7/23. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and others introduced S __, the "Community Broadband Act of 2007". Sen Lautenberg stated in a release that this bill would provide that "no state regulation or requirement shall prevent a public provider from offering broadband services" and prohibit "a municipality from discriminating against competing private providers".

Sen. Lautenberg also sponsored a stand alone bill in the 109th Congress, S 1294, the "Community Broadband Act", which did not become law.

In addition, the Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) approved a huge communications bill on June 28, 2006, that included similar language in Title V. See, stories titled "Senate Commerce Committee Marks Up Communications Bill" and "Mark Up of Title V -- Municipal Broadband" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,404, July 5, 2007. The full Senate did not take up that bill, and its lapsed at the end of the 109th Congress.

The original cosponsors of the just introduced bill are Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR), Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), and Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME). All are members of the SCC.

Sen. Stevens stated in a release that "This measure will encourage public-private partnerships to make it easier for municipalities, cities, and towns across the nation to offer affordable broadband access to their residents."

7/23. The Department of the Treasury (DOT) released a paper [PDF] titled "Treasury Conference on Business Taxation and Global Competitiveness: Background Paper" in advance of its conference on Thursday, July 26 titled "Business Taxation and Global Competitiveness". The paper addresses several tax issues that affect information technology (IT) and innovation.

Depreciation. The paper covers depreciation, including the U.S. tax law's tendency to provide depreciation schedules for computers and other IT equipment that is longer than the useful lives of the assets.

It states that "The current system of tax depreciation does not ensure that capital income is taxed properly. One problem is that depreciation might not be sufficiently generous to promote desired capital investment for economic growth."

It continues that "Some have suggested that depreciation might be an especially large problem for high-technology, ``new-economy´´ assets. Allegedly, new economic assets wear out much faster than assumed in determining allowable tax depreciation deductions. It is quite plausible that the somewhat dated tax depreciation system gives inappropriate deductions to new technology assets such as computers."

"It is not clear, however, that inappropriate depreciation deductions are a larger problem for new economy assets than for old economy assets", the paper adds.

It adds that "Several factors limit the degree to which current tax allowances are inadequate to compensate for the decline in the value of new economy assets. First, even if valuation declines have been rapid in the past, they may not remain rapid in the future. Much of the rapid decline in value appears to have been caused by technological obsolescence, and the rate of technical advance could slow. Second, some of the anecdotal evidence in support of rapid depreciation is based on the relatively short period of time that new technology assets are held by their initial purchaser rather than on estimates of the actual economic life of the asset, including use by subsequent owners. Third, the tax code allows an asset to be fully written off when scrapped, regardless of the asset’s tax life."

R&D Tax Credit. The DOT paper notes that "Income from investment in intangible assets (e.g., R&D and advertising) generally receives more favorable tax treatment than does income from investment in tangible assets (e.g., plant and machinery)." (Parentheses in original.)

It argues that "Investment in intangibles might be excessively encouraged by the tax system, relative to investment in tangible assets."

The paper elaborates that "Some R&D spending also is eligible for a tax credit, which can reduce its effective tax rate below zero; that is, taxes actually reduce the cost of making such an investment below what it would have been in a world without taxes."

"It sometimes is argued that R&D should enjoy a tax advantage to compensate for ``spillover´´ benefits it generates. The argument is that in many cases it is difficult for those investing in R&D to reap the full benefits of their investments. Some of the benefits accrue free of charge; they ``spill over´´ to others who can use the invention without compensating the inventor."

In addition, the paper comments that "It is unclear, however, that the existing research credit is targeted to investments with large spillover benefits or that in general the tax code is the most effective way to encourage economically desirable R&D spending."

U.S. International Tax System. Finally, the paper addresses taxation of international income. It states that the U.S. has a "hybrid system for taxing international income with elements of both a worldwide and territorial system. Generally, domestic corporations are taxed on their income whether earned in the United States or abroad; that is, corporations are taxed on their income on a worldwide basis. However, U.S. parent corporations with foreign subsidiaries are generally not taxed in the United States on the active business income of their foreign subsidiaries until such income is repatriated and distributed as a dividend. Until that income is repatriated, tax is generally deferred."

