9/7. The House will return from its August recess on Monday, September 10. House Republican Leader Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) released the schedule for the House for the week of September 10 through 14. It includes HR 5949, the "FISA Amendments Act Reauthorization Act of 2012", HR 6215, a trademark dilution remedies technical corrections bill, HR 6131, a bill to extend the SAFE WEB Act, and SConRes 17, a resolution regarding participation by Taiwan in international organizations.

Surveillance. The House will consider HR 5949 [LOC | WW], the "FISA Amendments Act Reauthorization Act of 2012", subject to a rule.

This bill would extend for five years government authority to conduct surveillance related to persons "outside" the US, without individualized court approval. Surveillance of persons "outside of the United States" is a term of art that also enables surveillance of persons inside of the US who fall within the protection of the 4th Amendment.

This warrantless "outside" of the US surveillance authority was enacted as part of HR 6304 [LOC | WW], the "Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2008". The House passed it on June 20, 2008. The Senate passed it on July 9, 2008. Former Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) voted for it. Former President Bush signed it on July 10, 2008. It is now Public Law No. 110-261.

The 2008 Act provides that this "outside" of the US authority sunsets on December 31, 2012. HR 5949 and the Senate version, S 3276 [LOC | WW], deceptively titled the "FAA Sunsets Extension Act of 2012", would extend the sunset for five years, to December 31, 2017.

The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) approved HR 5949 on June 19. See, story titled "House Judiciary Committee Approves FISA Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,399, June 19, 2012. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) reported this bill on August 2.

The House Rules Committee (HRC) will meet at 5:00 PM on Monday, September 10 to adopt a rule for consideration of this bill. This rule is likely to make in order certain amendments. Some or all of the amendments offered but rejected at the HJC mark up on June 19 may be made in order during House floor consideration of the bill. This includes proposals to shorter the extension from five to three years, to require the Attorney General to publish summaries of opinions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review, to impose more reporting requirements, and to require an Inspector General report.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) introduced S 3276 on June 7. The Senate Intelligence Committee (SIC) had previously approved the yet to be introduced bill in a secret session on May 22.

The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) amended and approved this bill on July 19, 2012. The SJC added a provision for Inspector General reviews.

The full Senate has not yet approved either the SIC or SJC version of this bill.

See also, stories titled "Senate Considers Bill To Extend FISA Outside the US Warrantless Wiretap Authority", "House Judiciary Committee Takes Up Bill To Extend FISA Outside the US Warrantless Wiretap Authority", and "Commentary: Warrantless Wiretaps and Senate Secrecy" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,396, June 14, 2012.

Trademark Dilution. The House will consider HR 6215 [LOC | WW | PDF], an untitled bill to amend the Trademark Act regarding remedies for dilution.

See, story titled "Rep. Smith Introduces Bill to Tweak Trademark Dilution Statute" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,414, July 28, 2012, and story titled "House Judiciary Committee Passes Technical Amendment to Trademark Dilution Statute" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,422, August 6, 2012.

SAFE WEB Act. The House will consider HR 6131 [LOC | WW], a bill to extend the "Undertaking Spam, Spyware, And Fraud Enforcement With Enforcers Beyond Borders Act of 2006" or "SAFE WEB Act", under suspension of the rules.

The House Commerce Committee (HCC) approved this bill on August 1. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) approved S 3410 [LOC | WW], a substantially identical bill, on July 31, 2012. See, story titled "House and Senate Commerce Committees Pass Bills to Extend SAFE WEB Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,418, August 2, 2012.

The Congress enacted the SAFE WEB Act in late 2006, with a seven year sunset. HR 6131 and S 3410 would extend the sunset until September 20, 2020.

These bills are short, straightforward, and not controversial. Moreover, the 2006 SAFE WEB Act was not controversial either.

However, the SAFE WEB Act conferred some broad powers on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). For example, the Act gave the FTC power to compel third party service providers to disclose the contents of stored wire and electronic communications, without notice to the owner of the communications, and with a gag order imposed upon the service provider.

Also, while the title suggests that this bill pertains to the web, it actually affects a wide range of investigations and actions by the FTC.

Taiwan. The House will consider SConRes 17 under suspension of the rules. This resolution provides that "it is the sense of Congress that" the US "should take a leading role in garnering international support for the granting of observer status to Taiwan in the" International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). It also states that the US has "declared its support for the participation of Taiwan in appropriate international organizations".

