2/12. The Senate continued its consideration of S 2248 [LOC | WW], the "Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2007", holding several roll call votes.

Title II of the bill provides for immunity of service providers who have cooperated with the government in facilitating surveillance under the FISA. The Senate rejected an amendment to strike the immunity for service providers language. It also rejected Sen. Arlen Specter's (R-PA) proposal to provide substitution of the government for service providers, rather than immunity, in civil actions against service providers.

The Senate also approved a cloture motion.

The Senate rejected Amendment No. 3910 offered by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) by a vote of 57-41. See, Roll Call No. 13. A three fifths majority was required for approval of this amendment. This amendment provides a statement of the exclusive means by which electronic surveillance and interception of certain communications may be conducted.

The Senate rejected Amendment No. 3979 offered by Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) by a vote of 35-63. See, Roll Call No. 14. This amendment provides safeguards for communications involving persons inside the U.S.

The Senate rejected Amendment No. 3907 offered by Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) by a vote of 31-67. See, Roll Call No. 15. This amendment provides for striking Title II, the immunity provision.

The Senate rejected Amendment No. 3912 offered by Sen. Feingold by a vote of 37-60. See, Roll Call No. 16. This amendment modifies the requirements for certifications made prior to the initiation of certain acquisitions.

The Senate rejected Amendment No. 3927 offered by Sen. Specter by a vote of 30-68. See, Roll Call No. 17. The amendment provides for the substitution of the U.S., rather than immunity, in certain civil actions.

The Senate rejected Amendment No. 3919 offered by Sen. Feinstein by a vote of 41-57. See, Roll Call No. 18. This amendment provides for the review of certifications by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC).

Finally, the Senate approved a cloture motion by a vote of 69-29. See, Roll Call No. 19.

On February 11, 2008, Ed Black, head of the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), sent a letter to Senators urging them not to include retroactive immunity in FISA reform legislation. He expressed "opposition to granting retroactive immunity, amnesty, or pardon to companies accused in United States courts of serious violations of law in connection with extensive wiretapping of U.S. citizens".

Black wrote that "prior to any grant of retroactive immunity, a full accounting of the actions taken by key government officials and the major carriers is essential.  The facts about the nature and scope of cooperation need to be understood, as do the motives and rationales of the various public and private officials involved."

On February 8, 2008, Timothy Lee, an Adjunct Scholar at the Cato Institute, wrote an essay titled "The Surveillance Scam". He wrote that former President Bill Clinton, like President Bush, "was also an ardent supporter of increased wiretapping authority", who sought expanded wiretap authority in 1996. However, the Congress did not pass a bill at that time.

Lee argues that "Today's Democratic Congress has been far less protective of Americans' privacy rights. Last August, in a virtual repeat of the events of 1996, Bush demanded that Congress approve expanded wiretapping powers before going on vacation. This time, Congressional leaders showed few qualms about ``rushing to judgment.´´ Indeed, both houses of Congress approved the White House's preferred legislation with minimal changes within three days of its introduction."

Lee also argues that the bill passed last August, S 1927 [LOC | WW], the "Protect America Act", "allows the administration to ``authorize´´ eavesdropping programs for a year at a time. That means that the government's various warrantless surveillance activities will continue to operate at least through August. And of course, if the need for new wiretaps arises after the act sunsets, the administration still has the opportunity to file for warrants" under the FISA, and that the FISA "even allows the government to begin surveillance first and apply for an emergency warrant after the fact."

2/11. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released the text [96 pages in PDF] of its Fourth Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (4th R&O and FNPRM) in its proceeding regarding cable ownership caps.

The R&O portion of this item sets the FCC's cable horizontal ownership limit to "prohibit cable operators from owning or having an attributable interest in cable systems serving more than 30 percent of multichannel video programming subscribers nationwide".

