2/6. The House is scheduled to take up HR 1561, the "United States Patent and Trademark Fee Modernization Act of 2003" on Wednesday, February 11. See, Republican Whip notice. The bill would raise fees collected by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), but end the practice of diversion of fees to subsidize other government programs.

Currently, funding for the USPTO is set by bills reported by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. The appropriation is less than the amount of fees collected, with the remainder being used to subsidize other government programs. Some intellectual property owners, groups that represent them, and technophiles in the Congress, oppose the process of fee diversion.

There have been many attempts to end the diversion of USPTO fees over the years. All have failed. These proposals have been strongly supported by the members of the House Judiciary Committee, and its Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property (CIIP), as well as by many members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

However, the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Appropriations Committee have continued to pass annual appropriations bills for the Departments of Commerce, Justice and State (CJS) that continue the practice of fee diversion.

HR 1561, as amended by the House Judiciary Committee, would amend 35 U.S.C. § 42 pertaining to "Patent and Trademark Office funding".

The key language provides that "Section 42 of title 35, United States Code, is amended--
  (1) in subsection (b), by striking `Appropriation´; and
  (2) in subsection (c), in the first sentence--
    (A) by striking `To the extent´ and all that follows through `fees´ and inserting `Fees´; and
    (B) by striking `shall be collected by and shall be available to the Director´ and inserting `shall be collected by the Director and shall be available until expended´."

The following paragraph illustrates how the bill marks up Section 42(c). The words with the strikethrough are deleted, while the words in red are added.

To the extent and in the amounts provided in advance in appropriations Acts, fees Fees authorized in this title or any other Act to be charged or established by the Director shall be collected by and shall be available to the Director shall be collected by the Director and shall be available until expended to carry out the activities of the Patent and Trademark Office. All fees available to the Director under section 31 of the Trademark Act of 1946 shall be used only for the processing of trademark registrations and for other activities, services, and materials relating to trademarks and to cover a proportionate share of the administrative costs of the Patent and Trademark Office.

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) (at right) and Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) introduced the bill on April 2, 2003. On April 3, 2003, the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property (CIIP) held a hearing on the bill. See, story titled "House CIIP Subcommittee Holds Hearing on USPTO Fees" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 637, April 4, 2003.

The House Judiciary Committee amended and approved the bill on July 9, 2003. See, story titled "House Judiciary Committee Approves USPTO Fee Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 695, July 10, 2003.

See also, story titled "House Intellectual Property Caucus Advocates Ending USPTO Fee Diversion" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 762, October 21, 2003.

HR 1561 will be considered subject to a rule. The House Rules Committee has not yet adopted this rule. It will likely limit the time allowed for debate, and enumerate the amendments that may be offered. A simple majority will be required for passage. The Rules Committee is likely to meet at around 5:30 PM on Tuesday, February 10 to adopt a rule. It has set a deadline of 2:00 PM on February 10 for submitting proposed amendments. See, Rules Committee notice.

There has been one other recent vote in the full House on this issue. In June of 2000, Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC), who was then the Chairman of the CIIP Subcommittee, offered an amendment to the CJS appropriations bill that would have reduced the size of the diversion. It failed on a role call vote of 145-223. See, TLJ story titled "House Rejects Coble Amendment on USPTO Funding", June 25, 2000.

The Judiciary Committee members voted 20-6 in favor. The Appropriations Committee members voted 8-41 against. There was also disproportionate support for the Coble amendment from Representatives from California and other western states. See, TLJ story titled "Analysis of House Vote on Coble Amendment", June 25, 2003.

Many House members are reluctant to vote against the determinations of the Appropriations Committee. However, the present bill is not an amendment to an appropriations bill. Also, when President Bush released his budget proposals for fiscal year 2005 on February 2, it included no diversion of fees for FY 2005. See, story titled "Bush Budget Proposes No USPTO Fee Diversion in FY 05", also published in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 829, February 4, 2004.

2/4. The House International Relations Committee (HIRC) held a hearing titled "L Visas: Losing Jobs Through Laissez-Faire Policies?" Witnesses asserted the the L visa program, as well as other visa categories, are being abused by U.S. technology companies to replace U.S. workers with aliens.

There are bills pending in the House and Senate to limit the use of L visas. However, the Judiciary Committees have jurisdiction over these bills.

Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL), the Chairman of the Committee, wrote in his opening statement that "L visas have been issued since their creation in 1970. They appear to have been used at first largely as the means for which they were intended by Congress: to allow legitimate, high level executives and managers to come to the United States to set up shop or take over continuing operations, thus generating jobs in the local American community. Well and good."

But, Rep. Hyde asked, "Are we being lax in the ``off-shoring´´ of American jobs, often facilitated by ``in-shore´´ training first given to L visa holders right here in the United States so they can take new skills -- and American jobs -- home with them?"

L Visa Program. The intent of the H1B visa program is to enable U.S. employers to hire highly skilled aliens, including technology workers, on a temporary basis, to make up for a shortage of such workers in the U.S. In contrast, the intent of the L1 visa program is to enable U.S. multinational companies to transfer existing employees who are executive, managers, or possess specialized or advanced knowledge, to work in the U.S.

8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(L) provides the relevant definition for L visas: "an alien who, within 3 years preceding the time of his application for admission into the United States, has been employed continuously for one year by a firm or corporation or other legal entity or an affiliate or subsidiary thereof and who seeks to enter the United States temporarily in order to continue to render his services to the same employer or a subsidiary or affiliate thereof in a capacity that is managerial, executive, or involves specialized knowledge, and the alien spouse and minor children of any such alien if accompanying him or following to join him".

The HIRC stated in a release that "The number of L-Visas issued by the U.S. government has tripled during the past 20 years, to about 113,000 in 2002. However, one witness, Harris Miller, stated that counting is difficult because of renewals and re-entries into the U.S., and that "a large percentage of the number were family members, not workers".

Pending Legislation. On July 24, 2003, Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) introduced S 1452, the "USA Jobs Protection Act of 2003".

It would limit a U.S. employer's ability to bring an alien worker, such as a computer programmer, to the U.S. to be subcontracted out to other companies. The bill provides that "No alien may be admitted or provided status as a nonimmigrant described in section 101(a)(15)(L) unless the importing employer has filed with the Secretary of Labor an application stating the following:
  (i) The employer will not place the nonimmigrant with another employer where--
    (I) the nonimmigrant performs duties in whole or in part at 1 or more worksites owned, operated, or controlled by such other employer; and
    (II) there are indicia of an employment relationship between the nonimmigrant and such other employer."

The Dodd bill would also make it more difficult for U.S. employers to use L visas to displace U.S. workers with alien workers. It provides that an L visa shall not be issued unless the employer has filed an application stating that "The employer did not displace and will not displace a United States worker employed by the employer within the period beginning 180 days before and ending 180 days after the date of filing of any visa petition supported by the application".

Sen. Dodd's bill would also require that alien workers with L visas be paid as their U.S. counterparts. It provides that an L visa shall not be issued unless the employer has filed an application stating that "the actual wage level paid by the employer to all other individuals with similar experience and qualifications for the specific employment in question", or "the prevailing wage level for the occupational classification in the area of employment".

The Dodd bill would also reduce the term of L visas from 5 to 7 years to 3 to 5 years.

Also on July 24, 2003, Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-CT) introduced HR 2849, the companion bill to S 1452.

The Dodd bill has no cosponsors. It was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sen. Dodd is not a member.

The Johnson bill has 28 cosponsors. It was referred to the House Judiciary Committee and its Immigration Subcommittee. One of these cosponsors is Rep. John Hostettler (R-IN), the Chairman of this Subcommittee.

Witness Testimony. The witness panel was stacked with persons who criticized abuse of the L visa program by U.S. technology companies.

Daniel Stein of the Federation for American Immigration Reform wrote in his prepared testimony that "American workers, already hard hit by the job losses of the past few years, are being pounded as well by the unfair competition coming from the importation of foreign workers willing to take American jobs for lower wages. Some of our nation's best jobs in the high tech industry are increasingly being surrendered to foreign workers coming in through both the H-1B and the L-1 program."

Similarly, Michael Gildey of the AFL-CIO wrote in his prepared testimony that the L visa program was created "to facilitate the ``intra-company transfer´´ of strategic personnel within global corporations that have U. S. facilities", but has since "morphed into something that now victimizes highly skilled, American professionals".

Sona Shah wrote in his prepared testimony about abuse of various visa programs at one tech company in the hiring of programmers. Patricia Fluno, a computer programmer, wrote in her prepared testimony about loosing her job to an L visa holder.

