4/18. President Bush nominated Susan Schwab to be the United States Trade Representative. She has been a Deputy USTR since November of 2005. See, White House release and transcript of White House event.

She was previously P/CEO of the University of Maryland Foundation, Inc. and USM Vice Chancellor for Advancement. She has also been Dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Policy.

Earlier in her career, she worked as a trade negotiator at the Department of Commerce, and for former Sen. John Danforth (R-MO). She is the author of the 1994 book titled Trade Offs: Negotiating the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act [Amazon]. She has also worked for Motorola.

Bush said that "Trade is one of the most powerful engines of growth and job creation. America accounts for about 5 percent of the world's population, and that means that 95 percent of our potential customers live overseas. So my administration has taken an aggressive agenda to break down barriers to American exports across the world. When I took office, we had three free trade agreements. Now, we have free trade agreements with 11 countries, and 18 more are pending. Susan will work hard to conclude these agreements and ensure that American goods, services and crops are treated fairly in overseas markets."

Schwab (at left) also spoke at the White House event. She said that "to maintain American global prosperity, we must pursue a sensible, market-oriented trade policy that provides greater market access and enforces our laws and agreements." See, transcript.

She added that the Doha Development Round negotiations are "a once in a generation opportunity to generate global economic growth and to lift millions out of poverty. And it will continue to be a top priority for this Administration."

She also addressed bilateral and regional trade agreements. She said that the "USTR has an equally ambitious bilateral and regional agenda -- including ongoing negotiations with 14 countries to dramatically reduce trade barriers, to set important precedents for future trade negotiations, and to grow a critical mass of countries that recognize the immense benefits that come with more open international commerce. Here, again, holding our trading partners accountable through enforcement of existing trade laws and agreements will continue to be a critical component of our trade agenda."

If confirmed by the Senate, she will replace Rob Portman, whom President Bush nominated to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

The shift of Portman from trade to budget responsibilities may reflect a determination by President Bush that he no longer places as much priority on trade issues as he previously did. Portman was, until a year ago, a respected and influential member of Congress. Schwab worked as a Congressional staff assistant long ago.

The switch may also impact Doha negotiations. Peter Mandelson, the EU Commissioner for Trade, stated in a release that "I have very much enjoyed working with Rob Portman and I shall be sorry to see him go from this post. I look forward to working with his successor, Susan Schwab, whom I know well. We will of course manage without him, but at this stage in the Round, it would have been easier to manage with him."

4/18. President Bush gave a speech regarding the collection of policy proposals that he has named the "American Competitiveness Initiative", or ACI, at a public school in the Maryland suburbs of Washington DC. He advocated increased federal spending on research, making the research and development tax credit permanent, promoting math and science education, and free trade. He said that his proposals will "make sure that we're still the technological capital of the world".

He first announced this initiative in his speech titled "State of the Union Address" on January 31, 2006. See, story titled "Bush Announces American Competitiveness Agenda" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,301, February 1, 2006. President Bush also discussed his ACI in a speech on February 13, 2006. See, story titled "Bush Awards National Medals of Technology and Science" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,312, February 17, 2006.

Bush said, "Here's the question that faces the country: Will we become a nation that is isolationist and fearful of competition from around the world, or will be we be -- continue to be a bold and innovative country?"

"And we can either look at China and say, let's compete with China in a fair way, or say, we can't compete with China and therefore kind of isolate ourselves from the world", said Bush.

He said that "we must increase federal support for vital basic research." He continued that "investment at the federal level in research has led to practical applications which improve the lives of our citizens. And so I proposed to the Congress that we double the federal commitment to the most critical basic research programs in physical sciences over the next 10 years. One way to make sure this country is the economic leader of the world so that our people benefit and can find work is for there to be a federal commitment to research.

Next, he said that "most research and development takes place in the private sector." Hence, "One way to encourage people to invest corporate funds is through the research and development tax credit."

