1/29. Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA), the Chairman of the House Commerce Committee, wrote a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Michael Powell, and the other FCC Commissioners, regarding AT&T's petition for declaratory ruling regarding voice over internet protocol (VOIP).

AT&T seeks a ruling that access charges do not apply to its service in which calls originate and terminate on circuit switched PSTN facilities, but are routed on internet backbone. AT&T filed its petition [37 pages PDF] on October 18, 2002.

Rep. Tauzin (at right) wrote that "More than fifteen months ago, AT&T filed a petition (WC Docket No. 02-361) asking the Federal Communications Commission (the Commission) to determine whether access charges apply to long-distance voice calls that AT&T transports over its Internet Protocol (IP) backbone. The petition did not ask the Commission to change its current rules -- it simply asked the Commission to state what its existing access charge rules require today. Yet, fifteen months later, the Commission has failed to answer this straightforward question. In the meantime, the Commission's silence on the question has been deafening."

Rep. Tauzin added that "I am extremely concerned that the Commission's continued failure to clarify the rules governing traffic over AT&T's IP backbone could jeopardize our ability to keep telephone rates in rural areas affordable."

He continued: "Accordingly, I request that by February 5, 2004 you provide me with a direct answer to the following question: Do the Commission's existing access charge rules apply to the long-distance service described in AT&T's petition? I am not asking whether those rules apply to the services described in other petitions, such as those filed by Pulver.com, Vonage, Level 3, or any other provider. I am also not asking whether the Commission may change its access charge rules in the future. I would simply like to know whether the traffic described in AT&T's petition is subject to access charges today under the Commission's existing rules. Silence is not acceptable."

Vonage seeks a ruling that its service is an "information service" and that federal policy preempts state action in this area. Vonage filed its petition on September 22, 2003. See, part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, and part 6 [all in PDF]. This is WC Docket No. 03-211.

Pulver.com's Free World Dialup (FWD) is a closed network that uses specialized equipment. Traffic is carried by the users' ISPs using broadband connections. Pulver.com seeks a ruling that its service is neither "telecommunications" nor a "telecommunications service". It filed its petition [11 pages in PDF] on February 5, 2003. This is WC Docket No. 03-45.

Level 3 Communications filed a petition with the FCC on December 23, 2003, requesting that it forebear from applying the requirements of Section 251(g) and FCC rules to the extent that they might be interpreted to allow local exchange carriers (LECs) to impose interstate or intrastate access charges on internet protocol (IP) traffic that originates or terminates on the public switched telephone network (PSTN), or on PSTN-PSTN traffic incidental thereto. See, petition, part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, and part 5.

One FCC Commissioner has already publicly spoken about regulatory treatment of services of the nature being offered by AT&T. Kathleen Abernathy gave a speech [6 pages in PDF] on January 22, 2004. She stated that "we should not assume that any use of IP technology necessarily transforms a circuit-switched service into VOIP. When I talk about creating a new regulatory framework for VOIP, I have in mind services that use Internet protocol over the last mile, at least on one end of the call. By contrast, a call that starts on the PSTN and ends on the PSTN does not necessarily warrant different regulatory treatment from other circuit-switched calls simply because a long distance carrier chooses to use IP technology at some mid-point in the network. Long distance carriers, local carriers, and enhanced service providers all have raised questions about the applicability of our intercarrier compensation rules and other requirements to these phone-to-phone services, and I believe the Commission should provide clarity as soon as possible." See also, story titled "Abernathy Addresses VOIP Regulation" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 822, January 23, 2004.

See also, story titled "FCC Holds VOIP Forum", December 1, 2003, also published in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 790, December 2, 2003; stories titled "Level 3 Files VOIP Petition With FCC and "Summary of Other VOIP Proceedings at the FCC" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 815, January 14, 2004; and, story titled "Powell Addresses Regulation of VOIP" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 816, January 15, 2004.

1/28. Attorney General John Ashcroft wrote a letter [4 page PDF scan] to Senate leaders in which he opposed passage of S 1709, the "Security and Freedom Ensured Act of 2003" (SAFE Act), a bill to modify the PATRIOT Act. He also stated that, if passed by the Congress, the President might veto it.

Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID), Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), and others introduced the bill on October 2, 2003. See, story titled "Senators Craig and Durbin Introduce Bill to Modify PATRIOT Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 753, October 6, 2003.