The NPRM portion of this item requests comments on the following: "(1) whether to retain the single majority shareholder attribution exemption, which currently applies to the cable and broadcast ownership rules; (2) whether, under the cable attribution rules, a limited partner may sell programming to the partnership and retain insulation; and (3) whether the Commission should clarify certain aspects of the cable Equity Debt (“ED”) attribution rule, as it did for the broadcast Equity/Debt Plus attribution rule." (Footnote omitted.)

It also requests comments on "an appropriate channel occupancy limit".

Kyle McSlarrow, head of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), stated in a release on December 18, 2007, that "in 2001, the U.S. Court of Appeals soundly rejected on First Amendment grounds the precise cable ownership cap that the Commission adopted again today. The Court of Appeals found such a cap to be unjustified and out of touch with the competitive marketplace as it existed six years ago. In the intervening years, competition among satellite, telephone and cable companies and the variety and amount of independent programming has only increased.

McSlarrow added that "We are confident that a court will again reject conclusions driven by a political agenda to target the cable industry that are completely at odds with the realities of a dynamic and competitive marketplace that is providing greater consumer choice and value."

On March 2, 2001, the U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) issued its opinion in Time Warner Entertainment v. FCC overturning the FCC's cable ownership caps on First Amendment grounds. The opinion is reported at 240 F.3d 1126.

That case is Time Warner Entertainment, Petitioner v. Federal Communications Commission and United States of America, Respondents; BellSouth, et al., Intervenors, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, App. Ct. No. 94-1035, consolidated with 95-1337, 99-1503, 99-1504, 99-1522, 99-1541, 99-1542, and 00-1086.

FCC Commissioner Michael Copps wrote that "Although the percentage cap remains the same, the underlying economic justification is quite different and is, I believe, completely responsive to the issues raised by the D.C. Circuit Court."

FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein wrote that the order's "focus is trained particularly on the potential influence of cable operators on the upstream programming market. The Order finds that a large cable operator would have the power to significantly undermine the viability of a reasonably popular programming network by refusing to carry it, despite the competitive pressures of DBS and other providers. It is apparent that video programming delivery involves an intricate web of relationships, and this Order attempts to boil these down into an appropriate horizontal limit. Given the contentious nature of this proceeding and its history in the courts, we put our best foot forward in defense of this difficult task."

FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell dissented. He argued that this is the same order the the DC Circuit overturned seven years ago. Moreover, he wrote, it "goes out of its way to remain ignorant of current market conditions which obviate a need for a cap. And the order is wanting for any sustainable legal or evidentiary justification to trample on the First Amendment, in defiance of the court’s 2001 warning."

He wrote unequivocally. "This order will be overturned by the D.C. Circuit." (Emphasis in original.)

McSlarrow also wrote that "We are pleased that a majority of Commissioners again rejected a plan to consider a multicast must carry mandate. Consumers will be better served if we could all focus on getting ready for the digital broadcast transition instead of repeatedly having to reject stale ideas that would harm consumers, undermine the digital transition and violate the Constitution."

The FCC adopted, but did not release, this item on December 18, 2007. It is FCC 07-219 in MM Docket No. 92-264, CS Docket No. 98-82, CS Docket No. 96-85, MM Docket No. 94-150, MM Docket No. 92-51, and MM Docket No. 87-154.

Initial comments in response to the NPRM portion of this item will be due 30 days after publication of a notice in the Federal Register. Reply comments will be due within 45 days of such publication. As of the February 12, 2008, issue of the Federal Register, this notice had not yet been published.

2/5. On February 4, 2008, C-SPAN, Discovery and other cable programming networks filed a petition for review in the U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) of an order [68 pages in PDF] of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding mandatory cable carriage of digital broadcast television signals after the DTV transition.

On September 11, 2007, the FCC adopted a Third Report and Order and Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the mandatory cable carriage of digital broadcast television signals after the conclusion of the digital television (DTV) transition. The FCC elaborated that cable operators can "comply with the viewability requirement by choosing to either: (1) carry the digital signal in analog format, or (2) carry the signal only in digital format, provided that all subscribers have the necessary equipment to view the broadcast content."

