6/11. The Senate Finance Committee (SFC) approved the nomination of Mike Froman to be the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). See, SFC release.

Senators overlooked his investment holdings related to Ugland House in the Cayman Islands, which President Obama has condemned. See also, story titled "USTR Nominee Froman Mired in Ugland House Controversy" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,570, June 4, 2013.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), the ranking Republican on the SFC, said in his opening statement to a hearing on Froman on June 6 that "in 2008, while campaigning for President, then-Senator Obama said that the Ugland House was ``either the biggest building in the world or the biggest tax scam in the world.´´ And, throughout the 2012 campaign, President Obama repeatedly attacked Mitt Romney for having funds invested in the Caymans.  In making such investments, Governor Romney was, in the words of the Obama Campaign, betting against America. Yet, the President had no problem nominating someone who made similar investments to be Treasury Secretary. As a result of our vetting process, we have now learned that Mr. Froman has actively invested roughly half a million dollars in the exact same hedge fund located at the Ugland House."

Sen. Hatch explained that he raised this, not to "suggest that Mr. Froman has done something wrong", but rather to point out the hypocrisy of President Obama.

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), a senior member of the SFC, stated in a release on June 11 that "Despite the President's condemnations of offshore tax havens and his characterization of the Ugland House as 'the largest tax scam in the world,' his administration didn't ask a top aide about his investments in the Cayman Islands and the Ugland House. If this were a priority, the White House would have asked a top adviser about these investments. This is an example of the President's having one set of standards for his political opponents and another for his friends and supporters."

Froman, who is currently President Obama's Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics, used the June 6 hearing to announce that President Obama now supports a Congressional grant of trade promotion authority.

President Obama has not pursued any bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs). Also, he delayed implementation of three FTAs concluded late in the Bush administration (with Korea, Columbia and Panama).

Froman stated at the hearing that "if confirmed, I will engage with you to renew Trade Promotion Authority. TPA is a critical tool. I look forward to working with you to craft a bill that achieves our shared goals".

6/11. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and others filed a complaint [12 pages in PDF] in the U.S. District Court (SDNY) against James Clapper, in his capacity as Director of National Intelligence (DNI), and other government officials, alleging violation of 50 U.S.C. § 1861, and the 1st and 4th Amendments, in connection with the phone records surveillance program disclosed last week by the publication of an order of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC).

The ACLU's Jameel Jaffer stated in a release that "This dragnet program is surely one of the largest surveillance efforts ever launched by a democratic government against its own citizens ... It is the equivalent of requiring every American to file a daily report with the government of every location they visited, every person they talked to on the phone, the time of each call, and the length of every conversation. The program goes far beyond even the permissive limits set by the Patriot Act and represents a gross infringement of the freedom of association and the right to privacy."

Previously, the ACLU challenged the constitutionality of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which is codified at 50 U.S.C. § 1881a. It contains the "outside" the US surveillance authority.

The District Court held that the plaintiffs lack standing. The Court of Appeals reversed. On February 26, 2013 the Supreme Court issued its 5-4 opinion [47 pages in PDF] in Clapper v. ACLU, reversing the judgment of the Court of Appeals. It ruled that the plaintiffs lack Article III standing to sue because they cannot show injury because they cannot show that they are targets of Section 702 surveillance.

In the present case, the complaint alleges that the ACLU is a Verizon Business Network Services (VBNS) subscriber "whose communications have already been monitored by the government under the VBNS order and whose communications continue to be monitored under that order now".

The complaint does not address the issue of standing. However, the ACLU release asserts standing based upon the language of the FISC order, which requires production of all call records.

The complaint names as defendants Keith Alexander (in his capacity as Director of the NSA), Charles Hagel (Secretary of Defense), Eric Holder (Attorney General), and Robert Mueller (FBI Director).

This case is American Civil Liberties Union, et al. v. James R. Clapper, et al., U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

6/10. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Report and Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (R&O and FNPRM) [160 pages in PDF] regarding the FCC's waste, fraud and abuse plagued video relay service (VRS) program.

The R&O portion of this item adopts new rules in an attempt to reduce the amount of waste, fraud, and abuse. The FNPRM portion of this item asks about moving to a market based approach for setting rates.

