1/31. President Bush gave a speech titled "State of the Union Address" at a joint session of the Congress. He announced and described in broad strokes an innovation, research and education initiative titled "American Competitiveness Initiative".

He also advocated extension of the expiring provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act. He also defended the National Security Agency's (NSA) extrajudicial surveillance of communications where one party is in the U.S. and one party is outside. He described this as a "terrorist surveillance program".

American Competitiveness Initiative. Bush said that "to keep America competitive, one commitment is necessary above all: We must continue to lead the world in human talent and creativity. Our greatest advantage in the world has always been our educated, hardworking, ambitious people -- and we're going to keep that edge. Tonight I announce an American Competitiveness Initiative, to encourage innovation throughout our economy, and to give our nation's children a firm grounding in math and science."

He discussed three components of this initiative.

"First, I propose to double the federal commitment to the most critical basic research programs in the physical sciences over the next 10 years. This funding will support the work of America's most creative minds as they explore promising areas such as nanotechnology, supercomputing, and alternative energy sources."

"Second, I propose to make permanent the research and development tax credit to encourage bolder private-sector initiatives in technology. With more research in both the public and private sectors, we will improve our quality of life -- and ensure that America will lead the world in opportunity and innovation for decades to come."

The Congress has long been enacting legislation that temporarily extends the R&D tax credit, but which does not make it permanent. There are bills in every Congress to permanently extend this tax credit.

"Third", said Bush, "we need to encourage children to take more math and science, and to make sure those courses are rigorous enough to compete with other nations."

"Tonight I propose to train 70,000 high school teachers to lead advanced-placement courses in math and science, bring 30,000 math and science professionals to teach in classrooms, and give early help to students who struggle with math, so they have a better chance at good, high-wage jobs. If we ensure that America's children succeed in life, they will ensure that America succeeds in the world."

Free Trade and Immigration. Bush said that "The American economy is preeminent, but we cannot afford to be complacent. In a dynamic world economy, we are seeing new competitors, like China and India, and this creates uncertainty, which makes it easier to feed people's fears. So we're seeing some old temptations return. Protectionists want to escape competition, pretending that we can keep our high standard of living while walling off our economy. Others say that the government needs to take a larger role in directing the economy, centralizing more power in Washington and increasing taxes."

He also said that "We hear claims that immigrants are somehow bad for the economy -- even though this economy could not function without them. All these are forms of economic retreat, and they lead in the same direction -- toward a stagnant and second-rate economy."

Health Care and IT. Bush said that "We will make wider use of electronic records and other health information technology, to help control costs and reduce dangerous medical errors."

President Bush has discussed this subject in more detail in prior speeches.

For example, on January 27, 2005, he gave a speech in Cleveland, Ohio, in which he addressed information technology in health care. The White House Press Office also released a memorandum titled "Improving Care and Saving Lives Through Health IT". See, story titled "Bush Promotes Electronic Medical Records" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,065, January 28, 2005.

On April 27, 2004, he gave a speech in Baltimore, Maryland in which he advocated the use of electronic records in the health care industry. He also issued an executive order regarding "the development and nationwide implementation of an interoperable health information technology infrastructure". See, stories titled "President Bush Advocates Conversion to Electronic Medical Records" and "Bush Addresses Privacy of Electronic Medical Records" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 886, April 28, 2004.

Electronic Surveillance. President also asked the Congress "to reauthorize the Patriot Act." And, he defended electronic surveillance by the NSA.

He said that "It is said that prior to the attacks of September the 11th, our government failed to connect the dots of the conspiracy. We now know that two of the hijackers in the United States placed telephone calls to al Qaeda operatives overseas. But we did not know about their plans until it was too late. So to prevent another attack -- based on authority given to me by the Constitution and by statute -- I have authorized a terrorist surveillance program to aggressively pursue the international communications of suspected al Qaeda operatives and affiliates to and from America."

He continued that "Previous Presidents have used the same constitutional authority I have, and federal courts have approved the use of that authority. Appropriate members of Congress have been kept informed. The terrorist surveillance program has helped prevent terrorist attacks. It remains essential to the security of America. If there are people inside our country who are talking with al Qaeda, we want to know about it, because we will not sit back and wait to be hit again."

