5/10. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Public Notice (PN) [14 pages in PDF] that requests public comments regarding its proposals to conduct three limited "real-world trials to obtain data" regarding transitioning public switched telephone network technology to all internet protocol networks.

This PN states that "We seek comment on several potential trials relating to the ongoing transitions from copper to fiber, from wireline to wireless, and from time-division multiplexing (TDM) to IP."

This PN does not propose actually trials in designated wire centers, as AT&T has been requesting. See, AT&T's November 7, 2012 petition [26 pages in PDF], and AT&T's May 6, 2013 notice of ex parte meeting. Rather, it merely proposes to collect data on three topics.

AT&T wrote in its petition that "the Commission should open a new proceeding to conduct, for a number of select wire centers, trial runs for a transition from legacy to next-generation services, including the retirement of TDM facilities and offerings. As part of that proceeding, the Commission would invite ILECs to propose individual wire centers for such an experiment and a detailed plan identifying the steps those carriers will take in each wire center to transition from TDM to IP-based facilities and services. Specifically, the plan would identify the modifications each carrier will make to its network to effect the transition, as well as the services it will offer in place of legacy wireline services. And it would supply a timeline for these changes. The Commission also would solicit broad public comment on how best to remove the legal and regulatory impediments to the trial itself and the ultimate transition to all-IP networks and services. The Commission would then implement these trial runs and, within a year of the proceeding's inception, assess the results while considering broader industry-wide reforms." (See, page 6.)

The Commission did not vote on this PN. It was issued jointly by several FCC components under the rubric of the Technology Transitions Policy Task Force. However, each Commissioner released a statement. The three Democrats praised the PN. The lone Republican criticized it.

FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai wrote in his statement that "Today's public notice is a missed opportunity. Rather than establish well-defined trials to test the Internet Protocol (IP) transition in a set of designated wire centers -- what I have called an All-IP Pilot Program -- the Technology Transitions Policy Task Force instead proposes several case studies to examine what market actors are already doing."

Pai (at right) wrote that the FCC "is at a crossroads. We can embrace the future by expediting the IP Transition. Or we can cling to the past by saddling next-generation networks with regulatory constructs from the 1880s. After today's public notice, I am more uncertain than ever which path we are taking."

Julius Genachowski wrote in his statement that "The ongoing transitions must be handled in a way that advances the Commission's vital longstanding goals of competition, universal service, consumer protection and public safety."

Mignon Clyburn wrote in her statement that she is "pleased". Jessica Rosenworcel wrote in her statement that she supports the PN. She wrote that she is concerned about the effect that actual trials might have on "universal access", negotiation of interconnection agreements, public safety communications and consumer protection.

AT&T's Jim Cicconi stated in a release that this "is a step forward, though we are disappointed the FCC still appears tentative about dealing with the IP transition, especially when compared with the bold and visionary goals of the National Broadband Plan."

He continued that "this notice might yield some interesting information, and we will of course cooperate fully with the FCC. We also intend to provide further detail on our proposed geographic trials as requested today, though we are puzzled it took the FCC six months to decide it needed such information. We continue to believe that controlled, comprehensive geographic trials will more likely identify problems and allow the crafting of solutions. We also believe that further delays by the FCC in moving to such trials, which they themselves would control, creates more investment uncertainty. We hope the FCC will consider today’s notice as a first step, one that will ultimately be followed by the more thorough exploration of issues that its own National Broadband Plan challenges us to undertake."

Tech Freedom stated in a release that "The FCC is anxiously putting one toe halfway in tepid water with today's proposal. Facilitating the transition from outdated switched telephone networks to native Internet alternatives should be embraced boldly and proudly by the agency. ... A true IP transition trial would start by completely replacing traditional switches with native IP infrastructure in a small test area to see what, if any, technical or service problems arise. Instead, what the FCC calls a ``trial´´ is simply more delay -- investigating three specific issues related to the Transition by simulating conditions likely to occur."

Harold Feld of the Public Knowledge (PK) praised the FCC's PN in a release, in which he argued that AT&T seeks "reckless changes with no accountability", and that AT&T is run by fools.