FCC Chairman Mignon Clyburn wrote in her statement that "Americans who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind, or have a speech disability rely on this critical service to communicate with family, friends, and emergency personnel." She said that this item seeks to "preserve the program's integrity and long-term viability".

This item is FCC 13-82 in CG Docket No. 10-51 and CG Docket No. 03-123. The FCC adopted it on June 7, and released the text on June 10. Initial comments will be due within 45 days of publication of a notice in the Federal Register (FR). Reply comments will be due within 75 days of such publication. As of the June 12 issue of the FR, this notice had not yet been published.

6/7. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) once again seeks public comments related to its outdated and obsolete media ownership rules. This once again delays the issuance of new rules.

In this latest action, the FCC's Media Bureau (MB) issued a Public Notice (DA 13-1353) that seeks public comment on a report [18 pages in PDF] written for the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (MMTC) titled "The Impact of Cross Media Ownership on Minority/Women Owned Broadcast Stations".

Initial comments are due by July 22, 2013. Reply comments are due by August 6, 2013. The FCC released this PN on June 7, 2013. It is DA 13-1317 in MB Docket No. 09-182; MB Docket No. 07-294.

The MMTC paid BIA Kelsey to write a survey based study. It prepared a short survey questionnaire which it sent to "broadcast stations in markets with cross-media operations". It received only three responses. Hence, this report is based on scant anecdotal evidence, rather than a survey.

The report states that it examines "whether the existence of a commonly owned cross-media operation has a disparate impact on minority and/or women owned broadcast stations".

It concludes that "the impact of cross-media ownership on minority and women broadcast ownership is probably negligible. This does not mean that the cross-media ownership rules should, or should not, be changed. There may be sound justifications relating to overall viewpoint diversity, localism, or competition why the rules should or should not be changed. However, it appears from this study that cross-media interests’ impact on minority and women broadcast ownership is not sufficiently noticeable to station operators on the ground to be a material justification for tightening or retaining the rules."

The FCC's PN asks for comments regarding "the extent to which the Study may or should be relied on by the Commission in the ongoing media ownership and diversity proceedings".

The FCC adopted it latest rules on December 18, 2007, in its Report and Order on Reconsideration [124 pages in PDF]. It released this R&O on February 4, 2008. This R&O is FCC 07-216. However, on July 12, 2011 the U.S. Court of Appeals (3rdCir) issued its opinion [58 pages in PDF] in Prometheus Radio Project v. FCC in which it, among other things, vacated and remanded the FCC's newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership (NBCO) rules. See, story titled "3rd Circuit Issues Opinion Regarding FCC Regulation of Media Ownership" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,256, July 12, 2011. That story also provides a review of FCC's and 3rd Circuit's proceedings over the last decade. On June 28, 2012, the Supreme Court denied petitions for writ of certiorari.

On December 22, 2011 the FCC adopted another NPRM [99 pages in PDF]. It is FCC 11-186 in MB Docket Nos. 09-182 and MB Docket No. 07-294. The FCC received comments, but issued no new rules.

On November 14, 2012 the FCC's MB released a document [121 pages in PDF] titled "Report on Ownership of Broadcast Stations", and solicited comments. On December 3, 2012, the FCC issued a Public Notice (PN) that sought comments on that report. The FCC received comments, but still issued not rules.

See also, story titled "Sen. Sanders and Others Urge FCC to Continue Ancient Newspaper Broadcast Cross Ownership Rule" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,484, December 6, 2012.

6/7. The FCC released a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) regarding wrehousing and vertical foreclosure in the satellite space segment.

This NOI states that there are allegations "that certain fixed-satellite service (FSS) operators are “warehousing” satellite orbital locations and frequency assignments and are foreclosing competitors from purchasing capacity on their satellites".

See for example, comment [8 pages in PDF] of Globecomm Systems, comment [127 pages in PDF] of CapRock Communications, and April 7, 2010 comment [25 pages in PDF] of Artel, all filed on April 7, 2010.

Hence, this NOI "opens a proceeding to determine whether, and, if so, to what extent, incumbent satellite operators are operating in ways that inhibit competition in the market for satellite services, particularly in the FSS arena."