The bill currently has twelve cosponsors. There have been no hearings or mark ups of the bill. There are also several related bills. However, the Attorney General only addressed S 1709, the SAFE Act, in this letter.

AG Ashcroft sent the letter to Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the Chairman and ranking Democrat of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN) and Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD), the Senate Majority and Minority Leaders. None are co-sponsors of the bill.

The bill would modify several sections of the criminal code, which is codified at Title 18, and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which is codified at 50 U.S.C. § 1861, et seq., to revise changes made by the USA PATRIOT Act. The "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001" was passed by the 107th Congress as HR 3162. It became Public Law 107-56 on October 26, 2001.

Ashcroft wrote that "The Department of Justice strongly objects to S.1709". He wrote that it "would roll back many of the most important and useful anti-terrorism authorities enacted by the USA PATRIOT Act."

He added that "We urge the Senate to reject the SAFE Act and retain the vital tools that law enforcement needs to safeguard American lives and liberties. If S.1709 is presented in its current form to the President, the President's senior advisors will recommend that it be vetoed."

The letter addresses John Doe roving wiretaps, delayed notice search warrants (also referred to as sneak and peak), business records, obtaining information from libraries information about wire or electronic communications, and the sunsetting of §§ 213, 216, and 219 of the PATRIOT Act (§ 216 extended the statutory provisions regarding pen register and trap and trace devices to online communications).

Roving Wiretaps. S 1709, at § 2, would amend § 105(c) of the FISA, which is codified at 50 U.S.C. § 1805. Sen. Durbin offered this explanation when the bill was introduced. "The FBI can obtain a ``John Doe´´ roving wiretap, which does not specify the target of the wiretap or the place to be wiretapped. This increases the likelihood that the conversations of innocent people wholly unrelated to an investigation will be intercepted."

Sen. Durbin added that S 1709 would "Limit ``John Doe´´ roving wiretaps by requiring the warrant to identify either the target of the wiretap or the place to be wiretapped. To protect innocent people from Government surveillance, it would also require that surveillance be conducted only when the suspect is present at the place to be wiretapped."

Ashcroft views things differently. He wrote, "imagine that there is a terrorist whose physical description is known to law enforcement, but whose actual identity is unknown. This terrorist consistently thwarts surveillance by changing his cellular telephone and Internet accounts just prior to important meetings and communications. Before the passage of the PATRIOT Act, each time this would happen, the government would need to return to the FISA court for a new order just to change the name of the third party needed to assist in the new installation. The PATRIOT Act now permits the court to issue a generic order that can be presented to the new third party directing their assistance to assure that the surveillance may be undertaken as soon as technically feasible."

He concluded that "The SAFE Act would roll back this common-sense authority in instances where only a description of the target is known, which would hamper the ability of law enforcement to investigate terrorism and national-security cases, in which the targets are very adept at concealing their identities and methods of communications."

Delayed Notice of Search Warrants. S 1709, at § 3, would amend 18 U.S.C. § 3103a to limit the authority to delay notice of search warrants.

Sen. Durbin stated last fall that "The FBI can conduct a ``sneak and peek´´ search of your home, not notifying you of the search until after a ``reasonable period,´´ a term which is not defined in the PATRIOT Act. A court is now authorized to issue a ``sneak and peek´´ warrant where a court finds ``reasonable cause´´ that providing immediate notice of the warrant would have an ``adverse result,´´ a very broad standard. The use of ``sneak and peek´´ warrants is not limited to terrorism cases."

He said that S 1709 would "Authorize a court to issue a delayed notification warrant where notice of the warrant would endanger the life or physical safety of an individual, result in flight from prosecution, or result in the destruction of or tampering with the evidence sought under the warrant. It would require notification of a covert search within seven days, rather than an undefined ``reasonable period.´´ It would authorize unlimited additional 7-day delays if the court found that notice of the warrant would continue to endanger the life or physical safety of an individual, result in flight from prosecution, or result in the destruction of or tampering with the evidence sought under the warrant."

Ashcroft wrote in his letter that § 3 of S 1709 "would run the risk of tipping off terrorists to the fact that they are under investigation by limiting the ability of the courts to issue delayed-notice search warrants ..." He added S 1709 would only allow these warrants in three circumstances", and this "could tip off suspects and thus enable their associates to go into hiding, flee, change their plans, or event accelerate their plots."

