7/11. Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee (HJC), introduced HR 3199 [9 pages in PDF], the "USA PATRIOT and Intelligence Reform Reauthorization Act of 2005". This bill would make permanent all of the sixteen sections of the PATRIOT Act that are scheduled to sunset at the end of this year. It also makes permanent two provisions of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA).

Both the HJC and the House Intelligence Committee will meet on Wednesday at 10:00 AM to mark up the bill. HJC Democrats are prepared to offer and debate numerous amendments. The HJC will likely continue its mark up on Wednesday (and on Thursday and Friday, if necessary) until completed. A HJC aide stated on July 11 that "we will stay here until we finish it", and that the bill will likely be considered by the full House next week.

The bill would permanently extend all of the sunsetted provisions of the PATRIOT Act, most of which are in Title II of the PATRIOT Act. Many pertain to law enforcement access to communications and data, especially those involving new information technologies. The bill would also make several limited changes to current law.

Some members of the HJC plan to offer amendments. Some support the continuance of a sunset provision, mainly to give the Department of Justice (DOJ) incentive to cooperate with the Congress in its exercise of oversight authority. Some support more checks and balances to surveillance powers, mainly to minimize the likelihood that governmental powers will be abused. Proposals also include increased reporting requirements, judicial oversight or heightened standards for judicial oversight, and application of the rule regarding suppression of evidence.

The HJC, and its Crime Subcommittee, have conducted a thorough series of twelve hearings on the expiring provisions. These hearings have been conducted in a bipartisan manner. Other Congressional committees have held one or several hearings.

The HJC considered and marked up the original PATRIOT Act in 2001 in bipartisan fashion. However, the bipartisan approach to reviewing the expiring provisions was tested last month when some Democrats injected partisan theatrics into the process.

On June 10, the HJC held a hearing titled "Reauthorization of the USA PATRIOT Act". Some Democrats sought to convert this hearing into an open ended examination of the Bush administration's policies related to the war on terrorism, regardless of whether the issues relate to any the sunsetted provisions of the PATRIOT Act, or even to any provision of the PATRIOT Act, or matters within the jurisdiction of the HJC.

Following the hearing some Democrats, including House Minority Leader, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), leveled personal attacks on Rep. Sensenbrenner, and Republicans generally. She made partisan and defamatory statements about Rep. Sensenbrenner, and the conduct of Committee's hearings. See, story titled "Commentary: Partisan Theatrics Threaten Efforts to Place Limits in Title II of PATRIOT Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,152, June 13, 2005.

Rep. Sensenbrenner's strategy may now be to draft and enact a bill that has the minimum concessions necessary to ensure a majority on the HJC, and perhaps the full House, and to defeat amendments, based upon Republican solidarity. The mark up scheduled to begin on July 13, unlike the HJC's mark up of the original PATRIOT Act back in 2001, may be rancorous and partisan.

There is a similarity between the House enactment of the original PATRIOT Act in 2001, and the current consideration of HR 3199. The PATRIOT Act was rushed through the Congress immediately after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, while terrorist atrocities were fresh in the voters' memories. HR 3199 has been rushed to markup immediately after the terrorists attacks of July 7, 2005 in London, while terrorists atrocities are fresh in the voters' memories.

Nevertheless, the mark up of this bill may be long, and hard fought. One likely category of amendments is proposals to maintain a sunsetting clause, to give the HJC sufficient leverage to engage in effective oversight in the future.

TLJ spoke with Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) late on July 11. He suggested that an amendment would be offered that would provide "a four year sunset", for the same set of provisions that are currently sunsetted, or a similar set of provisions.

Rep. Nadler also suggested that amendments would address § 505(a) of the PATRIOT Act and national security letters to obtain. He said that the Sensenbrenner bill "does not solve our problems with Section 505". He said that the government can still aim a national security letter at an internet service provider or library, with minimal safeguards.

