3/25. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released a document titled "IR-2014-36: IRS Virtual Currency Guidance: Virtual Currency Is Treated as Property for U.S. Federal Tax Purposes; General Rules for Property Transactions Apply". It references a second IRS document [6 pages in PDF] titled "Notice 2014-21", also released on March 25, 2014.

The IRS states that for the purposes of federal tax law, virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin, are treated as property, rather than as currency.

Notice 2014-21 states that "This notice describes how existing general tax principles apply to transactions using virtual currency."

Its key conclusion is that "For federal tax purposes, virtual currency is treated as property. General tax principles applicable to property transactions apply to transactions using virtual currency."

Also, "Under currently applicable law, virtual currency is not treated as currency that could generate foreign currency gain or loss for U.S. federal tax purposes." And, "A taxpayer who receives virtual currency as payment for goods or services must, in computing gross income, include the fair market value of the virtual currency, measured in U.S. dollars, as of the date that the virtual currency was received."

This notice states that the IRS "is aware that ``virtual currency´´ may be used to pay for goods or services, or held for investment. Virtual currency is a digital representation of value that functions as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, and/or a store of value. In some environments, it operates like ``real´´ currency -- i.e., the coin and paper money of the United States or of any other country that is designated as legal tender, circulates, and is customarily used and accepted as a medium of exchange in the country of issuance -- but it does not have legal tender status in any jurisdiction."

This notice continues that "Virtual currency that has an equivalent value in real currency, or that acts as a substitute for real currency, is referred to as ``convertible´´ virtual currency. Bitcoin is one example of a convertible virtual currency. Bitcoin can be digitally traded between users and can be purchased for, or exchanged into, U.S. dollars, Euros, and other real or virtual currencies."

This IRS notice also addresses determination of the basis and fair market value of virtual currency. It also addresses mining of virtual currencies, and other issues.

The principle author of this notice is the IRS's Keith Aqui.

3/24. Ben Rhodes, a speech writer and foreign policy advisor for President Obama, spoke at a news conference about the People's Republic of China (PRC), cyber intrusions, and intellectual property.

Rhodes said that US President Obama and PRC President Xi discussed cyber security. See, transcript.

Rhodes said that "What President Obama made clear to him is that, again, the United States does not engage in espionage to gain a commercial advantage. We don't share information with our companies."

Rhodes elaborated that "Both the United States and China, understandably, like other countries in the world, engage in intelligence activities on behalf of our national security. But there’s a clear distinction, in our view, between intelligence activities that have a national security purpose versus intelligence activities that have a commercial purpose. And what we’ve tried to stress to the Chinese in our cyber dialogue is that while we understand that different nations are going to have approaches to cybersecurity and intelligence collection, that we need to cooperate in setting clear rules of the road that wall off theft of tradecraft related to commercial entities, theft of intellectual property."

Various news media have published stories in recent days that state that the National Security Agency (NSA) has gained unauthorized access to Huawei servers in the PRC. See for example, story by David Sanger and Nicole Perlroth titled "N.S.A. Breached Chinese Servers Seen as Security Threat".

They wrote in a story published on March 22, 2014 in the New York Times that "The agency pried its way into the servers in Huawei’s sealed headquarters in Shenzhen, China’s industrial heart, according to N.S.A. documents provided by the former contractor Edward J. Snowden. It obtained information about the workings of the giant routers and complex digital switches that Huawei boasts connect a third of the world’s population, and monitored communications of the company’s top executives."

3/25. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Communications and Technology (SCT) marked up a yet to be introduced bill to extend expiring provisions of the Communications Act related to the retransmission of signals of television broadcast stations.

This main provision of this draft bill is reauthorization of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act (STELA). It provides for a five year extension. However, this bill also addresses the FCC's media ownership rules, retransmission consent, sweeps week, the integration ban, and other issues.

See, discussion draft of the bill, the HCC's draft summary, and TLJ bill summary in story titled "HCC/SCT to Mark Up STELA Reauthorization Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,635, March 24, 2014.

The full HCC has not yet scheduled a date for it mark up of this bill. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) has not yet marked up a bill. Key provisions of the STELA (enacted as S 3333 [LOC | WW] in the 111th Congress) are set to expire at the end of 2014.

Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), the Chairman of the SCT, said that this bill will "reauthorize the law that ensures that 1.5 million subscribers in hard-to-reach areas continue to receive broadcast content via their chosen satellite provider."

