3/16. President Bush signed HR 32, the "Stop Counterfeiting in Manufactured Goods Act". See, White House release and bill summary.

This bill amends the Criminal Code with respect to trafficking in counterfeit marks, including wrappers, boxes and stickers.

For a summary of the bill, and how it may affect internet based businesses, see story titled "Senate Approves Bill to Criminalize Trafficking in Counterfeit Marks" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,315, February 22, 2006. See also, story titled "House Approves Stop Counterfeiting in Manufactured Goods Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,325, March 8, 2006.

President Bush stated at a bill signing ceremony at the White House that "Counterfeiting costs our country hundreds of billion dollars a year. It has got a lot of harmful effects in our economy. Counterfeiting hurts businesses. They lose the right to profit from their innovation. Counterfeiting hurts workers, because counterfeiting undercuts honest competition, rewards illegal competitors. Counterfeiting hurts our -- counterfeiting hurts consumers, as fake products expose our people to serious health and safety risks. Counterfeiting hurts the government. We lose out on tax revenue. We have to use our resources for law -- of law enforcement to stop counterfeiting. Counterfeiting hurts national security, as terrorist networks use counterfeit sales to sometimes finance their operations." See, transcript.

See also, U.S. Chamber of Commerce release praising the bill.

3/15. Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), and Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) introduced S 2418, the "Local Emergency Radio Service Preservation Act", a bill to restrict competition in radio broadcasting. The bill seeks to protect terrestrial radio broadcasters from competition from satellite broadcasters by imposing a prior restraint on the content on satellite programming. It would prohibit local programming.

On March 1, 2006, Rep. Chip Pickering (R-MS), introduced, HR 998, the "Local Emergency Radio Service Preservation Act of 2005".

Sen. Snowe summarized the content of her bill. "First the bill prohibits the use of satellite terrestrial repeaters to insert local content into specific local markets. Second, this legislation clarifies that future technologies cannot be used to distribute local satellite programming. Lastly, the act requires the Federal Communications Commission, FCC, to conduct a rulemaking on the distribution of region-specific content on a nationwide basis."  See, Congressional Record, March 15, 2006, at Pages S2205-6.

Sen. Snowe stated that this bill "will preserve an important resource needed during times of an emergency -- free, local, over-the-air radio broadcasting", and will ensure that "terrestrial radio service does not suffer from the entry of subscription-based satellite services into local markets".

She said that "The most reliable form of communication today is radio. Oftentimes during natural disasters and other emergencies, many forms of communications become unavailable to the public. Wireless systems can be overloaded with calls. Satellite television service is interrupted by extreme weather conditions. Internet service connections are frequently disconnected. In contrast, over-the-air radio is an ubiquitous form of mass media that is available to nearly every car and household in the nation. The system cannot be overloaded and operates well under extreme weather conditions."

She added that "For many families, satellite radio is not an option. Instead, these people must rely on traditional over-the-air radio for weather, traffic, news and local information."

David Rehr, head of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), praise the bill in a release. He said that "both XM and Sirius -- with nearly $1 billion in combined losses last year and having failed as a national programming service -- are skirting the intent of their original FCC licenses. This bill holds satellite radio accountable to those licenses. With introduction of today's legislation -- coupled with a companion bill in the House -- NAB looks forward to educating lawmakers on the invaluable role played by free, local radio every day in communities all across America."

3/16. Echostar, the American Cable Association (ACA), the Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies (OPASTCO) and others wrote a letter [3 pages in PDF] to Senators and Representatives on March 9, 2006, regarding retransmission consent.

They wrote that "outdated retransmission consent rules are making it difficult for distributors, like us, to provide consumers with high-quality advanced services at reasonable prices. Broadcasters’ escalating retransmission consent demands are resulting in higher costs, fewer choices for consumers, and required carriage of objectionable programming content."

They added that "Retransmission consent is not a marketplace negotiation between willing parties bargaining at arms-length. Exclusivity rules prevent video providers from negotiating with anyone but the local broadcaster for its network content. This lack of marketplace competition allows broadcasters to extract unreasonable fees for their programming, resulting in higher consumer bills.

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and four television networks responded in a letter [5 pages in PDF] of March 16.

