11/9. Representatives and Senators will meet on Thursday, November 10, 2005, at 1:30 PM regarding legislation to amend the USA Patriot Act, and extend sunsetted provisions of the Act.

On July 21, 2005, the House amended and approved HR 3199, the "USA PATRIOT and Terrorism Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2005". This bill permanently extends 14 of the 16 sections of the PATRIOT that are scheduled to sunset at the end this year. It provides for a further 10 year sunset for § 206 (regarding roving wiretaps) and § 215 (regarding access to business records, including library records, under the FISA). The final vote in the House was 257-171. The vote broke down largely along party lines. Republicans voted 214-14, while Democrats votes 43-156. See, Roll Call No. 414. See, story titled "House Approves PATRIOT Act Extension Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,180, July 22, 2005.

The Senate has approved a much different bill. On July 21, the Senate Judiciary Committee amended and approved S 1389, the "USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005". See, story titled "Senators Introduce Bill to Extend Expiring Provisions of PATRIOT Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,175, July 15, 2005. The full Senate approved this bill on July 29, 2005. Technically, the Senate substituted the language of S 1389 for the House approved version of HR 3199. Hence, the number of the bill approved by the Senate is HR 3199.

The Congress enacted the USA PATRIOT Act immediately after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. § 224 of the PATRIOT Act sunsets sixteen sections of Title II of the Act at the end of this year. These sixteen provisions pertain mostly to surveillance, searches, and seizures by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Many of the sections of Title II pertain to wiretapping in traditional telecommunications, surveillance in new internet protocol based services, and accessing stored electronic data.

The meeting will take place in the House Judiciary Committee's main hearing room, Room 2141, of the Rayburn Building.

11/9. Robert Portman, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), and Mike Johanns, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, held a telephonic news conference regarding Doha round talks, and next month's meeting in Hong Kong, China. See, transcript [10 pages in PDF].

Portman (at right) said that "we've not made the progress that we had hoped to make in order to put together a program for the Hong Kong meeting". Portman and Johanns spoke while en route from talks in Geneva, Switzerland, to meetings in Africa.

The two also held a news conference in Geneva. Johanns said there that "I'm optimistic that we can make significant progress in Hong Kong even if it is not as much as Ministers would have liked. ... We may not get as far as we had hoped for in the Hong Kong meeting, but having said that, we can still make good progress, we can lay a pathway to have a successful round completed by the end of 2006." See, transcript.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) will hold its Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong on December 13-18, 2005. See, WTO notice.

Portman said during the airborne news conference that "We've had constructive conversations about the various elements of the WTO-Doha Round. But I am sorry to report that we've not made the progress that we had hoped to make in order to put together a program for the Hong Kong meeting that would enable us to set forth a framework or as the WTO language would be ``modalities´´ in order for us to complete the negotiation more rapidly. So we've made some progress. We have been able to bridge some differences and at least narrow the discussion, but we have not been able to come up with the formulas or modalities to be able to negotiate into 2006."

He continued that I'm hopeful that within the next few weeks we can still make the kind of progress that we'd hope to make by now in order for the Hong Kong meeting to be even more productive. But the Hong Kong meeting is still very much on. The United States is pushing hard for a successful meeting, and again over the next few weeks we're going to be pushing for even more of a consensus in order for us to have a more successful meeting -- and then if we're successful, negotiation throughout 2006."

Portman added that "I will remind those listening that the Hong Kong meeting was never meant to be the end of this process. It was always meant to be a milestone along the way, but an important one. It's a meeting of all the ministers. It's an opportunity to take stock of where we are, but also again we'd hoped it would have been an opportunity to make some tough decisions on at least the framework for discussion going forward. Again I'm not sure we're going to be able to meet those framework aspirations but I do believe it's important to push hard to try to make that happen. In any case, I believe the Hong Kong meeting is extremely important and it ought to be kept on the Doha schedule."

11/3. Anthony Wayne, Assistant Secretary for Economic and Business Affairs at the Department of State, gave a speech in Washington DC titled "Multilateral Cooperation Case Study: IP and the Global Agenda". He discussed plans for further cooperation between the US and Europe on intellectual property law protection.

Wayne (at right) said that cooperation "is truly the only way we can reverse the tide of intellectual property theft that is threatening our economic security and competitiveness".