Harris Miller, President of the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), was the sole defender of the L visa program, and technology companies, on the witness panel.

He wrote in his prepared testimony that "Our member companies have long relied on the ability to move their talent around in order to gain practical business experience in different parts of the globe. Often, workers in the United States on L-1 visas are being groomed for bigger things, but in order to move upwards, they must gain working knowledge of the U.S. operations of their company. In today’s increasingly global competitive environment in which movement of skilled personnel is so fundamentally important to a company’s strategic success, the L-1 visa and other temporary work visas for skilled workers are even more important than previously."

Miller also stated that "Most countries around the world have a similar temporary visa category that allows U.S. employees of multinationals to work in their countries on a temporary basis."

Miller concluded that "Our companies actively use the category and do not want to see it changed. ITAA opposes legislation to alter the current L-1 visa program. We also oppose new regulations or amendments to the existing regulations. We specifically oppose the legislation introduced" by Sen. Dodd and Rep. Johnson.

2/6. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) published a notice in the Federal Register stating that it is "conducting a comprehensive review to develop recommendations for improving the United States' spectrum management policies regarding the organization, processes, and procedures affecting Federal government, State, local and private sector spectrum use" and requesting public comments, by March 18, 2004.

This notice of inquiry (NOI) states that this review is being made pursuant to a "Spectrum Policy in the 21st Century signed by President George W. Bush on May 29, 2003." Seven months lapsed between the President's memorandum, and the NTIA's issuance of this NOI.

TLJ published a story titled "Bush Issues Spectrum Policy Memorandum" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 675, June 6, 2003. That story summarized the content of the President's memorandum, and elaborated on the administrative and legislative process. It concluded that "one major consequence of the President's announcement is the likely delay of consideration of any major spectrum reform proposals for several years."

The NTIA is also hosting two related conferences in connection with its mission for the President to develop a spectrum policy for the 21st Century.

It will host a two day conference titled "Public Safety Spectrum Management Forum" on February 10-11. It will be at Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert Street, NW. See, notice.

It will host a two day conference on February 12-13 titled "Forum on Spectrum Management Policy Reform". See, agenda [PDF]. It will be held in the Lecture Room, National Academy of Sciences Building, 2100 C Street, NW.

The NTIA's NOI propounds 31 questions, some of which include subparts. It also states that this is "only intended to assist in identifying the issues and should not be construed as a limitation on comments that may be submitted".

The NOI asks whether the current system of dividing spectrum management between the NTIA and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) presents "obstacles to the most efficient and benefical use of the spectrum", and whether spectrum management should be combined.

The NOI asks questions about the NTIA's and FCC's versions of the United States Table of Frequency Allocations.

The NOI asks numerous questions regarding "long-range planning activities by NTIA, the FCC, and other Federal agencies".

The NOI asks for definitions of the terms "technical efficiency", "economic efficiency" and "functional efficiency."

It goes on to ask many questions relating to the efficient use of spectrum. For example, it asks "What incentives or changes in policy should be imposed on the Federal and private sector spectrum users or potential users to use the
spectrum more effectively and efficiently?", "What mechanisms could be established for promoting improved spectrum sharing between Federal agencies and the private sector?", and "How could the general spectrum management oversight of Federal users be improved?"

However, the NTIA's NOI does not anywhere ask for comments regarding creating property rights in spectrum, or a market based system. The NOI does not even mention "markets".

The NOI does not use the word "property", and only mentions "rights" in two contexts. First, it asks "Should NTIA establish a pilot secondary lease program whereby the Federal government can lease temporary and/or preemptable access to Federal government spectrum to non-government users?" Second, it asks "Are there commercial applications for short term spectrum rights, such as overnight data caching, special event, or seasonal use?"

The NOI also asks questions regarding policy tools to streamline the deployment of new and expanded services and technologies.

Finally, the NOI asks questions regarding the spectrum needs of national security and homeland security, public safety, federal transportation infrastructure, and science.

The citation for the NTIA notice is Federal Register, February 2, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 21, at Pages 4923 - 4926.

1/28. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) published a notice in the Federal Register stating that it "invites interested parties to review and comment on the questions presented in this Notice to assist NTIA in developing recommendations to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on the use of the 3650-3700 MHz band for unlicensed devices." Unlicensed devices include, among other things, 802.11 (WiFi) and Bluetooth devices.