President Bush also discussed the war in Iraq and the war against terrorism at length. His central theme was defense of freedom. He used the word freedom 17 times, and the word liberty 4 times. However, he did not focus, in this speech, on economic freedoms.

He concluded with this. "Before history is written down in books, it is written in courage. Like Americans before us, we will show that courage and we will finish well. We will lead freedom's advance. We will compete and excel in the global economy. We will renew the defining moral commitments of this land. And so we move forward -- optimistic about our country, faithful to its cause, and confident of the victories to come. May God bless America."

Industry Reaction. Robert Holleyman, head of the Business Software Alliance (BSA), stated in a release that "If America is to continue leading the world in high-tech innovation, there's no doubt that we need a renewed focus on staying competitive ... That means opening new markets, promoting cutting-edge research, and making sure our children are educated to be the innovators of tomorrow. I was glad to see the President's focus on competitiveness and I hope Congress will embrace this challenge in the year ahead."

Bruce Josten, of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, stated in a release that "America needs to invest in its future by providing greater opportunities for math and science education ... The bottom line is that in today’s competitive economy, we need to ensure that all students have a strong academic foundation in order to meet the needs of our workforce. If we want to continue to compete globally, our education and workforce skills must meet those being demanded by employers today and in the future."

Gary Shapiro, head of the Consumer Electronics Association, stated in a release that "The U.S. has long been the global leader in innovation, helping make our technology sector the envy of the world.  But nations around the globe are quickly catching up. We strongly agree with President Bush that our nation must recommit to making critical investments in research and development as well as in math and science education to continue our leadership position. Technology has helped drive our nation’s economic growth over the past two decades. We must make the necessary investments to maintain our economic strength." Shapiro also praised Bush's comments regarding health care and IT and immigration.

Robert Laurence, head of the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), stated in a release that "We believe healthcare is a wide open field for major improvement ... and we are convinced that information technology can contribute enormously to lower cost, higher quality healthcare delivery."

William Archey, head of the American Electronics Association (AeA), stated in a release that "Competitiveness is one of the greatest concerns of high-tech executives ... The issue of U.S. competitiveness demands bipartisan attention and action. We are encouraged that the Bush Administration intends to address the need for stronger commitments to math and science education and R&D investments in the physical sciences. The President's initiatives build a foundation for growth and technology development for the long-term."

1/31. The Senate confirmed Sam Alito to be a Justice of the Supreme Court by a vote of 58-42. See, Roll Call No. 2. He replaces Justice Sandra O'Connor. See, statement by President Bush.

1/31. The Senate confirmed Ben Bernanke to be Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board (FRB). He replaces Alan Greenspan. See, statement by President Bush.

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The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. It may consider HR 4659, a bill to extend the expiring provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act until March 10, 2006. See, Republican Whip Notice.

The Senate will meet at 9:15 AM. It will begin consideration of of HR 4297, the tax reconciliation bill.

12:30 - 2:00 PM. The Congressional Human Rights Caucus (CHRC) will host an event titled "Human Rights and the Internet -- The People's Republic of China". The CHRC's notice states that representatives of Cisco, Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo have been invited to speak. For more information, contact Daria Nashat (Rep. Lantos) at 225-3531 or Evan Baehr (Rep. Wolf) at 225-5136. Location: Room 2255, Rayburn Building.

2:00 PM. The House Commerce Committee will hold a hearing titled "Phone Records For Sale:  Why Aren't Phone Records Safe From Pretexting?". See, notice. The witnesses will be Kevin Martin (Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission), Jon Leibowitz (Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission), Steve Largent (CTIA), Edward Merlis (USTA), Marc Rotenberg (Electronic Privacy Information Center), Robert Douglas (PrivacyToday.com), and Lisa Madigan (Attorney General of Illinois). Press contact: Larry Neal (Barton) at 202 225-5735 or Terry Lane (Barton) at 202 225-5735. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The Department of State's International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will hold the fourth in a series of weekly meetings to prepare for the International Telecommunications Union's (ITU) 2006 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference, to be held November 6-24, 2006, in Antalya, Turkey. See, notice in the Federal Register, December 21, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 244, at Page 75854. This notice incorrectly states that these meetings will be held on Tuesdays; they are on Wednesdays. For more information, contact Julian Minard at 202 647-2593 or minardje at state dot gov. Location: AT&T, 1120 20th St., NW.

