4/19. The House may consider HR 3523 [LOC | WW], the "Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2011" or "CISPA" during the week of April 23, 2012.

Rep. David Dreier (R-CA), Chairman of the House Rules Committee (HRC), wrote in a letter to members of the House that the HRC "may meet the week of April 23rd to grant a rule that could limit the amendment process for floor consideration" of this bill.

Rep. Dreier (at right) also stated that "Any Member wishing to offer an amendment must submit" copies to the HRC by 4:30 PM on Tuesday, April 24.

HR 3523 is the House Intelligence Committee (HIC) bill sponsored by Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD), the Chairman and ranking Democrat on the HIC.

On April 18, the House Homeland Security Committee (HHSC) amended and approved a related bill, HR 3674 [LOC | WW], the "Promoting and Enhancing Cybersecurity and Information Sharing Effectiveness Act of 2011" or "PRECISE Act". See, story titled "House Homeland Security Committee Approves PRECISE Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,375, April 19, 2012.

4/19. The House Ways and Means Committee (HWMC) announced that its Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures will hold a hearing regarding certain expiring tax provisions on April 26, 2012. See, notice.

The research and development (R&D) tax credit, which is codified at 21 U.S.C. § 41, expired on December 31, 2011. It was last extended at the end of 2010. See, story titled "Tax Bill Enacted With R&D Tax Credit Extension" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,182, December 18, 2010.

A HWMC spokesman told TLJ that the hearing will address the R&D tax credit.

The Congress enacted its first research and development (R&D) tax credit bill in 1981 as a temporary measure. Since then the Congress has repeatedly extended it for one or a few years.

As in prior Congresses, there are numerous bills pending in the House and Senate that would make permanent, or revise and make permanent, the R&D tax credit. However, another short extension, retroactive to January 1, 2012, is a more likely outcome.

The pending House bills include:

• HR 134 [LOC | WW], an untitled bill.
• HR 689 [LOC | WW], the "21st Century Investment Act of 2011".
• HR 871 [LOC | WW], an untitled bill.
• HR 942 [LOC | WW], titled the "American Research and Competitiveness Act of 2011".
• HR 1329 [LOC | WW], an untitled bill.
• HR 1693 [LOC | WW], the "Research and Development Tax Credit Extension Act of 2011".
• HR 1773 [LOC | WW], the "Made in America Act of 2011".
• HR 3476 [LOC | WW], the "American Growth, Recovery, Empowerment, and Entrepreneurship Act", or "AGREE Act".

The pending Senate bills include:

• S 155 [LOC | WW], the "Domestic Jobs Innovation Bonus Act".
• S 825 [LOC | WW], the "Job Creation Through Innovation Act".
• S 1577 [LOC | WW], the "Greater Research Opportunities with Tax Help Act", or "GROWTH Act".
• S 1866 [LOC | WW], the "American Growth, Recovery, Empowerment, and Entrepreneurship Act", or "AGREE Act".
• S 1960 [LOC | WW], the "Jobs Creation Act"

4/18. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, released a discussion draft [51 pages in PDF] of a manager's amendment to HR 2146 [LOC | WW], the "Digital Accountability and Transparency Act".

Rep. Issa (at right) introduced this bill on June 13, 2011.

This bill would provide for the creation of financial data reporting standards for federal agencies and recipients of federal funding.

It would create a five member bipartisan Federal Accountability and Spending Transparency Commission.

This Commission would be "responsible for the collection, storage, and public disclosure of information about Federal spending". It would also be responsible for "Standardizing common data elements and data reporting standards to foster transparency and accountability for Federal spending".

This bill would require this Commission to oversee the online publication of federal spending data in a successor web site to USASpending.gov.

The purpose of the bill is to increase federal government financial transparency, enable anyone with web access to track federal spending, and facilitate the detection of waste, fraud and abuse.

4/19. The European Parliament (EP) ratified the Passenger Name Record (PNR) agreement between the US and European Union (EU) by a vote of 409 to 226.

The EP stated in a release that "A new agreement on the transfer of EU air passengers' personal data to the US authorities was approved by the European Parliament on Thursday. The deal sets legal conditions and covers issues such as storage periods, use, data protection safeguards and administrative and judicial redress."

The agreement replaces a provisional agreement that has been in effect since 2007. See, story titled "US and EU Sign PNR Data Transfer Agreement" in TLJ Daily D-Mail Alert No. 1,618, July 30, 2007.