This NOI is FCC 13-79 in IB Docket No. 13-147. The FCC adopted it on June 5, and released the text on June 7, 2013. Initial comments will be due within 30 days of publication of a notice in the Federal Register (FR). Reply comments will be due within 60 days of such publication. As of the June 12 issue of the FR, this notice had not yet been published.

5/24. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Office of Communications Business Opportunities (OCBO) released a Public Notice (DA 13-1214) that announces that the FCC is persisting in its grasp for a rationale for regulating news media, under the guise of providing for the "Information Needs of Communities".

It has commissioned another study, and released a document [78 pages in PDF] titled "Research Design" for this study. The deadline to submit comments to the FCC regarding this "design" is July 23, 2013.

This is part of a project initiated by former Chairman Julius Genachowski and Steven Waldman. See, Waldman's report [468 pages in PDF] of July 2011, which the full Commission did not vote to approve.

See also, report [124 pages in PDF] of July 2012 prepared for the FCC by University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The FCC lacks a statutory mandate for this. Although, the just released PN cites the inapplicable requirement codified at 47 U.S.C. § 257(c). The section requires that the FCC conduct a triennial review regarding eliminating "market entry barriers for entrepreneurs and other small businesses in the provision and ownership of telecommunications services and information services, or in the provision of parts or services to providers of telecommunications services and information services". This section creates no authority to study or regulate news media. Also, it pertains to the elimination of regulations. The "Information Needs of Communities" activities of the FCC are directed towards imposing regulation.

Moreover, regulation of news media would be repugnant to the First Amendment.

Nevertheless, the FCC has just released a PN that announces that the FCC has commissioned another study. The FCC also released a document titled "Research Design for the Multi-Market Study of Critical Information Needs: Final Research Design".

The study is to be conducted by Social Solutions International, Inc. (SSII). The SSII discloses in its web site that it has no experience or expertise in communications, journalism, the news media industry, or any FCC matters.

The "Research Design" is long, employs jargon from various academic methodologies, and awkwardly attempts to appear scientific. But, it is often uninformed, and sometimes incoherent.

This "Research Design" states that the SSII will judge the quality of news reporting by up to 280 television, radio, newspaper and internet new entities.

This "Research Design" also states that the SSII will also judge the quality of the media providers. That is, the SSIII will "identify ownership characteristics", "determine who owns the broadcast stations", and identify "duopolies".

This, the "Research Design" states, is to "establish a dialogue between the findings of the content analysis of media sources and what is actually reported by news providers".

6/11. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) issued a Public Notice (DA 13-1353) that states that FCC has established an e-mail address for Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) to provide information on service outages and related issues to the FCC: psapreport at fcc dot gov.

6/7. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Media Bureau released a report [30 pages in PDF] titled "Report on Cable Industry Prices". It finds that the price of basic cable service rose in 2011 by 4.8%, but that the price per channel decreased by .4%. The report states that "The average monthly price of expanded basic service (the combined price of basic service and the most subscribed cable programming service tier excluding taxes, fees and equipment charges) for all communities surveyed increased by 4.8 percent over the 12 months ending January 1, 2012, to $61.63, compared to an annual increase of 2.9 percent in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The price of expanded basic service has increased at a compound average annual growth rate of 6.1 percent during the period 1995-2012. The CPI increased at a compound average annual growth rate of 2.4 percent over the same period. However, the price per channel (price divided by number of channels) for subscribers purchasing expanded basic service decreased by 0.4 percent over the 12 months ending January 1, 2012, to 51 cents per channel. Over the 17 years from 1995-2012, the increase in price per channel was less than 1 percent per year (0.2 percent) on an annual basis." (Parentheses in original. Footnote omitted.) This report is DA 13-1319 in MM Docket No. 92-266.

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

Day three of a three day event hosted by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) titled "Cable Show". See, web site. Location: Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place, NW.

8:00 AM - 1:00 PM. Day two of a two day meeting of the Executive Office of the President's (EOP) Office of Science and Technology Policy's (OSTP) Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology Subcommittee. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 79, April 24, 2013, at Page 24241. Location: USDA Conference and Training Center, Patriots Plaza III, 355 E St., SW.

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day two of a two day event hosted by Georgetown University's (GU) Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy (GCBPP) titled "Workshop on the Economics of Information Security". See, notice. Location: GU, Hariri Building, McDonough School of Business.