The Senate passed this resolution on September 21, 2011. The House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) approved it on March 7, 2012.

9/7. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a tentative agenda for its event titled "Open Meeting", scheduled for September 28, 2012. The five Commissioners are scheduled to adopt three notice of proposed rulemakings (NPRMs).

First, the FCC is scheduled to adopt a NPRM related to incentive auctions. Second, the FCC is scheduled to adopt a NPRM regarding "mobile spectrum holdings". Third, the FCC is scheduled to adopt a NPRM regarding its licensing and operating rules for satellite services.

Incentive Auctions. The Congress enacted HR 3630, [LOC | WW], the "Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act" in February. This bill, among other things, gives the FCC authority to conduct incentive auctions.

An incentive auction provides for the sharing of spectrum auction proceeds with the licensees who voluntarily relinquish that spectrum. It provides a financial incentive for television broadcasters and other licensees to relinquish some of their spectrum. The incentive auction provisions are in Subtitle D, at Sections 6401-6414.

See also, stories titled "House and Senate Negotiators Reach Agreement on Spectrum Legislation", "Summary of Spectrum Bill", and "Reaction to Spectrum Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,339, February 17, 2012, story titled "House and Senate Pass Spectrum Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,340, February 18, 2012, and story titled "Obama Signs Spectrum Bill into Law" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,345, February 23, 2012.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski (at left) released a statement on September 7 regarding incentive auctions. However, it contains little information. He wrote that he has, or would, "share a detailed proposal for incentive auctions with my colleagues". He has released no document to the public.

He also wrote that "we must pursue several strategies vigorously: freeing up more spectrum for both licensed use and for unlicensed services".

There was considerable debate in the Congress in 2011 and early 2012 regarding the extent of FCC authority to make relinquished spectrum available for unlicensed use. Genachowski took sides in legislative debates. He had sought much wider authority to allocate spectrum for unlicensed use than the bill allows. See, January 11 speech and story titled "Genachowski Addresses Incentive Auctions and Unlicensed Spectrum" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,326, January 13, 2012.

Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), Chairman of the House Commerce Committee (HCC), promptly criticized Genachowski's speech. He stated that "It's time to stop the FCC from engaging in political mischief that will hurt competition and steal money from the taxpayer's coffers. Don't take our word for it -- look at the 2008 auction. The FCC imposed conditions on the C and D blocks that ultimately prevented the D-block from selling and pushed smaller carriers out of the auction. Taxpayers lost somewhere in the neighborhood of $5 billion, and spectrum remains sidelined." See, story titled "Rep. Upton Criticizes Genachowski's Spectrum Speech" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,328, January 15, 2012.

Allocating relinquished spectrum for unlicensed use would not generate revenue for either taxpayers or broadcasters. Also, it would create disincentives for relinquishing spectrum.

As enacted, the bill, at Section 6407, provides that the FCC may use "relinquished or other spectrum to implement band plans with guard bands". However, "guard bands shall be no larger than is technically reasonable to prevent harmful interference between licensed services outside the guard bands".

Then, Section 6407 provides that the FCC  may permit the use of certain guard bands for unlicensed use, subject to the limitation that it "may not permit any use of a guard band that the Commission determines would cause harmful interference to licensed services".

Genachowski made his January speech at the Consumer Electronics Association's (CEA) annual convention in Las Vegas.

On September 7, the CEA's Julie Kearney stated in a release that the "CEA commends the Commission on the upcoming release of the notice of proposed rulemaking pertaining to voluntary broadcast incentive auctions. The auctions will yield innumerable benefits for American consumers to access wireless broadband and ensure that devices such as smartphones and tablets can continue to connect to those networks." She did not reference unlicensed use.

On September 7 the National Association of Broadcasters' (NAB) Dennis Wharton stated in a release that the "NAB looks forward to working with the FCC and Congress to implement spectrum incentive auction legislation. We have no quarrel with television stations choosing to voluntarily participate in the auction process. Our overriding objective remains the preservation of a vibrant future for free and local TV stations that serve tens of millions of Americans every day with quality entertainment, local news, the most popular sports, and life-saving weather warnings."

Steve Largent, head of the CTIA, stated in a release that "We are very pleased the Chairman and Commissioners are beginning the process to implement the incentive auction provisions". And, "We appreciate that the Commission will take a thoughtful, thorough and efficient approach in this proceeding so the unused and underutilized spectrum is reallocated to its highest and best use in an accelerated timeframe."