He said "we hope to share information regarding IP training programs and, to the extent possible, coordinate U.S. and EU IP training opportunities in priority sources of IP infringement -- like China and Russia."

He said that the two plan "to invite the U.S. and EU citizens who own intellectual property themselves to become a more integral part of our cooperative IP enforcement and education efforts."

He said that "we plan to increase cooperation between U.S. and EU Member States’ customs authorities to identify and implement the best possible practices to detect IP infringement and increase seizures of IP infringing goods."

He said that "we want to get our customs authorities trading information on how to better manage risks and use the most effective techniques to meet this global challenge, and we want to tighten up our enforcement coordination on the ground so we can stop pirates and counterfeiters at our borders."

And, he said that "we will make sure the operational work we launch together is successful by ensuring we collect needed statistical data in a way we can both understand."

11/9. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet (TI) held a hearing titled "Staff discussion draft of legislation to create a statutory framework for Internet Protocol and Broadband Services". See, draft of bill [PDF].

See, statement by Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), Chairman of the TI Subcommittee, statement by Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), the ranking Democrat on the full Committee.

See also, prepared testimony [7 pages in PDF] of James Ellis (SBC), prepared testimony [4 pages in PDF] of Tim Krause (Alcatel North America), prepared testimony [13 pages in PDF] of Paul Mitchell (Microsoft TV Division), prepared testimony [17 pages in PDF] of Christopher Putala (EarthLink), prepared testimony [32 pages in PDF] of Wayne Rehberger (XO Communications), prepared testimony [12 pages in PDF] of Edward Salas (Verizon Wireless), prepared testimony [17 pages in PDF] of Michael Willner (Insight Communications), prepared testimony [10 pages in PDF] of James Yager (National Association of Broadcasters), prepared testimony [PDF] of Joel Wiginton (Sony Electronics), prepared testimony [9 pages in PDF] of Frank Bowe (Hofstra University), prepared testimony [12 pages in PDF] of Harry Haasch ( Alliance for Community Media), prepared testimony [9 pages in PDF] of Gene Kimmelman (Consumers Union), prepared testimony [9 pages in PDF] of Tony Clark (North Dakota PSC, on behalf of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners), prepared testimony [14 pages in PDF] of Marilyn Praisner (Montgomery County Council, on behalf of the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors), and prepared testimony [15 pages in PDF] of Delbert Wilson (Industry Telephone Company).

See also, statement by Gary Shapiro (Consumer Electronics Association).

11/9. President Bush nominated Deborah Tate to be a member of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for the remainder of a five year term expiring on June 30, 2007. See, White House release and release.

Tate (at right) is a Director of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority (TRA). She is an attorney from Tennessee who has also worked for former Tennessee Governors Don Sundquist and Lamar Alexander.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) is now a U.S. Senator, and a leading defender of states' right to tax internet commerce. See also, story titled "Sen. Alexander Introduces Bill Regarding Internet Tax Moratorium" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 838, February 17, 2004.

Tate is a member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), and Chairman of its Washington Action Committee

She has also served on the FCC's Federal-State Joint Conference on Advanced Telecommunications Services.

The TRA files comments in FCC proceedings. For example, the TRA recently filed a comment [PDF] in the FCC's proceeding regarding imposing 911/E911 regulation upon interconnected voice over internet protocol (VOIP) service providers. The TRA praised the FCC's May 2005 911 VOIP order, and advocated a regulatory role for states. However, the TRA opposed FCC plans to compel VOIP service providers to shut off service to customers.

The TRA has also opposed federal preemption of state authority to set rates, terms and conditions for Section 271 elements.

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin released a statement [PDF]. "If confirmed, Debi Tate will be an excellent addition to the Commission. She has a distinguished career in state government, and she has worked closely with the Commission in her role as Director of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority. Also, if confirmed, I look forward to continuing to work closely with Commissioner Copps. He has served admirably at the Commission for the past four years, and I respect his insight and thoughtfulness on issues before the Commission. I welcome both Debi and Michael, and I appreciate their continued dedication to public service."

The USTA praised the nomination. See, release. BellSouth's Herschel Abbott state that "it is important to have the FCC at full strength".

Since former Chairman Michael Powell's departure there have been two Democrats and two Republicans on the Commission. As a result, FCC action in many proceedings has been delayed, for want of a majority.

11/9. President Bush nominated Michael Copps to be a member of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a five year term expiring on June 30, 2010. See, White House release and release. Copps is currently an FCC Commissioner.

