3/25. The House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet held a hearing on HR 1320, the Commercial Spectrum Enhancement Act. This bill would facilitate the relocation of spectrum from federal users, such as the Department of Defenese (DOD), to commercial users, such as Third Generation (3G) wireless service providers. 3G is intended to provide broadband internet access for portable devices. The bill would create a "Spectrum Relocation Fund", funded out of auction proceeds, to pay for relocation costs of federal entities whose spectrum is reallocated.

Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) and others introduced the bill on March 18, 2003. Although, it is very similar to a bill introduced late in the 107th Congress -- HR 5638.

The bill would provide that any federal entity that uses a frequency band covered by the bill "that incurs relocation costs because of the reallocation of frequencies from Federal use to non-Federal use shall receive payment for such costs from the Spectrum Relocation Fund ..."

The bill would apply to the 1710-1755 MHz band, which has been identified by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for reallocation for 3G use, and "any other band of frequencies reallocated from Federal use to non-Federal use after January 1, 1995, that is assigned by competitive bidding pursuant to section 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j))."

Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-MA), Chairman of the full Committee, and an original cosponsor of the bill, issued a statement in which he explained the reason for the bill. He wrote that "Congress needs to pass H.R. 1320 to facilitate the deployment of advanced mobile data services to consumers. Last year, the Bush administration and the FCC reached a landmark decision to make the 1710-1755 MHz band and the 2110-2155 MHz band available for so-called third-generation wireless use."

He continued, "However, there is one catch. Federal government agencies, especially the Pentagon, currently use the 1710-1755 MHz band for important and, often, national security-related operations. So relocating the government agencies from this band to an equally vibrant spectrum band is critical. But the current system for relocating government spectrum users is fatally flawed. Under this system, a commercial entity has to win a license at auction. And then the commercial entity has to negotiate with the affected agency regarding the price and the timeline for the agency to move its spectrum operations to another band."

Nancy Victory, Director of the NTIA, testified that "I therefore enthusiastically support legislative action authorizing the creation of a spectrum relocation fund". However, she prefers the Bush administration's proposal to HR 1320. See, prepared testimony.

She elaborated that "the President's Fiscal Year 2004 Budget contains a similar initiative and the Administration recently re-transmitted the legislative language to Congress. Although there are differences in the details of H.R. 1320 and the Administration’s proposal, they both are designed to streamline the mechanism for compensating incumbent users, while providing more certainty to private sector auction participants about the actual costs of accessing the spectrum on which they are bidding. I look forward to working actively with the Committee as it resolves these differences and crafts legislation embodying the most workable and beneficial relocation fund mechanism."

Stephen Price, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Spectrum, Space, Sensors and C3 Policy, stated that "spectrum is the lifeblood of our military". He reviewed the various applications of spectrum in the ongoing war in Iraq. He stated that "We look forward to working with the Committee in crafting legislation to create a Spectrum Relocation Fund". See, prepared testimony.

He emphasized three items in his oral testimony that the DOD wants from legislation providing for a spectrum relocation fund -- full reimbursement for all relocation costs, respect for DOD timelines, and relocation to comparable spectrum. In his prepared testimony, he elaborated on these points, and added several others.

He wrote that "DoD must be fully reimbursed for all relocation costs for a Spectrum Relocation Fund to be viable. Under the Administration's proposal and under H.R. 1320, an auction would be invalidated if the proceeds were less than 110% of the estimated relocation costs."

He also argued that "A broad definition of relocation costs, such as the definition of relocation costs in the Administration's proposal and in H.R. 1320, is necessary for reimbursement legislation to protect our spectrum dependent national security systems."

Price also stated that "over time, DOD believes, we will need more spectrum, not less".

See also, prepared testimony of Thomas Wheeler, P/CEO of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA); however, Steven Berry, CITA's SVP for Government Affairs, testified in person. He said that "the wireless industry fully supports HR 1320". See also, prepared testimony of Lawrence Grossman of the Digital Promise Project.

Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), the ranking Democrat on the Subcommittee, also participated in the hearing. He is the sponsor of a competing bill, HR 1396 [20 pages in PDF], the Spectrum Commons and Digital Dividends Act of 2003. This bill would require the FCC to reallocate more spectrum for unlicensed use, which the bill calls a "Spectrum Commons". The bill would also provide for a trust fund, funded by auction sales, that would apply to relocation costs of government users. It would also create a trust fund that would support various public interest initiatives, such as teacher training, worker training, and after school programs. The bill call this a "Digital Dividends Trust Fund". The trust fund for relocation of federal users would be capped at $5 Billion. Addition costs would be funded through the appropriations process.

Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI), a former police officer, questioned whether there should also be a "public safety trust fund".

3/25. The House Rules Committee adopted a rule for consideration of HR 1104, the Child Abduction Prevention Act. This is a wide ranging bill with a number of technology related provisions. Also, the rule allows introduction of amendments on the House floor that would ban misleading domain names, and amend the Child Pormography Prevention Act of 1996 (CPPA) provisions banning certain computer generated images.

The bill includes the Amber Alert communications network provisions. Also, Section 201 of the bill would amend 18 U.S.C. § 2516 to expand the list of predicate offenses that may serve as the basis for the issuance of a wiretap order. Each new predicate relates to sexual exploitation crimes against children. Section 201 is similar to HR 1877 (107th Congress) which passed the House on May 21, 2002 by a vote of 396-11. See, Roll Call No. 175.

The rule allows for consideration of eight amendments. Several pertain to the Amber Alert communications network. Two others are technology related. First, the rule allows for consideration of an amendment [2 page PDF scan] offered by Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) regarding misleading domain names. It provides that "Whoever knowingly uses a misleading domain name with the intent to deceive a person into viewing obscenity on the Internet shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both."

The Pence amendment further provides that "Whoever knowingly uses a misleading domain name with the intent to deceive a minor into viewing material that is harmful to minors on the Internet shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 4 years, or both."

Second, the rule allows for consideration of an amendment [28 page PDF scan] offered by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX). It is essentially HR 1161, the "Child Obscenity and Pormography Prevention Act of 2003", which addresses the Supreme Court's April 16, 2002, opinion [PDF] in Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition, in which the Court held unconstitutional on First Amendment and overbreadth grounds provisions of the Child Pormography Prevention Act of 1996 (CPPA) banning computer generated images depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. See, story titled "House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on HR 1161", TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 621, March 12, 2003.

See also, copy of bill [25 pages in PDF] as amended and approved by the House Judiciary Committee on March 18, 2003.

3/25. The AEI Brooking Joint Institute published a paper [40 pages in PDF] titled "Financial Privacy, Consumer Prosperity, and The Public Good: Maintaining The Balance." The report, which was written by Fred Cate, Robert Litan, Michael Staten, and Peter Wallison, advocates that the federal preemption provided for by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) be continued.

The report states that "For more than 30 years, the Fair Credit Reporting Act has deftly regulated the U.S. credit reporting system. ... Consumers in the U.S. enjoy the ``miracle of instant credit´´ because, under the rules established by the FCRA, sensitive information about a person's credit history is given to credit reporting agencies so that individual creditworthiness can be evaluated quickly and efficiently. In this way, consumers can qualify for credit, insurance and other financial services based on their own past payment experience."

It adds that "Given the inherently national character of credit reporting, its importance in the national U.S. economy, and the significant impediments and costs that state regulation could impose, Congress preempted state laws that would alter this balance."

However, the FRCA, which is codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq., also provides that this preemption expires on January 1, 2004.

The AEI Brookings report notes that "Some legislators and privacy advocates are now suggesting that Congress -- or even states and municipalities -- alter the balance established by the FCRA. They propose abandoning federal preemption to give the states the freedom to impose new restrictions on the content and use of consumer credit reports or files."

The report advises that "Such proposals threaten to undo the system that underpins the most dynamic and competitive consumer credit environment in the world. Abandoning preemption would burden the national credit reporting system with the significant costs of having to comply with overlapping, inconsistent, and even contradictory state and local credit reporting rules."

3/20. The Senate Judiciary Committee released a list of subcommittee assignments for the 108th Congress.

3/25. The House Government Reform Committee's Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and the Census held a hearing titled "Data Mining: Current Applications and Future Possibilities". See, prepared testimony [14 pages in PDF] of Gregory Kutz of the General Accounting Office (GAO), which addresses the GAO's use of data mining in its audits and investigations of federal government credit card programs. See also, letter submitted by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) regarding the practice of federal agencies purchasing commercial databases for law enforcement purposes. The EPIC wrote that "It is our view that these activities violate the intent of the Privacy Act and should be suspended."

