location: ITIF/ITIC, Suite 610A, 1101 K St., NW.

9:30 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade will hold a hearing titled "Internet Privacy: The Impact and Burden of EU Regulation". See, notice. Location: Room 2322, Rayburn Building.

9:30 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) Subcommittee on Immigration will hold a hearing on HR 2885 [LOC | WW | PDF], the "Legal Workforce Act", a bill that would make the federal government's E-Verify program mandatory. See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

9:30 AM - 5:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) North American Numbering Council will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 168, Tuesday, August 30, 2011, at Pages 53898-53899. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room (Room TW-C305), 445 12th St., SW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda again includes consideration of Edgardo Ramos (to be a Judge of the USDC/SDNY), Andrew Carter (USDC/SDNY), Jesse Furman (USDC/SDNY), and Rodney Gilstrap (USDC/EDTex). The agenda also includes consideration of S 1151 [LOC | WW], the "Personal Data Privacy and Security Act of 2011", S 1408 [LOC | WW], the "Data Breach Notification Act", and S 1535 [LOC | WW], the "Personal Data Protection and Breach Accountability Act of 2011". See, story titled "Senate Judiciary Committee to Take Up Data Privacy, Security and Breach Bills" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,299, September 1, 2011. The SJC will webcast this event. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Department of Health and Human Services' (DHHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's (ONCHIT) Meaningful Use Workgroup will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 158, Tuesday, August 16, 2011, at Page 50735-64. This event is open to the public via teleconference and webcast only.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Copyright Office (CO) will host a panel discussion titled "Current Developments in Copyright Policy Near and Far". The speakers will be Maria Strong (CO Senior Counsel for Policy and International Affairs), Karyn Claggett (CO Senior Counsel for Policy and International Affairs), and Michele Woods (CO acting Associate Register for Policy and International Affairs). The price to attend ranges from $15 to $35. Reporters are barred from this event. The DC Bar Association states that this is a DC Bar event. See, notice. For more information, call 202-626-3463. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) will host an event. The speakers will be Rick Kaplan (WTB Bureau Chief) and other WTB officials. Reporters likely will be excluded. The price to attend is $17. The FCBA states that this is an FCBA event. See, notice and registration form. Registrations and cancellations are due by 12:00 NOON on September 12. Location: Wiley Rein, 10th floor, 1776 K St., NW.

12:15 - 1:45 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a panel discussion titled "Is Our Techo-Human Marriage in Need of Counseling?". Lunch will be provided. See, notice and registration page. Location: NAF, Suite 400, 1899 L St., NW.

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

The House will not meet. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule for the week.

8:30 - 10:00 AM. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee (HIC), will give a speech titled "The Evolution of American Intelligence and National Security in the Decade since 9/11". See, notice and registration page. Webcast. Free. Location: American Enterprise Institute (AEI), 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Emerging Technology and Research Advisory Committee will hold a partially closed meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 171, Friday, September 2, 2011, at Page 54734. Location: DOC, Room 3884, Hoover Building, 14th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues, NW.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Vermont Public Service Board v. FCC, App. Ct. No. 10-1184, a petition for review of a final order of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding its high cost universal service subsidy program for non-rural carriers. This oral argument is the third on the agenda. See, FCC's brief [105 pages in PDF]. Judges Henderson, Tatel and Griffith will preside. Location: 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) will hold a partially closed meeting. The agenda includes a discussion of health information technology. See, notice in the Federal Register Vol. 76, No. 163, Tuesday, August 23, 2011, at Pages 52721-52722. Location: Marriott Metro Center, Ballroom Salon A, 775 12th St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Technology Policy Institute (TPI) will host a panel discussion titled "Online Search, Antitrust and Google: In Search of a Pro-Consumer Policy". The speakers will be Oren Bracha (University of Texas law school), Eric Clemons (University of Pennsylvania business school), Michael Katz (UC Berkeley business school), Geoffrey Manne (Lewis and Clark Law School), Randal Picker (University of Chicago Law School), and Thomas Lenard (TPI). See, notice and registration page. Location: Room 2168, Rayburn Building.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit comments to the Executive Office of the President's (EOP) Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regarding efforts to eliminate counterfeit products from the U.S. government supply chain. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 153, Tuesday, August 9, 2011, at Pages 48905-48907.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event titled "Reforms to Modernize Intercarrier Compensation/Universal Service to Transition to Broadband". CLE credits. The price to attend ranges from $25 to $195. See, notice and registration form. Registrations and cancellations are due by 5:00 PM on September 15. Location: Bingham McCutchen, 2020 K St., NW.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a program titled "Managing the Legal Risks in E-Commerce". The speaker will be Jay Westermeier (Finnegan Henderson). The price to attend ranges from $89 to $129. CLE credits. See, notice. For more information, call 202-626-3488. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

11:59 PM. Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in response to its request for information regarding how to structure its new "Advanced Manufacturing Technology Consortia" (AMTech) program, which will provide subsidies for research and development to universities, consortia and U.S. businesses. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 141, Friday, July 22, 2011, at Pages 43983-43985.

Day one of a three day closed event hosted by the New America Foundation (NAF) titled "New ICTs + New Media = New Democracy? Communications Policy and Public Life in the Age of Broadband". The NAF states that attendance is by "invitation only". See, notice. Location: NAF, Suite 400, 1899 L St., NW.