The EP release states that "Under the new agreement, US authorities will keep PNR data in an active database for up to 5 years. After the first 6 months, all information which could be used to identify a passenger would be ``depersonalized´´, meaning that data such as the passenger's name or her/his contact information would be codified."

It states that "PNR data will be used mainly to prevent, detect, investigate and prosecute terrorism and serious transnational crimes."

Janet Napolitano (at right), US Secretary of Homeland Security, stated in a release that the US and EU "continue to take vital steps to fight terrorism and transnational threats, while protecting privacy and civil rights".

Sophie in 't Veld, an EP member representing the Netherlands who voted against ratification, wrote in her website on April 4 that "The pressure to adopt the Agreement is huge", but that "The urgency to adopt the EU-US Agreement is in stark contrast to the complete absence of any urgency in the case of PNR transfer to other countries".

She argued that "The push for an EU-US agreement seems to be driven mainly by the concern for transatlantic relations. True, Europe and the United States have a special relationship. But diplomatic relations cannot take precedence over the rights of our own EU citizens."

4/18. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the U.K. Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) released a joint report titled "Preliminary Progress Report for USPTO-UKIPO Work Sharing Initiative". The two offices recommend that they should continue their work sharing cooperation.

In November of 2010 the USPTO and UKIPO began a program for reutilizing each other's search and examination work products on corresponding patent applications.

The just released report states that this work sharing has a "beneficial impact on efficiency and quality".

It recommends that "further cooperation should be undertaken to explore the differences in practice between the Offices, particularly regarding novelty and inventive step/non-obviousness. Collaboration on these issues could facilitate a deeper understanding among examiners and help to close gaps, in turn leading to more effective reutilization of work products".

Also, "the potential benefits of work sharing may not be fully exploited until there is a better understanding regarding the applicability of prior art. Accordingly, the USPTO and UKIPO should continue their work sharing cooperation, with a focus on increasing examiner understanding of each Office's practice."

David Kappos, Director of the USPTO, stated in a release that "This work-sharing effort represents a major step forward in our ongoing cooperation with the UKIPO, and we are pleased with the results thus far. By making more efficient and effective use of each other’s work, we can reduce the cost of doing business and help innovators move their products to market faster, with more predictability and certainty."

4/20. The US Telecom released a report [4 pages in PDF] titled "Updated Capital Spending Data Show Continued Significant Broadband Investment in Nation's Information Infrastructure". The author is the US Telecom's Patrick Brogan.

It states that "2011 capital expenditures for the industry as a whole -- including wireline, wireless, and cable operators -- were approximately $66 billion, roughly the same as 2010. Furthermore, the data show that broadband providers have made nearly $1.2 trillion in capital investments from 1996 through 2011."

It also reports that total broadband investment was $70 Billion in 2007 and 2008, and $63 Billion in 2009, and that it "shows no signs of letting up in the foreseeable future".

The report also states that 41% of investment in 2011 was in wireless, 40% was in wireline, and 19% in cable.

The US Telecom publishes in its web site various types of broadband industry statistics, including data on broadband capital investment and data on broadband availability.

4/19. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted and released an Order on Reconsideration [7 pages in PDF] in its rule making proceeding regarding the Emergency Alert System (AES).

On January 10, 2012, the FCC released its Fifth Report and Order [130 pages in PDF] in this long running proceeding. That order continued the FCC's process of revising its EAS rules to specify the manner in which EAS participants must be able to receive alert messages formatted in the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP). The FCC adopted this item on January 9, 2012, and released the text on January 10. It is FCC 12-7 in EB Docket No. 04-296.

The just released order on reconsideration pertains to the applicability of text to speech (TTS) specifications set forth in the EAS-CAP Industry Group (ECIG) Implementation Guide recommendations. It amends the EAS rules to provide that EAS participants may, but are not required, to employ the TTS functions described in the ECIG Implementation Guide.

This order is FCC 12-41 in EB Docket No. 04-296.

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The House will not meet. It will next meet on Monday, April 23, 2012, at 11:00 AM.

The Senate will not meet. It will next meet on Monday, April 23, 2012, at 12:00 NOON.