Feld wrote that "Those who think the FCC is moving too slowly and should have moved directly to some undefined trial, as proposed by AT&T in November, should recall who rushes in where angels fear to tread." Alexander Pope wrote in his 1711 poem [Amazon] titled "An Essay on Criticism" that "fools rush in where angels fear to tread".

Philip Jones, President of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), stated in a release that "we are pleased the agency recognized the important role State regulators play in protecting consumers. Specifically, the Commission acknowledged NARUC's Presidential Task Force on Federalism and Telecommunications, which we established last year. Our Task Force is making considerable progress in developing policy recommendations on telecommunications regulation. As the FCC notes in today’s order, the telecommunications marketplace is changing every day. New technologies are providing consumers with an incredible array of options, but no new handset or exciting ‘app’ changes the suppliers’ obligation to serve. We look forward to working with the FCC—protecting consumers will take a strong Federal-State relationship. Our formal comments on today’s proposal will be filed in compliance with the commission’s deadlines."

This PN is DA 13-1016 in GN Docket No. 13-5. See also, GN Docket No. 12-353. Initial comments will be due within 45 days of publication of a notice in the Federal Register (FR). Reply comments will be due with 75 days of such publication. As of the May 15, 2013 issue of the FR, this notice had not yet been published.

5/14. The disclosures in the last week regarding Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) targeting of tea party groups, the Department of Justice's (DOJ) massive seizure of Associated Press phone records, and government officials' false descriptions of the September 11, 2012 attack in Benghazi may provide additional arguments for proponents of reform of surveillance laws, and impetus for enactment of a bills, such as those that would update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA).

See also, related stories in this issue titled "Associated Press Alleges Unjustified FBI Seizure of Reporters' Phone Records" and "Inspector General Reports on IRS Targeting of Tea Party Groups".

These disclosures provide proponents of reform evidence and debating points to support their positions that the principles embodied in the 1st and 4th Amendments should be applied to online, digital and cloud based activities, just as they have been applied for centuries to the physical world, notwithstanding of the objections of the DOJ and other federal agencies.

Public disclosure of government misconduct in the Nixon administration's Watergate scandal had a significant causal effect upon the passage of laws designed to promote government transparency and integrity, and reduce abuse of surveillance powers. It is possible that recent disclosures regarding the IRS, AP and Benghazi could have an effect on some current legislative proposals, and particularly, on the various proposals to reform the ECPA.

Trust in Government. The last time that a Congressional committee conducted an in depth review of the federal governments' use of its surveillance powers was in 2005, when the House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Crime, under the leadership of Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC) and Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), held about a dozen hearings over several months in the run up to the extension of numerous sunsetted provisions of the 2001 surveillance act, Title II of the USA PATRIOT Act.

DOJ officials were asked repeatedly in those hearings why they should possess such broad surveillance powers that are not subject to judicial supervision. DOJ officials repeatedly argued that they are serious professionals who would not abuse their powers.

Members of the Subcommittee could only site long distant examples of abuses, such as the wiretapping and bugging of the Rev. Martin Luther King during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, numerous abuses during the Nixon administration (sometimes referred to collectively as "watergate"), and the FBI providing hundreds of FBI files on Republicans to political operatives in the Clinton White House in 1993 and 1994 (sometimes referred to as "filegate").

DOJ officials argued at the 2005 hearings that things are different now. Trust us.

The Congress trusted the IRS to apply the tax laws impartially. It did not. The former head of the IRS, Douglas Shulman, falsely testified to the House Ways and Means Committee's (HWMC) Subcommittee on Oversight in March of 2012 that "There is absolutely no political targeting."

The latest disclosures now provide proponents of ECPA reform, and advocates of passage of a Shield Act, arguments that government officials are still in need of restraint. In light of recent disclosures, the "trust us" argument may now be less persuasive to many members of Congress.

One of the key components of ECPA reform bills is the proposal that the government must obtain a court warrant to access cloud stored email.

The recent disclosures about the IRS pertain to the IRS's requesting information from directly from targeted groups, not warrantless demands to email service providers to turn over email. Documents released by targeted groups show that the IRS demanded, among other things, copies of all email and other communications. See, story titled "IRS Admits That It Discriminated Against Tea Party Groups" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,558, May 10, 2013.

