7/15. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report [56 pages in PDF] titled "Information Security: Weaknesses Persist at Federal Agencies Despite Progress Made in Implementing Related Statutory Requirements".

The report finds that "Federal agencies have not consistently implemented effective information security policies and practices. Pervasive weaknesses exist in almost all areas of information security controls at 24 major agencies, threatening the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of information and information systems."

The report examined weaknesses in five areas. "Access controls were not effectively implemented; software change controls were not always in place; segregation of duties was not consistently implemented; and continuity of operations planning was often inadequate. These weaknesses exist because agencies have not yet fully implemented strong information security management programs. As a result, federal operations and assets are at increased risk of fraud, misuse, and destruction. In addition, these weaknesses place financial data at risk of unauthorized modification or destruction, sensitive information at risk of inappropriate disclosure, and critical operations at risk of disruption."

The GAO examined 24 federal agencies. The report found the Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Commerce (DOC), and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lacking in all five areas. The GAO did not examine the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The report elaborates that "Federal agencies and our nation’s critical infrastructures -- such as power distribution, water supply, telecommunications, national defense, and emergency services -- rely extensively on computerized information systems and electronic data to carry out their missions. The security of these systems and data is essential to prevent data tampering, disruptions in critical operations, fraud, and inappropriate disclosure of sensitive information. Protecting federal computer systems and the systems that support critical infrastructures has never been more important due to escalating threats of computer security incidents, the ease of obtaining and using hacking tools, the steady advances in the sophistication and effectiveness of attack technology, and the emergence of new and more destructive attacks."

The report also finds that "the government is making progress in its implementation" of the provisions Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), which the Congress enacted in 2002, but that "agencies continue to have difficulty effectively protecting their information and information systems".

The report was prepared for the Chairman and ranking Democrats on the House Government Reform Committee (HGRC) and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), Chairman of the HGRC, stated in a release that "Today's GAO report makes several recommendations that would help improve the accuracy of the reporting requirements and give oversight bodies, such as this Committee, a more complete picture of the agencies' information security progress. The FISMA process is not a perfect one. I think it provides the agencies with a strong management framework, but I recognize that it is not a panacea; there may be a need for amendments to facilitate implementation of the security concepts that drive FISMA."

Rep. Davis (at right) added that "The FISMA process is still a young one; as it matures, the guidance will go through growing pains and require further changes. Given the ever evolving nature of cyber-threats, complacency is not an option. Having said that, we want to ensure that FISMA compliance does not become a paperwork exercise where agencies comply with the letter, but not the spirit, of the law. We don't want them filling out forms to simply fill out forms."

On Tuesday, July 19, 2005 at 2:00 PM, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, and International Security will hold a hearing titled "Securing Cyberspace: Efforts to Protect National Information Infrastructures Continue to Face Challenges". The witnesses will be David Powner (GAO), Andy Purdy (acting Director of the National Cyber Security Division of the Department of Homeland Security), Paul Skare (Siemens Power Transmission & Distribution Inc.), and Thomas Jarrett (Delaware Department of Technology and Information). See, notice.

7/15. The U.S. Court of Appeals (8thCir) issued its opinion [11 pages in PDF] in Schinzing v. Mid-States Stainless, a case involving patent issues.

The plaintiff, Walter Schinzing, is an inventor. The present case involves technology for washing wheelchairs. Schinzing holds a patent. He entered into a agreement with Mid-States Stainless, Inc. in which he licensed the technology, in return for the payment of royalties.

However, he did not sue Mid-States for patent infringement. Rather, he filed a complaint in state court in the state of Minnesota alleging breach of the license agreement for failure to pay royalties. Mid-States removed the action to the U.S. District Court (DMinn), and counterclaimed for declaratory judgment of patent invalidity and non-infringement. (Mid-States argues that the patented invention was based in part upon a prior student report prepared for a class at the University of Northern Iowa.)

