5/14. The House passed HR 1580 [LOC | WW], an untitled bill that states that "It is the policy of the United States to preserve and advance the successful multistakeholder model that governs the Internet" by a vote of 413-0. See, Roll Call No. 145.

Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), Chairman of the House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, stated that "This bipartisan bill is designed to combat recent efforts by some in the international community to regulate the Internet, which could jeopardize not only its vibrancy, but also the benefits that it brings to the entire world." See, Congressional Record, May 14, 2013, at Page H2582.

He continued that "Nations from across the globe met at the December 2012 World Conference on International Telecommunications in Dubai. They considered changes to the international telecommunications regulations. The treaty negotiations were billed as a routine review of rules governing ordinary international telephone service. A number of countries, such as Russia, China, and Iran, sought to use the negotiations, however, to pursue regulation of the Internet through the International Telecommunication Union, a United Nations agency. None other than Russian President Vladimir Putin has been clear in his objective of ``establishing international control over the Internet using the monitoring and supervisory capabilities of the International Telecommunication Union.´´"

Rep. Walden added that the US "and 54 other countries left Dubai without signing the treaty. Unfortunately, 89 nations did sign. The revised ITRs will be implemented by those nations, and that begins in January of 2015. Now, a number of upcoming conferences will present additional opportunities for countries to pursue international regulation of the Internet, including the World Telecommunication/ICT Policy Forum in Geneva, which starts today, and the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Busan, South Korea, in 2014."

He said that "I also want to address the elephant in the room, if you will: the FCC's network neutrality regulations. ... Let me be clear: while I oppose the FCC's rules regulating the Internet, this legislation does not address those regulations."

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the HCC, said that "Democrats and Republicans in Congress and the Administration have been united in our support for a global open Internet governed from the bottom up. We worked together last Congress on a bipartisan, bicameral basis to express our support for that successful approach to Internet governance. On some domestic issues, I have strong differences with the majority over Internet policy. One example is my support for a domestic Internet policy that prevents Internet service providers from acting as ``gatekeepers´´ that control what American citizens can do online. But those differences appropriately stop at the water's edge."

He added that the bill has been revised to assure "that the legislation is in no way intended to direct domestic Internet policy. With these changes and the assurances of my colleagues, I am pleased that we stand together on a bipartisan basis in support of our diplomats and the multistakeholder model for global Internet governance."

The Senate has not yet passed this bill. It has been referred to the Senate Commerce Committee (SCC).

See also, stories titled "House Commerce Committee Passes Internet Governance Resolution" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,551, April 17, 2013, "House Subcommittee Approves Bill Regarding Promoting a Global Internet Free from Government Control" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,550, April 11, 2013, and "House Commerce Subcommittee Begins Mark Up of Internet Freedom Resolution" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,549, April 10, 2013.

5/15. The European Commission's (EC) Trade Commissioner, Karel De Gucht, announced in a release that the EC has decided "to open an ex officio anti-dumping and an anti-subsidy investigation concerning imports of mobile telecommunications networks and their essential elements from China".

De Gucht (at right) added, however, that "This decision will not be activated for the time being to allow for negotiations towards an amicable solution with the Chinese authorities."

This release adds that "An ex officio trade defence action allows the European Commission to launch a trade defence investigation on its own initiative without an official complaint by the EU industry. This possibility is particularly important as it offers a 'shield' when the risk of retaliation against European companies asking for trade defence instruments is high. Such an action can be focused on either an anti-dumping or anti-subsidy investigation or both."

Also, the House Commerce Committee (HCC) announced that its Subcommittee on Communications and Technology (SCT) will hold a hearing on Tuesday, May 21, 2013, titled "Cybersecurity: An Examination of the Communications Supply Chain". See, notice.

Both announcements are directed at companies based in the People's Republic of China (PRC), including Huawei and ZTE.

See also, stories titled:

• "Legislators Write Genachowski Regarding FCC Authority to Regulate Purchase of Telecom Equipment from PRC" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,142, October 19, 2010.
• "House Intelligence Committee Launches Investigation of Huawei" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,313, October 22, 2011.
• "SASC Approves Defense Authorization Bill with Cyber Warfare and ICT Provisions" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,397, June 15, 2012.
• "US China Commission Reports that PRC Uses Foreign Assistance to Promote Its Telecom Sector" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,300, September 13, 2011.
• "Rep. Rogers and Rep. Ruppersburger Write Huawei and ZTE and About Ties to PRC Government" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,395, June 13, 2012.
• "House Intelligence Committee Report Finds Huawei and ZTE Could Undermine US National Security" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,461, October 15, 2012.