Section 501 Business Records. S 1709 would amend § 501 of the FISA. This is the section of the FISA that provides for "Access to Certain Business Records for Foreign Intelligence and International Terrorism Investigations". The PATRIOT Act, at § 215, rewrote § 501.

This § 215 is the source of the American Library Association's (ALA) complaints regarding harm to libraries and library users.

Ashcroft has responded previously that the government has never used this section to obtain the records of any library. He recently stated that "Not a single American's library records has been reviewed under the Patriot Act". He added, "No offense to the American Library Association, but we just don't care." See, September 18, 2003 speech.

See also, stories titled "Ashcroft Says American Library Association Attacks on PATRIOT Act Are Hysteria and Hyperbole" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 740, September 16, 2003; "Ashcroft and Critics Continue Debate Over Section 215 Access to Business Records" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 745, September 24, 2003; and "Ashcroft Addresses Roving Wiretaps and Access to Business Records" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 746, September 25, 2003.

The debate over § 215 and business records is somewhat technical. Here is an overview. § 215 of the PATRIOT Act (HR 3162 in the 107th Congress) replaced §§ 501-503 of the FISA with new language designated as §§ 501 and 502. § 501 of the FISA, in turn, is codified in Title 50 as § 1861. HR 1709, the SAFE Act, provides, at § 4, further revisions to Section 501 of the FISA.

FISA only applies to foreign powers, and agents of foreign powers, including international terrorists. § 501 enables the FBI to obtain from a judge or magistrate an order requiring the production business records. While the statute does not expressly include library records, neither the ALA, nor the DOJ, dispute that library records could be obtained.

Currently, § 501 requires that the application to the judge or magistrate "shall specify that the records concerned are sought for an authorized investigation conducted in accordance with subsection (a)(2) to obtain foreign intelligence information not concerning a United States person or to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities."

S 1709 would change this to require that the application, "shall specify that--
  (A) the records concerned are sought for an authorized investigation conducted in accordance with subsection (a)(2) to obtain foreign intelligence information not concerning a United States person or to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities; and
  (B) there are specific and articulable facts giving reason to believe that the person to whom the records pertain is a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power."

Also, currently, § 501 provides that "Upon an application made pursuant to this section, the judge shall enter an ex parte order as requested, or as modified, approving the release of records if the judge finds that the application meets the requirements of this section."

S 1709 would add a phrase requiring that the judge finds that "there are specific and articulable facts giving reason to believe that the person to whom the records pertain is a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power".

That is, S 1709 adds the requirement that the FBI state to the judge, and the judge must find, that there are facts giving reason to believe that the person to whom the records pertain is a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power. This change, if enacted, might make it harder for the FBI to obtain orders under § 501.

Sen. Durbin, a cosponsor of S 1709, stated in the Senate on October 2 that "The FBI can now seize records on the books you check out of the library or the videos you rent, simply by certifying that the records are sought for a terrorism or intelligence investigation, a very low standard. A court no longer has authority to question the FBI's certification. The FBI no longer must show that the documents relate to a suspected terrorist or spy."

He stated that S 1709 would "Reinstate the pre-PATRIOT Act standard for seizing business records. In order to obtain a subpoena, the FBI would have to demonstrate that it has reason to believe that the person to whom the records relate is a suspected terrorist or spy. The SAFE Act retains the expansion of the business record provision to include all business records, including library records, rather than just the four types of records -- hotel, car rental, storage facility and common carrier -- covered before the PATRIOT Act."

Ashcroft wrote in his January 28 letter that "Section 4 of the SAFE Act would deny terrorism investigators access to crucial intelligence information by raising the standards under which the FISA court can order the production of business records. In particular, the FISA court could not request business records from libraries or bookstores unless it found ``specific and articulable facts to believe that the person to whom the records pertain is a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power.´´"

He elaborated that "This standard is much more rigorous than the simple ``relevance´´ standard under which federal grand juries, in ordinary criminal investigations, can subpoena the same records. The SAFE Act would thus make it more difficult to conduct national-security investigations under FISA than it is to investigate garden-variety crimes such as drug trafficking and health-care fraud."