ECPA reform bills have made very little progress in significant part because of federal government opposition. Moreover, it is not just criminal investigators and prosecutors at the FBI and DOJ. It is also regulatory agencies with only civil enforcement authority that want to be able to continue to seize cloud stored email without a warrant for civil investigations. During recent debates the agency most cited by critics of ECPA reform was the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

But, the key point is, other federal agencies, including the IRS, may seek access to cloud stored email without a warrant. To date, neither the IRS nor the TIGTA has stated that the IRS seized cloud stored email of tea party groups. But then, one IRS motivation in these cases may have been to impose costs and burdens on disfavored groups, and to deter prospective contributors by demanding donor lists. These goals are accomplished through direct requests to targeted groups, but not through secret orders directed to cloud service providers. However, other inappropriate goals of the IRS or other federal agencies may be best served by seizure of email from service providers.

The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) wrote in a short piece that "every American, regardless of political ideology, should be troubled", particularly because the IRS "doesn't believe it's required to get a warrant before reading Americans' emails. This stance by the IRS is based on its interpretation of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), an outdated federal law that sets the standards for when the government can access our digital communications."

The CDT added that "In the case of Tea Party organizations, the IRS asked for the documents directly from those groups. What if it didn't even have to ask? What if the IRS could just go to the groups' cloud provider with a subpoena and get the same information without the organization ever knowing until much later? Unfortunately, that's the current state of the law."

The CDT has been arguing for years for ECPA reform. Perhaps now more members of Congress will take note.

Abuse of Subpoena Powers. The latest disclosures regarding the AP are not new or novel. The DOJ and other federal agencies have a history of abusing their subpoena powers and other statutory authorities. Moreover, the DOJ has a history of invoking non-existent powers to snoop on reporters.

DOJ and other government officials argue the necessity of the obtaining information in important investigations. However, another goal has been to undermine legitimate news reporting, and to deter disclosures of government dishonesty, corruption, waste, fraud and abuse.

For example, the DOJ's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has released series of reports that document FBI abuse of National Security Letter (NSL) authority.

NSL authority exists under federal statute -- 18 U.S.C. § 2709. Like subpoenas, NSLs do not require a warrant or other prior court authorization. They enable the DOJ's FBI to obtain records, including subscriber, billing and call records of phone companies and ISPs. NSLs also apply to libraries to the extent that they are providing an electronic communication service.

On March 9, 2007, the DOJ's OIG released a report [30 MB in PDF] titled "A Review of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Use of National Security Letters". See also, story titled "DOJ IG Releases Reports on Use of NSLs and Section 215 Authority" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,551, March 13, 2007. That report covered the use of NSLs in 2003 through 2005, and found abuses.

On March 13, 2008, the OIG released a report [187 pages in PDF] titled "A Review of the FBI’s Use of National Security Letters: Assessment of Corrective Actions and Examination of NSL Usage in 2006". See also, story titled "DOJ Inspector General Releases Second Report on FBI Misuse of National Security Letters" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,730, March 12, 2008. It disclosed further abuses.

Then, on January 20, 2010, the OIG released a report [306 pages in PDF] titled "A Review of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Use of Exigent Letters and Other Informal Requests for Telephone Records".

The OIG found improper conduct by the FBI in the use of "exigent letters" to obtain phone records from communications companies to, among other things, "target" reporters at the Washington Post and New York Times, which first reported the National Security Administration's (NSA) warrantless wiretap program. (See, pages 250-252.)

The NYT was the first to report this NSA program. It published a story by James Risen and Eric Lichtblau on December 16, 2005, titled "Bush Lets U.S. Spy on Callers Without Courts". It stated that "President Bush secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States to search for evidence of terrorist activity without the court-approved warrants ordinarily required for domestic spying, according to government officials." See also, story titled "President Bush Discloses Interception of Communications Without Court Approval" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,275, December 19, 2005, and story titled "Bush, Gonzales & Hayden Discuss Presidential Intercepts and PATRIOT Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,276, December 20, 2005.

The concept underlying the use of these "exigent letters" was that the FBI could access records by issuing a letter to communications companies in the event of an emergency, that specified the emergency, and the records sought. These involved no court approval. However, unlike subpoenas and NSLs, for which statutory authority exists, there was no statutory basis for these "exigent letters". The FBI fabricated legal authority out of thin air.