Rep. Nadler also said that while the bill's language regarding Section 215 is an improvement, he is still "not satisfied with the 215 amendments" in the Sensenbrenner bill.

Rep. Nadler also stated that Democrats are concerned regarding the process being followed. He said that "Democrats were not consulted on this bill whatsoever".

President Bush gave a speech about the war on terrorism at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Academy at Quantico, Virginia, on July 11. He stated that "one of the important tools federal agents have used to protect America is the Patriot Act. I call on Congress to reauthorize the 16 critical provisions of this act that are scheduled to expire at the end of this year. The terrorist threats against us will not expire at the end of this year, and neither should the protections of the Patriot Act."

7/11. Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee (HJC), introduced HR 3199 [9 pages in PDF], the "USA PATRIOT and Intelligence Reform Reauthorization Act of 2005", on July 11, 2005.

Section 3 of HR 3199 is the key section of the bill. It provides that "Section 224 of the USA PATRIOT ACT is repealed." § 224 is the section of the PATRIOT Act that provides that 16 enumerated sections of the Act expire at the end of 2005. Thus, this language makes these 16 sections permanent.

Moreover, most of these sections are made permanent without any modification. Sections 6, 7, and 8 of the bill make limited changes to three sections of the PATRIOT Act -- § 203(b), regarding the sharing of information, § 207, regarding the duration of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) surveillance of non U.S. persons, and § 215, regarding access to business records, including library records, under Section 501 of the FISA.

Section 4 of HR 3199 repeals the sunset clause in § 6001 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA), the lone wolf amendment to the FISA. The IRTPA was S 2845 in the 108th Congress. It is now Public Law 108-458. § 6001 provides as follows:

SEC. 6001. INDIVIDUAL TERRORISTS AS AGENTS OF FOREIGN POWERS.
  (a) IN GENERAL- Section 101(b)(1) of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801(b)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
    `(C) engages in international terrorism or activities in preparation therefore; or'.
  (b) SUNSET- The amendment made by subsection (a) shall be subject to the sunset provision in section 224 of Public Law 107-56 (115 Stat. 295), including the exception provided in subsection (b) of such section 224.

That is, § 6001 expanded the definition of "agent of a foreign power" for the purposes of the FISA to include lone wolf terrorists. § 6001(b) added that the PATRIOT Act sunsetting clause also applies to this new definition. HR 3199 removes the sunset. It maintains the lone wolf definition.

Section 5 of HR 3199 repeals the sunset clause of § 6603, the "material support" provision of the IRPTA. The HJC issued a statement that makes the following argument. "The problem with this sunset is that" it "would allow a criminal offense, and not a law enforcement tool, to expire. Furthermore, this sunset effectively makes the underlying provision unconstitutional. Section 6603 of the IRPTA addressed the prohibition against providing material support to terrorists and amended the law to address court concerns on the constitutionality of the material support provision."

Section 6 of HR 3199 pertains to information sharing between law enforcement and intelligence agencies under § 203(b) of the PATRIOT Act. Representatives and Senators refer to this section when these speak of "information sharing" and "tearing down the wall".

Section 6 provides, in full, that "Section 2517(6) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: ``Within a reasonable time after a disclosure of the contents of a communication under this subsection, an attorney for the Government shall file, under seal, a notice with a judge whose order authorized or approved the interception of that communication, stating the fact that such contents were disclosed and the departments, agencies, or entities to which the disclosure was made.´´"

This requires the government to make disclosure to the Court. There is no requirement that government agencies report to the Congress.

Section 7 of HR 3199 pertains to § 207 of the PATRIOT Act and the duration of FISA surveillance of non U.S. persons. It provides among other things, that a FISA pen register and trap and trace device order for non U.S. persons may be for up to one year.

Section 8 of HR 3199 pertains to § 215 of the PATRIOT Act, which has received more public attention that any of the other of the sunsetted provisions of the PATRIOT Act.

This section would raise the standard for the issuance of a § 215 order. The information sought must either not concern a U.S. person, or be "relevant to an ongoing investigation to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities". This is still a very low standard.