Among the consequences of the U.S. system is a "tax incentive to exploit intellectual property such as a patent for a new computer chip abroad rather than in the United States because the returns will escape U.S. taxation."

The paper also states that "Tax provisions affecting royalties and the income from intangible assets in general are particularly important because they have become a significant source of foreign direct investment income. The exploitation of parent ``know-how´´ is an important motivation for foreign investment."

7/19. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it has temporarily suspended its web tool that permitted users to obtain information from company disclosure documents about their business interests in countries that the Department of State has designated as "State Sponsors of Terrorism".

Public companies are required by statute and regulation to report on material activities in countries that support terrorism, currently Iran, Cuba, Sudan, North Korea and Syria. The SEC's online service enabled web users to easily access such information.

The online service had been in operation for less than one month. The SEC stated in a release that "we are temporarily suspending the availability of the web tool while it undergoes reconstruction. We will work to improve the web tool so that it meets the various concerns that have been expressed."

"Alternatively", the SEC announced, "our staff is considering whether the use of interactive data tags applied by companies themselves could permit investors, analysts and others to easily discover this disclosure without need of an SEC-provided web tool at all. In the interim, the companies' disclosure regarding their business contacts in the five nations will continue to be available through the SEC's EDGAR database, and findable using our new full-text search capability."

It added that SEC staff "will also consider whether to recommend a Concept Release on the question of how best to make public company disclosure of activities in terrorist states more accessible. The release would solicit public comment in a formal way".

The SEC disclosed that "Iran was the country most frequently clicked on, followed by Cuba, Sudan, North Korea, and Syria. Those who went to a country list most often clicked through to the text of companies' own disclosure".

7/23. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report [59 pages in PDF] titled "Cybercrime: Public and Private Entities Face Challenges in Addressing Cyber Threats".

It states that "Cybercrime is a threat to U.S. national economic and security interests."

The report states that the FBI estimated in 2005 that the "annual loss due to computer crime" was $67.2 Billion for U.S. organizations. It adds that these "losses are based on direct and indirect costs that may include actual money stolen, estimated cost of intellectual property stolen, and recovery cost of repairing or replacing damaged networks and equipment".

The report adds that "there is concern about threats that nation-states and terrorists pose to our national security through attacks on our computer-reliant critical infrastructures and theft of our sensitive information."

In particular, "Chinese military strategists write openly about exploiting the vulnerabilities created by the U.S. military’s reliance on advanced technologies and the extensive infrastructure used to conduct operations".

It also states that "terrorist organizations have used cybercrime to raise money to fund their activities."

7/18. President Bush issued an Executive Order that establishes within the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) an Interagency Working Group on Import Safety. The Secretary of Health and Human Services will be the chairman, and the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) will be a member. The order states that the purpose of the working group is "to promote the safety of imported products".

The order elaborates that this includes "reviewing or assessing current procedures and methods aimed at ensuring the safety of products exported to the United States, including reviewing existing cooperation with foreign governments, foreign manufacturers, and others in the exporting country's private sector regarding their inspection and certification of exported goods and factories producing exported goods and considering whether additional initiatives should be undertaken with respect to exporting countries or companies".

The mandate of the working group also includes "identifying potential means to promote all appropriate steps by U.S. importers to enhance the safety of imported products" and "surveying authorities and practices of Federal, State, and local government agencies regarding the safety of imports to identify best practices and enhance coordination among agencies".

See also, notice in the Federal Register, July 20, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 139, at Pages 40051-40055.

Also on July 18, 2007, the Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) held a hearing titled "Safety of Chinese Imports: Oversight and Analysis of the Federal Response".

7/18. The U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir) issued its per curiam opinion [13 pages in PDF] in Douglas v. Talk America, granting a petition for writ of mandamus to the U.S. District Court (CDCal), and vacating the District Court's order compelling arbitration of a dispute between a telecommunications service provider and one of its customers. The Court of Appeals held that the service provider can not enforce an arbitration clause that exists only in a revised copy published in its web site, when the customer had no notice.