Thus, in the case of issuance of "exigent letters", the failure to follow the law arose, not out of misconstruing a complicated statute, but in applying a non-existent authority as if it existed.

The OIG found, of course, that the mere use of "exigent letters" violated the law. But moreover, the OIG found that the FBI then proceeded to violate its own purported basis for these letters. For example, it issued "exigent letters" when there was no emergency.

In addition to the improper targeting of the Washington Post and New York Times in surveillance activities, the DOJ has a history of abuse of subpoena powers to impede and degrade the quality of news reporting.

The DOJ uses subpoenas to compel reporters to disclose their confidential sources.

The American Society of News Editors (ASNE) published a piece in 2009 that states that "Since 2001, five journalists have been sentenced or jailed for refusing to reveal their confidential sources in federal court. Two reporters were sentenced to 18 months in prison and one reporter faced up to $5,000 a day in fines. A 2006 study estimated that in that year alone, 67 federal subpoenas sought confidential material from reporters, with 41 of those subpoenas seeking the name of a confidential source."

Former Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) and former Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA) worked unsuccessfully over many Congresses to enact legislation known as "media shield", "free flow of information", or "shield act" that would protect news reporters from abusive subpoenas from federal government agencies. These bills would have limited the ability of federal entities to compel journalists to provide testimony or documents, or disclose sources, related to their work. These bills would also would limit government access to records of carriers, ISPs and other service providers.

The Bush and Obama administrations, and particularly the DOJ, opposed these bills. None become law. Rep. Boucher was defeated in the 2010 election. Rep. Pence did not run for re-election in 2012. He is now Governor of Indiana.

In the 111th Congress, see HR 985 [LOC | WW], the "Free Flow of Information Act", S 448 [LOC | WW], the "Free Flow of Information Act of 2009", and story titled "House Judiciary Committee Approves Media Shield and Communications Services Provider Protection Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,919, March 30, 2009.

In the 110th Congress, see HR 2102 [LOC | WW], and  story titled "House Approves Boucher-Pence Media Shield Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,656, October 17, 2007.

Jay Carney, Press Secretary to President Obama, and no relation to the author of this article, stated at a news conference on May 15 that "the President has long supported media shield legislation in the Senate, during the 2008 campaign, and as President. In fact, under his leadership, the administration successfully negotiated a balanced bill in the Senate in 2009 that passed the Judiciary Committee by a significant vote, bipartisan vote, and was widely supported by the news media and journalism organizations represented in this room." See, transcript.

Pretexting. It should also be noted that inappropriate accessing of phone records for the purpose of impeding news coverage is not limited to government agencies. Recall the Hewlitt Packard pretexting scandal in 2006, and the more recent News Corporation scandal.

Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) stated at a Congressional hearing that "Pretexting is pretending to be someone you're not, to get something you shouldn't have, to use in a way that is probably wrong."

In the HP pretexting scandal, pretexters and private investigators attempted to obtain phone records of, and/or physically surveil, HP Directors (including George Keyworth, Thomas Perkins, Lawrence Babbio, and Carly Fiorina) and numerous news reporters (including Dawn Kawamoto, Tom Krazit, and Stephen Shankland of CNET, Roger Crockett, Ben Elgin, and Peter Burrows of Business Week, John Markoff of the New York Times, and Pui-Wing Tam and George Anders of the Wall Street Journal.

In response to the HP pretexting scandal, the 109th Congress enacted HR 4709, the "Telephone Records and Privacy Protection Act of 2006" imposing a criminal ban on pretexting to obtain phone records. It is codified at 18 U.S.C. § 1039.

Notably, it exempts pretexting by government agencies.

5/13. The Associated Press (AP) released a statement on May 13, 2013 that discloses that the Department of Justice (DOJ) "secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for the Associated Press".

The AP wrote that the DOJ obtained records regarding "incoming and outgoing calls, and the duration of each call, for the work and personal phone numbers of individual reporters, general AP office numbers in New York, Washington and Hartford, Conn., and the main number for AP reporters in the House of Representatives press gallery".

Moreover, the DOJ "seized those records for more than 20 separate telephone lines assigned to AP and its journalists in April and May of 2012. The exact number of journalists who used the phone lines during that period is unknown but more than 100 journalists work in the offices whose phone records were targeted on a wide array of stories about government and other matters."