This section also provides that a recipient of a § 215 order may consult with an attorney, and challenge the order. This section also identifies a judicial review process.

7/11. The U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT), a government to government consultative mechanism, met in Beijing, People's Republic of China, on July 11, 2005. The U.S. delegation stated that China agreed to increase its criminal prosecution of intellectual property rights violations, and to delay issuing its draft regulations on government software procurement.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a release that describes the outcome of the JCCT meeting. See also, substantially identical Department of Commerce (DOC) release.

USTR Robert Portman (at right) stated in another release that "Today we have made some progress in areas of key concern to U.S. businesses, particularly with regard to IPR enforcement, including cracking down on fake goods in China; preventing restrictions on what the Chinese government buys from American companies; and, ensuring U.S. products can be freely distributed in China ... But our work is far from finished. We remain concerned about many areas and we will redouble our efforts to address these issues with the Chinese Government."

The USTR release states that "China has agreed to increase the number of criminal prosecutions for IPR violations relative to the total number of IPR administrative cases.  The Supreme People’s Court, Supreme People’s Procuratorate, and Ministry of Public Security have issued draft guidelines for public comment to ensure the timely referral of IPR violations from administrative bodies to criminal prosecution."

The USTR also states that "By the end of 2005, the Chinese government will complete its legalization program to ensure that all central, provincial and local government offices are using only licensed software, and will extend the program to enterprises (including state-owned enterprises) in 2006." (Parentheses in original.)

The USTR also states that "By June 30, 2006, the State Council intends to submit to the National People’s Congress the legislative package needed for China to accede to the WIPO Internet Treaties.  China will also begin immediately a nationwide crack-down on Internet piracy, including through enforcement at Internet cafes."

With respect to government software procurement, the USTR states that "China will delay issuing draft regulations on software procurement, as it further considers public comments and makes revisions in light of WTO rules. The draft software regulations threatened to close off a market with a potential value of over $8 billion to U.S. firms.  China announced that it will accelerate its efforts to join the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) and towards this end will initiate technical consultations with other WTO Members."

The USTR also states that "China agreed to a new dialogue under the JCCT Information Technology Working Group to discuss capitalization requirements, resale services, and other issues agreed to by the two sides" pertaining to telecommunications market access.

Carlos Gutierrez, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, and a member of the U.S. delegation, stated in a release that "The real outcome of this meeting will be known when we see the results in the months ahead. We will monitor all commitments closely ... This year’s JCCT is a step forward in strengthening market access for U.S. goods in China -- particularly in the area of computer software -- as well as improving the enforcement of intellectual property rights. However, we still have much more work to do before we are satisfied with progress in these and other areas".

Robert Holleyman, P/CEO of the Business Software Alliance (BSA), stated in a release that "We are encouraged by the commitments made at the JCCT meeting and look forward to working with Chinese authorities to help implement effective anti-piracy measures. Deterring piracy requires adequate resources and enforcement actions and we are encouraged by the commitments made by the Chinese government to take these important steps."

Holleyman added that "We were also heartened to hear that China will not issue software procurement regulations pending further work with industry and governments. BSA members were also encouraged by China’s commitment to hasten its efforts to join the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA). BSA believes this is a very important step to ensure open and fair access to government markets for all software makers, and we look forward to working with Chinese authorities as this process moves forward".

Myron Brilliant, U.S. Chamber of Commerce's VP for Asia, stated in a release that "The results of the meeting demonstrate that the JCCT process continues to be a constructive one that delivers tangible results for U.S. exporters, and investors ... But even as we recognize China's renewed commitment to enforce intellectual property rights and address other U.S. commercial concerns, we underscore that words are not a substitute for action."

7/11. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted, but did not release, a Memorandum, Opinion and Order (MOO) in its antitrust merger review (nominally, a license transfer proceeding) regarding Alltel Corporation's acquisition of Western Wireless Corporation.