Comments are due by February 27, 2004.

This notice of inquiry (NOI) adds that the "NTIA's specific interest is to ensure the continued protection of operations of Government agencies in this band. In order to ensure that these Federal operations are not adversely affected, NTIA is seeking public comment to explore the merits of frequency and/or geographic avoidance technologies, and other interference-mitigation techniques, and to examine technical requirements to allow compatible unlicensed device usage in the 3650-3700 MHz band."  The citation for this NOI is Federal Register, January 28, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 18, at Pages 4118 - 4120.

Acting head of the NTIA Michael Gallagher stated in a release that "We want to make more spectrum available so that people who live in rural areas can have access to wireless broadband ... This continues our progress in facilitating the sharing of spectrum among government and commercial users."

The FCC issued its NOI over a year ago. On December 11, 2002, the FCC announced its NOI regarding "Additional Spectrum for Unlicensed Devices Below 900 MHz and in the 3 GHz Band". See story, "FCC Announces Notice of Inquiry Re More Spectrum for Unlicensed Use" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 566, December 12, 2002.

On December 20, 2002, the FCC released the actual text of this Notice of Inquiry [MS Word]. This is ET Docket No. 02-380.

The NTIA has already responded once to the FCC's NOI. On May 7, 2003, the NTIA submitted a comment.

2/3. Alec Scott Papierniak pled guilty in U.S. District Court (NDCal) to one count of wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343 in connection with his operation of a web and e-mail based scam to fraudulently obtain the user names and passwords of PayPal users, thereby enabling him to engage in fraudulent purchases and transfers of funds. See, USAO release.

Papierniak admitted in his plea agreement [7 pages in PDF] that "Over a period of time from approximately January 2002, and continuing through to September 2003, I falsely and fraudulently obtained user names and passwords for Paypal accounts, allowing me to ``hijack´´ those accounts and engage in fraudulent purchases and transfers of funds."

He continued that "I created and used fake, or ``spoofed,´´ PayPal webpages, which appeared to be valid PayPal webpages, but in reality were false and fraudulent, and which requested PayPal users to log on and enter their user names and passwords. I then emailed messages that appeared to be from PayPal directing the recipients to connect to a linked webpage. Upon clicking on the webpage link, the recipient was connected not to the legitimate PayPal website, but to the above-described spoof site created and maintained by myself. This spoof site was virtually identical in appearance to the valid PayPal site, and directed the individual to login with a user name and password. I set up the spoof site to incorporate a ``back-end email account,´´ which, upon the individual logging on, would secretly email the individual’s user name and password to an email account controlled by myself. In this way, I was able to obtain the user names and passwords for PayPal accounts without the owner's permission or knowledge."

He added that "I also emailed a ``key logger´´ virus to certain PayPal users, purporting to originate from a legitimate PayPal email address, by emailing a slightly modified version of a legitimate PayPal email, stating that the victim/recipient needed to install a security update in order to access PayPal. The email would appear to come from PayPal and would contain a file titled ``Fraudbuster,´´ or ``Account Manager,´´ both PayPal administrative file names. Once their computers were infected with the virus, the victims’ keystrokes were captured and sent to the me at an account I had created on his website."

Finally, he admitted that "Once I had falsely and fraudulently obtained the user names and passwords for the PayPal accounts, I transferred funds from the hijacked accounts to my own use."

Papierniak's sentencing is scheduled for May 10, 2004 at 1:30 PM before Judge James Ware in San Jose.

2/4. The Senate confirmed Mark Filip to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court (NDIll) by a vote of  96-0. See, Roll Call No. 8.

2/6. President Bush nominated Judge Charles Pickering to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Bush gave Pickering a recess appointment last month during the recess between the first and second sessions of the 108th Congress. Senate Democrats will likely oppose and filibuster this nomination. See, White House release.

2/2. William Davenport was named Chief of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Enforcement Bureau's (EB) Investigations and Hearings Division (IHD). The IHD is responsible for resolution of complaints against broadcast stations and other Title III licensees on non-technical matters, including indecency. He was previously Deputy Chief and Assistant Chief of the IHD. Before joining the FCC in 1999, he was an associate in the Washington DC office of the law firm of Preston Gates. See, EB release.