The AP also revealed it learned of the seizure of records in a letter from that DOJ on May 10, and that it sent a letter in response to Attorney General Eric Holder stating that the seizure of AP phone records was unjustified, and demanding the the DOJ return of records and the destruction of copies.

The AP letter stats that "There can be no possible justification for such an overbroad collection of the telephone communications of the Associated Press and its reporters. These records potentially reveal communications with confidential sources across all of the newsgathering activities undertaken by the AP during a two-month period, provide a road map to AP's newsgathering operations, and disclose information about AP's activities and operations that the government has no conceivable right to know".

The AP focused on this latest seizure of records. Yet, the DOJ, and other federal government agencies, have an extensive history of improper conduct directed at news reporting and the free flow of information. The DOJ, and its Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), have used illegal means to obtain phone records. The DOJ and other agencies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), have also employed abusive subpoenas directed at reporters to force them to disclose their confidential sources.

The seizure of phone records, and issuance of administrative subpoenas, not only harms the reporters who are targeted. Some have gone to jail rather than disclose sources. It also harms news gathering regarding government and policy across the board, and the public's interest in access to information about their government. The use of subpoenas to root out whistleblowers, and government officials who disclose corruption, waste, fraud and dishonesty in government to reporters, puts all government officials on notice that their discussions with reporters may be discovered, and that they may be subjected to retaliation. This makes legitimate news gathering more difficult, and degrades the quality of news reporting.

Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee HJC), stated at a hearing on May 15, 2013 that the DOJ "obtained telephone records for more than 20 Associated Press reporters and editors over a two-month period. These requests appear to be very broad and intersect important First Amendment protections. Any abridgement of the First Amendment right to the freedom of the press is very concerning". See, opening statement.

Julian Sanchez of the Cato Institute stated in a short piece that the AP matter "seems especially troubling in the context of this administration's unprecedented war on whistleblowers. It's effectively a warning that nobody who speaks to the press without White House approval -- whether they're leaking classified secrets or just saying things the bosses wouldn't like -- can count on anonymity."

Ben Wizner of the ACLU stated in a release that "Obtaining a broad range of telephone records in order to ferret out a government leaker is an unacceptable abuse of power. Freedom of the press is a pillar of our democracy, and that freedom often depends on confidential communications between reporters and their sources."

See also, AP statement of May 14.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. It will consider several non-technology related bills under suspension of the rules. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

The Senate will meet at 9:30 AM. It is scheduled to resume consideration of S 601 [LOC | WW], the "Water Resources Development Act".

10:00 AM - 12:15 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host an event titled "Game Changer: Japan and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement". Kenichiro Sasae (Ambassador of Japan) will give the keynote address, followed by a panel discussion. The panelists will be Mac Destler (University of Maryland), Gordon Flake (Mansfield Foundation), Mireya Solis (Brookings Institution), and Claude Barfield (AEI). See, notice. Location: AEI, 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) will host a panel discussion titled "Software Patents: A Bridge for Trolls". The speakers will be Robert Stoll (Drinker Biddle & Reath), Jon Potter (Application Developers Alliance), and Gary Greenfield. Free. Open to the public. Lunch will be served. See, notice and registration page. Location: Room 2325, Rayburn Building.

12:00 NOON - 5:00 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advisory Committee for Cyberinfrastructure. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 79,  April 24, 2013, at Page 24239. Location: NSF, Room 1235, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA.

12:15 - 1:45 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a panel discussion titled "Unfinished Business: Wireless Competition and the FCC Transition". The speakers will be Rebecca Thompson (Competitive Carriers Association), Matt Wood (Free Press), Steve Sharkey (T-Mobile), Steven Renderos (Center for Media Justice), Michael Calabrese (NAF), and Sascha Meinrath (NAF). Lunch will be served. See, notice. Location: NAF, Suite 400, 1899 L St., NW.

1:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will hold a hearing titled "Oversight of the Department of Justice". The witness will be Attorney General Eric Holder. See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

1:00 PM. The House Small Business Committee (HSBC) will hold a hearing titled "Patent Reform Implementation and New Challenges for Small Businesses". The witnesses will be Dennis Crouch (University of Missouri School of Law), Jeff Granger (The Foundry, testifying for the Medical Device Manufacturers Association), John Thomas (Georgetown University), and Mark Grady (INdigital Telecom). See, notice. Location: Room 2360, Rayburn Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) titled "The Road Ahead: Advanced Vehicle Technology and its Implications". The topics to be covered include vehicle to vehicle communication and communications and entertainment devices for drivers. The witnesses will be David Strickland
(Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), Mitch Bainwol (Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers), Peter Sweatman (University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute), John Lee (University of Wisconsin, Madison), and Jeffrey Owens (Delphi Automotive). See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "Can They Fire Me For Putting That on Facebook?". Julienne Bramesco (Clearspire Law), Lily Garcia (Clearspire Law), and Diane Seltzer. The price to attend ranges from $89 to $129. CLE credits. For more information, call 202-626-3488. The DC Bar has a history of barring reporters from its events. See, notice. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

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

The Senate will meet at 11:00 AM.

Supreme Court conference day. See, Supreme Court calendar.

8:30 AM - 1:00 PM. Day two of a two day meeting of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advisory Committee for Computer and Information Science and Engineering. See, original notice in the Federal Register (FR), Vol. 78, No. 79,  April 24, 2013, at Page 24239, and correction notice in the FR, Vol. 78, No. 84, May 1, 2013, at Page 25484. Location: NSF, Room 1235, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA.

9:00 AM. The House Homeland Security Committee's (HHSC) Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies will hold a hearing titled "Facilitating Cyber Threat Information Sharing and Partnering with the Private Sector to Protect Critical Infrastructure: An Assessment of DHS Capabilities". The witnesses will be Roberta Stempfley (DHS National Protection and Programs Directorate), Larry Zelvin (DHS NPPD), and Charles Edwards (acting DHS Inspector General). See, notice. Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on on Immigration and Border Security will meet. The agenda includes several non-technology related items, and a hearing on HR 1772 [LOC | WW], the "Legal Workforce Act", a bill to make employer participation in the E-Verify system mandatory. The witnesses will be Angelo Amador (National Restaurant Association), Jill Blitstein (North Carolina State University), Julie Wood (Guidepost Solutions), and Dominick Mondi (New Jersey Nursery and Landscape Association). See, HJC notice and story titled "Rep. Smith Introduces Bill to Make E-Verify Mandatory" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,556, May 1, 2013. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) will hold a hearing titled "Oversight of the SEC’s Agenda, Operations, and FY 2014 Budget Request". See, notice. Location: Room 2128, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed hearing on undisclosed matters. See, notice.

10:00 AM. The Senate Appropriations Committee's (SAC) Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science, and Related Agencies will hold a partially closed hearing on the FY 2014 budget for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The witness will be FBI Director Robert Mueller. The open portion of the meeting will be held at 10:00 AM in Room 192, Dirksen Building. The closed portion will be held at 11:15 AM in Room SVC-217, Capitol Building.

12:30 AM - 5:30 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advisory Committee for Computer and Information Science and Engineering. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 79,  April 24, 2013, at Page 24239. Location: NSF, Room 1235, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA.

1:00 PM. The US Telecom will host part one of a two part webcast seminar titled "VoLTE: Technology and Challenges". The price is $149. See, notice.

1:00 - 2:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "The Ethics of Legal Marketing in a Social Media Age". The speakers will be Charles Gardner (Much Shelist), William Slease (Disciplinary Board of the State of New Mexico), Peter Winders (Carlton Fields), Tracy Kepler (Illinois Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission). Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

2:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet will hold a hearing titled "A Case Study for Consensus Building: The Copyright Principles Project". The witnesses will be __. See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

2:00 PM. The House Ways and Means Committee's (HWMC) Subcommittee on Trade will hold a hearing titled "U.S.-EU Trade and Investment Partnership Negotiations". See, notice. Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building.