The District Court held that Mid-States breached the license agreement, and that the patent is not invalid. The District Court also denied Mid-States' motion for judgment on the non-infringement issue.

Mid-States appealed, to the 8th Circuit, rather than the Federal Circuit. The 8th Circuit affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded. But first, it addressed the jurisdictional question.

The Court of Appeals held that "We are required to exercise jurisdiction, however, under the holding of Holmes Group v. Vornado Air Circulation, 535 U.S. 826, 829-31 (2002), which makes clear that the Federal Circuit’s jurisdiction attaches when a plaintiff's well-pleaded complaint asserts a claim arising under federal patent law, but not when the patent issue is raised for the first time in a defendant's counterclaim. Because Schinzing's complaint alleged no claims arising under federal patent law and the patent issues arise solely from Mid-State’s counterclaim, appellate jurisdiction properly lies with us."

The Congress may enact legislation that would replace the rule announced in Vornado, and Court of Appeals cases implementing Vornado.

On June 16, 2005, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property (CIIP), introduced HR 2955, the "Intellectual Property Jurisdiction Clarification Act of 2005". The CIIP Subcommittee held a hearing on this issue on March 17, 2005. The CIIP Subcommittee approved HR 2955 on June 28, 2005. See also, story titled "CIIP Subcommittee to Mark Up Intellectual Property Jurisdiction Clarification Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,162, June 27, 2005.

The full Committee has not yet approve the bill. Also, the Senate has yet to approve such a bill.

One of the arguments that the opponents of Vornado and its progeny have advanced is that allowing multiple circuits to hear appeals on patent law issues will result in a lack of uniformity. However, the Court of Appeals held in the present case that "In examining this case, we adopt the Federal Circuit's precedent on substantive issues of patent law."

In addition, the Court of Appeals concluded that the District Court failed to construe the claims of the patent, and therefore, remanded.

This case is Walter Schinzing v. Mid-States Stainless, Inc., U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, App. Ct. No. 04-2535, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. Judge Wollman wrote the opinion of the Court of Appeals, in which Judges Gibson and Colloton joined.

7/14. The U.S. Court of Appeals (3rdCir) issued its opinion [46 pages in PDF] in SBC v. FCC, a petition for review of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) final order of September 3, 2003, regarding intercarrier compensation. (See, 18 FCC Rcd 18441.)

The order under review, which the FCC characterized as an interpretation of its rules, provided that a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) is entitled to the tandem rate where the CLEC's switch serves a geographic area comparable to the area served by the incumbent local exchange carrier's (ILEC) tandem switch.

The FCC issued the order under review without a formal rulemaking proceeding, and without adhering to the notice and comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).

SBC, which is an ILEC, filed a petition for review with the Court of Appeals. It asserted that the order violated the notice and comment requirement, and that it was arbitrary and capricious.

First, SBC argued that the the order under review made substantive changes to the FCC's Local Competition Order, and therefore, was legislative in nature, and hence, subject to the requirements of the APA. The FCC asserted that the order under review was interpretative in nature, and hence, not subject to the notice and comment requirements of the APA.

The Court of Appeals ruled that the order under review "did not modify or substantively change the FCC’s prior interpretation of the regulation or impose new duties upon regulated parties, and therefore the APA’s notice and comment requirements do not apply. The Order Under Review is, at most, interpretative. It simply clarified, and explained, an existing rule." Hence, the Court denied the petition for review on this issue.

Second, SBC argued that the under under review is arbitrary and capricious.

The Court of Appeals began with a 15 page summary of the provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 pertaining to interconnection by telecommunications carriers, intercarrier compensation, the Local Competition Order, and the order under review.

The Court then offered a briefer summary. It wrote, "To reiterate, when a customer of carrier A makes a local call to a customer of carrier B, carrier B must use its facilities to connect (or ``terminate´´) that call to its customer. Under the Act, carrier A (the ``originating´´ carrier) is required to compensate carrier B (the ``terminating´´ carrier) for using carrier B's facilities to connect the call to carrier B's customer."