He said in his March 25 statement that this draft bill also "proposes reasonable reforms -- that can become law -- to the current state of the video market -- sensible, modern-day, deregulatory changes -- that are supported by the major competitors in the marketplace: broadcasters, major cable operators, and satellite operators. Getting all three of these entities on the same page was no easy task -- something that I know my colleagues understand. Any major changes put at risk our ability to move forward in a positive way to reauthorize this important service."

The SCT approved by voice vote an amendment offered by Rep. Walden and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the SCT, that revises the provisions of the bill regarding attribution for the purpose of the FCC's obsolete media ownership rules, and repeal of the FCC's integration ban.

This amendment contains the same language on media ownership attribution as the original. However, it puts this text in brackets. Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), Chairman of the HCC, wrote in his statement that "an agreement to make the symbolic gesture of placing brackets around the text of section four shows our commitment to working toward a bipartisan agreement on that provision".

Rep. Walden said that the "major cable operators" are among those who are "on the same page" for this bill. And, Michael Powell, head of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), stated in a release that "We are especially pleased that committee members have worked collaboratively to eliminate the FCC’s Integration Ban, an unnecessary rule that has increased significantly both the cost and energy consumption of cable leased set-top boxes while offering no consumer benefit.".

Other cable operators are represented by the American Cable Association (ACA). Matthew Polka, head of the ACA, stated in a release that both the FCC and the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division have "recognized that consumers and competition are harmed when separately owned, same-market broadcasters collude in the sale of retransmission consent to multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs), including independent cable operators who are ACA members."

He continued that "Available evidence shows that such collusion raises retransmission rates by at least 18% and that these unjustly gained higher rates are passed along to consumers in the form of higher bills. Not surprisingly, ACA members and the millions of customers they serve are quite distressed with Section 3 of the discussion draft passed today in that it provides broadcasters with a statutory right to engage in this highly dubious practice."

Section 3 of this draft bill, which the SCT did not amend at this mark up, would amend 47 U.S.C. § 325 to prohibit multiple broadcast stations from negotiating retransmission consent jointly unless the cable or satellite operator agrees to joint negotiations or the stations are directly or indirectly under common de jure control approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

It would add a new subsection iv to 325(b)(3)(C) that would require the FCC to write regulations that "shall" "prohibit a television broadcast station from negotiating on a joint basis with another television broadcast station in the same local market ... to grant retransmission consent under this section to a" MVPD "unless -- (I) such stations are considered to be directly or indirectly owned, operated, or controlled by the same entity for purposes of section 73.3555(b) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation; or (II) such" MVPD "agrees to negotiate on such joint basis."

On the other hand, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) opposes proposals by groups that represent MVPDs to alter the retransmission consent regime. The NAB's Dennis Wharton stated in a release that "From the outset, NAB has supported passage of a STELA bill that remains free of amendments that are designed to benefit behemoth pay TV companies at the expense of local broadcasters and our tens of millions of viewers. We believe the bill passed today strikes that balance."

Withdrawn Amendments. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) offered and later withdrew an amendment that would have amended the retransmission consent statutory regime, which is codified at Section 325.

Currently, Section 325(b)(1) provides that "No cable system or other multichannel video programming distributor shall retransmit the signal of a broadcasting station, or any part thereof, except ... with the express authority of the originating station". That is, broadcasters can charge cable companies and other MVPDs for retransmission of their programming. Section 325(b)(2) provides exceptions.

Rep. Blackburn's amendment would have provided that Section 325(b)(1) "shall not apply ... to retransmission of the signal of a television broadcast station if the licensee of such station is also the licensee of an AM or FM radio broadcast station and, during the term of the license for such television broadcast station in which such retransmission occurs, such licensee has transmitted a sound recording over such radio station without compensating the owners and creators of the content contained in the transmission."

Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) offered and later withdrew an amendment that would have amended 47 U.S.C. § 543(b)(7)(A) regarding basic tier service.

Currently, Section 543(b)(7(A) provides as follows:

(7) Components of basic tier subject to rate regulation
(A) Minimum contents
Each cable operator of a cable system shall provide its subscribers a separately available basic service tier to which subscription is required for access to any other tier of service. Such basic service tier shall, at a minimum, consist of the following:
  (i) All signals carried in fulfillment of the requirements of sections 534 and 535 of this title.
  (ii) Any public, educational, and governmental access programming required by the franchise of the cable system to be provided to subscribers.
  (iii) Any signal of any television broadcast station that is provided by the cable operator to any subscriber, except a signal which is secondarily transmitted by a satellite carrier beyond the local service area of such station.