The PRC government and some PRC based companies have given other governments ample cause for concern regarding government subsidies and security threats. However, there is also an element of trade protectionism in the responses of the US and EC.

5/16. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) held an executive business meeting at which it approved the nomination of Raymond Chen to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) by voice vote.

This is a non-controversial nomination on fast track for confirmation by the full Senate. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) stated that "I know of no objection to that nomination to the Federal Circuit."

Chen (at right) is a long time attorney for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) who would bring to the Federal Circuit much expertise in patent law, and an understanding of the perspective of the USPTO.

Chen has been Deputy General Counsel for Intellectual Property Law and Solicitor for the USPTO since 2008. He was the USPTO's Associate Solicitor for ten years before that. He argued In Re Bilski on behalf of the USPTO before the Federal Circuit.

See also, story titled "Obama Nominates Raymond Chen for Federal Circuit" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,522, February 8, 2013.

See also, Chen's responses to the SJC's questionnaire, and his responses to written questions from SJC members.

5/16. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) held an executive business meeting at which it approved the nomination of Srikanth Srinivasan to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) on a roll call vote of 18-0.

Srinivasan is currently the Principal Deputy Solicitor General at the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Senate Democrats treated some former President Bush's nominees for DC Circuit in a particularly political and partisan manner. President's Obama's recently abandoned efforts to put Caitlin Halligan on the DC Circuit has given Senate Republicans further reason to scrutinize the President's nominees for this circuit.

However, Srinivasan possesses some attributes that make him acceptable to conservatives and Republicans. For example, he clerked for Judge Harvie Wilkinson of the U.S. Court of Appeals (4thCir), a favorite of legal conservatives, and author of the book [Amazon] titled "Cosmic Constitutional Theory: Why Americans Are Losing Their Inalienable Right to Self-Governance".

Also, Srinivasan worked in the DOJ's Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) during the Bush administration.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) all praised Srinivasan at the May 16 meeting.

While Presidents, and the Senators of the President's party, always tout their judicial nominees' qualifications, experience, and judicial abilities, there is some broader acknowledgement that Srinivasan is in fact a particularly qualified nominee.

He clerked for Supreme Court Justice O'Connor, and has argued twenty cases before the Supreme Court.

He has also worked for the law firm of O'Melveny & Myers from 2007 through 2011, where he represented Hynix Semiconductor before the U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) in Hynix v. Rambus, 645 F.3d 1336 (2011).

He has not argued any technology related cases before the Supreme Court. However, he was the counsel of record for the U.S. in Tenenbaum v. Sony BMG Music Entertainment, in which the Supreme Court denied certiorari on May 21, 2012. See, Supreme Court docket. That is, his name is on the brief of the OSG opposing Tenenbaum's petition. See also, September 16, 2011 opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals (1stCir). Joel Tenebaum infringed copyrights by peer to peer distribution.

President Obama first nominated Srinivasan in the 112th Congress on June 11, 2012. See, White House news office release. The President renominated him in the 113th Congress on January 3, 2013.

His nomination is on track for confirmation. However, Senate Republicans are concerned that the Obama administration is seeking to pack the DC Circuit that judges who will routinely reject petitions for review, and appeals, of final orders of federal agencies that implement policies of the Obama administration. Thus, any further nominees may face Republican opposition. See, related story in this issue titled "Future Nominees for the DC Circuit May Face Republican Opposition".

See also, Srinivasan's responses to the SJC's questionaire, and his responses to written questions from SJC members.

5/16. If the Senate confirms Srikanth Srinivasan to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir), as it is likely to do, then the DC Circuit will have eight active Judges. Nominally, however, this leaves three vacancies -- vacancies that have heretofore been left vacant. Going forward, President Obama may try to fill these positions, and Senate Republicans may resist this as reminiscent of former President Roosevelt's failed court packing scheme in 1937.

Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 44(a), there are eleven positions for active judges on the DC Circuit. When the 110th Congress enacted HR 660 [LOC | WW], the "Court Security Improvement Act of 2007", now Public Law No. 110-177, the Congress reduced the size of the DC Circuit from twelve to eleven. Section 509 of that Act reduced the size of the DC Circuit, and increased the size of the 9th Circuit to 29.

The DC Circuit serves an area with a population of just over 600,000 people, or about 55,000 people for each of its eleven authorized judges. The 9th Circuit serves an area with a population of about 62,000,000 people, or about 2.1 Million people for each authorized judge.

The DC Circuit has long operated with less than the full complement of judges. Basically, they are not needed. Moreover, President Obama has not attempted to expand the number of active judges to the full authorized eleven.

It might also be noted that the DC Circuit has a large pool of senior status judges, Harry Edwards, Laurence Silberman, Steven Williams, Douglas Ginsburg, David Sentelle, and Raymond Randolph.

However, recent media stories have suggested that President Obama may try to appoint a full complement of DC Circuit judges. One of his key motivations may be to alter its future rulings on matters affecting the authority of the executive branch to act without Congressional authorization.

When President Obama took office, both the House and Senate were controlled by Democrats. Both enacted legislation that implemented key policy initiatives of the President. Constitutional issues regarding the separation of powers and checks and balances did not seem important at that time.

However, the House switched to Republican control after the 2010 elections, and the Democratic Senate leadership, cautious not to loose its majority, has since been reluctant to push key components of President Obama's agenda. As a consequence, the Obama administration is increasingly turning to executive orders, agency rulemakings unsupported by specific grants of legislative authority, and "recess appointments" while the Senate is in session, to implement its agenda.

These tactics raise legal questions regarding Presidential authority. These questions are disproportionately resolved by the DC Circuit. Hence, the President may have a new found interest in the composition of the DC Circuit. The three vacancies present President Obama an opportunity to pack the DC Circuit with judges who will uphold his actions.

This interest may have intensified on January 25, 2013, when the DC Circuit issued its opinion in Canning v. NLRB, holding a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) action invalid because the NLRB acted without a quorum, because three of its putative members held office only by intrasession "recess appointment" made by President Obama, without Senate confirmation.

Judge David Sentelle, an appointee of former President Reagan, wrote the opinion of the court. He took senior status two weeks later, on February 11. Judge Karen Henderson, an appointee of the first President Bush, joined. Judge Thomas Griffith, an appointee of the second President Bush, wrote a concurring opinion. That is, all three judges on the panel were Republican appointees.

The U.S. Court of Appeals (3rdCir) issued its divided opinion [157 pages in PDF] on May 16, 2013 in NLRB v. New Vista, App. Ct. Nos. 11-3440, 12-1027, and 12-1936, reaching the same conclusion as the DC Circuit. Judge Brooks Smith, who was appointed by the second President Bush, wrote the opinion of the Court. Judge Franklin Van Antwerpen, a senior status judge appointed by the second President Bush, joined. Judge Joseph Greenaway, who was appointed by President Obama, wrote a dissent.

The DC Circuit has also recently overturned actions by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

It is too late to undo the DC Circuit's decision invalidating President Obama's recess appointments to the  NLRB, or to influence its forthcoming decision in the challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) network neutrality rules. However, the DC Circuit may eventually decide key issues, such as whether President Obama has authority to regulate the cyber security related practices of businesses via executive order and agency rules.

The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) held an executive business meeting on May 16 at which it approved the nomination of Srikanth Srinivasan to be a Judge of the DC Circuit. Most of the meeting was devoted to mark up of an immigration bill. However, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), the ranking Republican on the SJC, spoke at length about the DC Circuit. See, transcript of Sen. Grassley's speech.

He said that "At present, there are four active judges on the court who were appointed by Republican presidents and three active judges appointed by Democratic presidents. Should Mr. Srinivasan be confirmed, the court will be in evenly divided, in terms of the appointing President’s party."

He quoted from an article by Juliet Eilperin published in the Washington Post on April 2, 2013 titled "Obama seeks to shift conservative tilt of key court".

Eilperin wrote, and Sen. Grassley quoted, this: "Giving liberals a greater say on the D.C. Circuit is important for Obama as he looks for ways to circumvent the Republican-led House and a polarized Senate on a number of policy fronts through executive order and other administrative procedures."