Finally, he addressed education. He stated that "we have got to continue our focus in education on high standards, accountability, and a new focus -- an intense focus on math and science". He also advocated more math teachers, and the grading of schools' performances.

Also, he announced that he has signed an executive order creating a National Mathematics Advisory Panel.

4/18. President Bush issued an executive order that creates a "National Mathematics Advisory Panel" within the Department of Education.

The order also states a "policy", in broad terms: "To help keep America competitive, support American talent and creativity, encourage innovation throughout the American economy, and help State, local, territorial, and tribal governments give the Nation's children and youth the education they need to succeed, it shall be the policy of the United States to foster greater knowledge of and improved performance in mathematics among American students."

The responsibility of the panel is to write reports. While the order references "children" and "students", it does not expressly state that it is limited to secondary education. The order does not define the term mathematics. However, the order refers to "mathematics, geometry, algebra, and calculus". It does not refer to other mathematics fields, such as trigonometry, accounting, or programming. Nor does it refer to sciences that apply mathematics.

President Bush stated in a speech in Maryland on April 18, 2006 that "It is a part of our strategy to make sure that we achieve the objective of laying that foundation for our children in math and science. By January 31st, 2007, the National Math Panel will report their assessments of the best practices for teaching math. Those experts will come together and help advise school districts about what is working and what's not working; what skills students need at what grade to master algebra and higher mathematics.

Bush added, "In other words, starting to set those -- help set realistic standards. The standards and accountability that will be needed to ensure students are learning math -- that will be a part of their mandate. They will look at the teaching methods that are most effective for students of different abilities and backgrounds. They will look at the programs and learning materials that work best."

4/18. The U.S. Court of Appeals (4thCir) issued its opinion [19 pages in PDF] in Kloth v. Microsoft, multidistrict class action antitrust litigation that followed the Department of Justice's judgment against Microsoft.

The named plaintiffs are purchasers of Microsoft software. The District Court dismissed the claims of 26 plaintiffs who did not buy software directly from Microsoft. Instead, they were indirect purchasers. These plaintiffs appealed. The Court of Appeals affirmed.

The Court of Appeals, like the District Court, held that these 26 purchasers are barred from seeking recovery for illegal pass through overcharges under the principles of Illinois Brick Co. v. Illinois, 431 U.S. 720 (1977). Both Courts also held that these 26 plaintiffs lack standing because they failed to demonstrate that they have sustained direct antitrust type injury as required by § 4 of the Clayton Act and Associated General Contractors v. California State Council of Carpenters, 459 U.S. 519 (1983).

This case is Linda Kloth, et al. v. Microsoft, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, App. Ct. No. 04-2566, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, D.C. Nos. CA-00-1332-MDL and CA-00-2117-JFM, Judge Frederick Motz presiding. Judge Niemeyer wrote the opinion of the Court of Appeals, in which Judges Widener and Gregory joined.

4/19. President Bush named Joel Kaplan to be Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy. He was previously Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget See, White House release.

4/19. Scott McClellan announced that he will resign his position as White House Press Secretary. See, transcript of news conference.

4/18. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a release [3 pages in PDF] titled "Proactive Trade Agenda Delivers Results: USTR Accomplishments in Last 12 Months".

4/18. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a release regarding its testing of e-Passports and e-Passport readers. The DHS stated that "The test, which was conducted between January 15, 2006, and April 15, 2006, evaluated the operational impact of reading and verifying information embedded in the e-Passports on the border inspection process. This test was a collaborative effort between the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. A total of 1,938 e-Passports were successfully processed during the test in San Francisco.  A similar test was conducted in 2005 at Los Angeles International Airport."

4/17. Microsoft and Lenovo Group (formerly the IBM Personal Computing Division) entered into an agreement that provides that Lenovo will pre-install licensed Microsoft operating system software on all of its product lines for sale in the China market. Bill Gates stated that "Microsoft commends Lenovo for recognizing the importance of intellectual property rights and the value of genuine software." See, Microsoft release.