11/9. President Bush nominated Paul McNulty to be the Deputy Attorney General. Bush previously announced his intent to make this nomination. See, White House release.

Tech Law Journal publishes a free access web site and subscription e-mail alert. The basic rate for a subscription to the TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert is $250 per year. However, there are discounts for subscribers with multiple recipients. Free one month trial subscriptions are available. Also, free subscriptions are available for journalists, federal elected officials, and employees of the Congress, courts, and executive branch. The TLJ web site is free access. However, copies of the TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert are not published in the web site until one month after writing. See, subscription information page.

Contact: 202-364-8882.
P.O. Box 4851, Washington DC, 20008.

Privacy Policy
Notices & Disclaimers
Copyright 1998 - 2005 David Carney, dba Tech Law Journal. All rights reserved.

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

The Senate will meet at 9:30 AM. It will resume consideration of S 1042, the "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006".

9:00 AM - 6:00 PM. Pulver.com will host a one day conference titled "Peripheral Visionaries' IP-Based Communications Summit". See, conference web site. Location: Washington Plaza Hotel.

9:00 AM - 2:00 PM. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will host an event titled "Anti-Counterfeiting and Piracy Summit: STOPing the Fakes". The scheduled speakers include Attorney General Alberto Gonzales (Attorney General), Carlos Gutierrez (Secretary of Commerce), Thomas Donohue (Chamber), Suzanne Clark (Chamber), Edward DeGraan (Gillette Company), Mitch Bainwol (Recording Industry Association of America), David Israelite ( National Music Publishers Association), Robert Holleyman (Business Software Alliance), and Dan Glickman (Motion Picture Association of America). The Chamber states that "Credentialed members of the media are invited to attend." See, notice. For more information, contact Scott Eisner at 202 463-5500 or ncfevents at uschamber dot com. The price to attend ranges from free to $195. Location: Grand Hyatt Hotel, 1000 H St., NW.

9:00 AM. Day two of a two day partially closed meeting of the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Information Systems Technical Advisory Committee. The agenda of the public portion of the meeting includes "1. Microprocessor Roadmap Update. 2. Update on BIS programs and activities. 3. Quantum Computing. 4. First Annual HPC Review. 5. InfiniBand Technology and the EAR. 6. Industry proposal to change 4A3g. 7. Network Performance discussions. 8. China ``catch all´´ August 9, 2005 Regulation." See, notice in the Federal Register, October 25, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 205, at Page 61601. The BIS did not disclose the agenda of the closed portion of the meeting. Location: DOC, Room 3884, 14th Street between Constitution and Pennsylvania Aves., NW.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold an executive business meeting. The SJC frequently cancels of postpones 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.

10:00 AM. The House Financial Services Committee's Oversight and Domestic & International Subcommittees will hold a hearing titled "Oversight of the Export-Import Bank of the United States". Location: Room 2128, Rayburn Building.

10:00 PM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in SightSound Technologies v. Rozio, No. 05-1277. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Department of State's (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet to prepare for meetings of the ITU-D Telecommunication Development Advisory Group (TDAG). See, notice in the Federal Register, October 26, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 206, at Page 61876. Location: DOS, Harry Truman Building, Room 2533A.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "Managing Your Information Technology Needs". The speakers will include Marc Mayerson (Spriggs & Hollingsworth) and Conrad Jacoby (Potomac Consulting Group). The price to attend ranges from $15-$25. For more information, call 202 626-3463. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

12:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Professional Responsibility Committee will host a brown bag lunch to consider a recommendation to the FCBA Executive Committee. RSVP to Tina Screven at escreven at wbklaw dot com. Location: Wilkinson Barker Knauer, 2400 N Street, NW, 7th Floor.

1:30 PM. House and Senate conferees will meet regarding legislation to amend the USA Patriot Act and extend sunsetted provisions of the Act. Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202 225-2492. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

1:30 PM. Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-OH), Rep. David Dreier (R-CA), Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), Rep. Peter King (R-NY), and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and others will hold a news conference promote DTV transition legislation. For more information, contact Betsy Andres at 202 226-9000. Location: Rayburn horseshoe, South Capitol Street.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "Practical Tips for Appellate Litigation and FCC Advocacy". Location: Wiley Rein & Fielding, 1776 K Street, NW.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding closed captioning rules for video programming. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 26, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 185, at Pages 56150-56157. This NPRM is FCC 05-142 in CG Docket No. 05-231.