Rep. Scalise's amendment would have replaced the word "provide" with "offer", deleted the clause "to which subscription is required for access to any other tier of service", and deleted clause (iii).

Rep. Eshoo offered and later withdrew an amendment that would have required the FCC to conduct a rulemaking proceeding "to determine whether, during retransmission consent negotiations or after the parties to such negotiations reach an impasse resulting in the expiration of an existing retransmission consent agreement, the blocking of online content owned by or affiliated with a television broadcast station (or a person who owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership or control with such station) constitutes a failure to negotiate in good faith under section 325(b)(3)(C)(ii) ..." (Parentheses in original.)

Rep. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), who represents a district that includes huge swaths of sparsely populated northern New Mexico, offered and later withdrew an amendment regarding retransmission consent that would have provided relief for MVPDs in an "underserved county".

Rep. Lujan offered and later withdrew another amendment that would have added a new section to the bill that would have required the FCC to write a report that contains an "analysis of ... the extent to which consumers in each local market ... have access to broadcast programming from television broadcast stations ... located outside their local market".

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The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. The House will consider HR 2824, the "Preventing Government Waste and Protecting Coal Mining Jobs in America. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

The Senate will meet at 10:00 AM.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a three day event hosted by the Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) titled "Intersection of Cloud and Mobility Forum and Workshop". Open to the public. The deadline to register is 5:00 PM on March 17. See, event web site and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 47, March 11, 2014, at Pages 13622-13623. Location: NIST, Red Auditorium, Building 101, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.

10:00 AM. The House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) will meet to mark up HRes 494, the "Affirming the Importance of the Taiwan Relations Act". This resolution, among other things, reaffirms the commitment of the House "to deepen United States-Taiwan trade and investment relations as well as support for Taiwan's inclusion in bilateral and regional trade agreements". Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 2172, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) President's Export Council Subcommittee on Export Administration (PECSEA) will hold a partially closed meeting to discuss the Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) export regulation regime. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 47, March 11, 2014, at Pages 13612-13613. Location: DOC, Room 4830, Hoover Building, 14th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues, NW.

10:30 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Communications and Technology (SCT) will meet to mark up a yet to be introduced bill to extend expiring provisions of the Communications Act related to the retransmission of signals of television broadcast stations (reauthorization of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act). This bill also addresses retransmission consent and the integration ban. See, notice of the meeting, discussion draft of the bill, and HCC's draft summary. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

12:15 - 1:45 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a panel discussion titled "Transatlantic Solutions to Government Surveillance". The speakers will be Konstantin von Notz (Grünen Member of German Parliament), Jan Philipp Albrecht (German Green Member of European Parliament), Malte Spitz (German Green Party), and Kevin Bankston (NAF). Webcast. Free. Open to the public. See, notice. Location: NAF, Suite 400, 1899 L St., NW.

1:00 - 5:00 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will host one of its series of meetings regarding privacy and facial recognition technology. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 235, December 6, 2013, at Pages 73502-73503. Location: American Institute of Architects, 1735 New York Ave., NW.

2:00 PM. The House Appropriations Committee's (HAC) Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government will hold a hearing on the FY 2015 budget for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The witnesses will be Thomas Wheeler and Ajit Pai. See, notice. Location: Room B-308, 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 nominations (and written comments regarding nominations) to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) for membership on its Public Interest Trade Advisory Committee. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 37, February 25, 2014, at Pages 10596-10598.

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 10:00 AM.

9:00 AM. The House Appropriations Committee's (HAC) Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies will hold a hearing on the FY 2015 budget for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and FBI reform. The witnesses will be James Comey (FBI Director), Timothy Roemer (APCO, and former Representative), Bruce Hoffman (Georgetown University), and Edwin Meese (Heritage Foundation, and former AG). See, notice. Location: Room H-309, Capitol Building.

9:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) will host an event titled "The U.S.-Japan Alliance: Planning for President Obama's Trip to Japan". The speakers will be Michael Schiffer (Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff), Yasuhiro Matsuda (University of Tokyo), Naoyuki Agawa (Keio University), Michael Green (CSIS) and Scott Miller (CSIS). See, notice. Location: Room 215, Dirksen Building.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day two of a three day event hosted by the Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) titled "Intersection of Cloud and Mobility Forum and Workshop". Open to the public. The deadline to register is 5:00 PM on March 17. See, event web site and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 47, March 11, 2014, at Pages 13622-13623. Location: NIST, Red Auditorium, Building 101, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.