Libraries As Electronic Communication Service Providers. S 1709 would amend 18 U.S.C. § 2709, which currently requires that "A wire or electronic communication service provider shall comply with a request for subscriber information and toll billing records information, or electronic communication transactional records in its custody or possession made by the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ..." (§ 505 of the PATRIOT Act amended § 2709 of Title 18.) S 1709, at § 5, would insert an exception: "A library shall not be treated as a wire or electronic communication service provider for purposes of this section."

Ashcroft wrote that "The SAFE Act would make it more difficult, in some circumstances, to obtain information about emails sent from public computer terminals at libraries than it would be to obtain the same information about emails sent from home computers. Ironically, it would extend a greater degree of privacy to activities that occur in a public place than to those taking place in a home."

Sunsetting of §§ 213, 216, and 219 of the PATRIOT Act. S 1709 would provide for the sunsetting, at the end of 2005, of three Sections of the PATRIOT Act. These are § 213 (pertaining to authority for delaying notice of the execution of a warrant), § 216 (pertaining to use of pen register and trap and trace devices), and § 219 (pertaining to single-jurisdiction search warrants for terrorism).

§ 216 is one of the key technology related provisions of the PATRIOT Act. It expands of the statutory provisions regarding pen register and trap and trace devices (PR&TTD) to online communications.

PR&TTD are telephone industry concepts. Pen registers are used to obtain outgoing phone numbers. Trap and trace devices are used to obtain incoming numbers. Before passage of the PATRIOT Act, the relevant statute referenced "wire" communications.

The PATRIOT Act provides that the concept of a pen register is expanded from merely capturing phone numbers, to capturing routing and addressing information in any electronic communications, including internet communications. It similarly expands the concept of trap and trace devices. The Act also provides that a single order shall apply nationwide.

PR&TTD orders do not authorize a law enforcement agency to obtain the content of communications. Also, court orders authorizing PR&TTD devices do not require a showing of probable cause, as is the case for wiretaps, which enable LEAs to obtain the content of communications.

Ashcroft wrote in his January 28 letter that "Section 216 of the PATRIOT Act amended the pen register/trap and trace statute to clarify that it applies to Internet communications. This was a modest and necessary update to federal law, ensuring that investigators are able to collect non-content information about terrorists' communications regardless of the medium they use. It will still be needed by law enforcement after December 31, 2005, as the Internet is in no danger of disappearing."

Reaction to Ashcroft's Letter. Former Rep. Bob Barr (R-GA) issued a release which states that he sent a letter to Senate leadership urging the Senate to hold hearings and pass the bill. His release states that "the government is broadly employing the powers granted in the PATRIOT Act to prosecute cases involving other crimes having nothing to do with terrorism". His release adds that "the PATRIOT Act and other powers now used by the government to fight terrorism, reach too broadly and in so doing violate civil liberties, including Americans' right to privacy."

Anthony Romero, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), stated in a release that "The Attorney General's attack on the SAFE Act shows how out of step the Bush Administration is with growing national concern over the Patriot Act ... Ironically, the veto threat also demonstrates that the SAFE Act is becoming an increasingly viable legislative measure, one that has obviously put the Ashcroft Justice Department on the defensive."

Related Bills. On July 31, 2003, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced S 1552 [21 pages in PDF], the "Protecting the Rights of Individuals Act", or PRI Act. See, TLJ story titled "Sen. Lisa Murkowski Introduces Bill to Roll Back Surveillance Provisions of PATRIOT Act", July 31, 2003.

On October 1, 2003, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and others introduced S 1695, the "PATRIOT Oversight Restoration Act". It pertains to the sunsetting of various provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act. See, story titled "Sen. Leahy Introduces Bill to Expand List of Surveillance Provisions of PATRIOT Act to Be Sunsetted" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 757, October 14, 2003.

On October 2, 2003, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) introduced S 1701, the "Reasonable Notice and Search Act" a bill to limit the use of delayed notice warrants, also know as sneak and peak warrants. See, story titled "Sen. Feingold Introduces Bill to Limit Delayed Notice Warrants" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 753, October 6, 2003.

On October 21, 2003, Rep. Butch Otter (R-ID) introduced HR 3352, the "Security and Freedom Ensured Act of 2003 (SAFE) Act". This bill is similar, but not identical, to S 1709. See, story titled "Rep. Otter Introduces Bill to Amend PATRIOT Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 764, October 23, 2003.