8:30 - 11:45 AM Day two of a two day meeting of the Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology (VCAT). See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 98, May 21, 2013, at Pages 29704-29705. Location: NIST, Portrait Room, Administration Building, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.

8:30 AM - 4:00 PM. Day two of a two day meeting of the Department of the Interior's (DOI) National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC). The agenda includes discussion of the Strategic Plan of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI), which provides data for, among other things, Google Maps and Microsoft Bing maps. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 99, May 22, 2013, at Page 30328. Location: South Interior Building Auditorium, 1951 Constitution Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Appropriations Committee (HAC) will meet to mark up the FY 2014 defense appropriations bill. See, notice. Location: Room 2359, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (SHSGAC) will hold a hearing on the nomination of Howard Shelanski to be Administrator of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. See, notice, and story titled "Obama Picks Shelanski for OMB Post" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,557, May 6, 2013. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

10:30 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Communications and Technology (SCT) will hold a hearing titled "The Satellite Television Law: Repeal, Reauthorize, or Revise". See notice. The witnesses will be Marci Burdick (Schurz Communications), Geoffrey Manne (Tech Freedom), Mike Palkovic (DIRECTV), Ben Pyne (Disney Media Networks), Hal Singer (Navigant Economics), and Amy Tykeson (Bend Broadband). Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

12:15 - 1:45 PM. The DC Bar Association's Media Law Committee will host a closed brown bag lunch meeting to discuss media and communications law developments. Free. No CLE credits. Reporters are barred from covering this event. For more information, contact the DC Bar at 202-626-3463 or Kurt Wimmer (Covington & Burling) at kwimmer at cov dot com or Jim McLaughlin at mclaughlinj at washpost dot com. See, notice. Location: Washington Post, 1150 15th St., NW.

2:00 PM. The Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) will hold a hearing titled "Cybersecurity: Preparing for and Responding to the Enduring Threat". The witnesses will be General Keith Alexander (Commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, Director of the National Security Agency, and Chief of the Central Security Service), Rand Beers (acting Deputy Secretary, DHS), Patrick Gallagher (Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology), and Richard McFeely (FBI). See, notice. Location: Room G-50, Dirksen Building.

Deadline to submit to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) objections to AT&T's April 17, 2013 application to discontinue certain domestic telecommunications services that utilize obsolete technologies. See, Public Notice [3 pages in PDF], DA 13-1083 in WC Docket No. 13-126.

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

Supreme Court conference day. See, Supreme Court calendar.

RESCHEDULED FOR JUNE 27. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host an event titled "Is Technology Responsible for American Job Loss?".

8:00 - 11:00 AM. Allstate, the Atlantic and the National Journal will host an event titled "All Eyes on Privacy: Transparency in the New Economy". The speakers will include Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Marc Rotenberg (Electronic Privacy Information Center), Jonathan Leibowitz, Ronald Brownstein (Atlantic), and Steve Clemons (Atlantic). See, notice and registration page. Location: Newseum, 7th Floor, 555 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will hold an oversight hearing on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The witness will be FBI Director Robert Mueller. See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed meeting to mark up HR __, the "Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014". Location: Room HVC-304, House Visitor Center.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes consideration of Tony West (to be the Associate Attorney General) and four judicial nominees: Valerie Caproni (USDC/SDNY), and Vernon Broderick (USDC/SDNY), See also, story titled "Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on West" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,568, May 31, 2013, and story titled "Obama Nominates Caproni to District Court" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,474, November 19, 2012. Live and archived webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

1:00 - 4:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Technological Advisory Council (TAC) will meet. Tom Wheeler is the Chairman of the TAC. See, story titled "Obama to Nominate Tom Wheeler to Be FCC Chairman" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,556, May 1, 2013. See also, FCC's Public Notice, and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 106, June 3, 2013, at Page 33092. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

1:00 - 2:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "Cyber Security for the Overseas Attorney: Understanding and Mitigating the Risk to Client Information When Traveling Abroad". The speakers will be David Manning (Applied Security, Inc.), Keith Riggins (Pamir Consulting), Allen Vaughn (Applied Security, Inc.), and Chandran Iyer (Sughrue Mion). Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

1:00 - 3:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host an event titled "Cloud Computing Transactions Workshop: A Systems Approach to Avoiding Thunderstorms". The speakers will be Henry Classen (Computer Sciences Corporation) and Philip Porter (Hogan Lovells). 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.