The House will meet at 10:00 AM. It may consider HR 1104, the Child Abduction Prevention Act; see, copy of bill [25 pages in PDF] as amended and approved by the House Judiciary Committee on March 18.

Day three of a convention of the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (NTCA) titled "NTCA 2003 Legislative and Policy Conference". At 10:00 AM there will be a panel titled "Regulatory Overview". The speakers will be Lisa Zaina (adviser to FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein), Dan Gonzalez (adviser to Commissioner Kevin Martin), Jordan Goldstein (adviser to Commissioner Michael Copps), Jennifer Manner (advisor to Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy), and Bryan Tramont (adviser to Chairman Michael Powell). See, notice and conference agenda [PDF]. Press contact: Donna Taylor at 703 351-2086 or dtaylor@ntca.org, or Aaryn Slafky at 703 351-2087 or aslafky@ntca.org.

8:00 AM. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, will give a speech on tax and bills and economic policy. Location: Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill, 400 New Jersey Ave., NW, in Rooms Columbia A and B on the lower level.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Online Communications Committee will host a brown bag lunch. The topic will be "wireline broadband issues". The speaker will be Brent Olson, Deputy Chief of the FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau's Competition Policy Division. No RSVP is necessary. Location: Kelley Drye & Warren, 1200 19th St., NW, Suite 500.

TIME CHANGE. 2:00 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on pending judicial nominees, including Edward Prado (to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit), Cecilia Altonaga (Southern District of Florida), Richard Bennett (District of Maryland), Dee Drell (Western District of Louisiana), Leon Holmes (Eastern District of Arkansas), Susan Braden (Federal Claims), and Charles Lettow (Federal Claims). Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

Deadline to submit requests to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to participate as a panelist in its workshops regarding the role of technology in helping consumers and businesses protect the privacy of personal information, including the steps taken to keep their information secure. The FTC will hold a workshop titled "The Consumer Experience" on May 14, and another workshop titled "The Business Experience" on June 4. See, FTC release and notice in the Federal Register, February 26, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 38, at Pages 8904 - 8906.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM. It may consider HR 1104, the Child Abduction Prevention Act; see, copy of bill [25 pages in PDF] as amended and approved by the House Judiciary Committee on March 18.

Day four of a convention of the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (NTCA) titled "NTCA 2003 Legislative and Policy Conference". At 8:15 AM Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) will speak. See, notice and conference agenda [PDF]. Press contact: Donna Taylor at 703 351-2086 or dtaylor@ntca.org, or Aaryn Slafky at 703 351-2087 or aslafky@ntca.org.

8:00 AM - 2:30 PM. The Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) will host a conference titled "Securing Cyberspace: A Government Industry Partnership for the Future". At 8:30 AM, Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), Chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, will speak. At 8:55 AM, Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), Chairman of the House Science Committee, will speak. At 9:55 AM, Sen. Robert Bennett (R-UT), will speak. At 1:30 PM, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) will speak. The ITAA states that the event is "By invitation only" and "Expected Attendees: Hill Members and Staff, Public Media, Industry Reps. & other Public/Private Sector partners". See, notice. Location: Room G-50, Dirksen Building.

9:00 AM. The Global Business Dialogue will hold a press conference on WTO rules. For more information, contact Judge Morris at 202 463-5074. Location: First Amendment Lounge, National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes S 274, the Class Action Fairness Act of 2003, and judicial nominations. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property will hold a hearing on HR ___, the Copyright Royalty and Distribution Act. The hearing will be webcast. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Government Reform Committee will hold a business meeting, and then a hearing on internet pharmacies. The witnesses will be William Hubbard (Food and Drug Administration), Howard Beales (Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission), James Thompson (Federation of State Medical Boards), Carmen Catizone (National Association of Boards of Pharmacy), and Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut Attorney General). Press contact: David Marin or Scott Kopple at 202 225-5074. Location: Room 2154, Rayburn Building.

11:00 AM. The Cato Institute will host a book forum on the book The Half-Life of Policy Rationales: How New Technology Affects Old Policy Issues [Amazon sales rank on March 23: 1,844,100]. The speakers will be Daniel Klein (co-editor), Jerry Ellig (Acting Director, Office of Policy Planning at the Federal Trade Commission), Donald Boudreaux (George Mason University), and Robert Atkinson (Progressive Policy Institute). Lunch will follow. See, notice and registration page. Location: Cato, 1000 Massachusetts Avenue, NW.