1/27. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) submitted a report to Congress titled "Report to Congress on Implementation of Section 1001 of the USA PATRIOT Act". The DOJ/OIG is required to submit this report twice per year regarding "complaints alleging abuses of civil rights and civil liberties" by DOJ employees.

There is nothing in the report regarding wiretaps, pen registers and trap and trace devices, surveillance of internet communications, CALEA, or other technology related provisions of the PATRIOT Act. The report does not state that these fall either within or outside of the scope of Section 1001 reporting requirements.

The full title of the USA PATRIOT Act is the "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001". It was passed by the 107th Congress as HR 3162. It became Public Law 107-56 on October 26, 2001.

Section 1001(3) of this Act provides that "The Inspector General of the Department of Justice shall designate one official who shall--
   (1) review information and receive complaints alleging abuses of civil rights and civil liberties by employees and officials of the Department of Justice;
   (2) make public through the Internet, radio, television, and newspaper advertisements information on the responsibilities and functions of, and how to contact, the official; and
   (3) submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate on a semi-annual basis a report on the implementation of this subsection and detailing any abuses described in paragraph (1), including a description of the use of funds appropriations used to carry out this subsection."

The report states that "One of the initial determinations is whether a complaint alleges the type of abuse of civil rights and civil liberties contemplated by Section 1001 of the Patriot Act. While the phrase ``civil rights and civil liberties´´ is not specifically defined in the Patriot Act, the OIG has looked to the ``Sense of Congress´´ provisions in the statute, namely Sections 102 and 1002, for context. Sections 102 and 1002 identify certain ethnic and religious groups who would be vulnerable to abuse due to a possible backlash from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, including Muslims, Arabs, Sikhs, and South Asians."

Thus, complaints, if any, regarding conduct by the DOJ with respect to electronic surveillance that does not involve race, religion or national origin may not be addressed in this report.

Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, commented on the report. He stated that "This report demonstrates the IG and others continue to aggressively investigate any allegation a of civil liberties violation. Thus, I'm pleased this section of the PATRIOT Act focusing on protecting civil liberties is working as Congress intended. In addition, this Committee will continue conducting oversight of implementation of the PATRIOT Act and others matters central to the war on terrorism. I would note for those intent on skewering the PATRIOT Act with misinformation, today's report states, `None of the 162 matters involved complaints alleging misconduct by DOJ employees related to their use of a substantive provision in the PATRIOT Act.´" See, release.

1/28. The House adopted HRes 505, which names Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX) to the House Commerce Committee, "to rank after Mr. Tauzin", and to the House Science Committee, "to rank after Mr. Boehlert".

On January 2, 2004, Rep. Hall, a longtime Democrat, announced that he would run for re-election as a Republican. See, Rep. Hall's statement and story titled "Rep. Hall Becomes a Republican" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 809, January 5, 2004.

Rep. Hall (at right) held seats as a Democrat on the Commerce and Science Committees. He was fourth in seniority on the Commerce Committee, behind Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), and Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA). He was the ranking Democrat on the Science Committee. When he switched parties, he lost his committee assignments that had been based upon his Democratic affiliation.

The House Republicans have given him back his committee assignments, with seniority. He is in his twelfth term in the House.

Rep. Hall stated in a release on January 28 that "I'm pleased to be back on these great committees and to retain my seniority". He elaborated that "When I decided to switch parties, I didn't extract any promises from anyone, but when I reported my switch to the Speaker and asked that my seniority be honored, he responded that it would be. Today he and all those with whom he works in leadership kept their word."

Rep. Hall's release added, "Subcommittee assignments will be determined later."

Rep. Hall is running in the Republican primary in Texas on March 9. On January 2, President Bush stated in a release that "I strongly support his re-election".

1/30. Rep. Jennifer Dunn (R-WA) announced that she will not run for re-election. She represents a Seattle area district in the House that is home to many Microsoft employees. She holds a seat on the House Ways and Means Committee and its Trade Subcommittee. She is also a member of the House Homeland Security Committee and the Joint Economic Committee.

Rep. Dunn (at right) has been supportive of information technology interests, particularly in those areas that fall within the jurisdiction of the Ways and Means Committee -- taxation and trade. She has supported free trade, free trade agreements (FTAs), trade promotion authority for the President, and Chinese membership in the WTO. She has particularly backed the inclusion of provisions related to the protection of intellectual property rights in FTAs.

She has also opposed mandated expensing of employee stock options (see, letter to FASB), and supported making the research and development tax credit permanent.