The wrote that "Congress properly decided in 1992 that broadcasters should be able to negotiate freely with their cable rivals for fair compensation for cable’s carriage of their signals. In the decade following enactment of this legislation, cable systems were largely protected against the discipline of marketplace negotiations because of their monopolistic power. Now that satellite has emerged to create a MVPD duopoly and other potential competitors are appearing on the horizon, certain elements of the cable and satellite industries seek to be protected from the marketplace by efforts like their March 9 letter. Congress should not tumble to this thinly disguised effort to have the government put its thumb on cable’s side of the scale."

3/15. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein gave a speech [5 pages in PDF] in Washington DC titled "I Want My DTV: Building a National DTV Consumer Education Campaign".

He said that "Few Americans know that last month, President Bush signed legislation setting a hard date to complete the transition on February 17, 2009. The establishment of this hard deadline marked the completion of many years of hard work, negotiations and, ultimately, compromise. ... now that a firm deadline has been signed into law, the need to refine and get the message out has never been more critical."

He said that "As of March 1 of this year, all TVs with screens 25 inches or larger are required to have digital tuners. To advance the transition and improve the quality of consumer choice, the FCC also required manufacturers to install digital tuners in smaller TV sets by this time next year -- March 1, 2007."

But, Adelstein (at left) lamented, "One of the biggest obstacles in carrying out the transition is the fact that consumers continue to purchase analog televisions at bargain bin prices. These consumers revel in purchasing what they deem to be high-end, big screen televisions at discount rates, not understanding that those televisions are soon to be obsolete."

While the recently enacted Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act provides that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) shall administer the digital to analog converter box program, Adelstein stated that since the "FCC's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau has developed in-house expertise in DTV education, there's a strong argument to support the FCC as the principal agency in charge of educating the American public about the transition."

He also argued that the FCC and the NTIA should form "an interagency Federal DTV Task Force to develop a unified federal message and approach to inform consumers about the transition deadline and the options".

3/16. The House Financial Services Committee completed its markup of HR 3997, the "Financial Data Protection Act", which began on March 15, 2006. The HFSC amended and approved the bill. The final vote was 48-17. See, HR 3997 IH [39 pages in PDF], the bill as introduced on October 6, 2005, by Rep. Steven LaTourette (R-OH). The Committee approved by voice vote an amendment in the nature of a substitute [63 pages in PDF] offered by Rep. Michael Castle (R-DE), as amended by five amendments, each of which was also approved by voice vote. The Committee approved an amendment [8 pages in PDF] offered by Rep. LaTourette, an amendment [1 page in PDF] offered by Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX), an amendment [2 pages in PDF] offered by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), an amendment [1 page in PDF] offered by Rep. Joe Baca (D-CA), and an amendment [9 pages in PDF] offered by Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA). The Committee also considered, but did not approve, numerous other offered amendments.

3/16. The Senate Commerce Committee postponed its mark up of S 2389, the "Protecting Consumer Phone Records Act". It had been on the agenda for the meeting of March 16, 2006. The SCC issued a release that states that Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) and Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI) "were concerned that because of a series of stacked votes on the Senate floor, it would be too difficult for Committee Members to fully debate and vote on amendments that a number of Committee Members, both Republicans and Democrats, intended to offer to the phone records bill." The Senate next meets on Monday, March 28.

3/16. The House adjourned until March 28, 2006, without having taken up HR 1606, the "Online Freedom of Speech Act". This bill had been on the House schedule for the week of March 13-17. Also, on March 8, 2006, Rep. Tom Allen (R-ME) and Rep. Charles Bass (R-NH) introduced HR 4900, the "Internet Free Speech Protection Act of 2006". This bill is similar, but not identical, to a proposed bill [PDF] released by the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) on March 2, 2006. See also, CDT summary [PDF] and story titled "CDT Releases Proposed Bill to Limit the FEC's Authority to Regulate Online Speech" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,327, March 10, 2006. And see, CDT's March 15 comparison of HR 1606 and HR 4900. HR 4900 was referred to the House Administration Committee. Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) joined as a cosponsor on March 14.