The FCC issued a short release [3 pages in PDF], and each of the four Commissioners wrote a short statement. The release states that the FCC approved the merger, subject to certain conditions.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) approved the merger, and filed a complaint and consent decree with the U.S. District Court (DC). The consent decree requires Alltel to divest in 16 markets. See, story titled "DOJ Approves Alltel's Acquisition of Western Wireless, With Divestitures" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,170, July 8, 2005.

The FCC release states that "the FCC concluded the acquisition generally is not likely to cause competitive harm in most mobile telephony markets. In reaching these conclusions the Commission analyzed many factors regarding the likely horizontal effects of the merger, including substitutability of products and services, possible competitive responses by rival carriers, spectrum aggregation, deployment of advanced wireless services, network effects on the merged company, and penetration rates in local markets. The Commission concluded that anti-competitive effects are unlikely in all but 16 of the FCC’s 734 Cellular Market Areas (CMAs), where the merger would cause significant competitive harm that exceeds the likely public interest benefits of the merger in those areas."

The release then states that the FCC "conditioned its consent on the companies divesting WWC business units -- customers, infrastructure, and cellular spectrum -- in 16 CMAs."

The FCC also imposed a condition regarding roaming. In addition, the FCC announced that "In the near future, the Commission plans to initiate a new proceeding to examine whether our rules regarding the roaming requirements applicable to CMRS providers should be modified to take into account current market conditions and developments in technology. This proceeding will afford interested parties an opportunity to comment on a variety of roaming issues, including manual and automatic roaming, technical considerations, and small and rural carrier roaming concerns."

See also, statement [PDF] by Chairman Kevin Martin, separate statement [PDF] by Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy, separate statement [PDF] by Commissioner Michael Copps, and separate statement [PDF] by Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein.

This MOO is FCC 05-138 in WT Docket No. 05-50.

The House will meet at 9:00 AM for morning hour, and at 10:00 AM for legislative business. It will consider several non-technology related resolutions under suspension of the rules. See, Republican Whip Notice.

The Senate will meet at 9:45 AM. It will resume consideration of HR 2360, the Homeland Security Appropriations bill.

8:15 - 9:15 AM. Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisors, will give a speech titled "Skills, Ownership, and Economic Security". See, notice. Location: American Enterprise Institute, Twelfth floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

TIME CHANGE. 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM. The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, July 5, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 127, at Page 38699. Location: National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor.

9:45 - 11:30 AM. The DC Bar Association will host a visit to and tour of the Copyright Office. The price to attend ranges from $15-$25. For more information, contact 202-626-3463. See, notice. Location: Copyright Office, Room 401, James Madison Memorial Building, First Street & Independence Ave., SE.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing titled "Digital Television Transition -- Hearing I". The witnesses will be Edward Fritts (P/CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters), Manuel Abud (VP/GM of KVEA-TV in Los Angeles, Telemundo), Kyle McSlarrow (P/CEO of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association), Patrick Knorr (VCh of the American Cable Association), Richard Slenker (EVP of DirecTV), and John Lawson (P/CEO of the Association of Public Television Stations). Press contact: Melanie Alvord (Stevens) (202) 224-8456 or Melanie_Alvord at commerce dot senate dot gov, or Andy Davis (Inouye) at 202 224-4546 or Andy_Davis at commerce dot senate dot gov. See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee's (SJC) Subcommittee on Intellectual Property has scheduled a hearing titled "Music Licensing Reform". The scheduled witnesses are Marybeth Peters (Register of Copyrights), Rob Glaser (Ch/CEO of RealNetworks), Rick Carnes (Songwriters Guild of America), Glen Barros (Comcord Records), Marilyn Bergman (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers), and Ish Cuebas (Trans World Entertainment). See, notice. The SJC frequently cancels hearings without notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing titled "Digital Television Transition -- Hearing II". The witnesses will be Harlin McEwen (International Association of Chiefs of Police), Charles Townsend (Aloha Partners), Mike Kennedy (Motorola), Gary Shapiro (Consumer Electronics Association), Gene Kimmelman (Consumers Union), and Michael Calabrese (New American Foundation). Press contact: Melanie Alvord (Stevens) (202) 224-8456 or Melanie_Alvord at commerce dot senate dot gov, or Andy Davis (Inouye) at 202 224-4546 or Andy_Davis at commerce dot senate dot gov. See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