She was born in 1941. In years past there was speculation that she might run for the Senate, or be appointed USTR.

President Bush released a statement praising Rep. Dunn.

1/28. Rep. John Sullivan (R-OK) was appointed to the House Commerce Committee. He represents the First District, which was previously represented by former Rep. Steve Largent (R-OK), who ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Oklahoma. Largent is now the P/CEO of the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA). Rep. Sullivan resigned as a member of House Government Reform Committee, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and the House Science Committee. See, HRes 505, Sullivan release and Congressional Record, January 28, 2004, at page H222 and H223.

1/28. Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO) resigned as a member of the House Commerce Committee. He was appointed to the House International Relations Committee, "to rank after Mr. McHugh". He is already the House Republican Whip. See, HRes 505 and Congressional Record, January 28, 2004, at pages H222 and 223.

1/28. Rep. Chris Bell (D-TX) resigned from the House Government Reform Committee. The House then approved HRes 504, naming Rep. Bell to the House Financial Services Committee. See, Congressional Record, January 28, 2004, at pages H222-3.

1/28. The Senate confirmed Gary Sharpe to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York by a vote of 95-0. See, Roll Call No. 6.

1/27. Carlos Ghosn was elected to the Board of Directors of IBM. He is the Co-Chairman, President and CEO of of Nissan Motor Co. See, IBM release.

1/30. President Bush announced his intent to appoint nine people to be Members of the Presidential Commission on Implementation of United States Space Exploration Policy. The list includes Carly Fiorina, Ch/CEO of Hewlett Packard. See, White House release naming members, and January 30, 2004 executive order creating the commission.

1/30. Ronald Turner, Ch/P/CEO of Ceridian Corporation, was named Chairman of the Electronic Industries Alliance's (EIA) Board of Governors for 2004. See, EIA release.

The House will not meet. See, Republican Whip Notice.

The Senate will meet at 1:00 PM.

12:00 NOON. Treasury Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy Pam Olson will hold a "Blue Book" technical background briefing on tax proposals in President Bush's FY 2005 budget. The Treasury Department's notice states that "Media without Treasury press credentials planning to attend should contact Treasury's Office of Public Affairs at (202) 622-2960." Location: Treasury Department, Media Room, Room 4121, 1500 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

1:30 PM. Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials will hold a press conference regarding President Bush's FY 2005 budget proposal for the DHS. The DHS stated that "Media wishing to attend this event must present valid press credentials and arrive at the BACK Visitor’s Gate through the Massachusetts Avenue entrance. FINAL admittance will be 1:00 PM EST". Please arrive between 12:15 PM and 12:35 PM for PRESET. Location: Nebraska Avenue Complex, 3801 Nebraska Ave. NW.

2:00 PM. The Department of Justice (DOJ) will hold a background briefing on the DOJ FY 2005 budget request. For more information, contact John Nowacki, DOJ Office of Public Affairs, at 202 616-2777. The DOJ states in its notice that "Reporters interested in attending should arrive at the Constitution Avenue entrance no later than 1:30 P.M." Location: 7th Floor Conference Room, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM. Jose Maria Anzar, President of Spain, will address a joint session of the Congress. The House will then take up HR 3030, the "Improving the Community Services Block Grant Act of 2003". See, Republican Whip Notice.

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet will hold a hearing titled "The Current State of Competition in the Communications Marketplace". The hearing will be webcast. See, notice. Press contact: Ken Johnson or Jon Tripp at 202 225-5735. Location: Room 2322, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property will hold an oversight hearing on titled "Internet Domain Name Fraud -- New Criminal and Civil Enforcement Tools". The hearing will be webcast. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Financial Services Committee's Subcommittee on Capital Markets will hold a hearing titled "The Role of Attorneys in Corporate Governance". Location: Room 2128, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Budget Committee will hold a hearing to examine President Bush's FY 2005 budget proposals. Secretary of the Treasury John Snow will testify. Location: Room 608, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on several pending judicial nominations, including William Gerry Myers (to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit), William Duffey (Northern District of Georgia), Lawrence Stengel (Eastern District Pennsylvania). See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:30 AM. The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing on President Bush's FY 2005 budget proposal. The witness will be Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Joshua Bolten. Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building.