12:15 - 1:45 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a panel discussion by proponents of increasing regulatory burdens on broadcasters to disclose information. The speakers will be Michael Calabrese (NAF), Steven Waldman (Columbia Journalism School), Corie Wright (Free Press), Harold Feld (Public Knowledge), and Kathy Kiely (Sunlight Foundation). Waldman previously worked at the Genachowski FCC, where he wrote, among other things, the FCC report titled "Information Needs of Communities". Location: NAF, Suite 400, 1899 L St., NW.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a program titled "Fundamentals of Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions". The speakers will be Daniel Fisher (Akin Gump), John Vasily (Debevoise & Plimpton), and Andrew Brady (Skadden Arps). Prices vary. No CLE credits. See, notice. For more information, call 202-626-3463. The DC Bar has a history of barring reporters from its events. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

1:00 - 5:00 PM. The Public Knowledge (PK) will host an event related to Open Source Hardware". There will be two panels, and a technology exposition. Location: Room 2168 (Gold Room), Rayburn Building.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGAB) regarding whether certain docketed FCC proceedings should be terminated as dormant. See, February 15, 2012, Public Notice (DA 12-220 in CG Docket No. 12-39), and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 44, Tuesday, March 6, 2012, at Pages 13322-13323.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding its draft NIST IR 7511 Rev. 3.01.165 [47 pages in PDF] titled "Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP) Version 1.0 Validation Program Test Requirements".

The House will meet at 11:00 AM. The schedule for the week may include consideration of HR 3523 [LOC | WW], the "Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2011" or "CISPA".

The Senate will meet at 12:00 NOON. It will resume reconsideration the motion to proceed to S 1925 [LOC | WW], the "Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2011".

TIME CHANGE. 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM. 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Technical Advisory Board for First Responder Interoperability will meet. Title VI of HR 3630 [LOC | WW], the spectrum bill enacted into law in February, provided for the creation of this board. See, notice. See also, April 19 Public Notice with agenda and speakers. Location: FCC, 445 12th St., SW.

1:00 PM. TIME. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "Hot Legal Issues In Online Affiliate Marketing". The speakers will be Thomas Cohn (LeClair Ryan), Elizabeth Tucci (Federal Trade Commission), Mark Campbell (State of Florida), and Adam Solomon (Olshan Grundman). Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

2:00 PM. Deadline to questions to the Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) regarding its reissued Request for Proposal (RFP) SA1301-12-RP-0043 for a new Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions contract. This is for the contract term of October 1, 2012 through September 30, 2015. See, summary, and RFP and Form 33.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [14 pages in PDF] regarding allowing Economic Area (EA) based 800 MHz Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR) licensees to exceed a channel spacing and bandwidth limitation. The FCC adopted this NPRM on March 7, 2012, and released the text on March 9. It is FCC 12-25 in WT Docket No. 12-64; WT Docket No. 11-110. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 61, Thursday, March 29, 2012, at Pages 18991-18996.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "The Emergence of Online Video: Is It The Future?". The witnesses will be Barry Diller (IAC), Paul Misener (Amazon), Susan Whiting (Nielsen Company), and Blair Westlake (Microsoft). See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

2:00 PM. The House Homeland Security Committee's (HHSC) Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Management will hold a hearing titled "America is Under Cyber Attack: Why Urgent Action is Needed". See, notice. Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

2:00 - 3:30 PM. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division will host a presentation titled "Market Structure, Regulation and Mobile Network Penetration". The speaker will be Yan Li (University of East Anglia) co-author of a paper with the same title. For more information, contact Thomas Jeitschko at 202-532-4826 or atr dot eag at usdoj dot gov. Location: Liberty Square Building, 450 5th St., NW.

2:00 - 3:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast and telecast panel discussion titled "Should I Sue? The Perils of Litigation in the Age of Anonymous". This panel will address hacking attacks launched in retaliation for the filing of lawsuits. The speakers will be Tanya Forsheit (InfoLawGroup), Marcia Hofmann (Electronic Frontier Foundation), Steven Teppler (Edelson McGuire), and Gib Sorebo (SAIC). Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

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

3:00 - 4:30 PM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "Resolved: U.S. Ex-Im Bank Financing is a Vital Component of U.S. Competitiveness". The speakers will be Robert Atkinson (ITIF), Sallie James (Cato Institute), Andrew Roth (Club for Growth), and Loren Thompson (Lexington Institute). See, notice. Location: Congressional Auditorium, Capitol Visitor Center.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Transactional Committee will host an event titled "New Developments in Merger Analysis and their Implications in FCC Merger Review". CLE credits. Prices Vary. Registrations and cancellations due by 12:00 NOON on Monday, April 23. See, notice. Location: __.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host the second part of a two part program titled "Preserving Intellectual Property Rights in Government Contracts". The speakers will be David Bloch (Winston & Strawn), Richard Gray (Department of Defense), John Lucas (Department of Energy), and James McEwen (Stein McEwen). The price to attend this part ranges from $89 to $129. CLE credits. See, notice. For more information, call 202-626-3488. The DC Bar has a history of barring reporters from its events. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

TIME? The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) will host an event titled "CES on the Hill". See, notice. Location: Room B-357, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an oversight hearing on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano will testify. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Financial Services Committee's (HFSC) Subcommittee on Capitol Markets will hold an oversight hearing on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). See, notice. Location: Room 2128, Rayburn Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) will hold a hearing titled "Expanding Broadband Access, Promoting Innovation, and Protecting Consumers in a Communications Revolution: Fiscal Year 2013 Resource Needs for the Federal Communications Commission". The witness will be FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. See, notice. Location: Room 138, Dirksen Building.