9:30 AM - 3:00 PM. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will host an event titled "Cybersecurity Roundtable". The deadline to submit written comments is May 2, 2014. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 56, March 24, 2014, at Page 16071. Location: SEC, 100 F St., NE.

9:30 AM - 3:00 PM. The Department of Health and Human Services' (DHHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's (ONC/HIT) HIT Standards Committee will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 243, December 18, 2013, at Page 76627-76628.

10:00 AM. The House Science Committee (HSC) will hold a hearing titled "A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Request for Science Agencies". The witness will be John Holdren (Director of the EOP's Office of Science and Technology Policy). See, notice. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "Reauthorization of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act". The witnesses will be Stanton Dodge (DISH Network), Marci Burdick (Schurz Communications), Ellen Stutzman (Writers Guild of America, West), and John Bergmayer (Public Knowledge). Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (SHSGAC) will hold a hearing titled "Strengthening Public-Private Partnerships to Reduce Cyber Risks to Our Nation’s Critical Infrastructure". The witnesses will be Phyllis Schneck (DHS Deputy Under Secretary for Cybersecurity), Donna Dodson (NIST Chief Cybersecurity Advisor), Stephen Caldwell (GAO), Elayne Starkey (Delaware's Chief Security Officer), David Velazquez (Pepco Holdings), Doug Johnson (Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council), and Steven Chabinsky (CrowdStrike, Inc.). See, notice. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

1:00 - 5:30 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host an event titled "Beyond Screen Time: Early Learning and Digital Media". Free. Open to the public. Webcast. See, notice. Location: NAF, Suite 400, 1899 L St., NW.

1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) North American Numbering Council (NANC) will hold a closed meeting. The agenda is selection of the Local Number Portability Administrator. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 49, March 13, 2014, at Pages 14250-14251. Location: FCC, Room CY-A257, 445 12th St., SW.

2:00 PM. The House Appropriations Committee's (HAC) Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government will hold a hearing on the budget for the federal judiciary. The witnesses will be Julia Gibbons (Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit) and John Bates (Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts). See, notice. Location: Room 2359, Rayburn Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "Protecting Personal Consumer Information from Cyber Attacks and Data Breaches". The witnesses will be Edith Ramirez (FTC Chairman), John Mulligan (Target Corporation), Wallace Loh (University of Maryland), David Wagner (Entrust, Inc.), Peter Beshar (Marsh & McLennan), Ellen Richey (Visa Inc.). Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

4:00 - 5:00 PM. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) will host a panel discussion titled "Social Media and Protest Movements in Venezuela: A Blogger's Perspective". The speakers will be James Bosworth and Carl Meacham (CSIS). See, notice. Location: CSIS, 1616 Rhode Island Ave., NW.

6:30 - 8:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers Committee will host an event titled "Bingo Night". No webcast. Location: Covington & Burling, 1201 Pennsylvania Ave.,  NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Transportation (DOT) in response to its Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) regarding banning voice communications on passengers' mobile wireless devices on flights. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 36, February 24, 2014, at Pages 10049-10054.

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

9:00 AM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed hearing on undisclosed matters titled "Ongoing Intelligence Activities". No webcast. See, notice. Location: HVC-304, Capitol Building.

9:00 AM - 12:30 PM. Day three of a three day event hosted by the Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) titled "Intersection of Cloud and Mobility Forum and Workshop". Open to the public. The deadline to register is 5:00 PM on March 17. See, event web site and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 47, March 11, 2014, at Pages 13622-13623. Location: NIST, Red Auditorium, Building 101, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.

10:00 AM. The House Appropriations Committee's (HAC) Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies will hold a hearing on the budget for the National Science Foundation (NSF). The witness will be Cora Marrett (acting NSF Director). See, notice. Location: Room H-309, Capitol Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes consideration of S 1720 [LOC | WW], the "Patent Transparency and Improvements Act of 2013". The agenda also includes consideration the nominations of Gregg Costa (to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit), Tanya Chutkan (USCD/DC), Hannah Lauck (USDC/EDVa), and Leo Sorokin (USCD/DMass).Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) North American Numbering Council (NANC) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 50, March 14, 2014, at Pages 14511-14512. Location: FCC, Room 5-C162, 445 12th St., SW.

11:45 AM - 2:00 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a panel discussion regarding gender gaps in STEM fields. Free. Open to the public. Webcast. Lunch will be served. See, notice. Location: Dupont Circle Hotel, 1500 New Hampshire Ave., NW.