The Court of Appeals stated that the issue is "whether a service provider may change the terms of its service contract by merely posting a revised contract on its website". It applied basic contract law principles to hold that in this case the service provider can not.

Joe Douglas contracted for long distance telephone service with America Online (AOL). Talk America (TA) then acquired this business from AOL. TA then published a revised "contract" in its web site that added service charges, and included a class action waiver, an arbitration clause, and a New York choice of law clause. Douglas signed no revised contract. Douglas states that TA never notified him of the web site changes.

When Douglas learned of the additional charges, he filed a class action complaint in U.S. District Court (CDCal) alleging violation of the Communications Act, breach of contract, and violations of various California consumer protection statutes.

The District Court granted TA's motion to compel arbitration. The Federal Arbitration Act does not provide for interlocutory appeals of such orders. Hence, Douglas brought the present petition for writ of mandamus.

The Court of Appeals applied the five prong test of Bauman v. U.S. Dist. Court, 557 F.2d 650 (9th Cir. 1977), which provides that a necessary precondition for granting a writ of mandamus is that "The district court's order is clearly erroneous as a matter of law."

The Court of Appeals resorted to the most basic fundamentals of contract law to decide whether the District Court's order was erroneous. It wrote that "a party can't unilaterally change the terms of a contract; it must obtain the other party’s consent before doing so", and that "a revised contract is merely an offer and does not bind the parties until it is accepted."

The Court of Appeals added that "Even if Douglas's continued use of Talk America's service could be considered assent, such assent can only be inferred after he received proper notice of the proposed changes. Douglas claims that no such notice was given."

Moreover, the Court of Appeals wrote, "the California Court of Appeal has held that a revised contract containing an arbitration clause is unenforceable against existing customers, even when they are given notice by mail."

The Court of Appeals thus concluded that the District Court "erred in holding that Douglas was bound by the terms of the revised contract when he was not notified of the changes. The error reflects fundamental misapplications of contract law and goes to the heart of petitioner's claim."

And furthermore, the Court of Appeals added that even if the parties had agreed to changes in the contract, "the new terms probably would not be enforceable in California because they conflict with California's fundamental policy as to unconscionable contracts."

The Court of Appeals then proceeded to analyze the four other Bauman factors. It found that three of the four weighed in Douglas' favor, and hence, granted the petition for writ of mandamus.

This case is Joe Douglas v. U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, respondent, Talk America, Inc., real party in interest, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, App. Ct. No. 06-75424, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, D.C. No. CV-06-03809-GAF. The Court of Appeals issued a per curiam opinion by Judges Kozinski, Gould, and Callahan.

7/18.. The U.S. Court of Appeals (3rdCir) issued its opinion [PDF] upon rehearing in Core Communications v. Verizon, a case regarding the proper procedure of adjudicating disputes regarding interconnection agreements between carriers.

The Court of Appeals issued its initial opinion on May 9, 2007. See, story titled "3rd Circuit Holds Interconnection Actions Must First Be Brought in the State PUC" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,579, May 10, 2007.

 The Court of Appeals again held that the state public utility commissions that approve these interconnection agreements "are given the first crack at interpreting and enforcing" these agreements.

This case is Core Communications, Inc. v. Verizon Pennsylvania, Inc., U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, App. Ct. No. 06-2419, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, D.C. No. 04-cv-04513, Judge Timothy Savage presiding.

Judge Fisher wrote the May 9 opinion of the Court of Appeals, in which Judges Smith and Diamond joined.

Judge Fisher wrote the July 18 opinion of the Court of Appeals, in which Judges Scirica and Diamond joined. (Judge Scirica was added to the panel following the recusal of Judge Smith.)

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7/24. Robert McDowell, a Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), wrote an opinion piece that was published in the July 24, 2007, issue of the Wall Street Journal. It is titled "Broadband Baloney".

He stated that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) statistical report that asserts that the U.S. is 15th in the world in broadband subscribers is "seriously flawed".