The Court continued that "SBC is an ILEC. As we also explained earlier when discussing the hub-and-spoke design that typifies “traditional” telephone networks, when a call goes through SBC’s tandem switch, SBC incurs additional costs because it has to transport the call from the tandem switch to the end-office switch. More specifically, SBC must (I) switch the call at the tandem switch, (ii) transport the call to the end-office switch that serves the CLEC's customer, and then (iii) switch the call at the end-office switch and deliver it to that customer. Under the 1996 Act, SBC can recover the costs of each of those functions from the CLEC. The costs are grouped together into a single rate known as the ``tandem interconnection rate,´´ or ``tandem rate,´´ and that is the rate that the CLEC must pay SBC for using SBC’s network to complete calls to the CLEC’s customer."

Fianlly, it wrote that "However, the same is not true when a local customer of SBC calls a CLEC’s customer because the CLEC will frequently have the advantage of more efficient and sophisticated technology that was not available when SBC built its network. Accordingly, the CLEC may not duplicate SBC's end-office switch and tandem switch network in terminating traffic. According to SBC, the CLEC’s new technology will not involve the three distinct functions to connect an incoming call. SBC claims that the CLEC’s compensation for completing the call should therefore reflect the CLEC's reduced costs. SBC submits that the functional equivalency test better captures that actual cost than the geographic area test because the equivalency inquiry allows the greater efficiency of more modern technology to be factored into the equation. According to SBC, the geographic area test ignores any differences between its network and the CLEC's network by only focusing on the area served by competing carriers."

SBC argued that the FCC's order is an arbitrary and capricious implementation of 47 U.S.C. § 252 because it ensures that a CLEC will receive the higher tandem interconnection rate for all the local traffic terminated over its networks, whether or not it has incurred the costs related to tandem switches.

The Court held that this argument is time barred, but nevertheless, concluded that the argument is without merit. It quoted the admonition of the Supreme Court in Verizon Communications Inc. v. FCC, 535 U.S. 467 (2002), wherein the Supreme Court wrote that "Whether the FCC picked the best way to set these rates is the stuff of debate for economists and regulators versed in the technology of telecommunications and microeconomic pricing theory. The job of judges is to ask whether the Commission made choices reasonably within the pale of statutory possibility in deciding what and how items must be leased and the way to set rates for leasing them."

The Court of Appeals held that the FCC's order contains a acceptable interpretation of the statute, and survives that scrutiny. The Court denied the second argument in the petition for review.

This case is SBC, Inc. v. FCC and USA, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, App. Ct. No. 03-4311, a petition for review of a final order of the FCC. Judge McKee wrote the opinion of the Court of Appeals, in which Judge Buckwalter (a District Court Judge on senior status) joined. Former Judge Michael Chertoff (now Secretary of Homeland Security) participated through oral argument, but "resigned before the opinion was filed".

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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.

The Senate will meet at 2:30 PM. It will resume resume consideration of HR 3057, the foreign operations appropriations bill.

12:00 NOON. The Frontiers of Freedom Institute (FFI) will host a panel discussion titled "How IP Rights and Violations Affect Rural America". The speakers will be Mitch Glazier (Recording Industry Association of America), Brian Duggan (Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association), Brad Huther (U.S. Chamber of Commerce), Scott LaGanga (Americans for Tax Reform), and George Landrith (FFI). Lunch will be served. RSVP to 703 246-0110 ext. 305 or info at ff dot org. Location: Room B-338, Rayburn Building, Capitol Hill.

2:00 PM. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on several nominations, including those of Richard Skinner (to be Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security) and Edmund Hawley (to be an Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security). See, notice. Location: Room 562, Dirksen Building.

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.

The House and Senate will meet in joint session at 10:00 AM to hear Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India. See, Republican Whip Notice.