See also, story titled "FCC Adopts R&O and Further NPRM Regarding Cable Carriage of Digital Broadcast TV Signals" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,640, September 17, 2007.

The FCC released the text [68 pages in PDF] of this item on November 30, 2007. This proceeding is titled "Carriage of Digital Television Broadcast Signals, Amendment to Part 76 of the Commission’s Rules". This order is FCC 07-170 in CS Docket No. 98-120.

On February 5, 2008, David Rehr, head of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), sent a letter [2 pages in PDF] to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin regarding this legal challenge.

He wrote that "It was with great disappointment that I heard the news Monday that certain cable programmers are attempting to derail the digital television transition (DTV) with a lawsuit that could prevent many cable consumers from receiving local broadcast television stations after the transition. We agree with the Commission that its ``viewability´´ rules are required by the 1992 Cable Act and are essential to protecting the 40 million cable subscribers with analog cable."

Rehr added that "without rules ensuring the viewability of must-carry stations, many small, foreign language, and religious broadcast stations will go dark on some cable systems after the transition, disenfranchising millions of dedicated viewers that rely on cable companies to provide local stations without discrimination or material degradation. This would not be an acceptable outcome."

2/7. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) instituted and simultaneously settled an administrative action against Kenneth M. Christison, a member of the state bar of California, alleging violation of federal securities laws in connection with his issuance of opinion of counsel letters to the issuers of securities that these securities were exempt from registration requirements.

The SEC further alleged that Christison knew or should have known that the securities were not exempt.

The SEC has already taken action against the issuers of these securities for violation of federal securities laws in connection with their fraudulent use of spam e-mails to pump and dump these securities.

Linda Thomsen, Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement stated in a release that "Today's action demonstrates that even after we stop those who profit from fraudulent schemes, we continue to pursue other individuals, especially attorneys and other gatekeepers who are enablers behind the scenes".

Christison consented to the entry of a cease and desist order, without admitting or denying any allegations. See also, order instituting cease and desist proceeding [7 pages in PDF].

2/6. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) and Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF) released a report [38 pages in PDF] titled "Online Child Protection and Online Content Regulation Bills". The co-authors are John Morris (CDT) and Adam Thierer (PFF).

The joint report summarizes 34 bills that pertain to protecting children in the context of computers and internet use, including child pornography, indecency, child predation, children's privacy, and violence and video games. The report covers bills that address social networking sites, domain names, parental controls, and age verification.

The CDT also released its own analysis [15 pages in PDF]. It wrote that many of these bills "would not be effective child protection measures and would raise very serious policy and constitutional problems."

The PFF's Thierer also released his own analysis. He wrote that "it is important for those concerned about speech and privacy rights to remain vigilant". Thierer concluded that "While Congress is right to take steps to protect children against actual harms -- namely, child predation and child pornography -- it would be unwise for lawmakers to expand the censorial schemes of the past. The better approach for potentially objectionable, but legal, content is to use education and empowerment-based strategies. Again, parents already have a multitude of tools, controls, and information at their disposal to establish their own household standards regarding acceptable media content."

The CDT analysis does express support for several of the bills. The CDT backs several education bills, HR 3461 [LOC | WW], the "SAFER-NET Act", S 2344 [LOC | WW], the "Internet Safety Education Act", and S 1965 [LOC | WW], "Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act". It also backs HR 719 [LOC | WW], the "Sex Offender Internet Usage Limits", and HR 3845 [LOC | WW], the "PROTECT Our Children Act".

It is also possible that some of these bills have been introduced for purposes other than, or in addition to, obtaining enactment into law. First, bills are sometimes introduced for the purpose of prompting action outside of the Congress, such as pressuring companies or industry sectors that would be affected by enacted legislation to alter their business practices, or to organize or enhance industry self-regulatory initiatives.