2:00 PM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed meeting titled "Ongoing Intelligence Activities". See, notice. Location: Room HVC-304, House Visitor Center.

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) Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) regarding the 45 day public trial of Google's TV bands database system that was completed on April 17, 2013. See, FCC's May 29, 2013 Public Notice, DA 13-1220 in ET Docket No. 04-186.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) regarding the 45 day public trial of Keybridge's TV bands database system that was completed on April 24, 2013. See, FCC's May 29, 2013 Public Notice, DA 13-1222 in ET Docket No. 04-186.

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

8:00 AM - 4:00 PM. The Georgetown University's Georgetown Center for Business & Public Policy (GCBPP) will host an event titled "Optimal Coevolution of Mobile Broadband Technology and Spectrum Policy". See, notice and registration page. Location: McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University.

9:00 AM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed meeting titled "Ongoing Intelligence Activities". See, notice. Location: Room HVC-304, House Visitor Center.

9:00 AM - 4:30 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of the Census's (BOC) Federal Economic Statistics Advisory Committee (FESAC) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 99, May 22, 2013, at Page 30269. Location: BOC Conference Center, 4600 Silver Hill Road, Suitland, MD.

10:30 AM - 3:30 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Emergency Access Advisory Committee (EAAC) will meet to discuss ensuring access to 911 by individuals with disabilities. See, FCC Public Notice. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

12:00 NOON - 1:15 PM. The American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Antitrust Law will host a an on site and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "Patent Pools". The speakers will be Amanda Reeves (Latham & Watkins), Patrick Kuhlmann (DOJ Antitrust Division), Jeffrey Blumenfeld (Crowell & Moring), and Bob Levinson (Charles River Associates). Free. No CLE credits. See, notice. Location: Latham & Watkins, Suite 1000, 555 11th St., NW.

4:30 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of the Census's (BC) Federal Economic Statistics Advisory Committee Meeting will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 99, May 22, 2013, at Page 30269. Location: BC Conference Center, 4600 Silver Hill Road, Suitland, MD.

Deadline to submit Expressions of Interest to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) regarding serving on the Board of Directors of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet). See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 106, June 3, 2013, at Pages 33072-33073.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Public Notice (PN) requesting comments that supplement the record regarding the 600 MHz wireless band plan. This PN is DA 13-1157 in GN Docket No. 12-268. See, statement of Commissioner Ajit Pai explaining that this PN has "substantive and procedural infirmities that I fear will lead the incentive auction rulemaking astray". See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 101, May 24, 2013, at Pages 31472-31475.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the Section 214 application [18 pages in PDF] of MCI Communications Services, Inc. dba Verizon Business Services to discontinue MCI 900 Service. See also, FCC's Public Notice. This proceeding is WC Docket No. 13-139.

11:00 AM - 12:30 PM. The American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Antitrust Law will host a teleconferenced panel discussion titled "A day with the French Data Protection Authority, the CNIL". The speakers will be Florence Raynal (head of the Commission Nationale de L'informatique et des Libertés' Department of European and International Affairs) and Marie-Andrée Weiss. Free. No CLE credits. See, notice.

12:00 NOON. The Tech Freedom and Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) will host a panel discussion titled "What Should Congress Do about Cell Phone Unlocking?" FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai will give opening remarks. The other speakers will be __. See, notice. Location: Methodist Building, 101 Maryland Ave., NE.

12:15 - 1:45 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Intellectual Property and Video Programming and Distribution Committees will host a brown bag lunch titled "Copyright, Technology, and Media Litigation: A Mid-Year Review". Location: Wiley Rein, 1776 K St., NW.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [55 pages in PDF] regarding equipment authorization processes. The FCC adopted this NPRM on February 12, 2013, and released the text on February 15, 2013. It is FCC 13-19 in ET Docket No. 13-44. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 86, May 3, 2013, at Pages 25916-25938.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Public Notice (PN) requesting input and data on mobile wireless competition to assist the FCC in preparing a report titled "Seventeenth Annual Report on the State of Competition in Mobile Wireless". This PN is DA 13-1139 in WT Docket No. 13-135.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) in response to its May 16 Public Notice (PN) regarding promoting the availability of voice and broadband capable networks in rural areas served by rate of return carriers. This PN is DA 13-1112 in WC Docket No. 10-90. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 109, June 6, 2013, at Pages 34016-34020.

Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) in its proceeding titled "U.S. Trans Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement Including Japan: Advice on the Probable Economic Effect of Providing Duty-Free Treatment for Imports". See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 94, May 15, 2013, at Pages 28623-28625.

TIME? The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing on the nomination of Tom Wheeler to be Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). See, SCC notice, and story titled "Obama to Nominate Tom Wheeler to Be FCC Chairman" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,556, May 1, 2013. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

8:00 - 10:00 AM. Broadband Census News LLC will host an event titled "Advanced Energy, Smart Grid and Fiber to the Home: Using Advanced Energy to Jumpstart Fiber Builds". The speakers will include James Salter (CEO of Atlantic Engineering Group). 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.

8:30 - 10:00 AM. The CTIA and Georgetown University will host an event titled "Spectrum Supply and Demand". The speakers will be __. See, notice. Location: Washington Post, 1150 15th St., NW.

9:00 - 10:15 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a panel discussion titled "The Next Digital Crossroads: Regulating Competition in the Internet Ecosystem". The speakers will be Jonathan Nuechterlein (Wilmer Hale), Philip Weiser (University of Colorado Law School) and Jeffrey Eisenach (Navigant Economics). Free. Open to the public. Breakfast will be served. Webcast. See, notice. Location: AEI, 1150 17th St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "Big Bang Theory: Does Section 5 of the FTC Act Have Limits or Can It Achieve Infinite Expansion?". The speakers will be Susan Creighton (Wilson Sonsini), Robert Lande (University of Baltimore School of Law), Tom Rosch (Latham & Watkins), Joe Sims (Jones Day), and Carter Simpson (Dentons US). Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

1:00 - 2:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "Ethics for Trademark Attorneys Practicing Before the USPTO". The speakers will be Stephanie Bald (Kelly IP) and Christina Hieber (USPTO). Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers Committee will host an event titled "Summer Kick-Off Happy Hour & Welcome to Interns". For more information, contact Jessica Elder at jessica dot elder3 at gmail dot com or Justin Faulb (Eckert Seamans) at Jfaulb at eckertseamans dot com. Location: Iron Horse Tap Room, 507 7th St., NW.

EXTENDED TO JULY 18. Deadline to submit reply 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.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) in response to its Public Notice regarding Version 3.1.2 of the Connect America Fund Phase II Cost Model. This item is DA 13-1136 in WC Docket No. 10-90. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 103, May 29, 2013, at Pages 32224-32225.

8:30 AM - 1:30 PM. The Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) Program Management Committee (PMC) will meet. The agenda includes discussions of drone standards, air traffic data communications, systems security, and surveillance. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 106, June 3, 2013, at Pages 33144-33145. Location: RTCA, Inc., Suite 910, 1150 18th St., NW.

9:00 AM - 3:00 PM. The Department of Health and Human Services' (DHHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's (ONCHIT) HIT Standards Committee will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 96, May 17, 2013, at Page 29135. Location: __.

9:00 - 10:30 AM. The Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (ETAAC) will meet via telephone conference call. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 103, May 29, 2013, at Pages 32306-32307.

9:30 - 10:45 AM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "International Licensing Issues in the US, India, and Japan". The speakers will be Jonathan Gleklen (Arnold & Porter), Andrew Heimert ( FTC), Samir Gandhi (AZB & Partners), and Nobu Mukai (Momo-o, Matsuo & Namba). Free. No CLE credits. See, notice.

Extended 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, and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 109, June 6, 2013, at Pages 34099-34100, extending comment deadlines.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the assessment and collection of regulatory fees. This NPRM is FCC 13-74 in MD Docket Nos. 12-201, 13-140, and 08-6. The FCC adopted it on May 22, 2013, and released it on May 23. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 111, June 10, 2013, at Pages 34612-34634.