TIME? The State Department's International Telecommunication Advisory Committee's (ITAC) U.S. Study Group B will meet to prepare positions for the next meeting of the ITU-T Study Group 16. See, notice in the Federal Register, June 13, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 112, at Pages 34175 - 34176. Location: Communication Technologies, Inc., 14151 Newbrook Drive, Suite 400, Chantilly, VA.

Day one of a two day conference hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST), Computer Security Division titled "Federal Computer Security Program Manager's Forum Annual Off-Site Meeting". See, notice. Location: Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, 5701 Marinelli Road, North Bethesda, MD.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. See, Republican Whip Notice.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee will meet to mark up several bills, including HR 3199, the "USA PATRIOT and Intelligence Reform Reauthorization Act of 2005". See, notice. Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202 225-2492. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The House Intelligence Committee will hold a closed meeting to mark up HR 3199, the "USA PATRIOT and Intelligence Reform Reauthorization Act of 2005". Location: Room H405, Capitol Building.

11:30 AM. Joshua Bolten, Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), will hold a briefing titled "FY 2005 Mid-Session Review: Revised estimates of the budget deficit, receipts, outlays, and budget authority for fiscal years 2005-2010". See, media advisory containing procedures for admittance. Location: Room 450, Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

Day two of a two day conference hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST), Computer Security Division titled "Federal Computer Security Program Manager's Forum Annual Off-Site Meeting". See, notice. Location: Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, 5701 Marinelli Road, North Bethesda, MD.

6:00 - 8:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers Committee will host an event titled "Happy Hour". For more information, contact Natalie Roisman at natalie dot roisman at fcc dot gov or 202 418-1655, or Jason Friedrich at jason dot friedrich at dbr dot com or 202-354-1340. Location: McCormick & Schmick's, 1652 K Street, NW.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. See, Republican Whip Notice.

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology (VCAT) will hold a partially close meeting. The agenda includes presentations on science and technology priorities of the administration and research and development spending trends in the federal government. See, notice in the Federal Register, May 24, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 99, at Page 29721. Location: Employees Lounge, Administration Building, NIST, Gaithersburg, MD.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold an executive business meeting. The SJC frequently cancels meetings without notice. See, notice. Press contact: Blain Rethmeier (Specter) at 202 224-5225, David Carle (Leahy) at 202 224-4242 or Tracy Schmaler (Leahy) at 202 224-2154.Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

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

9:45 - 11:30 AM. The DC Bar Association will host a visit to and tour of the Copyright Office. The price to attend ranges from $15-$25. For more information, contact 202-626-3463. See, notice. Location: Copyright Office, Room 401, James Madison Memorial Building, First Street & Independence Avenue, SE.

10:00 AM - 4:15 PM. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) will host an event titled "IPTV Interface Discovery Group". See, notice. Location: Clarendon Ballroom, Arlington, VA.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Department of State's (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet to prepare for the Americas Regional Preparatory Meeting for the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-06) in Lima, Peru, from August 9-11, 2005. See, notice in the Federal Register, June 22, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 119, Page 36224. Location: DOS, Room 2533A.

12:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Mass Media Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch. The speaker will be Kris Monteith of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Enforcement Bureau. For more information, Ann Bobeck at ABobeck at nab dot org. Location: National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), 1771 N Street, NW.

1:30 - 3:30 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) WRC-07 Advisory Committee's Informal Working Group 2 (Satellite Services and HAPS) will meet. See, notice [PDF]. Location: Leventhal Senter & Lerman, 2000 K Street, NW, 7th Floor Conference Room.