McDowell (at left) pointed out that the OECD measured broadband connections per capita, which underestimates broadband penetration in countries with larger households, such as the U.S. He also pointed out that the OECD excluded data on WiFi use, in which the U.S. is a leader.

He asserted that the U.S. is not falling behind, and that these baloney statistics should not serve as the basis for "heavy-handed government mandates setting arbitrary standards, speeds, and build-out requirements that could favor some technologies over others, raise prices and degrade service".

He concluded, "When it comes to broadband policy, let's put aside flawed studies and rankings, and reject the road of regulatory stagnation. In the next few years, we will witness a tremendous explosion of entrepreneurial brilliance in the broadband market, if the government doesn't micromanage. Belief in entrepreneurs and a light regulatory touch is the right broadband policy for America."

McDowell, and the other FCC Commissioners, are scheduled to testify before the House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet at 9:30 AM on Tuesday, July 24.

The Senate will meet at 10:00 AM. It will resume consideration of S 1642, [LOC | WW], the "Higher Education Amendments of 2007".

LOCATION CORRECTION. 8:30 - 10:30 AM. The Copyright Alliance (CA) will host an event titled "Creators and Innovators: Advancing Consumer Interests in the Digital Age". Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR), Chairman of the Senate Republican High Tech Task Force, will speak. The other speakers will be James Cicconi (AT&T), Christopher Amenita (ASCAP Enterprises Group), Matt Robinson (Attributor), and Jay Rosenthal (Berliner Corcoran & Rowe). Patrick Ross (CA) will moderate. For more information, contact Gayle Osterberg at 202-669-0689 or gayle at 133publicaffairs dot com. Breakfast will be served at 8:00 AM. Location: Room SC-6, Capitol Building.

9:30 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet will hold a hearing titled "Oversight of the Federal Communications Commission -- Part 2". The witnesses will be the five Commissioners of the FCC. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an oversight hearing on the Department of Justice (DOJ). The witness will be Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. See, notice. Location: Room 216, Hart Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "Protecting Children on the Internet". The witnesses will be Lauren Nelson (Miss America 2007), David Finkelhor (University of New Hampshire), Ernie Allen (head of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children), Lan Neugent (Virginia Department of Education), and Christine Jones (Go Daddy Group). See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

10:00 AM. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing titled "Inadvertent File Sharing over Peer-to-Peer Networks". The witnesses will be Mary Engle (Federal Trade Commission), Thomas Sydnor (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office), Daniel Mintz (Department of Transportation), Eric Johnson (Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College), Wesley Clark (Board Member of Tiversa, Inc.), Robert Boback (CEO of Tiversa, Inc.), and Mark Gorton (The Lime Group). See, notice. Location: Room 2154, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on the nomination of Jim Nussle to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). See, notice. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day two of a four day hearing of the Copyright Office (CO) regarding the operation of, and continued necessity for, the cable and satellite statutory licenses under the Copyright Act. See, notice in the Federal Register, May 23, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 99, at Pages 28998-29000. Location: Copyright Office Hearing Room, 4th Floor, Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave., SE.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Alliance for Public Technology (APT) will host a brown bag lunch titled "Broadband Changed My Life: Benefits for Seniors and People with Disabilities". The speakers will be Joy Howell (APT), Jenifer Simpson (American Association of People with Disabilities), and Daniel Wilson (National Caucus and Center on Black Aged). RSVP to apt at apt dot org or 202-263-2970. Location: Benton Foundation, 11th Floor, 1625 K St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "The ABCs or IP: A Primer on Patent, Copyright, and Trademark Law". The speakers will be Janet Fries (Drinker Biddle & Reath, on copyright), Steven Warner (Fitzpatrick Cella Harper & Scinto, on patent), Gary Krugman (Sughrue Mion, on trademark), and Maureen Browne (Heller Ehrman, moderator). See, notice. For more information, call 202-626-3463. The price to attend ranges from $10-$15. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.

1:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law will hold an oversight hearing titled "Privacy in the Hands of the Government: The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board and the Privacy Officer for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security". The members of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) are Carol Dinkins, Alan Charles Raul, Ted Olson, and Francis Taylor. The head of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Privacy Office is Hugo Teufel. See, notice. Location: Room 2237, Rayburn Building.

1:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's HJC) Subcommittee on Crime will hold a meeting to mark up several bills. The fifth item on an agenda of five items is HR 3013 [LOC | WW], the "Attorney-Client Privilege Protection Act of 2007". See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

Deadline to submit responses or oppositions to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding its review of the proposed merger of XM Satellite Radio Holdings and Sirius Satellite Radio. See, Public Notice [5 pages in PDF] (DA 07-2417).

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The House may consider HR 3093 [LOC | WW], the "Departments of Commerce and Justice, and Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2008", and/or HR 2419 [LOC | WW], the "Farm Bill Extension Act of 2007", subject to rules. See, Rep. Hoyer's weekly calendar [PDF].

9:00 AM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Information Systems Technical Advisory Committee will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register: July 6, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 129, at Page 36955. The agenda includes elections, "INFOSEC TWG Briefing", "IPMI and Remote Server Management", "MIMO Technology Overview", "Aggregation Technology", "Commercial Encryption Issues", "Introduction of (DRAFT) ISTAC Proposals for Wassenaar Arrangement 2008 List Review", and "Discussion: Comprehensive Review of Commerce Control List". Location: DOC, Room 3884, 14th Street between Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues, NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Finance Committee will meet to consider several pending nominations, including David McCormick to be Under Secretary for International Affairs, at the Department of the Treasury. See, notice. Location: Room 215, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day three of a four day hearing of the Copyright Office (CO) regarding the operation of, and continued necessity for, the cable and satellite statutory licenses under the Copyright Act. See, notice in the Federal Register, May 23, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 99, at Pages 28998-29000. Location: Copyright Office Hearing Room, 4th Floor, Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave., SE.

10:15 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will hold a meeting to mark up several bills, including HR 3013 [LOC | WW], the "Attorney-Client Privilege Protection Act of 2007". See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee's (SCC) Subcommittee on Interstate Commerce, Trade and Tourism will hold a hearing titled "U.S. Trade Relations with China". See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

11:00 AM. The Cato Institute will host a panel discussion titled "America's High-Stakes Response to the WTO Internet Gambling Dispute". The speakers will be Mark Mendel (counsel for Antigua and Barbuda), John Jackson (Georgetown University Law Center), and Sallie James (Cato). See, notice. Lunch will be served after the program. Location: Cato, 1000 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

6:30 - 8:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers Committee will host an event titled "Happy Hour". For more information, contact Cathy Hilke at chilke at wileyrein dot com. Location: Firefly, 1310 New Hampshire Ave., NW.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The House may consider HR 3093 [LOC | WW], the "Departments of Commerce and Justice, and Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2008", and/or HR 2419 [LOC | WW], the "Farm Bill Extension Act of 2007", subject to rules. See, Rep. Hoyer's weekly calendar [PDF].

9:00 AM. The Department of the Treasury (DOT) will host a series of events beginning at 9:00 AM that pertain to "Business Taxation and Global Competitiveness". Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson will speak at 9:00 AM. There will be a "Plenary Session" titled "Business and Economic Perspectives" at 9:05 AM. There will be a "Roundtable Discussion" titled "Economic Distortions Created by Business Tax System" at 10:15 AM. There will be a "Roundtable Discussion" titled "Impact of the Current International Tax System on Competitiveness" at 11:30 AM. Paulson will speak again at 12:45 PM. There will be a ped and pad news conference at 1:00 AM. A DOT notice states that "Media without Treasury press credentials should contact Frances Anderson at" 202-622-2960 or frances dot anderson at do dot treas dot gov with the following information: full name, Social Security Number, and date of birth. See, DOT notice. Location: DOT, 1500 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

9:00 AM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Information Systems Technical Advisory Committee will hold a closed meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register: July 6, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 129, at Page 36955. Location: DOC, Room 3884, 14th Street between Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues, NW.