Federal and state legislative activity may have already played a role in prompting MySpace to reach an agreement with state attorneys general regarding self policing of its social networking web site. See, story titled "MySpace and State AGs Sign Document Regarding Online Safety" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,701, January 16, 2008.

Bills are also sometimes introduced in an attempt to influence subsequent agency rulemaking proceedings and administrative enforcement actions. Bills are also sometimes introduced as attempts to induce law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to investigate and prosecute more cases related to the subject matter of the legislation.

Also, introduction, cosponsorship, and floor votes in favor of bills allow members of Congress to publicly take positions. Child protection bills may be an easy way to build a legislative record of apparent concern for children. Such position taking may be useful in a member's election contests if opponents or potential opponents site that member's votes or positions on other matters affecting children, such as children's health care, education funding, or abortion.

Some of the introduced bills were drafted without expertise. Some of the bills approved by the full House received no hearing. Some received no subcommittee or even full committee markup. It is already the second month of the second session, yet none of these 34 bills have been approved by both the House and Senate. And, as Thierer states in his analysis, some of these bills are just "silly". These are all indicia of bills introduced with lessened expectations of enactment into law.

2/11. Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA) died. He was the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. See, statement by President Bush.

1/31. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) approved the nomination of Mark Filip to be the Deputy Attorney General. See, Congressional Record, January 31, 2008, at Page S542.

2/12. Ken Ferree wrote a short essay [PDF] titled "Judgment Day" in which he criticizes the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) antitrust merger review process. He wrote that it has "slowed nearly to a standstill" and that "needlessly delaying pro-competitive combinations deprives consumers of the benefits that flow from free and full competition". Ferree is head of the Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF). He was Chief of the FCC's Cable Services Bureau when Michael Powell was FCC Chairman.

2/7. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted and released an order [5 pages in PDF] that denies petitions to reject or suspend AT&T's proposed revisions to tariffs, on behalf of various of its subsidiaries, that withdraw broadband services from its tariff, including "Frame Relay, ATM, Ethernet, Remote Network Access, SONET, Optical Network and Wave-Based services, with the exception of certain Frame Relay and ATM services operating below 200 Kbps in each direction." Time Warner Telecom, Comptel, and Sprint Nextel filed the petitions. This order is FCC 08-42.

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The House will meet at 12:30 PM for morning hour debate, and at 2:00 PM for legislative business. The House will consider numerous non-technology related items under suspension of the rules. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM. See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of February 11.

The Senate will meet at 2:00 PM. It will resume consideration of S 2248 [LOC | WW], the "Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2007".

Day one of a two day meeting of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Homeland Security Information Network Advisory Committee. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 11, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 8, at Page 2058. Location: Bolger Center, 9600 Newbridge Drive, Potomac, MD.

Day two of a three day conference hosted by the Institute for Defense and Government Advancement (IDGA) titled "Biometrics for National Security and Defense Conference". Hugo Teufel, Chief Privacy Officer of the DHS, will speak at 8:15 AM. He will address implementation of the Privacy Act of 1974 on biometric storage system of records. Location: Hilton Arlington, Ballroom I and II, 950 North Stafford St., Arlington, VA.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will host a workshop titled "Unilateral Effects Analysis and Litigation". This event will examine how unilateral effects theories are applied to mergers of firms selling competing but differentiated products, and judicial perspectives on such theories. See, notice. Location: Satellite Building Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

1:00 - 4:00 PM. The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board's (ATBCB) Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee (TEITAC) will meet by conference call. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 24, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 16, at Page 4132.