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The House will not meet on Monday, April 10, through Friday, April 21. See, Republican Whip Notice and Whip's calendar.

The Senate will not meet on Monday, April 10, through Friday, April 21. See, 2006 Senate calendar.

10:00 - 11:00 AM. The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) will host an event at which it will release a paper titled "Intellectual Property for the Technological Age". The author is Richard Epstein (University of Chicago). Epstein, Jerry Jasinowski (NAM) and Michael Ryan (George Washington University Law School) will speak. Coffee and donuts will be served. RSVP to Laura Narvaiz lnarvaiz at nam dot org or Bill Canis at bcanis at nam dot org. Location: NAM, 1331 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Suite 600 (Enter on F Street between 13th and 14th Streets, NW).

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The DC Bar Association's Intellectual Property Law Section will host a panel discussion titled "Can I Use It?: Fair Use (Part I) -- ``Traditional´´ Notions of Fair Use of Copyrighted Works". The speakers will include Christine Farley (Washington College of Law) and Arnie Lutzker (Lutzker, Lutzker & Settlemeyer). A second event, on June 14, will address fair use in the context of digital works, computer code, and the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA. The price to attend ranges from $20-$40. For more information, call 202-626-3463. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

12:15 - 1:45 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a program titled "Terror on the Internet: the New Arena, the New Challenges". The speakers will be Gabriel Weimann (Haifa University) and Peter Bergen (NAF). Weimann is the author of "Terror on the Internet: the New Challenges, the New Arena" [Amazon]. See, notice. Location: NAF, 7th Floor, 1630 Connecticut Ave., NW.

1:30 - 3:30 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Advisory Committee for the 2007 World Radiocommunication Conference's (WRC-07 Advisory Committee) Informal Working Group 2: Satellite Services and HAPS will hold a meeting. See, notice [PDF]. Location: Leventhal Senter & Lerman, 7th Floor Conference Room, 2000 K St., NW.

3:15 - 5:00 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a panel discussion titled "Combatting the Diseases of Poverty: Aid Versus Innovation". The speakers will be Barun Mitra (Liberty Institute), Julian Morris (International Policy Network), Roger Bate (AEI), Nicholas Eberstadt (AEI), Maureen Lewis (Center for Global Development), and Vance Serchuk (AEI). See, notice. Location: AEI, 12th Floor, 1150 11th St., NW.

6:00 - 7:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event titled "What's Next: Mid-Career Planning, Networking, and Marketing Seminar and Reception". The speaker will be Kathleen Sparrough (Davis and Chapman). See, registration form [PDF]. The price to attend ranges from $10 to $40. Registrations and cancellations are due by 5:00 PM on April 14. Location: Hogan & Hartson, 555 13th Street, NW, 13th Floor West.

Day one of a two day meeting of the Department of Labor's (DOL) Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) Business Research Advisory Council (BRAC). The BLS's vaguely worded agenda in its notice in the Federal Register states that the BRAC's Committee on Productivity and Foreign Labor Statistics will meet at 10:00 AM on April 19 to address "new service industries", "international labor comparisons", and "compensation comparisons", including for China and India. See, Federal Register, March 29, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 60, at Pages 15768-15769. Location: Conference Center of the Postal Square Building, 2 Massachusetts Ave., NE.

9:30 AM. The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) will hold a hearing on the probable economic effects of the proposed U.S.-Republic of Korea Free Trade Agreement. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 28, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 39, at Pages 10066-10067. The USITC states that if it receives no applications to appear, it will cancel the hearing. For more information, call the USITC at 202 205-2000. Location: USITC, 500 E Street, SW.