4:00 PM. The House Armed Services Committee's (HASC) Subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities will hold a hearing on on Department of Defense (DOD) science and technology policy and programs for fiscal year 2004.  The scheduled witnesses include Anthony Tether, Director of the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA). The Total Information Awareness (TIA) office is a part of the DARPA. The other scheduled witnesses are Ronald Sega, Director of Defense Research and Engineering at the DOD, Michael Andrews, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Research and Technology, and James Engle, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Science, Technology & Engineering. Location: Rayburn Building.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host a CLE seminar titled "What Every Practitioner Needs to Know about Telecommunications Access -- Policy and Practice Related to Persons with Disabilities". The speakers will be Bryan Tramont (FCC), Tom Chandler (FCC), Richard Ellis (Sprint), Mike Fingerhut (Sprint), Pam Gregory (FCC), Karen Strauss (Gallaudet University), Paul Schroeder (American Foundation for the Blind), and Claude Stout (Telecommunications for the Deaf). The prices to attend range from $50 to $80. RSVP to Wendy Parish at wendy@fcba.org. Location: Wiley Rein & Fielding, 1750 K St., NW, 10th Floor.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding a proposed set of rules pertaining to "plug and play" cable compatibility. On December 19, 2002, fourteen consumer electronics companies and seven cable operators announced that they have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding a national plug and play standard between digital television (DTV) products and digital cable systems. See, document [78 pages in PDF] consisting of the MOU, proposed rules to be promulgated by the FCC, and a letter to FCC Chairman Michael Powell and others. See also, FCC release [MS Word] of January 7 announcing the FNPRM, and notice in the Federal Register, January 16, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 11, at Pages 2278 - 2283. This is CS Docket 97-80, and PP Docket 00-67. For more information, contact Susan Mort in the FCC's Media Bureau at 202 418-7200 or smort@fcc.gov.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Cable Practice and Legislation Committees will host a brown bag lunch. The speakers will be Bill Baily (Majority Counsel, Senate Commerce Committee) and James Assey (Minority Counsel, Senate Commerce Committee). RSVP to Wendy Parish at wendy@fcba.org. Location: NCTA, 1724 Massachusetts Ave., NW, 2nd floor conference room.

The Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) amended final Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) takes effect. See, notice in the Federal Register containing the final amended TSR, and the Statement of Basis and Purpose. However, full compliance with the caller identification transmission provision is required by January 29, 2004. Also, the FTC will announce later the date by which full compliance with the ``do-not-call´´ registry provision, will be required. See, Federal Register, January 29, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 19, at Pages 4579-4679. See also, FTC release.

POSTPONED. Day one of a two day event hosted by the Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) titled "Member Fly-In". For more information, contact Catherine Parsons at 202 331-2130 x106.

Deadline to submit comments to the The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) regarding the utility service cancellation notice exception to the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce (E-SIGN) Act. The Act provides, at §101, for the acceptance of electronic signatures in interstate commerce, with certain enumerated exceptions. §103 of the Act provides that the provisions of section 101 shall not apply to "any notice of ... the cancellation or termination of utility services (including water, heat, and power)". (Parentheses in original.) The Act also requires the NTIA to review, evaluate and report to Congress on each of the exceptions. The E-SIGN Act is codified at 15 U.S.C. § 7001, et seq. The exceptions are codified at 15 U.S.C. § 7003. See, NTIA notice and notice in the Federal Register, January 28, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 18, at Pages 4179-4181.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding its staff study relating to alternative methodologies for calculating contributions to the federal universal service support mechanisms. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 6, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 44, at Pages 10724 - 10725.

9:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on several judicial nominations: Carolyn Kuhl (to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit), Cecilia Altonaga (Southern District of Florida), and Patricia Minaldi (Western District of Louisiana). Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State, and the Judiciary will hold a hearing on the FY 2004 budget for the Department of Justice. Location: Room 192, Dirksen Building.

POSTPONED. Day two of a two day event hosted by the Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) titled "Member Fly-In". For more information, contact Catherine Parsons at 202 331-2130 x106.

Deadline to file Form 499A [34 pages in PDF], the Annual Telecommunications Reporting Worksheet, with the Universal Service Administrative Company's (USAC).