10:30 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Department of State's (DOS) U.S. International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will hold a meeting to discuss matters related to the International Telecommunications Union's (ITU) World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), which took place on December 10-12, 2003, in Geneva, Switzerland, including the follow-up to the WSIS. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 16, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 11, at Pages 2643 - 2644. Location: auditorium, Historic National Academy of Science Building, 2100 C St. NW.

1:00 PM. The House Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing on President Bush's FY 2005 defense authorization budget request for the Department of Defense. Location: Room 2118, Rayburn Building.

1:00 PM. The House International Relations Committee will hold a hearing titled "L Visas: Losing Jobs Through Laissez-Faire Policies?" Location: Room 2172, Rayburn Building.

1:30 PM - 3:30 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) World Radioconference 2007 (WRC-07) Advisory Committee, Informal Working Group 2: Satellite Services and HAPS, will meet. See, notice [PDF]. Location: Room 6-B516, 6th Floor, South Conference Room, 445 12th Street, SW.

2:00 PM. The House Budget Committee will hold a hearing on President Bush's FY 2005 budget proposal. Secretary of the Treasury John Snow will testify. Location: Room 210, Cannon Building.

Day two of a two day Continuing Legal Education (CLE) program titled "Communications Law 101: Everything You Wanted (or Didn't Want) to Know About Communications Technology". The event is sponsored by the Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) and the Georgetown University Law Center (GULC). Location: GULC.

4:00 PM. Stacey Dogan (Northeastern University School of Law) will present a paper titled "The Social Norms of Copyright: Sticky or Stuck". For more information, contact Robert Brauneis at 202 994-6138 or rbraun@law.gwu.edu. Location: George Washington University Law School, Faculty Conference Center, Burns Building, 5th Floor, 716 20th Street, NW.

7:00 PM. Chris Israel (Department of Commerce, Technology Administration, Deputy Assistant Secretary) will speak on "outsourcing as it applies to IT industry and the impact on U.S. competitiveness" at an event hosted by the Technology Management Education Association. Location: George Mason University, Fairfax, VA.

10:30 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) World Radioconference 2007 (WRC-07) Advisory Committee, Informal Working Group 1: Terrestrial and Space Science Services, will meet. See, notice [PDF]. Location: Room 8-B516, 8th Floor, South Conference Room, 445 12th Street, SW.

Day one of a two day event hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce titled "Strategic Leadership Forum: Mitigating the Impact of Intellectual Property Theft and Counterfeiting". This is an invitation only event; for more information, contact Aaron Guiterman or Scott Griset at 202 463-5500. See, notice.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a luncheon program titled "The Copyright Office Speaks: The Ninth Annual Event with the Honorable Marybeth Peters -- Register of Copyrights". Prices vary. For more information, call 202 626-3463. Location: City Club of Washington, 555 13th Street, NW.

TIME? The Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host a luncheon on voice over internet protocol (VOIP) technology. The speaker will be Vonage Ch/CEO Jeffrey Citron. To attend, contact Brooke Emmerick at 202 289-8928 or bemmerick@pff.org. See, PFF notice. Location: Salon D, J.W. Marriott Hotel, 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.

Day two of a two day event hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce titled "Strategic Leadership Forum: Mitigating the Impact of Intellectual Property Theft and Counterfeiting". This is an invitation only event; for more information, contact Aaron Guiterman or Scott Griset at 202 463-5500. See, notice.

1/30. Microsoft announced that it "will pay a $250,000 (U.S.) reward for information resulting in the arrest and conviction of those responsible for unleashing" any of the variants of the MyDoom worm, which is also known as the Novarg worm. See, Microsoft release.

On January 27, the SCO Group announced that "it is offering a reward of up to a total of $250,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual or individuals responsible for creating the Mydoom virus". See, SCO release.

The U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (U.S. CERT) stated in its updated advisory on this mass mailing worm, released on January 30, that "The virus appears be designed to launch distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against sco.com on February 1, 2004 and against microsoft.com on February 3, 2004." See, Technical Cyber Security Alert TA04-028A.

In addition, the US CERT states that the worm only affects systems running Microsoft Windows.

The SCO web site was inaccessible on Sunday, February 1. It remains inaccessible on Monday morning, February 2.

1/27. Pascal Lamy (at right), the EU Commissioner for Trade, gave a speech titled "The Future of the WTO" in which he addressed the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Doha Development Agenda (DDA), the Cancun ministerial, free trade agreements (FTAs), and related topics.