2/2. Hillary De Nigro was named Deputy Chief of the FCC's EB's Investigations and Hearings Division (IHD). She was previously Assistant Chief of the IHD. Before joining the FCC in 2001, she was an attorney in the law firms of Milbank Tweed and Akin Gump. See, EB release.

2/2. Cathy Carpino was named Assistant Division Chief of the FCC's EB's Investigations and Hearings Division (IHD). She previously worked in the FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau's (WCB) Competition Policy Division. She worked on broadband matters, the Triennial Review proceeding, and the WCB's Virginia Arbitration. Prior to joining the FCC in 2001, she worked at the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy overseeing its Section 271 proceeding and various arbitrations. She has also worked on Capitol Hill. See, EB release.

2./2. David Brown was named Assistant Division Chief of the FCC's EB's Investigations and Hearings Division (IHD). He previously was an attorney advisor in the IHD. He has also worked as an Interim Legal Advisor to FCC Commissioner Kevin Martin. See, EB release.

2/2. James Shook was named Special Counsel in the FCC's EB's Investigations and Hearings Division (IHD). He has worked for the FCC since 1980, most recently as a senior trial attorney in the IHD. See, EB release.

2/2. David Janas was named Special Counsel in the FCC's EB's Investigations and Hearings Division (IHD). He was previously an attorney advisor in the IHD. Before joining the FCC in 2001 he was an associate in the Washington DC office of the law firm of Mintz Levin. See, EB release.

2/5. Apple announced that EVP and CFO Fred Anderson will retire on June 1, 2004. Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's SVP of Finance and corporate controller, will become the new CFO. Apple added that it "intends to appoint Anderson to its Board of Directors upon his retirement". See, Apple release.

2/6. Nokia announced that John Thornton withdrew his candidacy elected to the Nokia Board of Directors "due to personal reasons". See, February 6 release. Nokia stated on January 22 that the Corporate Governance and Nomination Committee proposed that Thornton be elected to the Board. See, January 22 release.

1/30. Vodafone announced that Gavin Darby, who is currently Chief Executive of Vodafone UK, has been appointed Chief Executive Americas Region, effective April 1, 2004. See, Vodafone release.

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

The Senate will meet at 1:00 PM to resume consideration of S 1072, the "Safe, Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act".

The Dirksen Senate Office Building will reopen at 7:00 AM following its ricin related closure.

10:00 AM. The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing to examine the Department of Homeland Security's budget for FY 2005. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) Cable and Legislative Practice Committees will host a brown bag lunch. The speakers Bill Bailey (Majority Counsel for the Senate Commerce Committee) and James Assey (Minority Counsel for the Senate Commerce Committee). For more information, contact Catherine Bohigian at Catherine.Bohigian@fcc.gov. RSVP to Wendy Parish at wendy@fcba.org. Location: Willkie Farr & Gallagher, 1875 K Street, NW.

Day one of a two day conference hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) titled "Knowledge Based Authentication: Is it Quantifiable?". See, notice and event web site. Location: NIST, Administration Building, Green Auditorium, Gaithersburg, MD.

The House will meet at 12:30 PM for morning hour, and at 2:00 PM for legislative business. The House will consider several non technology related items under suspension of the rules. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM. See, Republican Whip notice.

7:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a two day conference hosted by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) titled "Public Safety Spectrum Management Forum". Michael Gallagher (acting head of the NTIA), Sam Bodman (Deputy Secretary of Commerce), and Kathleen Abernathy (FCC Commissioner) will speak between 8:00 AM and 8:30 AM. See, agenda. Location: Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert Street, NW.

9:30 AM. The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing on President Bush's defense authorization request for FY 2005 and the future years defense program. See, notice. Location: Room 325, Russell Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on the nomination of Samuel Bodman to be Deputy Secretary of the Treasury. Location: Room 215, Dirksen Building.

? 1:30 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law will hold a hearing. The witnesses will include Nuala Kelly (Chief Privacy Officer of the Department of Homeland Security). Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

2:00 PM. Deadline to submit to the House Rules Committee proposed amendments to HR 1561, the "United States Patent and Trademark Fee Modernization Act of 2003". This bill would, among other things, end the practice of USPTO fee diversion. See, Rules Committee notice.

Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding "Changes to Representation of Others Before the United States Patent and Trademark Office". See, notice in the Federal Register, December 12, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 239, at Pages 69441-69562. See also, USPTO release.

Day two of a two day conference hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) titled "Knowledge Based Authentication: Is it Quantifiable?". See, notice and event web site. Location: NIST, Administration Building, Green Auditorium, Gaithersburg, MD.

Deadline to submit comments regarding the workshop to be hosted by the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on application of the Horizontal Merger Guidelines on February 17-19. See, notice.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM. It will take up HR 1561, the "United States Patent and Trademark Fee Modernization Act of 2003", subject to a rule. See, Republican Whip notice.

7:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day two of a two day conference hosted by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) titled "Public Safety Spectrum Management Forum". See, notice. Location: Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert Street, NW.

9:30 AM. The House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet will hold a hearing on HR 3717, the "Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2004". The hearing will be webcast. See, notice. Press contact: Ken Johnson or Jon Tripp at 202 225-5735. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

9:30 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing titled "Protecting Children from Violent and Indecent Programming". Press contact: Rebecca Hanks (McCain) at 202 224-2670 or Andy Davis (Hollings) at 202 224-6654. See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

9:30 AM. The U.S. District Court (DC) will hold a motion hearing in InterTrust v. Microsoft, D.C. No. 2003 mc 2618. Location: Courtroom 9, Prettyman Courthhouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights will hold a hearing on cable industry competition. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan will deliver the Federal Reserve's semiannual report on monetary policy to the House Financial Services Committee. Location: Room 2128, Rayburn Building.

11:00 AM - 1:00 PM. The House Science Committee will hold a hearing titled "An Overview of the Federal R&D Budget for Fiscal Year 2005". The hearing will be webcast. The witnesses will include Charles McQueary. Press contract: Heidi Tringe at 202 225-4275. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) will hold an event titled "Presentation for New ULS Online Services, MDS and ITFS". Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW, Room 3-B516 (3rd Floor South Conference Room).

11:00 AM. The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing on President Bush's FY 2005 budget proposal. The witness will be from the Treasury Department. Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building.

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a brown bag lunch. The speaker will be David Dorman (Ch/CEO of AT&T). The topic will be "Making the Right Choices about the Future of Communications". See, notice. Location: NAF, 7th Floor, 1630 Connecticut Ave., NW.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Online Communications Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Legislative and Regulatory Update on Internet and E-Commerce Privacy Issues". The speakers will be Chris Hoofnagel (EPIC) and Heidi Salow (Nextel). For more information, contact Vincent Paladini, Karlyn Stanley (CRB, 202 828-9835), or Amy Wolverton. Location: Cole Raywid & Braverman, 1919 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Suite 200.

2:00 PM. 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.

3:00 PM. The House Armed Services Committee's Subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities will hold a hearing titled "Department of Defense Information Systems Architecture: Are we on the Right Path to Achieving Net-Centricity and Ensuring  Interoperability?" The witnesses will include Linton Wells (Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration and Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Spectrum, Space, Sensors, and Command, Control and Communications), John Stenbit (Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration), Lt. Gen. Steven Boutelle (U.S. Army, CIO), Maj. Gen. Marilyn Quagliotti (U.S. Army, Defense Information Systems Agency), Rear Adm. Thomas Zelibor (U.S. Navy, Deputy for C4 Integration and Policy), David Tillotson (Director, C41, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Architecture and Assessment, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Warfighting Integration), Brig. Gen. John Thomas (U.S. Marine Corps, Director Command, Control, Communications and Computers (C4)). Location: Room 2118, Rayburn Building.

5:00 - 7:00 PM. The Congressional Internet Caucus's Advisory Committee will host a reception and technology fair. For more information contact Megan Kinnaird at 202 638-4370. See, notice. Location: Room 902, Hart Building.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM. See, Republican Whip notice.

Lincoln's Birthday.

7:45 - 9:00 AM. National Emergency Management Association's (NEMA) conference titled "Assessing & Protecting the Nation's Critical Infrastructure" will include at series of speeches titled "Session on Emergency Management And Homeland Security Issues". Rep. Chris Cox (R-CA), the Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee (HHSC), will speak at 7:45 AM. Rep. Jim Turner (D-TX), the ranking Democrat on the HHSC, will speak at 8:05 AM. Jim Morhard, Majority Staff Director of the Senate Appropriations Committee, will speak at 8:30 AM. Location: Capitol Hilton Hotel, Presidential Ballroom, 16th & K Streets NW.