TIME? The American Intellectual Property Law Association's (AIPLA) Board or Directors will meet. Location: Arlington, VA.

The House may meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. See, Republican Whip Notice.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host a panel discussion titled "Brand X v. FCC: What's Next?". The speakers will include Randolph May (PFF), Dave Baker (EarthLink VP for Law and Public Policy), and Kyle McSlarrow (P/CEO of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association). See, notice and registration page. Lunch will be served. Location: Room 1537, Longworth Building, Capitol Hill.

Deadline to submit comments to the Antitrust Modernization Commission (AMC) in response to the AMC's request for public comments on numerous issues. First, the AMC seeks comments on enforcement institutions, including dual federal merger enforcement, differential merger enforcement standards, the role of states in enforcing federal antitrust laws outside of the merger area, and the allocation of merger enforcement among states, private plaintiffs. Second, the AMC seeks comments on exclusionary conduct. Third, the AMC seeks comments on immunities, exemptions, and the state action doctrine. Fourth, the AMC seeks comments on merger enforcement, including federal antitrust merger enforcement policy generally, transparency in federal agency merger review, efficiencies in merger analysis, the Hart-Scott-Rodino pre-merger review process. Fifth, the AMC seeks comments on several new economy issues, including antitrust analysis of industries in which innovation, intellectual property, and technological change are central features, and on the reports on patent law by the National Academies and the Federal Trade Commission. Finally, the AMC seeks comments on the role of antitrust in regulated industries. See, notice in the Federal Register: May 19, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 96, at Pages 28902-28907.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding a petition for a declaratory ruling that certain provisions of the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act (CLRA), as applied to interstate telephone calls, are not preempted by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). See, notice in the Federal Register, June 15, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 114, at Pages 34725 - 34726. This proceeding is CG Docket No. 02-278.

Deadline to submit requests to the Copyright Office to participate in its upcoming roundtables on orphan works (on July 26-27 in Washington DC, and in Berkeley, California on August 2). See, notice in the Federal Register, July 7, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 129, at Pages 39341 - 39343.

2:00 - 5:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "How to Conduct Business in the Current Chinese Legal Environment: Myths and Facts". The speakers will be Paul Manca (Hogan & Hartson) and others. The price to attend ranges from $70-$125. For more information, call 202-626-3488. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its public notice regarding refreshing the record on issues raised in the Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) related to carrier identification code (CIC) conservation and the definition of "entity" as found in section 1.3 of the CIC Assignment Guidelines. This public notice is DA 05-1154 in CC Docket No. 92-237; it was released on April 26, 2005. See, notice in the Federal Register, June 1, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 104, at Pages 31405 - 31406.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding the exchange of customer account information between local exchange carriers (LECs). This FNPRM is FCC 05-29 in CG Docket No. 02-386. See, notice in the Federal Register, June 1, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 104, at Pages 31406 - 31409.

9:00 AM - 5:30 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) North American Numbering Council (NANC) will meet. See, notice and agenda [2 pages in PDF]. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW, Room TW-C305.

TIME? The Advisory Committee to the Congressional Internet Caucus will host a panel discussion titled "Interpreting Grokster". Location:?

7/11. President Bush announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations for terms of two years: Craig Barrett (Intel), Jose Behar (UMG), Michael Campbell (Arch Chemicals), Stephanie Harkness (Pacific Plastics & Engineering), and Maria Guadalupe Taxman. See, White House release.

7/11. The Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF) relocated its offices to 1444 Eye Street NW, Suite 500. Phone numbers, the fax number, e-mail addresses and the web site remain the same. See, PFF release.

7/11. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published a notice in the Federal Register that extends the comment period on reserve prices or minimum opening bids and other auction procedures for Auction No. 63. Comments are due by July 13, 2005. Reply comments are due by July 20, 2005. See, Federal Register, July 11, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 131, at Page 39775.

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