Lamy (at right) said that "the EU, after Cancun, spent some time soul-searching and asking some really fundamental questions regarding the overall orientation of EU trade policy."

He stated that "the EU should continue to insist on both a strong trade liberalisation and a strong rules-making component in the WTO."

He also stated that "the EU has launched no new FTA negotiations since Doha, although we have continued to work hard on our existing mandates, such as on Mercosur. The question we posed was whether the EU should switch to the bilateral road as a priority: the conclusion we drew is that in order not to undermine progress in the DDA we should be careful not to shift the balance significantly further towards bilateralism."

He added that the EU needs "to be more flexible on the Singapore issues (investment, competition, trade facilitation, government procurement). These issues need to be treated on a case by case basis." (Parentheses in original.) He also said that "priority for us clearly is trade facilitation and transparency in government procurement."

He continued that "I have also been authorised to take, on behalf of the EU, a more flexible attitude on environment and on the issue of geographical indications in order to ensure the continuation of the negotiation process." Moreover, "On agriculture we have reaffirmed our willingness to negotiate seriously, including by eliminating export subsidies on products of interest to developing countries."

Finally, he stated that "the WTO remains fundamentally fair and pro-development, and indeed that the Uruguay Round was not an unfair deal. The DDA should therefore not aim at removing all responsibility from all developing countries."

1/29. Microsoft stated in a release that "it will not, for now, implement modifications to its Windows® operating system or Microsoft® Internet Explorer as a result of the Eolas patent lawsuit."

Microsoft added that "Given the present legal status as well as requests made by partners and customers, Microsoft will, for the time being, not move ahead with the modest steps it intended to take to modify Windows and Internet Explorer as a result of the August jury decision in the Eolas patent lawsuit."

The Eolas patent is U.S. Patent No. 5,838,906 titled "Distributed hypermedia method for automatically invoking external application providing interaction and display of embedded objects within a hypermedia document".

On August 11, 2003, a trial jury of the U.S. District Court (NDIll) returned its verdict that Microsoft's Internet Explorer infringed this patent. The jury also awarded damages of $521 Million. See, story titled "Jury Returns Verdict of Infringement Against Microsoft in Eolas Browser Patent Case" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 716, August 12, 2003.

On October 30, 2003, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a "Director Initiated Order for Reexamination". See, story titled "USPTO Orders Reexamination of Eolas Patent" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 778, November 13, 2003.

The District Court entered final judgment in January. Microsoft stated that it intends to appeal. The District Court stayed its injunction pending appeal.

1/30. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) announced that it will host an event titled "Workshop on Internet Governance" on February 26-27, 2004, in Geneva, Switzerland. The ITU stated in a release that "The workshop will provide a forum for exchanging views on definitions, viewpoints, visions and analytical studies on Internet governance. The output of the workshop will be submitted to the ITU decision-making bodies for their further consideration."

1/29. The European Commission published the January 20, 2004 version of its Merger Regulation [22 pages in PDF]. This is titled "COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 139/2004 of 20 January 2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings". It also published a working document [24 pages in PDF] titled "Guidelines on the assessment of horizontal mergers under the Council Regulation on the control of concentrations between undertakings".

1/29. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released a draft document [58 pages PDF] numbered "NIST Special Publication 800-63" and titled "Recommendation for Electronic Authentication". This publication supplements the December 16, 2003 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memorandum [PDF] titled "E-Authentication Guidance for Federal Agencies" that defines four levels of authentication in terms of the likely consequences of an authentication error. This NIST publication states that it "provides technical guidance to Federal agencies implementing electronic authentication. The recommendation covers remote authentication of users over open networks. It defines technical requirements for each of four levels of assurance in the areas of identity proofing, registration, tokens, authentication protocols and related assertions." Public comments on this draft are due by March 15, 2004. E-Mail comments to eauth-comments@nist.gov.

1/31. President Bush discussed his budget proposals for FY 2005 in his weekly radio address. He stated that "This coming week, my administration will release our proposed budget for fiscal year 2005". Administration officials will testify before numerous House and Senate Committees in the next two weeks. See, TLJ's Washington Tech Calendar.

1/29. The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and Consumers Union released yet another paper [PDF] regarding the FCC's media ownership rules changes. See, also CFA/CU release