8:30 AM - 5:45 PM. Day one of a two day conference hosted by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) titled "Forum on Spectrum Management Policy Reform". See, agenda [PDF]. To register, contact Margaret Huynh at mhuynh@nas.edu. Location: Lecture Room, National Academy of Sciences Building, 2100 C Street, NW.

9:00 AM. The House Ways and Means Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight will hold a hearing on "IRS Efforts to Modernize its Computer Systems". See, notice. Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building.

9:30 AM. The House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet will meet to mark up HR 3717, the "Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2004". The event will be webcast. See, notice. Press contact: Ken Johnson or Jon Tripp at 202 225-5735. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

9:30 AM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold a meeting. The event will be webcast. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW, Room TW-C05 (Commission Meeting Room).

TO BE DECIDED WITHOUT ORAL ARGUMENT. 9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in NCTA v. FCC, No. 03-1140. Judges Edwards, Roberts and Silberman. Location: Location: 333 Constitution Ave. NW.

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

10:00 AM. The House Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing on the President's budget proposals for FY 2005. Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge will testify. Location: TBA.

11:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Heritage Foundation will host a panel discussion titled "Federalism and the Internet Tax: A Conflict of Two Conservative Principles?" The speakers will be Sen. George Allen (R-VA), Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Edward Fuelner (Heritage), and James Gattuso (Heritage). See, notice. Location: Heritage, 214 Massachusetts Ave NE.

2:00 PM. The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on the revenue provisions of the President's proposed budget for FY 2005. Secretary of the Treasury John Snow will testify. Location: Room 215, Dirksen Building.

Extended deadline to submit comments to the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), which is also known as the Bureau of Export Administration (BXA), regarding its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to implement a revised version of the BIS's Simplified Network Application Processing (SNAP+) system. This proposed rule also would mandate use of SNAP+ for all filings of Export License applications (except Special Comprehensive Licenses), Reexport Authorization requests, Classification requests, Encryption Review requests, and License Exception AGR notifications, unless the BIS authorizes paper filing for a particular user or transaction. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 12, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 218, at Pages 64009-64023 (setting January 12, 2003 deadline), and notice in the Federal Register January 12, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 7, at Page 1685 (extending deadline to February 12) .

8:30 AM - 5:45 PM. Day two of a two day conference hosted by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) titled "Forum on Spectrum Management Policy Reform". See, agenda [PDF]. To register, contact Margaret Huynh at mhuynh@nas.edu. Location: Lecture Room, National Academy of Sciences Building, 2100 C Street, NW.

11:00 AM. Frank Libutti (Under Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security) will speak to the National Emergency Management Association's (NEMA) conference titled "Assessing & Protecting the Nation's Critical Infrastructure". Location: Capitol Hilton Hotel, Presidential Ballroom, 16th & K Streets NW.

12:00 NOON. Deadline to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) regarding foreign countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection. The USTR is required under Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974, codified at 19 U.S.C. § 2242, to identify which countries should be identified as Priority Foreign Countries. This section is also know as "Special 301".  See, notice in the Federal Register, January 6, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 3, at Pages 718 - 719.

Extended deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Report and Order Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking [72 pages in PDF] in its proceeding titled "In the Matter of Digital Broadcast Content Protection". This item is FCC 03-273 in MB Docket 02-230. This FNPRM seeks comment regarding a permanent approval mechanism for content protection and recording technologies to be used in conjunction with device outputs. For more information, contact Rick Chessen rchessen@fcc.gov or Susan Mort at smort@fcc.gov or 202-418-7200. See, notice [PDF] extending deadlines.