TIME AND LOCATION CHANGE. 2:30 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing on four judicial nominee: James Randal Hall (to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia), Richard Honaker (U.S.D.C., District of Wyoming), Gus Puryear (U.S.D.C., Middle District of Tennessee), and Judge Brian Miller (U.S.D.C., Eastern District of Arkansas). Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) will preside. See, notice. Location: Room 301, Russell Building.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Diversity Committee will host an event titled "FCC Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Rules". This event offers continuing legal education (CLE) credits. The speakers will be Larry Walke (NAB), Lewis Pulley (FCC, Media Bureau, Policy Division), and David Honig (Minority Media and Telecommunications Council). The price to attend ranges from $25 to $135. Location: Wiley Rein, 1776 K St., NW.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The House may consider legislation to reform the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) or to extend the S 1927 [LOC | WW], the "Protect America Act". See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of February 11.

9:30 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet will hold a hearing titled "Status of the DTV Transition: 370 Days and Counting". The witnesses will be Kevin Martin (FCC Chairman), Meredith Baker (acting head of the NTIA), Kyle McSlarrow (head of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association), David Rehr (head of the National Association of Broadcasters), Ron Bruno (head of the Community Broadcasters Association), Mark Jackson (President of Echostar), Tom Romeo (IBM), Laurence Harris (Radio Shack), and Chris Murray (Consumers Union). The hearing will be webcast by the HCC. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing titled "Examining the State Secrets Privilege: Protecting National Security While Preserving Accountability". The witnesses will be Carl Nichols (Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division), Patricia Wald (former judge), Louis Fisher (Law Library of the Library of Congress), Robert Chesney (Wake Forest University School of Law), and Michael Vatis (Steptoe & Johnson). See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

2:00 PM. The Open Internet Coalition (OIC) and Save The Internet Coalition will host a news briefing by teleconference titled "Net Neutrality in Congress and at the FCC". The speakers will include Markham Erickson (OIC), Mark Luker (Educause), Paul Misener (Amazon), Ben Scott (Free Press), Gigi Sohn (Public Knowledge), and Rick Whitt (Google). To participate, call 888-872-6750. The participant number is 34933004. For more information, contact Eric London (OIC) at 202-986-9805 or elondon at tsd dot biz.

Day two of a two day meeting of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Homeland Security Information Network Advisory Committee. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 11, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 8, at Page 2058. Location: Bolger Center, 9600 Newbridge Drive, Potomac, MD.

Day one of a three day conference hosted by the Institute for Defense and Government Advancement (IDGA) titled "Biometrics for National Security and Defense Conference". Location: Hilton Arlington, Ballroom I and II, 950 North Stafford St., Arlington, VA.

EXTENDED TO MARCH 14. Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the Petition for Declaratory Ruling [33 pages in PDF] filed by the Public Knowledge (PK) and other groups on December 11, 2007, pertaining to the regulatory status of text messaging services, including short code based services sent from and received by mobile phones. The PK requests that the FCC declare that these services are governed by the anti-discrimination provisions of Title II of the Communications Act. See, story titled "Verizon Wireless and Net Neutrality Advocates Clash Over Text Messaging" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,647, September 27, 2007. See also, letter from Verizon Wireless to NARAL dated September 27, 2007, and NARAL's web page titled "NARAL Pro-Choice America Wins Fight over Corporate Censorship". See also, story titled "Public Knowledge Asks FCC to Declare that Blocking and Refusing to Carry Text Messages Violates Title II" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,686, December 11, 2007. This proceeding is WT Docket No. 08-7. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 28, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 18, at Pages 4866-4867. See, notice [PDF] of extension, DA 08-282.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The House may consider legislation to reform the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) or to extend the S 1927 [LOC | WW], the "Protect America Act". See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of February 11.

8:00 - 9:30 AM. The Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) will host a breakfast program titled "New Directions in Federal Procurement -- Changes in the Legal Terrain for 2008". See, notice. The price to attend ranges from $45 to $85. Location: The Ritz Carlton, 1700 Tysons Blvd., McLean, VA.