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

CANCELLED. 6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Mobile Payments Committee will host an event titled "The Advent of Mobile Payments: Evolutionary or Revolutionary?". Location: Hogan Lovells, 555 13th St.,  NW.

Deadline to submit to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) oppositions to the petition for reconsideration of the FCC's Report and Order regarding reliability and resiliency of 911 networks filed by Intrado, Inc. on February 18, 2014. The FCC adopted and released its order on December 12, 2013. It is FCC 13-158 in PS Docket Nos. 13-75 and 11-60. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 48, March 12, 2014, at Pages 13975-13976.

Rep. Cantor's schedule states that "no votes are expected" in the House.

Supreme Court conference day. See, October Term 2013 calendar.

10:00 - 11:15 AM. 28. The Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (ETAAC) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 41, March 3, 2014, at Pages 11876-11877. Location: IRS, Room 3716, 1111 Constitution Ave., NW.

10:30 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) will host an event titled "China's Human Rights Diplomacy: Past, Present and Future". See, notice. Location: CSIS, 1616 Rhode Island Ave., NW.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Commissioners' media legal advisors will host a closed meeting. Maria Kirby (advisor to Tom Wheeler), Adonis Hoffman (Mignon Clyburn), Clint Odom (Jessica Rosenworcel), Matthew Berry (Ajit Pai) and Courtney Reinhard (Michael O'Reilly) will preside. Free. Bring your own lunch. No webcast. No reporters. The FCBA asserts that this is an FCBA meeting. Location: FCC, Meeting Room TW-C305, 445 12th St., SW.

The House will meet the week of March 31-April 4. See, 2014 House calendar.

9:00 AM - 6:00 PM. The National Science Foundation (NSF) will host an event titled "Understanding the Spectrum Environment: Using Data and Monitoring To Improve Spectrum Utilization". See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 56, March 24, 2014, at Page 16061. Location: NSF, Room II-555, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA.

Deadline for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) to conclude its review of the operation, effectiveness, and implementation of, and compliance with the various trade agreements affecting telecommunications products and services. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 235, December 6, 2013, at Pages 73583-73584. See also, story titled "OUSTR Seeks Comments Regarding Trade Agreements Affecting Telecommunications" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,620, December 16, 2013.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to the two Further Notice of Proposed Rulemakings (FNPRMs) contained in its huge item [114 pages in PDF] adopted on January 30, 2014, and released on January 31, regarding technology transitions in voice communications. This item is FCC 14-5 in GN Docket No. 13-5 and WC Docket Nos. 10-90 and 13-97. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 40, February 28, 2014, at Pages 11366-11373.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding "Experiment Proposals". See, Part III of the FCC's huge item [114 pages in PDF] adopted on January 30, 2014, and released on January 31, regarding technology transitions in voice communications. This item is FCC 14-5 in GN Docket No. 13-5 and WC Docket Nos. 10-90 and 13-97.

Deadline to submit comments to the Executive Office of the President's (EOP) Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to assist it in conducting its review titled "Big Data Study". See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 42, March 4, 2014, at Pages 12251-12252.

Deadline to submit to the Public Knowledge (PK) nominations for its "Internet Protocol, Intellectual Property and Information Policy" awards. See, notice.

1:00 - 5:30 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the Department of the Interior's (DOI) U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Geospatial Advisory Committee. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 48, March 12, 2014, at Page 14078. Location: South Interior Building Auditorium, 1951 Constitution Ave., NW.

12:00 NOON. The Cato Institute will host a panel discussion titled "High Frequency Trading: Information Tool for Efficient Markets or Destabilizing Force?". The speakers will be Holly Bell (U Alaska), Steven Lofchie (Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft), Hester Peirce (GWU Mercatus Center), and Louise Bennetts (Cato). Lunch will be served after the program. See also, paper by Bell. Location: Cato, 1000 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

12:00 NOON. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host a lunch. The speaker will be Michael O'Rielly (FCC Commissioner). Registrations and cancellations are due by 12:00&nbp;NOON on March 26. Doors open at 11:30 AM. No webcast. Location: Capital Hilton, 1001 16th St., NW.

EXTENDED TO JUNE 2. 5:00 PM. Deadline to submit nominations to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for award of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. See, original notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 249, December 27, 2013, at Pages 78838-78839, and January 4, 2014 release. See, also extension notice in the FR, Vol. 79, No. 53, March 19, 2014, at Page 15321.