2:00 PM. The House Science Committee's (HSC) Subcommittee on Oversight will hold a hearing titled "Espionage Threats at Federal Laboratories: Balancing Scientific Cooperation while Protecting Critical Information". The witnesses will be Charles Vest (National Academy of Engineering), Larry Wortzel (Commissioner, U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission), Michelle Van Cleave, and David Major (Centre for Counterintelligence and Security Studies). See, notice. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

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

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) in response to its March 14, 2013 Public Notice [4 pages in PDF] requesting comments to refresh the record regarding fraudulent 911 calls made from Non-Service Initialized (NSI) devices, blocking NSI devices used to make fraudulent 911 calls, and other possible solutions to the problem of fraudulent 911 calls from NSI devices. This item is DA 13-430 in EB Docket No. 08-51. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol 78, No. 62, April 1, 2013, at Pages 19442-19443.

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

8:30 AM - 2:00 PM. Day two of a two day meeting of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advisory Committee for Computer and Information Science and Engineering. See, original notice in the Federal Register (FR), Vol. 78, No. 79,  April 24, 2013, at Page 24239, and correction notice in the FR, Vol. 78, No. 84, May 1, 2013, at Page 25484. Location: NSF, Room 1235, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA.

9:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations will hold a hearing titled "Eyes in the Sky: The Domestic Use of Unmanned Aerial Systems". The witnesses will be __. See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

1:00 - 2:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "The Virtual Office, Working Remotely, and Online Collaboration". Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) regarding it revisions to its patent fees rule. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 54, March 20, 2013, at Pages 17102-17108, and story titled "USPTO Issues Corrected Patent Fees Rule" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,540, March 25, 2013.

Deadline to submit replies to oppositions to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to the Petition for Reconsideration and Clarification [12 pages in PDF] filed by the US Telecom regarding the rural health care reform Report and Order [242 pages in PDF], adopted on December 12, 2012 and released on December 21, FCC 12-150 in WC Docket No. 02-60. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 79, April 24, 2013, at Page 24147.

EXTENDED TO JUNE 19. Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Office of General Counsel (OGC) and Enforcement Bureau (EB) in response to the Public Notice regarding whether the full Commission should make changes to its broadcast indecency policies, and especially, policies regarding isolated expletives, and isolated non-sexual nudity. The FCC released that PN on April 1, 2013. It is DA 13-581 in GN Docket No. 13-86. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 76, April 19, 2013, at Pages 23563-23564, setting comment deadlines. And see, May 10, 2013 Public Notice, DA 13-1071, extending comment deadlines.

8:00 - 10:00 AM. Broadband Census News LLC will host a panel discussion titled "Gigabit Nation: What Have We Learned About Ultra-High Speed Broadband?". The speakers will be Sheldon Grizzle (Gigtank), Kevin McElearney (Comcast Cable), David Sandel (Sandel & Associates), William Wallace (US Ignite), Scott Wallsten (Technology Policy Institute), and Drew Clark (Broadband Census News LLC). Breakfast will be served. This event is open to the public. The price to attend is $47.12. See, notice and registration page. This event is also sponsored by Comcast NBCUniversal, Google, and US Telecom. Location: Clyde's of Gallery Place, 707 7th St., NW.

9:00 AM - 12:30 PM. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) will host an event titled "Threat and Response: Combating Advanced Attacks and Cyber-Espionage". The speakers will be David DeWalt (Ch/CEO of FireEye), Ashar Aziz (FireEye), Shane McGee (General Counsel of Mandiant), James Mulvenon (Defense Group, Inc.), Shawn Henry (CrowdStrike), James Lewis (CSIS), Bruce McConnell (Deputy Under Secretary for Cybersecurity, National Protection and Programs Directorate, DHS), John Nagengast (AT&T), John Gilligan (The Gilligan Group), and Robert Lentz (Cyber Security Strategies). See, notice. Location: CSIS, B1 Conference Center, 1800 K St., NW.

10:00 AM - 3:30 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host an event titled "The Next Generation University". Live webcast. See, notice. Location: NAF, Suite 400, 1899 L St., NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the Copyright Office (CO) in response to its notice of inquiry (NOI) regarding potential improvements and technical enhancements to the information technology platforms that support its registration and recordation functions. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 56, March 22, 2013, at Pages 17722-17724, and story titled "Copyright Office Issues Notice of Inquiry on Improving Its IT" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,540, March 25, 2013.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "Surveillance Cameras: Helpful or Harmful?". The speakers will be Daniel Castro (ITIF), Paul Rosenzweig (Heritage Foundation), Jay Stanley (ACLU), Julian Sanchez (Cato) and Carrie Johnson (NPR). See, notice. Location: ITIF/ITIC, Suite 610A, 1101 K St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:15 PM. The American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Antitrust Law will host an on site and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "Identifying Antitrust Issues in IP Matters". The speakers will be Al Pfeiffer (Latham & Watkins), Shylah Alfonso (Perkins Coie), Logan Breed (Hogan Lovells), Avery Gardiner (Verizon Communications), and Henry Su (FTC Bureau of Competition). Free. No CLE credits. See, notice. Location: Hogan Lovells, 555 13th St., NW.