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 CHANGE. 11:15 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing on the proposed reorganization of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff will testify. See, SCC notice. See, also DHS release, Chertoff speech and proposed organizational chart [PDF]. 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. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

12:00 NOON. The Advisory Committee to the Congressional Internet Caucus will host a panel discussion titled "Interpreting Grokster: Protecting Copyright in the the Age of Peer-to-Peer". The speakers will be Don Verrilli (Jenner & Block, attorney for the content industry), Fred Von Lohmann (Electronic Frontier Foundation, attorney for Streamcast Networks), and Andrew Greenberg (Carlton Fields, attorney for the IEEE). See, notice. A box lunch will be served. RSVP to Danielle Yates at 202 638-4370 or dyates at netcaucus dot org. Location: Room HC-5, Capitol Building.

2:00 PM. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, and International Security will hold a hearing titled "Securing Cyberspace: Efforts to Protect National Information Infrastructures Continue to Face Challenges". The witnesses will be David Powner (Government Accountability Office), Andy Purdy (acting Director of the National Cyber Security Division of the Department of Homeland Security), Paul Skare (Siemens Power Transmission & Distribution Inc.), and Thomas Jarrett (Delaware Department of Technology and Information). See, notice. Location: Room 562, Dirksen Building.

The House will meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. The House may take up HR 3199, the "USA PATRIOT and Terrorism Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2005". See, Republican Whip Notice.

9:00 AM - 1:00 PM. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will host a meeting titled "Pharmers and Spimmers, Hackers and Bluejackers: Combating Wireless Security Threats". See, NTIA notice and notice in the Federal Register, June 22, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 119, at Page 36126. Location: Department of Commerce, Auditorium, 1401 Constitution Ave., NW.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) has scheduled a hearing titled "Reporters' Shield Legislation: Issues and Implications". The scheduled witnesses are James Comey (Deputy Attorney General), Matthew Cooper (Time Magazine), Norman Pearlstine (Time Inc.), Lee Levine (Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz), Geoffrey Stone (University of Chicago Law School). See, notice. The SJC frequently cancels hearings without 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 Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee will hold a business meeting. The agenda includes consideration of S 1355, the "Better Healthcare through Information Technology Act". Location: Room 430, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing to receive the testimony of the Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, on monetary policy and the state of the economy. Location: Room 2128, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Budget Committee will hold a hearing on the federal role in, and budget implications of, health information technology. Location: Room 628, Dirksen.

12:00 NOON. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a business meeting to consider the nominations of Richard Skinner (to be Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security), Brian David Miller (to be Inspector General of the General Services Administration), and Edmund Hawley (to be Assistant Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security). See, notice. Location: undisclosed.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "Introduction To Trademark And Patent Law". The speakers will be Steven Warner (Fitzpatrick Cella Harper & Scinto) and Gary Krugman (Sughrue Mion). The price to attend ranges from $20-$30. For more information, call 202-626-3463. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

1:00 - 2:00 PM. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Visa US will host a news conference titled "Securing Personal Data in Transactions". The participants will include Deborah Majoras (Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission), Steve Ruwe (Visa USA), and Rolf Lundberg (U.S. Chamber of Commerce). Location: Murrow Room, National Press Club, 13th Floor, 529 14th Street, NW.

2:00 PM. Sen. John Ensign (R-NV), Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT), and representatives of the Council on Competitiveness (COC) will hold a news conference to announce the introduction of legislation. The COC states that this bill will implement some of the recommendations in its report [26 pages in PDF] titled "Innovate America". Location: Room 562, Dirksen Building.

4:00 - 5:00 PM. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) will host a webcast event titled "Recognizing Economic Benefit From the R&D Tax Credit Through Innovation, New Products and New Technology". See, notice. For more information, contact Deb Kassoff at 703 907-7655 or dkassoff at ce dot org.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold Auction 60, the auction of five licenses in the Lower 700 MHz band C block (710-716/740-746 MHz). See, FCC's Public Notice [PDF] numbered DA 05-171, and FCC's Public Notice [63 pages in PDF] titled "Notice and Filing Requirements, Minimum Opening Bids, Upfront Payments and Other Auction Procedures" and numbered DA 05-737. See also, notice in the Federal Register, June 1, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 104, at Page 31469.