9:30 AM - 12:45 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "Legal Cybersleuth's Guide to Investigative Research". The speakers will be Carole Levitt and Mark Rosch of Internet For Lawyers" . See, notice. For more information, call 202-626-3488. The price to attend ranges from $80-$115. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.

9:30 AM. The Global Business Dialogue will hold a meeting titled "Korea-US FTA". Location: National Press Club, 13th Floor, 529 14th St. NW.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The House Science Committee will hold a hearing titled "The Globalization of R&D and Innovation, Pt. II: The University Response". The witnesses will be David Skorton (Cornell University), Philip Altbach (Boston College), Gary Schuster (Georgia Institute of Technology), and Mark Wessel (Heinz School of Public Policy and Management). Press contact: Alisha Prather at alisha dot prather at mail dot house dot gov or 202-225-6375, or Brandis Griffith at brandis dot griffith at mail dot house dot gov. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "Preparing Consumers for the Digital Television Transition". See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day four of a four day hearing of the Copyright Office (CO) regarding the operation of, and continued necessity for, the cable and satellite statutory licenses under the Copyright Act. See, notice in the Federal Register, May 23, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 99, at Pages 28998-29000. Location: Copyright Office Hearing Room, 4th Floor, Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave., SE.

10:00 AM. The House Homeland Security Committee's (HHSC) Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment will hold a hearing titled "Private Sector Information Sharing: What Is It, Who Does It, and What’s Working at DHS". The hearing will be webcast by the HHSC. For more information, contact Dena Graziano or Adam Comis at 202- 225-9978. Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law will hold a hearing on the Internet Tax Freedom Act. See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

1:30 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law will hold an oversight hearing on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

1:45 - 5:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "An A to Z Guide to Tech Tools, Terms & Tips for Lawyers". The speakers will be Carole Levitt and Mark Rosch of Internet For Lawyers" . See, notice. For more information, call 202-626-3488. The price to attend ranges from $80-$115. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.

2:00 PM. The House Foreign Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade will hold a hearing titled "Exports Controls: Are We Protecting Security and Facilitating Exports?". The witnesses will be Christopher Padilla (head of the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security), Stephen Mull (Department of State), Beth McCormick (head of the Department of Defense's Defense Technology Security Administration), John Douglass (head of the Aerospace Industries Association of America), Will Lowell (Lowell Defense Trade). See, notice. Location: Room B-318, Rayburn Building.

The House may meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Hoyer's weekly calendar [PDF].

9:30 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will hold a hearing on HR 2128 [LOC | WW], the "Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2007", a bill that would allow the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Courts of Appeals and U.S. District Courts to "permit the photographing, electronic recording, broadcasting, or televising to the public of any court proceeding". See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

5:00 PM. The National Science Foundation (NSF) will host a closed meeting, on site and by teleconference, regarding an Office of the Inspector General report. See, notice in the Federal Register, July 18, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 137, at Page 39467. Location: National Science Board Office, NSF, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its request to refresh the record of its 2001 Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding "the status of the market for the provision of telecommunications services in Multiple Tenant Environments (MTEs), and on whether the prohibition on exclusive access contracts in commercial MTEs should be extended to residential MTEs". See, notice in the Federal Register, May 30, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 103, at Pages 29928-29929. This item is DA 07-1485 WT Docket No. 99-217 and CC Docket No. 96-98.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding its Draft Special Publication 800-38D [29 pages in PDF] titled "Recommendation for Block Cipher Modes of Operation: Galois/Counter Mode (GCM) for Confidentiality and Authentication".

9:00 AM - 4:30 PM. The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) will hold a hearing. The USCC web site stated that the title is "Freedom of Expression in China: Internet and Media Controls". The USCC's notice in the Federal Register states that the hearing is titled "Access to Information in the People's Republic of China", and that it will examine "developments in Chinese information control mechanisms". See, Federal Register, July 18, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 137, at Pages 39479-39480. Location: Room 385, Russell Building, Capitol Hill.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding its Draft Special Publication 800-53A [PDF] titled "Guide for Assessing the Security Controls in Federal Information Systems".