9:40 to 11:50 AM. The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) will hold a closed meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 93, May 14, 2013, at Pages 28237-28238. Location: Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

12:40 - 4:00 PM. The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) will hold a meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 93, May 14, 2013, at Pages 28237-28238. Location: participants will meet in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building; public access is by webcast only.

Extended deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding elevating the allocation status of Earth Stations Aboard Aircraft (ESAA) in the 14.0-14.5 GHz band from secondary to primary and whether giving ESAA licensees primary status in the 14.0-14.5 GHz band would require a change to the technical rules. The FCC adopted this NPRM on December 20, 2012, and released it on December 28, 2012. It is FCC 12-161 in IB Docket No. 12-376. See, original notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 46, March 8, 2013, at Pages 14952-14957. See also, second notice in the FR, Vol. 78, No. 61, March 29, 2013, at Page 19172.

Supreme Court conference day. See, Supreme Court calendar.

1:00 - 5:00 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will hold another in its series of meetings regarding mobile application transparency. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 62, April 1, 2013, at Pages 19461-19462. Location: American Institute of Architects, 1735 New York Ave., NW.

1:00 PM. The US Telecom will host part two of a two part webcast seminar titled "VoLTE: Technology and Challenges". The price is $149. See, notice.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Public Notice (PN) [17 pages in PDF] regarding its e-rate tax and subsidy program for schools and libraries. The FCC released this PN on April 9, 2013. It is DA 13-592 in CC Docket No. 02-6 and GN Docket No. 09-51. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 78, April 23, 2013, at Pages 23877-23882.

5/14. The Department of the Treasury's (DOT) Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) released a report [54 pages in PDF] titled "Inappropriate Criteria Were Used to Identify Tax-Exempt Applications for Review".

A senior Internal Revenue Service (IRS) official gave a speech on May 10, 2013 at an American Bar Association (ABA) meeting in which she disclosed a few of the improprieties covered in this report. See, story titled "IRS Admits That It Discriminated Against Tea Party Groups" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,558, May 10, 2013.

This report states that the TIGTA examined "the IRS's treatment of organizations applying for tax-exempt status". In so doing, it examined three questions -- whether the IRS "1) targeted specific groups applying for tax-exempt status, 2) delayed processing of targeted groups' applications for tax-exempt status, and 3) requested unnecessary information from targeted groups."

The TIGTA did not examine whether the IRS passed on information collected from the targeted groups to other government agencies, to Democratic political committees, or to others.

The report finds that the IRS "developed and used inappropriate criteria to identify applications from organizations with the words Tea Party in their names". It also states that the IRS also targeted groups whose applications used the word "patriots" or that held policy positions on "government spending, government debt or taxes".

The report does not reach the conclusion that any IRS personnel or others violated federal criminal laws. The report includes non-criminal findings, such as "inappropriate" conduct, and the "appearance" of partiality.

Specifically, this report finds that "Using the names or policy positions of organizations is not an appropriate basis for identifying applications for review by the team of specialists", and "the criteria developed by the Determinations Unit gives the appearance that the IRS is not impartial in conducting its mission".

See also, statement by President Obama.

5/15. Steven Miller, acting Commissioners of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), resigned.

5/14. Sonja Reece and Susie Allen were named to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Intergovernmental Advisory Committee (IAC). Reece is the Mayor Pro Tem and Council Member of the Town of Normal, Illinois. Allen is the Information Technology Division Project Manager of the Colville Confederated Tribes in Nespelem, Washington. See, FCC release.

5/8. Amy Hood was named Chief Financial Officer of Microsoft, effective immediately. She replaces Peter Klein. See, release.

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