Mobile Spectrum Holdings. The FCC's release also states that the FCC is scheduled to adopt a second NPRM that "initiates a review of its policies governing mobile spectrum holdings". This is related to the incentive auctions NPRM.

During the drafting of, and debate over, the incentive auctions bill, Genachowski sought, but failed to obtain, broad authority to limit participantation in the auctions of relinquished spectrum.

Excluding certain companies from participating in these auctions, such as Verizon Wireless and AT&T, or limiting the amount of spectrum that they could acquire, would tend to decrease auction revenues, and the return to both taxpayers and broadcasters, and decrease incentives for broadcasters to relinquish spectrum.

However, Section 6404 of the bill provides that the FCC "may not prevent a person from participating in a system of competitive bidding under this subsection if such person" meet certain enumerated requirements. These requirements are that the bidder "complies with all the auction procedures and other requirements to protect the auction process" and "meets the technical, financial, character, and citizenship qualifications". But, this does not prevent the FCC from adopting and enforcing "rules of general applicability, including rules concerning spectrum aggregation that promote competition". This language is now codified at 47 U.S.C. § 309(j)(17).

This NPRM, the contents of which Chairman Genachowski has not yet disclosed, may propose rules of general applicability concerning spectrum aggregation, but which are directed at limiting spectrum holdings of companies like Verizon Wireless and AT&T. Such rules could limit these companies' participation in the incentive auctions process.

The FCC once imposed CMRS spectrum caps, but phased them out a decade ago. That proceeding was WT Docket No. 01-14.

See, January 23, 2001 NPRM (FCC 01-28) and Report and Order (FCC 01-328).adopted on November 8, 2001, and released on December 18, 2001.

For TLJ coverage of that proceeding, see stories titled:

• "Spectrum Caps" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 166, April 16, 2001.
• "NTIA Urges FCC to End Spectrum Caps" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 294, October 25, 2001.
• "Rep. Stearns Introduces Spectrum Caps Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 230, July 19, 2001.
• "FCC to Phase Out CMRS Spectrum Cap" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 305, November 9, 2001.
• "Powell Appoints Nancy Victory to WRC-07 Post" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 761, October 20, 2003.

9/7. The Department of Labor's (DOL) Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released employment data for the U.S. for the month of August 2012.

The BLS stated in a release that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the US in August was 8.1%. This is a decrease from the 8.3% rate in July. The unemployment rate has held steady in the range of 8.1% to 8.3% this year.

Table B-1 attached to the BLS report reveals employment trends in various industry sectors, including information and communications technology (ICT) sectors.

The table below contains ICT related excerpts from the BLS table titled "Table B-1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry sector and selected industry detail". This is the seasonally adjusted data.

One notable recent trend is that the total number of persons employed in the category of "computer systems design and related services" is growing. It grew by over 10,000 in August. It also grew by over 10,000 in July.

Indeed, BLS Table B-1 shows that computer systems design has been one of the brightest spots in US employment in the past two months, on the basis of quantity and quality of jobs. (Another job category, "Food services and drinking places", added more jobs in August -- over 28,000 -- but is hardly comparable qualitatively with computer systems design jobs.)

While the overall unemployment rate reported by the BLS decreased from 8.3% in July to 8.1% in August, this reflects no improvement in the economy or the opportunities or welfare of individuals.

The number of people with jobs decreased from 142,220,000 in July to 142,101,000 in August, a drop of 119,000. This follows an even larger decrease in the number of people with jobs from June to July -- 195,000. See, BLS Table A, titled "Summary table A. Household data, seasonally adjusted".

Although, the first sentence of the BLS release states that "Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 96,000 in August ..." So, did the number of employed persons decrease by 119,000, or increase by 96,000? It depends on which BLS data set is used.

The government collects data from two sources -- households (surveys of individuals) and establishments (reports from businesses that employ people). The unemployment rate comes from the household survey data. The 119,000 decrease in employment also comes from the household survey data. The 96,000 increase in employment comes from the establishment data. See, BLS Table B, titled "Summary table B: Establishment data, seasonally adjusted".

The reason that the BLS reported a drop in the unemployment rate (household data) when the number of people with jobs dropped sharply (household data) was that BLS reported an even bigger drop in the number of people in the workforce (household data). According to the BLS, the workforce dropped by 581,000 from July to August.