6:30 PM. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) will host an event titled "Digital Patriots Dinner". The honorees will be Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), and David Rubenstein (Managing Director of the Carlyle Group). There will be a reception at 6:30 PM. The dinner will begin at 7:30 PM. See, notice. Location: Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania, Ave., NW.

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) will host an event titled "2012 Washington Caucus". The speakers will include Deanna Okun (Chairman of the U.S. International Trade Commission), Daniel Weitzner (Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Internet Policy in the Executive Office of the President), Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Rep. Darrell Issa (D-CA), Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), and Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE). For more information, contact Maggie Clark at 202-783-0070 or mclark at ccianet dot org. Location: Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will host a workshop titled "Paper, Plastic ... or Mobile? An FTC Workshop on Mobile Payments". See, notice. Location: FTC Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

9:00 AM - 2:30 PM. The Cato Institute will host a conference titled "Is Immigration Good for America". Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) will speak at 12:00 NOON. Free. See, notice and registration page. Location: Cato, 1000 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet will hold a hearing titled "International Patent Issues: Promoting a Level Playing Field for American Industry Abroad". See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Ways and Means Committee's (HWMC) Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures will hold a hearing regarding expiring tax provisions. The R&D tax credit expired on December 31, 2011. See, notice. See, also, 21 U.S.C. § 41 and story titled "Tax Bill Enacted With R&D Tax Credit Extension" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,182, December 18, 2010. Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building.

10:00 AM. The House Homeland Security Committee's (HHSC) Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence and Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies will hold a joint hearing titled "Iranian Cyber Threat to the U.S. Homeland". See, notice. Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

10:00 AM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed hearing titled "Ongoing Intelligence Activities". See, notice. Location: Room HVC-304, House Visitor Center.

POSTPONED. 10:00 AM. The House Appropriations Committee's (HAC) Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government will hold a hearing on the FY 2013 budget for the Supreme Court. The witnesses will be Justices Anthony Kennedy and Stephen Breyer. See, notice. The HAC will webcast this event. Location: Room 2359, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee (HOGRC) will hold a business meeting. See, notice. Location: Room 2154, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda again includes consideration of the nominations of Michael Shea (USDC/DConn), Gonzalo Curiel (USDC/SDCal), Robert Shelby (USDC/DUtah). The SJC will webcast this event. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "Social Media: Legal Considerations For Corporate Counsel". The speakers will be Brent Kidwell (Jenner & Block), Paul Meyer (Towers Watson), Blair Vietmeyer (E*TRADE Financial Corporation), and Michael Lowman (Jenner & Block). The price to attend ranges from free to $15. No CLE credits. See, notice. For more information, call 202-626-3463. The DC Bar has a history of barring reporters from its events. Location: Jenner & Block, 9th Floor, 1099 New York Ave., NW.

3:00 - 4:30 PM. The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA), U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) will host an event titled "World Intellectual Property Day". The opening speakers will be Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), David Kappos (head of the USPTO), and John Bryson (Secretary of Commerce). There will then be a panel discussion. The speakers will be Todd Dickenson (AIPLA), David Kappos, James Pooley (WIPO) and Al Langer (inventor). At 4:30 - 6:00 there will be a reception. Free. Exhibits will be on display. Register by sending an e-mail to WorldIPDay at aipla dot org. Location: Room 562, Dirksen Building.

11:00 AM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold an event titled "Open Meeting". See, agenda, and story titled "FCC Releases Tentative Agenda for Meeting of April 27" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,369, April 12, 2012. Location: FCC headquarters, Room TW-C305, 445 12th St., SW.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) the regarding the types and depth of testing that the NTIA intends to conduct in Phase II/III of the Spectrum Sharing Innovation Test Bed pilot program to assess whether devices employing Dynamic Spectrum Access techniques can share the frequency spectrum with land mobile radio systems. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 60, Wednesday, March 28, 2012, at Page 18793.