9:30 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing on the nomination of John Sullivan to be Deputy Secretary of Commerce. See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Rambus Inc v. FTC, App. Ct. No. 07-1086. Judges Henderson, Randolph and Williams will preside. See, FTC brief [90 pages in PDF]. See, FTC's August 2, 2006, opinion [120 pages in PDF] in its administrative proceeding titled "In the Matter of Rambus, Inc.". See also, FTC Docket No. 9302 for hyperlinks to pleadings in this proceeding. And see, story titled "FTC Holds That Rambus Unlawfully Monopolized Markets" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,427, August 8, 2006, and story titled "FTC Files Administrative Complaint Against Rambus" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 455, June 20, 2002. Location: 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Small Business Committee will hold a hearing titled "Business Activity Taxes and their Impact on Small Businesses". See also, HR 5267 [LOC | WW], the "Business Activity Tax Simplification Act of 2008", and story titled "Boucher and Goodlatte Again Introduce BAT Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,715, February 11, 2008. Location: Room 2360, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "One Year to the DTV Transition: Consumers, Broadcasters, and Converter Boxes". See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes consideration of several bills, including S 2449 [LOC | WW], the "Sunshine in Litigation Act of 2007", and S 352 [LOC | WW], the "Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2007". The agenda also includes consideration of the nominations of Kevin O'Connor (to be Associate Attorney General) and Gregory Katsas (to be Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Civil Division). The SJC rarely follows its published agendas. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Science Committee will hold a hearing titled "Funding for the America COMPETES Act in the FY2009 Administration Budget Request". The witness will be John Marburger, Director of the Executive Office of the President's (EOP) Office of Science and Technology Policy. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties will hold a hearing on the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Office of Legal Counsel (OLC). See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee's Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives will hold a hearing titled "Federal IT Security: A Review of H.R. 4791". Location: Room 2154, Rayburn Building.

12:00 NOON. The Cato Institute will host a briefing titled "Who Are the Real Free Traders in Congress?". The speakers will include Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Daniel Griswold (Cato). Lunch will be served. See, notice and registration page. Location: Room 385, Russell Building.

2:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law will hold a hearing on HR 3679 [LOC | WW], the "State Video Tax Fairness Act of 2007". See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

2:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property will hold a hearing titled "Design Law -- Are Special Provisions Needed to Protect Unique Industries?". See, notice. Location: Room 2237, Rayburn Building.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its two notice of proposed rulemakings (NPRMs) regarding service rules for the Wireless Communications Service (WCS) and for terrestrial repeaters used in conjunction with the Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service (SDARS). These items are FCC 07-215 in WT Docket No. 07-293 and IB Docket No. 95-91. The FCC adopted these items on December 17, 2007, and released them on December 18, 2007. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 15, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 10, at Pages 2437-2440.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The House may consider legislation to reform the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) or to extend the S 1927 [LOC | WW], the "Protect America Act". See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of February 11.

8:30 - 11:45 AM. The Alliance for Public Technology (APT) will host an event titled "2008 Policy Forum & Susan G. Hadden Pioneer Awards". The speakers will include FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein and Robert Atkinson (head of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation). Location: National Press Club, 13th Floor, 529 14th St. NW.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The House Intelligence Committee will hold a closed hearing titled "Cyber Initiative". See, notice. Location: Room H-405, Capitol Building.

TIME? The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing titled "Preservation of White House E-mails". Location: Room 2154, Rayburn Building.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host a panel discussion titled "Countdown to DTV: Making the 2009 Deadline Work". The speakers will be Ken Feree (PFF), Meredith Baker (acting head of the NTIA), Debra Berlyn (AARP), Rick Chesson (legal advisor to FCC Commissioner Michael Copps), and David Donovan (head of the Association for Maximum Service Television). Lunch will be served. See, notice and registration page. Location: Room B-369, Rayburn Building.