When someone retires upon reaching a mandatory retirement age, or developing age related disabilities, that decreases the size of the workforce. There is a constant stream of retirements. On the other hand, people are constantly entering the workforce too. A drop of 581,000 in one month suggests either or both of two things: (1) that people are leaving the workforce because of the state of the economy and their inability to find employment, and/or (2) government surveyors and statisticians are changing their methods in ways that have the effect of reclassifying people from being in the workforce but unemployed, to being outside of the workforce.

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The story titled "USPTO Releases Patent Fees NPRM" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,441, September 5, 2012. incorrectly stated the deadline to submit comments. The deadline to submit comments is Monday, November 5, 2012. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 173, September 6, 2012, at Pages 55027-55085.

The House will return from its August recess. It will meet at 2:00 PM for legislative business. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM. It will consider numerous non-technology related items under suspension of the rules. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule for the week.

The Senate will return from its August recess at 2:00 PM. It may consider the nomination of Stephanie Marie Rose to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court (SDIowa).

9:00 AM - 5:30 PM. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will host a public workshop titled "Most Favored Nation Clauses and Antitrust Enforcement and Policy". See, event web site. See also, story titled "Antitrust Agencies to Host Workshop on MFN Clauses" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,429, August 15, 2012. Location: FTC, Satellite Building and Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

5:00 PM. The House Rules Committee (HRC) wll meet to adopt a rule for consideration of HR 5949 [LOC | WW], the "FISA Amendments Act Reauthorization Act of 2012". See, HRC notice and story titled "House to Take Up Tech Bills" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,443, June 7, 2012.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Inquiry [29 pages in PDF] that requests information to assist it in preparing its next video competition report. This NOI is FCC 12-80 in MB Docket No. 12-203. See, story titled "FCC Releases Video Competition Report" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,411, July 25, 2012. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 153, August 8, 2012, at Pages 47383-47392.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in response to its further notice of proposed rulemaking implementing the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). See, FTC notice [43 pages in PDF] and story titled "FTC Releases COPPA Further NPRM" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,418, August 2, 2012.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making (FNPRM) [67 pages in PDF] regarding Medical Body Area Network (MBAN) coordinators for the 2360-2390 MHz band. The FCC adopted and released this item on May 24, 2012. It is 12-54 in ET Docket No. 08-59. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 143, Wednesday, July 25, 2012, at Pages 43567-43570.

The House will meet a 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. The schedule for the week includes consideration of HR 5949 [LOC | WW], the "FISA Amendments Act Reauthorization Act of 2012", subject to a rule, and HR 6215 [LOC | WW, a technical corrections bill regarding trademark dilution, HR 6131 [LOC | WW], a bill to extend the SAFE WEB Act, and SConRes 17 under suspension of the rules. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule for the week, and story titled "House to Take Up Tech Bills" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,443, September 7, 2012.

8:00 AM - 1:30 PM. The Women in Government Relations (WGR) will host an event titled "Trends in Technology Conference". There will be panels titled "The Buzz with Tech Reporters", "Will Congress Pass Cyber Security Legislation?", and "Outlook for the Lame Duck and Prospect in the 113th Congress". See, notice and registration page. Prices vary. Location: Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill, 400 New Jersey Ave., NW.

9:00 AM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee will hold a partially closed on site and teleconferenced meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 162, August 21, 2012, at Page 50463. Location: DOC, Hoover Building, Room 3884, 14th Street between Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues, NW.

9:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a three day meeting of the Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) RTCA Special Committee 222, Inmarsat Aeronautical Mobile Satellite (Route) Services. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 157, August 14, 2012, at Pages 48584-48585. Location: RTCA, Inc., Suite 910, 1150 18th St., NW.

1:00 - 2:00 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "The Limits of the FTC’s Data Security Program: Where is the line, and where should it be?". The speakers will be Thomas Zych (Thompson Hine), Janis Kestenbaum (FTC), Michael Scott (Southwestern Law School), and David Zetoony (Bryan Cave). No CLE credits. See, notice.

RESCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 19. 2:15 PM. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes numerous items, including consideration of SConRes 50, a resolution "Expressing the sense of Congress regarding actions to preserve and advance the multistakeholder governance model under which the Internet has thrived". See, notice. Location: Room S-116, Capitol Building.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "Trade Secret Fundamentals: What You Can and Can’t Do". The speakers will be Richard Horowitz and Peter Toren (Weisbrod Matteis & Copley). The price to attend 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 American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "Video Games and Digital Media: A Litigation Update".