3/15. Earl Comstock, head of Comptel, praised the House Judiciary Committee's creation of a task force on telecom and antitrust. See, story titled "House Judiciary Committee Creates Task Force on Telecom and Antitrust" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,330, March 16, 2006. Comstock stated in a release that "The growing consolidation of the Bell companies and the FCC's refusal to continue to apply common carrier rules to the transmission networks that make up the Internet pose grave threats to competition and consumers. Absent intervention and proper oversight by Congress, the current policies will result in the re-establishment of a Bell monopoly in business services and, at best, a duopoly in the provision of residential services." He added that "COMPTEL also appreciates the letter that Chairman Sensenbrenner and Ranking Member Conyers sent to the Federal Trade Commission today asking the agency to take a more active role in protecting consumers and competition with respect to broadband Internet access services. Unless competitive safeguards are imposed by either FCC regulation or the application of antitrust laws, the Bell monopolies and cable operators will become the gatekeepers on the Internet ..."

3/16. Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) introduced HR 5008, a bill to authorize the Under Secretary of Technology at the Department of Commerce to award grants to establish up to eight Nanoscience to Commercialization Institutes to develop commercial applications for nanotechnology. The bill was referred to both the House Commerce Committee and the House Science Committee.

3/16. Rep. Melissa Bean (D-IL) introduced HR 4982, a bill to create an Office of Internet Safety and Public Awareness at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The bill was referred to the House Commerce Committee.

3/16. Rep. Chris Shays (R-CT) and six Democrats introduced HR 5000, a bill to amend the provisions of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 pertaining to the creation of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.

3/15. Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL), Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), and seven other Democrats, introduced HR 4966, a bill pertaining to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB), which was created by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, which is now Public Law No. 108-458. This bill requires a line item in the budget for the PCLOB. First, the bill would amend 31 U.S.C. § 1105(a) by adding the following: "(35) a separate statement of the proposed budget authority and budget outlays for the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board." Second, the bill would authorize the appropriation of $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2007 and each subsequent fiscal year for the PCLOB. The bill was referred to the House Budget Committee, House Government Reform Committee, and House Judiciary Committee.

3/15. National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released a report titled "Spectrum Management for the 21st Century: Plan to Implement Recommendations of the President's Spectrum Policy Initiative".

3/16. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) approved the nomination of Robert McDowell to be a member of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by a voice vote. See, SCC release.

3/16. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) approved the nomination of Robert Cresanti to be Undersecretary of Commerce for Technology by a voice vote. See, SCC release.

3/16. The Senate confirmed Jack Zouhary to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio by a vote of 96-0. See, Roll Call No. 75. See also, Congressional Record, March 16, 2006, at Pages S2293-4

3/16. The Senate confirmed Steve Larson to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. See, Congressional Record, March 16, 2006, at Pages S2293-4

3/15. President Bush nominated John Rizzo to be General Counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He is currently Senior Deputy General Counsel at the CIA. See, White House release and release.

3/13. The Senate confirmed Leo Maury Gordon to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of International Trade. See, Congressional Record, March 13, 2006, at Page S2051.

3/13. The Senate confirmed Terrance Flynn to be the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York for the term of four years. See, Congressional Record, March 13, 2006, at Page S2051.

3/13. The Senate confirmed Donald Degarielle to be the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas for the term of four years. See, Congressional Record, March 13, 2006, at Page S2051.

3/13. The Senate confirmed John Charles Richter to be the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma for the term of four years. See, Congressional Record, March 13, 2006, at Page S2051.

3/13. The Senate confirmed Amul Thapar to be the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky for the term of four years. See, Congressional Record, March 13, 2006, at Page S2051.

The House will not meet. It will next meet on Tuesday, March 28. See, Republican Whip Notice.

The Senate will not meet. It will next meet on Monday, March 27 at 1:00 PM.

St. Patrick's Day.

CANCELLED. 9:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold an executive business meeting. 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: Mansfield Room (Room 207), Capitol Building.

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

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in AT&T v. FCC, App. Ct. No. 05-1171. See, brief [51 pages in PDF] of the FCC. Judges Sentelle, Rogers and Griffith will preside. Location: Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

Day four of a four day convention hosted by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) titled titled "CEA Spring Break". See, notice.