Veterans' Day.

There will be no issue of the TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert.

The House may meet. See, Republican Whip Notice.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and other federal offices will be closed for Veterans' Day. See, Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) list of federal holidays.

9:00 AM - 5:30 PM. Day one of a four day closed meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 25, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 205, at Page 61606. Location: NIST, Administration Building, Room A1038, Gaithersburg, MD.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Virgin Islands Telephone Corporation v. FCC, No. 04-1352. Judges Sentelle, Randolph and Rogers will preside. Location: Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

12:00 NOON. Peter Swire (Ohio State University law school) will deliver a paper titled "Security Market: Competitive and Security Incentives for Disclosure of Data". This event is a part of the George Washington University Law School's (GWULS) intellectual property workshop series. RSVP by Tuesday, November 8, to Rosalie Kouassi at rkouassi at law dot gwu dot edu. Location: GWULS, Faculty Conference Center, 5th Floor Burns, 716 20th St., NW.

Effective date of the order portion of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) that provides that facilities based broadband service providers and interconnected VOIP providers are subject to requirements under the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). See, notice in the Federal Register, October 13, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 197, at Pages 59664 - 59675. The FCC adopted, but did not release, this item at its August 5, 2005, meeting. See, story titled "FCC Amends CALEA Statute" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,191, August 9, 2005. The FCC released the text [59 pages in PDF] of this item on September 23, 2005. It is FCC 05-153 in ET Docket No. 04-295 and RM-10865.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) portion of the Order and FNPRM that provides that facilities based broadband service providers and interconnected VOIP providers are subject to requirements under the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). See, public notice [2 pages in PDF] and notice in the Federal Register, October 13, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 197, at Pages 59704 - 59710. The FCC adopted, but did not release, this item at its August 5, 2005, meeting. See, story titled "FCC Amends CALEA Statute" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,191, August 9, 2005. The FCC released the text [59 pages in PDF] of this item on September 23, 2005. It is FCC 05-153 in ET Docket No. 04-295 and RM-10865.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding amending the FCC's amateur radio service rules to eliminate the requirement that individuals pass a telegraphy examination in order to qualify for any amateur radio operator license. This NPRM is FCC 05-143 in WT Docket No. 05-235. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 31, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 168, at Pages 51705 - 51707.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding eliminating Part 23 of the FCC's rules governing International Fixed Public Radiocommunication Services (IFPRS), and instead regulate IFPRS pursuant to Part 101. This NPRM is FCC 05-130 in IB Docket No. 05-216. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 28, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 187, at Pages 56620 - 56621.

9:00 AM - 5:30 PM. Day two of a four day closed meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 25, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 205, at Page 61606. Location: NIST, Administration Building, Room A1038, Gaithersburg, MD.

10:00 AM. The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing on the nomination of Ben Bernanke to be Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. See, notice. Location: Room 106, Dirksen Building.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Cable Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Regulatory Issues & Developments". The speaker will be the FCC's Catherine Bohigian. For more information, contact Quyen Truong at ttruong at dowlohnes dot com or 202 776-2058. Location: Dow Lohnes & Albertson, 1200 New Hampshire Ave., NW, Suite 800.

2:00 PM. The House Financial Services Committee's Domestic & International Subcommittee will hold a hearing titled "Increasing Efficiency and Economic Growth Through Trade in Financial Services". Location: Room 2128, Rayburn Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold a hearing on judicial nominations. The SJC frequently cancels or postpones meetings 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.

4:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property will hold a hearing titled "Federal Jurisdiction Clarification Act". The hearing will be webcast by the HJC. Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202 225-2492. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "Privacy in Today’s Workplace". The speakers will be Charles Henter (Henter Law Group), Lawrence Greenberg (The Motley Fool, Inc.), and Gerard Stegmaier (Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati). 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 to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) proposals for issues and speakers for its forum on the draft Substantive Patent Law Treaty (SPLT). See, WIPO notice.

Effective date of the Copyright Office (CO) interim regulations promulgated pursuant to the Artists' Rights and Theft Prevention Act of 2005 (ART Act) governing the preregistration of unpublished works that are being prepared for commercial distribution in classes of works that the Register of Copyrights has determined have had a history of pre-release infringement. Also, the CO's online preregistration system will commence operation on November 15. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 27, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 207, at Pages 61905 - 61908.