Ben Bernanke begins his term as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board (FRB).

Deadline for the National Cable & Telecommunications Association's (NCTA) and Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) to file their third round of status reports with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding progress in talks regarding the feasibility of a downloadable security solution for integrating navigation and security functionalities in cable set top boxes. See, FCC's Second Report and Order [37 pages in PDF] adopted and released on March 18, 2005. This order is FCC 05-76 in CS Docket No. 97-80. See also, FCC release [PDF] summarizing this order, and story titled "FCC Again Delays Deadline for Integrating Navigation and Security Functionalities in Cable Set Top Boxes" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,099, March 21, 2005. See also, notice of extensions (DA 05-1930) [2 pages in PDF].

The House may meet. See, Republican Whip Notice.

CANCELLED. 9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee may hold an executive business meeting. See, notice. The SJC frequently cancels or postpones meetings without notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "State Sales Tax and Congress: An Update on the SST and Corresponding Federal Legislation". The topics will include the 1992 opinion of the Supreme Court in Quill v. North Dakota, which is reported at 504 U.S. 298, and Senate bills S 2152, the "Sales Tax Fairness and Simplification Act", and S 2153, the "Streamlined Sales Tax Simplification Act ". The speakers will include Neal Osten (National Conference of State Legislatures), Maureen Riehl (National Retail Federation), and Leonard Bickwit (Miller & Chevalier). The price to attend ranges from $15-$27. For more information, call 202 626-3463. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

TIME CHANGE. 10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold a hearing on the nomination of Paul McNulty to be the Deputy Attorney General. See, notice. The SJC frequently cancels or postpones hearing without notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

3:00 - 4:30 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a panel discussion titled "Knowledge and the Growth Process: The Case of India". The speakers will be Sam Pitroda (National Knowledge Commission), John Calfee (AEI), Tarun Das (Confederation of Indian Industry), Victoria Espinel (Office of the USTR), and James Glassman (AEI). See, notice. Location: 12th, 1150 17th St., NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Copyright Office in response to its notice of inquiry (NOI) regarding exempting certain classes of works from the prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. See, 17 U.S.C. § 1201(a), and notice in the Federal Register, October 3, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 190, at Pages 57526 - 57531.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [24 pages in PDF] regarding amendments to its unsolicited facsimile advertising rules and the established business relationship (EBR) exception to the rules. This NPRM was adopted by the FCC on December 9, 2005, and released on December 9, 2005. It is FCC 05-206 in CG Docket No. 02-278. See, notice in the Federal Register, December 19, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 242, at Pages 75102 - 75110.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to a petition for declaratory ruling [34 pages in PDF] filed by the Fax Ban Coalition that asks the FCC to find that the FCC has exclusive authority to regulate interstate commercial fax messages, and that § 17538.43 of the California Business and Professions Code, and all other State laws that purport to regulate interstate facsimile transmissions, are preempted by the TCPA, which is codified at 47 U.S.C. § 541.

The House will meet at 2:00 PM in pro forma session. See, Republican Whip Notice.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Mobile Relay Association v. FCC, No. 04-1413. Judges Sentelle, Henderson and Tatel will preside. This is a case regarding the FCC reorganization of the 800 MHz band. See, FCC brief [PDF]. Location: Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

Super Bowl Sunday.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing titled "Wartime Executive Power and the NSA’s Surveillance Authority". The witnesses will include Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Press contact: Blain Rethmeier (Specter) at 202 224-5225. Location: Room 216, Hart Building.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Paradise Cable v. FCC, No. 05-1040. Judges Ginsburg, Henderson and Randolph will preside. Location: Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "Net Neutrality". See, notice. Press contact: Melanie Alvord (Stevens) at 202 224-8456, Aaron Saunders (Stevens) at 202 224-3991, or Andy Davis (Inouye) at 202 224-4546. The hearing will be webcast by the SCC. Location: Room 562, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Arendi USA v. Microsoft, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (DRI) in patent infringement case involving smart tags in Microsoft's Office XP. This is App. Ct. No. 05-1170. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

1:00 PM. The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing titled "President's Fiscal Year 2007 Budget with U.S. Department of the Treasury Secretary John Snow". See, notice. Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit applications to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for Public Telecommunications Facilities Program (PTFP) grants for fiscal year 2006. See, NTIA notice and notice in the Federal Register, December 13, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 238, at Pages 73737 - 73738.