2:30 - 4:30 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a panel discussion titled "Scientific Talent and U.S. Economic Leadership". The speakers will be Richard Freeman (Harvard), Steven Davis (AEI), David Weinstein (Columbia), and Kevin Hassett (AEI). Freeman will discuss his paper titled "Does Globalization of the Scientific/Engineering Workforce Threaten U.S. Economic Leadership?". See, notice. For more information, contact Chris Pope at cpope at aei dot org or Veronique Rodman (reporters) at vrodman at aei dot org.  (This event had previously been scheduled for January 13, 2006.) Location: AEI, 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

The House will not meet on Monday, March 20, through Friday, March 24. The Majority Whip's calendar identifies this as a "St. Patrick's Day District Work Period".

Day one of a two day conference hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Federal Information Systems Security Educators' Association (FISSEA) titled "FISSEA Conference: Training for a Cyber-Secure Future". See, notice. Location: Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, 5701 Marinelli Road, North Bethesda, MD.

The Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Laboratory Corp. v. Metabolite Laboratories, Sup. Ct. No. 04-607. See, Supreme Court calendar [PDF], Supreme Court docket, June 8, 2004, opinion [PDF] of the Court of Appeals (FedCir), and story titled "Supreme Court Grants Certiorari in LabCorp v. Metabolite" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,244, November 1, 2005. Arguments begin at 10:00 AM. This case is second on the schedule.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Complx Covad Comm Co v. FCC, App. Ct. No. 05-1095. Judges Ginsburg, Sentelle and Griffith will preside. Location: Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

12:00 NOON. The Cato Institute will host a panel discussion titled "Lobby Reform or Regression". The speakers will be Brad Smith (former Chairman of the Federal Election Commission), Nan Aron (head of the Alliance for Justice), and John Samples (Cato). Lunch will be served. See, notice and registration page. Location: Room B-354, Rayburn Building.

Day two of a two day conference hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Federal Information Systems Security Educators' Association (FISSEA) titled "FISSEA Conference: Training for a Cyber-Secure Future". See, notice. Location: Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, 5701 Marinelli Road, North Bethesda, MD.

Day one of a four day event hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Optical Technology Division titled "Spectroradiometry Short Course". See, notice. Location: 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event titled "FCBA Mentoring Luncheon". The price to attend is $20. See, registration form [PDF]. Location: Arnold & Porter, 10th floor, 555 12th St., NW.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "DTV: The Hard Date is Set -- What’s Next?" The speakers will include Eloise Gore (Assistant Chief of the FCC's Media Bureau's Policy Division), David Donovan (MSTV), John Orlando (CBS), and Peter Tannenwald (counsel to the Community Broadcasters Association). See, registration form [PDF]. The price to attend ranges from $75-$150. Reservations and cancellations are due by 5:00 PM on March 20. Location: Dow Lohnes & Albertson, Suite 800, 1200 New Hampshire Ave., NW.

Day two of a four day event hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Optical Technology Division titled "Spectroradiometry Short Course". See, notice. Location: 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) State and Local Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Network Neutrality". The speakers will be Greg Sidak (Georgetown University Law Center), Randolph May (Progress and Freedom Foundation), and Jason Oxman (CompTel),Jim Kohlenberger (Voice on the Net Coalition), and Harold Feld (Media Access Project). For more information, contact Erick Soriano at 202 939-7921 or esoriano at fw-law dot com. Location: Fleischman and Walsh, Suite 600, 1919 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

Day three of a four day event hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Optical Technology Division titled "Spectroradiometry Short Course". See, notice. Location: 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Bruce Gilmore v. FCC, App. Ct. No. 05-1413. See, brief [PDF] of FCC. Judges Ginsburg, Sentelle and Brown will preside. Location: Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

12:00 NOON. Deadline to submit written comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) regarding the proposed free trade agreement with the Republic of Korea. The USTR seeks comments on, among other topics, "electronic commerce issues" and "trade-related intellectual property rights issues that should be addressed in the negotiations". See, notice in the Federal Register: February 9, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 27, at Pages 6820-6821.

Day four of a four day event hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Optical Technology Division titled "Spectroradiometry Short Course". See, notice. Location: 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.

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