The House will meet a 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule for the week, and story titled "House to Take Up Tech Bills" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,443, September 7, 2012.

TIME? The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) will hold a hearing on the probable economic effect of providing duty free treatment for imports under the U.S.-Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 155, August 10, 2012, at Pages 47880-47882. Location: USITC, 500 E St., SW.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission will meet to consider drafts of material for its 2012 annual report to Congress. See, original notice in the Federal Register (FR), Vol. 77, No. 143, July 25, 2012, at Pages 43662-43663, and second notice in the FR, Vol. 77, No. 171, September 4, 2012, at Pages 53965-53966. Location: Hall of the States, Conference Room 233, 444 North Capitol St., NW.

9:00 AM - 1:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council (CSRIC) will meet. See, September 6 Public Notice, and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 156, August 13, 2012, at Page 48153. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, Room TW-C305, 445 12th St., SW.

9:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Day two of a three day meeting of the Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) RTCA Special Committee 222, Inmarsat Aeronautical Mobile Satellite (Route) Services. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 157, August 14, 2012, at Pages 48584-48585. Location: RTCA, Inc., Suite 910, 1150 18th St., NW.

9:45 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade will hold a hearing titled "Where the Jobs Are: There’s an App for That". See, notice. Location: Room 2322, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Homeland Security Committee's (HHSC) Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies will hold a hearing titled "The EMP Threat: Examining the Consequences". See, notice. Location: Room 211, Cannon Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will hold a hearing titled "The Obama Administration's Abuse of Power". See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:30 AM - 5:00 PM. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will host an event titled "roadshow" to explain and answer questions about USPTO rules that implement provisions of the Leahy Smith America Invents Act, which take effect on September 16, 2012. See, notice and agenda. Location: USPTO, Alexandria, Virginia.

12:00 NOON. The World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Tracking Protection Working Group will meet by teleconference. The call in number is 1-617-761-6200. The passcode is TRACK (87225).

2:00 PM. The House Homeland Security Committee's (HHSC) Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications will hold a hearing titled "Resilient Communications: Current Challenges and Future Advancements". See, notice. Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

2:00 PM. The House Financial Services Committee's (HFSC) Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit will hold a hearing titled "Examining the Uses of Consumer Credit Data". See, notice. Location: Room 2128, Rayburn Building.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit reply comments to the Copyright Office (CO) in response to its notice in the Federal Register (FR) regarding its proposed rules that implement the provision of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2010 (STELA) that allows copyright owners to audit certain Statements of Account filed with the CO. See, FR, Vol. 77, No. 115, Thursday, June 14, 2012, at Pages 35643-35652. See also, story titled "Copyright Office Issues Proposed STELA Rules Regarding Auditing Statements of Account" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,398, June 18, 2012.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event titled "Seminar on Next Generation 9-1-1". The speakers will be Trey Forgety (NENA), Brian Hurley (FCC), Robert Gojanovich (TeleCommunication Systems), John Kelly (Ottosen Britz), and Tim Stelzig (Deputy Chief of the FCC's WCB's Competition Policy Division). CLE credits. Prices vary. Registrations and cancellations are due by 12:00 NOON on Tuesday, September 11. See, notice. Location: Drinker Biddle & Reath, 1500 K St., NW.

The House will meet a 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule for the week, and story titled "House to Take Up Tech Bills" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,443, September 7, 2012.

8:30 - 10:30 AM. FairSearch, a group organized around the proposition that "Google is abusing its search monopoly to thwart competition", will host an event titled "Searching for Innovation and Competition in the Online Marketplace". The speakers will be Susan Athey (Harvard University), Robert Birge (KAYAK), Mark Corallo, Albert Foer (American Antitrust Institute), Rodman Forter (Skyhook Wireless), Pamela Harbour (Fulbright & Jaworski), Patrick Lynch, Nathan Newman, Jim O’Connell (Covington & Burlington), and Dan Savage (TradeComet.com). See, notice. Location: Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission will meet to consider drafts of material for its 2012 annual report to Congress. See, original notice in the Federal Register (FR), Vol. 77, No. 143, July 25, 2012, at Pages 43662-43663, and second notice in the FR, Vol. 77, No. 171, September 4, 2012, at Pages 53965-53966. Location: Hall of the States, Conference Room 231, 444 North Capitol St., NW.

9:00 - 11:00 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a discussion of the book titled "Innovation Economics: The Race for Global Advantage". The speakers will include the authors, Robert Atkinson (ITIF) and Stephen Ezell (ITIF). See, notice. Location: Holeman Lounge, National Press Club, 529 14th St., NW.

9:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Day three of a three day meeting of the Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) RTCA Special Committee 222, Inmarsat Aeronautical Mobile Satellite (Route) Services. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 157, August 14, 2012, at Pages 48584-48585. Location: RTCA, Inc., Suite 910, 1150 18th St., NW.

10:00 AM - 1:00 PM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a hearing titled "National Security Threats Posed by Chinese Telecom Companies Working in the U.S." This hearing is open to the public. See, notice. Location: Room HVC-210, Capitol Visitor Center.

10:00 AM. The House Financial Services Committee's (HFSC) Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee (HOGRC) will hold a joint hearing titled "The JOBS ACT: Importance of Prompt Implementation for Entrepreneurs, Capital Formation, and Job Creation". In March of this year the Congress enacted HR 3606 [LOC | WW], the "Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act" or JOBS Act", a bill that reduces securities regulation for small and start up companies. See, stories titled "House Passes Securities Regulation Bill" and "Summary of HR 3606" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,350, March 19, 2012. It is now Public Law No. 112-106. See, notice. Location: Room 2154, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. There are no technology related items on the agenda. See, SJC notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:15 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Communications and Technology will hold a hearing titled "Creating Opportunities through Improved Government Spectrum Efficiency". The witnesses will be Douglas Smith (P/CEO of Oceus Networks), Mark Goldstein (Government Accountability Office), Karl Nebbia (NTIA's Office of Spectrum Management), Steve Sharkey (T-Mobile USA), Preston Marshall (University of Southern California), and Robert Wheeler (USAF, Deputy Chief Information Officer for Command, Control, Communications and Computers (C4) and Information Infrastructure). See, notice. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

12:15 - 1:45 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Privacy and Data Security Committee will hold a brown bag lunch and planning meeting. Location: Kelley Drye & Warren, Suite 400, 3050 K St., NW.

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

5:30 - 9:00 PM. The Public Knowledge (PK) will host a fundraising event titled "9th Annual IP3 Awards". The price to attend is $50. See, registration page. Location: Ronald Regan Building and International Trade Center.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event titled "Meet and greet new FCC Commissioners Reception". Prices vary. See, notice and registration form. Location: Capital Hilton, 1001 16th St., NW.

11:59 PM. Deadline to submit annual license and regulatory fees to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). See, notice.

The House will meet a 9:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule for the week, and story titled "House to Take Up Tech Bills" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,443, September 7, 2012.

10:00 AM - 4:00 PM. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will host an event titled "Technology and Trading: Promoting Stability in Today's Markets". See, notice and agenda. Location?

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in EchoStar Satellite v. FCC, App. Ct. No. 04-1033. This case pertains to FCC rules, adopted in 2003, regarding digital plug and play compatibility. See, story titled "FCC Adopts Digital Plug and Play Cable Compatibility Rules" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 737, September 11, 2003. See also, FCC brief filed on March 30, 2012. Judges Brown, Edwards, and Randolph will preside. Location: Courtroom 11.

10:30 AM - 3:30 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Emergency Access Advisory Committee (EAAC) will hold a meeting regarding next generation 911 accessibility by persons with disabilities. See, notice. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding its draft SP 800-147 B [31 pages in PDF] titled "BIOS Protection Guidelines for Servers".

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to the National Cable & Telecommunications Association's (NCTA) Petition for Partial Reconsideration [7 pages in PDF] of the FCC's Report and Order implementing the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act, or CALM Act, which is codified at 47 U.S.C. § 621. The FCC adopted and released this R&O on December 13, 2011. It is FCC 11-182 in MB Docket No. 11-93. The NCTA argues, among other things, that the FCC confused promotion of television programming for commercial advertisements. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 161, Monday, August 20, 2012, at Page 50071. See also, story titled "NCTA Petitions FCC for Reconsideration of CALM Act Rules" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,432, August 20, 2012.

Deadline to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) in response to its notice in the Federal Register (FR) requesting comments to assist it in preparing its 2012 Notorious Markets List, which identifies internet and physical notorious markets located outside of the US that make available intellectual property infringing products. See, FR, Vol. 77, No. 157, August 14, 2012, at Pages 48583-48584. See also, story titled "USTR Seeks Comments on Notorious Markets" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,431, August 17, 2012.

Rosh Hoshanah begins at sundown.