8:15 AM - 4:30 PM. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) will host an event titled "2006 Internet Caucus State of the Net Conference". See, notice. For more information, contact Danielle Yates at dyates at netcaucus dot org or 202 638-4370. Location: Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill, 400 New Jersey Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in All Computers, Inc. v. Intel, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (EDVa). This is App. Ct. No. 05-1271. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 - 11:30 AM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a panel discussion titled "The Tenth Anniversary of the Telecommunications Act of 1996: A Tough Act to Follow?". The speakers will be Kevin Martin (FCC Chairman), former Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-SC), former Sen. Larry Pressler (R-SD), former Rep. Tom Bliley (R-VA), and Harold Furchtgott-Roth (former FCC Commissioner). See, notice. Location: 12th, 1150 17th St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "State Sales Tax and Congress: An Update on the SST and Corresponding Federal Legislation". The topics will include the 1992 opinion of the Supreme Court in Quill v. North Dakota, which is reported at 504 U.S. 298, and Senate bills S 2152, the "Sales Tax Fairness and Simplification Act", and S 2153, the "Streamlined Sales Tax Simplification Act ". The speakers will include Neal Osten (National Conference of State Legislatures), Maureen Riehl (National Retail Federation), and Leonard Bickwit (Miller & Chevalier). The price to attend ranges from $15-$27. For more information, call 202 626-3463. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The Department of State's International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will hold the fifth in a series of weekly meetings to prepare for the International Telecommunications Union's (ITU) 2006 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference, to be held November 6-24, 2006, in Antalya, Turkey. See, notice in the Federal Register, December 21, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 244, at Page 75854. This notice incorrectly states that these meetings will be held on Tuesdays; they are on Wednesdays. For more information, contact Julian Minard at 202 647-2593 or minardje at state dot gov. Location: AT&T, 1120 20th St., NW.

2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing on protecting consumer phone records. Sen. George Allen (R-VA) will preside. See, notice. Press contact: Melanie Alvord (Stevens) at 202 224-8456, Aaron Saunders (Stevens) at 202 224-3991, or Andy Davis (Inouye) at 202 224-4546. The hearing will be webcast by the SCC. Location: Room 562, Dirksen Building.

5:00 - 7:00 PM. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) will host its "Ninth Annual Reception and Technology Fair". See, notice. Location: __.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "The New Telecom Bills -- The Return of the Tax Certificate? & The Future of FCC Designated Entity (DE) Credits". The speakers will be Carolyn Williams (Director of the FCC's Office of Communications Business Opportunities), Dirck Hargraves (Issue Dynamics), David Honig (Minority Media and Telecommunications Council), Jeneba Ghatt (The Ghatt Law Group), Jenell Trigg (Leventhal Senter & Lerman), and Andrew Barrett (The Barrett Group). See, notice [MS Word] and registration form [MS Word]. The price to attend ranges from $50-$175. Location: Hogan & Hartson.

Deadline to submit to the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) petitions to participate in three proceedings to determine reasonable rates and terms of royalty payments. See, notice in the Federal Register (January 9, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 5, at Pages 1453 - 1454) regarding the commencement of a proceeding to determine the reasonable rates and terms for use of certain works in connection with noncommercial broadcasting; notice (January 9, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 5, at Pages 1454 - 1455) in the Federal Register regarding the commencement of a proceeding to determine the reasonable rates and terms for making and distributing phonorecords; and, notice (January 9, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 5, at Page 1455) in the Federal Register regarding the commencement of a proceeding to determine the reasonable rates and terms for preexisting subscription and satellite digital audio radio services. See also, story titled "Copyright Royalty Board Commences Proceedings" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,285, January 9, 2006.

Deadline for the parties in U.S. v. Microsoft, D.C. No. 98-1232 (CKK), to file their next Joint Status Report with the U.S. District Court.