Extended deadline to submit reply comments to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its FNPRM in its proceeding titled "In the Matter of Developing a Unified Intercarrier Compensation Regime". See, order [2 pages in PDF] extending deadline from June 22 to July 20. See also, notice in the Federal Register, June 15, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 114, at Pages 34724 - 34725. See also, story titled "FCC Adopts FNPRM in Intercarrier Compensation Proceeding" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,076, February 14, 2005. This proceeding is CC Docket No. 01-92.

Extended deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to the Satellite Industry Association's (SIA) petition for reconsideration of the FCC's Second Report and Order and Second Memorandum Opinion and Order in its proceeding titled "Revision of Part 15 of the Commission's Rules Regarding Ultra-Wideband Transmission Systems", ET Docket No. 98-153. See, extension order.

Extended deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding reserve prices or minimum opening bids and other auction procedures for Auction No. 63, the auction of multichannel video distribution and data service licenses. See, notice in the Federal Register, July 11, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 131, at Page 39775.

8:30 AM - 1:00 PM. The Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) will host a conference titled "Public Trust on the Line: Security, Safety and VoIP". The price to attend ranges from $50 to $250. See, notice. Location: National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold an executive business meeting. The SJC frequently cancels meetings without notice. The agenda includes S 1389, the "USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005", S __, the "Personal Data Privacy and Security Act of 2005", S 751, the "Notification of Risk to Personal Data Act", and S 1326, the "Notification of Risk to Personal Data Act". The SJC rarely follows its published agenda. 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.

10:00 AM. The House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing titled "Credit Card Data Processing: How Secure Is It?" Location: Room 2128, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing to receive testimony from Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. See, notice. Location: Room 538, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The House Science Committee will hold a hearing titled "U.S. Competitiveness: The Innovation Challenge". The witnesses will be Nicholas Donofrio (SVP, IBM), John Morgridge (Chairman, Cisco Systems), and William Brody (President, Johns Hopkins University). Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

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.

12:00 NOON. The Cato Institute will host a panel discussion titled "The USA Patriot Act: Renew, Revise, or Repeal?". The speakers will be Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), former Rep. Bob Barr (R-GA), and Tim Lynch (Cato). See, notice and registration page. Location: Room B-369, Rayburn Building.

RESCHEDULED FROM JUNE 9. 12:15 PM - 2:00 PM. The Forum on Technology will host a luncheon panel discussion titled "Basic Research - The Foundation of the Innovation Economy". See, notice. Location: Room 902, Hart Building, Capitol Hill.

2:30 PM. The House Armed Services Committee's (HASC) Subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities and the House Homeland Security Committee's Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Science and Technology Subcommittee will hold a joint hearing on counter terrorism technology sharing. The witnesses will include Tony Tether (Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), Sue Payton (Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Advanced Systems and Concepts), and John Kubricky, Acting Director, Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency). Location: Room 2118, Rayburn Building.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Copyright Office's Copyright Royalty Board regarding its interim regulations governing the organization, administration, and procedures of the Copyright Royalty Board. See, notice in the Federal Register, May 31, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 103, at Pages 30901 - 30916.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host a panel discussion titled "Data Security and Privacy Protection: What is the Public Sector's Role?". The speakers will include Orson Swindle (former Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner), Howard Beales (former Director of the FTC's Consumer Protection Bureau), and Paul Rubin (Emory University). See, notice and registration page. Lunch will be served. Location: Room B-369, Rayburn Building, Capitol Hill.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Public Notice [10 pages in PDF] regarding video news releases (VNRs). This notice is FCC 05-84 in MB Docket No. 05-171.