10:00 AM. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Advisory Committee on Smaller Public Companies will hold a public meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 10, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 68, at Page 18122. Location: SEC, Multi-Purpose Room L006, 100 F Street, NE.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers Committee and Diversity Committee will host a brown bag lunch. The topic will be "The Role of Mentoring". The speakers will be Parul Desai (Media Access Project), David Don (Comcast), Linda Oliver (Hogan & Hartson), Peter Shields (Wiley Rein & Fielding), and Riley Temple (Halprin Temple). Questions to the panelists may be submitted in advance to Chris Fedeli at 202-828-9874 or cfedeli at crblaw dot com or Cathy Hilke at 202-719-7418 or chilke at wrf dot com. RSVP to Christy Hammond at 202-719-7365 or chammond at wrf dot com. Location: Wiley Rein & Fielding, Conference Center, 1776 K St., NW.

1:30 - 3:30 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Advisory Committee for the 2007 World Radiocommunication Conference's (WRC-07 Advisory Committee) Informal Working Group 1: Terrestrial and Space Science Services will hold a meeting. See, notice [PDF]. Location: Lockheed Martin Corporation, 1550 Crystal Drive, Suite 300, Arlington, VA.

Day one of a two day closed meeting of the Defense Science Board 2006 Summer Study on Information Management for Net-Centric Operations. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 11, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 69, Page 18292. Location: 3601 Wilson Boulevard, 3rd Floor, Arlington, VA.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Advisory Committee for the 2007 World Radiocommunication Conference's (WRC-07 Advisory Committee) Informal Working Group 5: Regulatory Issues will hold a meeting. See, notice. Location: Boeing, 1200 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA.

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a panel discussion titled "CFIUS Reform: National Security and International Investment". Thomas Donnelly (AEI), Clark Ervin (Aspen Institute), Kristin Forbes (MIT's Sloan School of Management), David Marchick (Covington & Burling), and Phillip Swagel (AWI). See, notice. Press contact: Veronique Rodman at 202-862-4871 or vrodman at aei dot org. Location: 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "E-Discovery 2006: New Cases and New Rules". The speakers will include John Facciola (U.S. Magistrate Judge), Jonathan Redgrave (Redgrave Daley Ragan & Wagner), Christopher Jensen (Hudson Legal), Amy Bowser (Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw), Donna Ely (Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight), Douglas Davison (Wilmer Hale). The price to attend ranges from $5-$10. For more information, call 202-626-3463. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event titled "Wireless Luncheon with the 8th Floor Legal Advisors". The price to attend is $15. Registrations and cancellations are due by 5:00 PM on April 18. See, registration form [PDF]. Location: Sidley Austin, 1501 K St., NW.

Day two of a two day closed meeting of the Defense Science Board 2006 Summer Study on Information Management for Net-Centric Operations. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 11, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 69, Page 18292. Location: 3601 Wilson Boulevard, 3rd Floor, Arlington, VA.

Deadline to submit to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) written requests to testify at the USTR's May 3 hearing on the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the U.S. and Malaysia. The USTR seeks testimony on "electronic commerce issues", "trade-related intellectual property rights issues", "barriers to trade in services", and other topics. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 22, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 55, at Pages 14558-14559.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) [52 pages in PDF] regarding the assessment and collection of regulatory fees for fiscal year 2006. This NPRM is FCC 06-38 in MD Docket No. 06-68. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 6, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 66, at Pages 17410-17433.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to AT&T's April 7 petition for a limited waiver of section 61.42(g) of the FCC's rules so that it may exclude True IP to PSTN (TIPToP) service from any price cap basket in the upcoming 2006 annual access tariff filing. See, FCC notice [PDF].

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding Verizon's petitions seeking relief from certain dominant carrier regulations for in-region, interexchange services that would otherwise apply to Verizon's provision of those services in the former Bell Atlantic region after March 19, 2006, when the requirements of section 272 of the Act sunset with respect to the final three Verizon states. See, FCC notice [PDF]. This is WC Docket No. 06-56.