9:00 AM - 5:30 PM. Day three of a four day closed meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 25, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 205, at Page 61606. Location: NIST, Administration Building, Room A1038, Gaithersburg, MD.

12:30 - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "Regulatory and Economic Implications of Delivery of Video Via IP Technology: Burdens, Barriers, and Costs of Doing Business". The speakers will include Brent Olson (SBC Services), Michael Schooler (National Cable & Telecommunications Association), David Young (Verizon), and Ryan Wallach (Willkie Farr & Gallagher). The price to attend ranges from $15-$30. For more information, call 202 626-3463. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

9:00 AM - 1:30 PM. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will host an event titled "Erosion of the Attorney-Client Privilege: What Does the Future Hold?". See, notice. Location: __.

2:00 - 3:00 PM. The Department of State's (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet to prepare for meetings of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development/Committee for Information, Computer and Communications Policy (OECD/ICCP) Working Parties ITU-D Telecommunication Development Advisory Group (TDAG). See, notice in the Federal Register, October 26, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 206, at Page 61876. Location: DOS, Harry Truman Building, Room 2533A.

2:30 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee's (SJC) Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts may hold a hearing on creation of new federal judgeships. The SJC frequently cancels or postpones meetings 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.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "Negotiating Telecommunications Service Agreements for Enterprise Clients". Location: __.

Effective date of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) rules adopted in its Report and Order (R&O) and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) of August 5, 2005. The R&O classified wireline broadband internet access services as information services. The NPRM proposes to impose new regulatory burdens on information services. This item is FCC 05-150 in WC Docket No. 05-271, CC Docket No. 02-33, CC Docket No. 01-337, CC Docket Nos. 95-20 and 98-10, and WC Docket No. 04-242. See, story titled "FCC Classifies DSL as Information Service" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,190, August 8, 2005. The FCC released the text [133 pages in PDF] of this item on September 23, 2005. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 17, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 199, at Pages 60222 - 60234.

Deadline to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) regarding significant barriers to U.S. exports of goods, services and overseas direct investment, to assist the USTR in preparing the annual National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE). See, notice in the Federal Register, September 20, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 181, at Pages 55204 - 55205.

9:00 AM - 3:00 PM. Day four of a four day closed meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 25, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 205, at Page 61606. Location: NIST, Administration Building, Room A1038, Gaithersburg, MD.

9:30 AM. The Antitrust Modernization Commission (AMC) will meet. The topic will be "Merger Enforcement". The morning panel will be from 9:30 to 11:30 AM. The afternoon panel will be from 12:45 to 2:45 PM. See, AMC notice and notice in the Federal Register, October 21, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 203, at Page 61247. Location: Federal Trade Commission, Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The House Science Committee will hold a hearing titled "Environmental and Safety Impacts of Nanotechnology: What Research is Needed?" The witnesses will be Clayton Teague (National Nanotechnology Coordination Office), Richard Denison (Environmental Defense), Krishna Doraiswamy (DuPont Central Research and Development), Matthew Nordan (Lux Research Inc.), and David Rejeski (Smithsonian Institution). Press contact: Joe Pouliot, Deputy Communications Director, at Joe dot Pouliot at mail dot house dot gov or 202 225-6371. For more information, contact Marty Spitzer (Republican staff) at 202 225-7858, or Jim Wilson or Christal Sheppard (Democratic staff) at 202 225-6375. 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 meetings of the ITU-D Telecommunication Development Advisory Group (TDAG). See, notice in the Federal Register, October 26, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 206, at Page 61876. Location: DOS, Harry Truman Building, Room 2533A.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "Remedies In Trademark Infringement And Unfair Competition Cases". The speakers will include John Dabney (McDermott Will & Emery) and Anita Polott (Morgan Lewis). The price to attend ranges from $20-$40. For more information, call 202 626-3488. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

? 2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a business meeting. Press contact: Melanie Alvord (Stevens) at 202 224-8456, Aaron Saunders (Stevens) at 202 224-3991, or Andy Davis (Inouye) at 202 224-4546. Location: __?

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Consumer Advisory Committee will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 26, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 206, at Page 61823. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host a panel discussion titled "Gutenberg meets Google: The Debate About Google Print". See, notice and registration page. Location: Room B-369, Rayburn Building, Capitol Hill.