CANCELLED. 12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Cable Practice, Engineering and Technical Practice, and Mass Media Committees will host a brown bag lunch. The topic will be "Understanding Technical Issues Involved in the DTV Transition". The speakers will include Bill Check (NCTA). See, notice and registration page. This event is free. Location: Wiley Rein, 1776 K St., NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in response to its Notice of Inquiry (NOI) regarding its mid-term review of the Joint Project Agreement (JPA) between the DOC and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). See, NTIA release and notice in the Federal Register, November 2, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 212, at Pages 62220-62222.

Expiration of the temporary amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) enacted by S 1927 [LOC | WW], the "Protect America Act", as amended by HR 5104 [LOC | WW].

Day one of a four day event hosted by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) titled "Winter Committee Meetings". See, notice and registration form [PDF]. Location: Renaissance Washington Hotel.

Washington's Birthday. See, Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) list of 2008 federal holidays.

The House will begin its President's Day Recess. See, Rep. Hoyer's 2008 calendar [4.25 MB PDF].

Day two of a four day event hosted by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) titled "Winter Committee Meetings". See, notice and registration form [PDF]. Location: Renaissance Washington Hotel.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division regarding the Complaint, proposed Final Judgment, Hold Separate Stipulation and Order, and Competitive Impact Statement in U.S. v. Commscope, Inc. and Andrew Corporation, U.S. District Court (DC), D.C. No. 07-02200. See, notice in the Federal Register: December 20, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 244, at Pages 72376-72388.

The House will not meet. See, Rep. Hoyer's 2008 calendar [4.25 MB PDF].

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will hold a public meeting regarding the conformity assessment scheme proposed for the evaluation of Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) products to be purchased by federal agencies. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 7, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 26, at Pages 7259-7260. Location: NIST, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.

10:30 AM - 12:00 NOON. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a panel discussion titled "U.S.-South Korean Relations: A New Era of Cooperation?". The speakers will be Michael Auslin (AEI), Bruce Bechtol (Marine Corps Command and Staff College), Marcus Noland (Peterson Institute for International Economics), Charles Pritchard (Korea Economic Institute), and Nicholas Eberstadt (AEI). See, notice. Location: AEI, 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

12:00 NOON. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host a panel discussion titled "DTV Transition". The speakers will be Meredith Baker (acting head of the NTIA), Kyle McSlarrow (head of the NCTA), David Rehr (head of the NAB), Andrew Schwartzman (head of the Media Access Project), Gary Shapiro (head of the Consumer Electronics Association), and Diane Cornell. Lunch will be served. The price to attend ranges from $35-$70. See, online registration page. Registrations are due by 12:00 NOON on February 13. Location: Mayflower Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Ave., NW.

1:00 - 4:00 PM. The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board's (ATBCB) Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee (TEITAC) will meet by conference call. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 24, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 16, at Page 4132.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The Department of State's (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will hold one of a series of meetings to discuss the U.S. positions for the March and April 2008 meeting of the ITU-T Study Group 3 and related issues of the international telecommunication regulations. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 4, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 23, at Page 6547. Location?

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 Danielle Benoit at dbenoit at wcsr dot com or 202-857-4537, Davina Sashkin at sashkin at fhhlaw dot com or 703-812-0458, or Tarah Grant at tsgrant at hhlaw dot com. Location: Le Bar in the Sofitel Hotel, 806 15th St., NW.

Day three of a four day event hosted by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) titled "Winter Committee Meetings". See, notice and registration form [PDF]. Location: Renaissance Washington Hotel.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the establishment of a Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS). This NPRM, which was adopted and released on December 14, 2007, is FCC 07-214 in PSHSB Docket No. 07-287. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 3, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 2, at Pages 545-607. The relevant FCC proceeding is numbered CG Docket No. 03-123.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding Hawk Relay's petition for clarification regarding the Deaf Blind Relay Service (DBRS). See, notice in the Federal Register, January 4, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 3, at Pages 863-864. The relevant FCC proceeding is numbered CG Docket No. 03-123.