Eilperin opined that "the D.C. Circuit has taken on outsize importance because of its conservative tilt and its role overseeing Obama's executive authority."

Sen. Grassley (at right) continued that "The political questions are appropriately left to the legislative branch of government. Those who advocate for a type of court-packing, reminiscent of the FDR era, to obtain an advantage in public policy debates, misunderstand the purpose of our Courts. They are to resolve cases and controversies."

He stated that the DC Circuit has the lightest workload, and the SJC should "hold hearings on the D.C. Circuit and examine its workload" before it approves any more nominees for the DC Circuit.

Sen. Grassley is also the sponsor S 699 [LOC | WW], the "Court Efficiency Act of 2013", a bill that would decrease the size of the DC Circuit from 11 to 8, and increase the size of the 11th Circuit and 2nd Circuit by one judge each. The cosponsors are all Republicans, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC), Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ).

Sen. Hatch said that "I know that they are not overworked down there" at the DC Circuit.

Sen. Sessions said that the DC Circuit is "clearly the lowest caseload circuit" in the country.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the Chairman of the SJC, pointed out that former President Bush had sought to fill more seats on the DC Circuit. However, he did not mention the matter of Peter Keisler.

Sen. Lee said that the DC Circuit caseload is light. He continued that former President Bush nominated Peter Keisler (then Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice's Civil Division) in 2006 for the DC Circuit, but that Democrats blocked that nomination, by not allowing the SJC to vote, in part based on the argument that the DC Circuit did not need another judge. Sen. Lee continued that the DC Circuit's caseload has decreased since then.

Sen. Christopher Coons (D-DE) said that DC Circuit cases are more complex, and that all eleven seats should be filled.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (R-RI) said that it is "not helpful" to use the term "packing the court". He said that President Roosevelt sought to create new seats on the Supreme Court, whereas there are existing vacancies on the DC Circuit.

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

The Senate will not meet.

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 John Villasenor (Brookings Institution), Gregory McNeal (Pepperdine University School of Law), Tracey Maclin (Boston University School of Law), and Chris Calabrese (American Civil Liberties Union). 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.

The Senate will meet at 2:00 PM. It is scheduled to resume consideration of S 954 [LOC | WW], the "Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013".

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. The House Commerce Committee (HCC) will hold a hearing titled "Cyber Threats and Security Solutions". The witnesses will be __. See, notice. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

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.

2:00 PM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Communications and Technology (SCT) will hold a hearing titled "Cybersecurity: An Examination of the Communications Supply Chain". The witnesses will be __. See, notice. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

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.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [47 pages in PDF] regarding implementation of the 2012 spectrum act's provisions regarding deployment of a nationwide public safety broadband network in the 700 MHz band under a nationwide license issued to the FirstNet. See, HR 3630 [LOC | WW], the "Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012", Public Law No. 112-96. The FCC adopted this item on March 7, 2013, and released the text on March 8. It is FCC 13-31 in PS Docket Nos. 12-94 and 06-229, and WT Docket No. 06-150. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 79, April 24, 2013, at Pages 24138-24147.

5/16. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) held an executive business meeting at which it approved the nomination of  Jennifer Dorsey (USDC/DNev) on a party line roll call vote of 10-8. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) stated that "There is concern on the Dorsey nomination. I think all members are aware of the press accounts of campaign contributions which were made at the time this nomination was under consideration. Perhaps we will have an opportunity to further explore exactly what took place, but I am concerned about the appearances and how such actions might undermine public confidence in our judiciary."

5/15. The Senate confirmed William Orrick to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California by a vote of 56-41. See, Roll Call No. 125. All of the yes votes were cast by Democrats, except that Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) also voted yes. All of the no votes were cast by Republicans. The Northern District of California hears many technology related cases. However, Republican opposition to Orrick is based on his prior statements and activities in non-technology related issues, and especially his work in the Obama Department of Justice (DOJ) on immigration matters. See, story titled "Divided Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Orrick for NDCal Judgeship" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,530, March 5, 2013.

5/16. The Senate confirmed Ernest Moniz to be Secretary of Energy by a vote of 97-0. See, Roll Call No. 127.

5/16. President Obama named Daniel Werfel acting Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). See, White House news office release.

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