3:00 - 7:00 PM. The National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advisory Committee for Computer and Information Science and Engineering will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 10, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 68, at Page 18118. Location: 4201 Wilson Blvd., Room 1235, Arlington, VA.

The House will return from its "Spring District Work Period". See, Majority Whip's calendar.

The Senate will return from its spring recess. See, 2006 Senate calendar.

7:30 AM - 3:30 PM. The National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advisory Committee for Computer and Information Science and Engineering will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 10, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 47, at Page 12403, and notice in the Federal Register, April 10, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 68, at Page 18118. Location: 4201 Wilson Blvd., Room 1235, Arlington, VA.

Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) regarding its interim rule revising the rules of practice relating to the filing date requirements for ex parte and inter partes reexamination proceedings. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 23, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 36, at Pages 9260-9262.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its second further notice of proposed rulemaking (2ndFNPRM) regarding the obligation of television licensees to provide educational programming for children and the requirement that television licensees protect children from excessive and inappropriate commercial messages. See, text [14 pages in PDF] of this 2ndFNPRM. The FCC adopted this item at its meeting of March 17, 2006. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 27, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 58, at Pages 15145-15147; and story titled "FCC Adopts Further NPRM Re Children's Programming Obligations" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,332, March 20, 2006. This item is FCC 06-33 in MM Docket No. 00-167.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit applications to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Electron and Optical Physics Division for financial assistance for FY 2006 by the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) Financial Assistance Program. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 31, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 62, at Pages 16285-16288.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Department of State's (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet to prepare for the CITEL PCC.II (Radiocommunication including Broadcasting) meetings on June 20-23, 2006, in Lima, Peru, and on October 17-20, 2006, in San Salvador, El Salvador. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 29, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 60, at Page 15798. Location: __.

2:00 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold a hearing on judicial nominations. The SJC frequently cancels or postpones hearings without notice. See, notice. The SJC frequently cancels or postpones hearings without notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

Extended deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to the request contained in the Twelfth Annual Report on the status of competition in the market for the delivery of video programming for comments on the best methodologies and data for measuring the 70-percent thresholds and, if the thresholds have been met, what action might be warranted to achieve the statutory goals. See, notice of extension [PDF].

8:00 AM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host a breakfast. The speakers will be Sen. John Sununu (R-NH) and Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA). Registrations and cancellations are due by 5:00 PM on April 20. The price to attend ranges from $30 to $55. See, registration form [PDF]. Location: Mayflower Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Ave., NW.

9:00 AM - 12:45 PM. The Cato Institute will host a conference titled "Copyright Controversies Freedom, Property, Content Creation, and the DMCA". Lunch will follow the program. See, notice and registration page. Location: Cato, 1000 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold a hearing titled "Parity, Platforms and Protection: The Future of the Music Industry in the Digital Radio Revolution". See, notice. The SJC frequently cancels or postpones hearings without notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee's (SCC) Subcommittee on Technology will hold a hearing titled "Fostering Innovation in Math and Science Education". This hearing will address "the importance of science and mathematics education from kindergarten through graduate school in fueling future developments in the 21st Century’s high-tech innovation economy". Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) 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. Location: __.

TIME? Day one of a two day meeting of the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Information Systems Technical Advisory Committee. The BIS regulates exports. The agenda includes "VOIP Networks". See, notice in the Federal Register, April 13, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 71, at Page 19164. For more information, contact Yvette Springer at 202-482-4814. Location: Hoover Building, Room 3884, 14th and Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "Key Court Rulings Affecting Information Technology Practices and Stategies". It will cover "key recent court decisions affecting the protection, licensing and distribution of computer software, databases and other information content. It will also examine decisions on liability relating to the creation, use, procurement, security and support of information technology and information systems, the Internet and e-commerce". The speakers will include J.T. Westermeier (DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary). 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.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will host an event titled "FISMA Phase II Workshop on a Program for Accreditation of Information Security Assessment Services". See, notice. Location: NIST, Red Auditorium, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.