Extended deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding digital plug and play compatibility. The FCC announced its Second Report and Order and Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking at its September 10, 2003 meeting. See, story titled "FCC Adopts Digital Plug and Play Cable Compatibility Rules" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 737, September 11, 2003. The notice in the Federal Register states that the NPRM seeks public comments "on the mechanisms and standards by which new connectors and associated content protection technologies can be approved for use with unidirectional digital cable products". It further seeks comments on "the potential extension of digital cable system transmission requirements to digital cable systems with an activated channel capacity of 550 MHz or higher; whether it is necessary to require consumer electronics manufacturers to provide pre-sale information to consumers regarding the functionalities of unidirectional digital cable televisions; and whether the Commission should ban or permit the down-resolution of non-broadcast MVPD programming." This item is FCC 03-225 in CS Docket 97-80 and PP Docket 00-67. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 28, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 229, at Pages 66776 - 66781. See also, notice [PDF] extending deadlines.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding revisions to the FCC's high cost universal service support mechanism. This is FCC 03-249 in CC Docket No. 96-45. This is also known as the "10th Circuit Remand". See, notice in the Federal Register, December 15, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 240, at Pages 69641 - 69647. See also, stories titled "FCC Announces Order on Remand Regarding High Cost Universal Service Support Mechanism" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 761, October 20, 2003, and "FCC Publishes Notices Regarding 10th Circuit Universal Service Remand" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 800, December 16, 2003.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) regarding it proposal to dispose of 27,866 magnetic tape cartridges containing copies of e-mail records of the Clinton administration created from July 15, 1994 through December 1999. See, notice in the Federal Register, December 30, 2003, Vol. 68, No. 249, at Pages 75286 - 75287.

Deadline for the General Accounting Office (GAO) to submit its report to Congress, pursuant to Section 519 of HR 2555, the "Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2004". President Bush signed this bill on October 1, 2003. This report pertains to the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System (CAPPS II). See, story titled "Homeland Security Appropriations Bill Purports to Restrict Use of Funds for CAPPS II" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 751, October 2, 2003.

Deadline for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Department of Defense (DOC) to submit a report to the Congress regarding the vulnerability of intelligence related computer systems. This report is required by Section 351 of HR 2417, the "Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004". See, story titled "Bush Signs Intelligence Authorization Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 799, December 15, 2003.

Deadline for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to submit a report to the Congress regarding the dependence on foreign made computers and software. This report is required by Section 356 of HR 2417, the "Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004". See, story titled "Bush Signs Intelligence Authorization Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 799, December 15, 2003.

2/6. The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing various amendments to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). The notice describes these rule changes as "certain corrections and clarifications, including insertion of material inadvertently omitted from previous rules." Although, there are several changes to the rules affecting the export of software. See, changes to §§ 732.3, 740.6, 740.13(a)(1), 746.2(a)(1)(ii), and 746.4(b)(2)(ii)(B). These changes are effective February 6, 2004. The BIS made these rule changes without a notice of proposed rulemaking, or the opportunity for public participation, because it is the BIS. The Administrative Procedure Act, at 5 U.S.C. § 553(a)(1), provides an exemption for "a military or foreign affairs function of the United States". This notice is published at Federal Register, February 6, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 25, at Pages 5686 - 5691.

2/6. The European Union (EU) issued a release regarding the status of negotiations between the US and the EU regarding the Global Positioning System (GPS) and Galileo.

2/6. The Copyright Office (CO) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing "final regulations that set rates and terms for the public performance of a sound recording made pursuant to a statutory license by means of certain eligible nonsubscription transmissions and digital transmissions made by a new type of subscription service. The final rule also announces rates and terms for the making of related ephemeral recordings. The rates and terms are for the 2003 and 2004 statutory licensing period, except in the case of a new subscription service, in which case the license period runs from 1998 through 2004." This is effective March 8, 2004. See, Federal Register, February 6, 2004, Vol. 69, No. 25, at Pages 5693 - 5702.

2/6. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing and summarizing its final rule regarding service rules for Advanced Wireless Services in the 1710-1755 MHZ and 2110-2155 MHz bands, including provisions for application, licensing, operating and technical rules, and for competitive bidding. The FCC adopted its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on June 13, 2002, and released the text of this NPRM on June 28, 2002. The FCC adopted its Report and Order on October 16, 2003. See, story titled "FCC Announces Rules for Licensing 71-76 GHz, 81-86 GHz, and 92-95 GHz Bands" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 761, October 20, 2003. The FCC released the text of its R&O on November 25, 2003. It is FCC 03-251 in WT Docket No. 02-353.

2/6. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a release [PDF] regarding indecent broadcasts that states that "The FCC has received more than 200,000 complaints" regarding the Janet Jackson's half time performance during the television broadcast of the Superbowl on February 1, 2004. The FCC release further advertises a toll free number and e-mail address for submitting further complaints.