2/25. The House passed HR 1105 [LOC | WW], the "Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009", by a vote of 245-178. See, Roll Call No. 86.

This is a huge bill. It is 1,122 pages in the GPO's PDF copy of HR 1105 IH. (Page number citations in this issue refer to this GPO PDF copy.) This bill appropriates funds for the federal government for Fiscal Year 2009.

FY 2009 began on October 1, 2008. As usual, this bill is late.

Voting on this bill correlated strongly with party affiliation. Democrats voted 229-20. Republicans voted 16-158. The House passed the previous bill, HR 2764 (110th Congress), the FY 2008 omnibus appropriations bill, by a vote of 272-142, on December 19, 2007. Democrats voted 78-141. Republicans voted 194-1. See, Roll Call No. 1186.

This bill includes a wide range of substantive law provisions, including prohibitions on the use of torture (see, Division B, Title V, Section 519, page 175; and Div. H, Title VII, Sec. 7069, page 905), a limitation on the use of National Security Letters (NSLs) (Div. B, Title V, Sec. 523, page 178), and instructions for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR).

Rep. David Obey (D-WI), Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, introduced this bill on February 23, 2009. The House approved it on February 25, subject to a rule that permitted no amendments. The Senate has yet to pass this bill.

The bill appropriates funds for technology related federal entities, including:

• Federal Communications Commission (FCC). (See, Div. D, Title V, pages 315-317.)
• Federal Trade Commission (FTC). (See, Div. D, Title V, page 319.)
• Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR). (See, Div. B, Title IV, page 164.)
• Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB). (See, Div. D, Title V, page 347.)
• Department of Commerce, including the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). (See, Div. B, Title I.)
• various other science related entities, including the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). (See, Div. B, Title III.)
• Department of Justice (DOJ), including its civil components, such as the Antitrust Division, and its law enforcement components, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). (See, Div. B, Title II.)

This bill also includes appropriations for:

• Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and other rural and agriculture programs.
• Department of Defense.
• Department of Energy.
• Department of the Interior.
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
• Department of the Treasury.
• Department of Labor.
• Department of Health and Human Services.
• Department of Education.
• Department of State.
• Department of Housing and Urban Development.
• Judiciary.
• Congress.
• other federal entities.

2/25. The House passed HR 1105 [LOC | WW], the "Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009". It includes appropriations for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

This bill appropriates for "necessary expenses" of the USPTO, "including defense of suits instituted against the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, $2,010,100,000, to remain available until expended".

It continues that "the sum herein appropriated from the general fund shall be reduced as offsetting collections assessed and collected pursuant to 15 U.S.C. 1113 and 35 U.S.C. 41 and 376 are received during fiscal year 2009, so as to result in a fiscal year 2009 appropriation from the general fund estimated at $0".

It further provides that in FY 2009, "should the total amount of offsetting fee collections be less than $2,010,100,000, this amount shall be reduced accordingly".

It further provides that "$750,000 may be transferred to `Departmental Management, Salaries and Expenses΄ for activities associated with" the National Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordination Council (NIPLECC).

It further provides that "of the amounts provided to the USPTO within this account, $5,000,000 shall not become available for obligation until the Director of the USPTO has completed a comprehensive review of the assumptions behind the patent examiner expectancy goals and adopted a revised set of expectancy goals for patent examination".

It further addresses employee post-retirement benefits.

It also provides that "sections 801, 802, and 803 of division B, Public Law 108-447 shall remain in effect during fiscal year 2009". These are the patent and trademark fees sections of HR  4818 (108th Congress), the "Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005".

It also provides that the USPTO "may, this year, reduce by regulation fees payable for documents in patent and trademark matters, in connection with the filing of documents filed electronically in a form prescribed by the Director".

It also provides that "no less than $4,000,000 shall be available only for the USPTO contribution in a cooperative or joint agreement or agreements with a non-profit organization or organizations ... in support of fair international protection of intellectual property rights."

2/25. The House passed HR 1105 [LOC | WW], the "Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009". It includes appropriations for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

This bill appropriates for NTIA expenses $19.2 Million.

It also provides that "the Secretary of Commerce shall charge Federal agencies for costs incurred in spectrum management, analysis, operations, and related services, and such fees shall be retained and used as offsetting collections for costs of such spectrum services".

It also provides that "the Secretary of Commerce is authorized to retain and use as offsetting collections all funds transferred, or previously transferred, from other Government agencies for all costs incurred in telecommunications research, engineering, and related activities by the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences of NTIA".

It further provides $20 Million for public telecommunications facilities, planning and construction.

Also, HR 1 [LOC | WW], the huge spending bill enacted earlier this month, included an appropriation of $4.7 Billion for the NTIA for a broadband grants program, and another $740 Million for activities related to the transition from analog to digital television. See, stories titled "Summary of Broadband Grants Provisions in Spending Bill" and "Spending Bill Includes More DTV Transition Funding" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,899, February 13, 2009.

2/25. The House passed HR 1105 [LOC | WW], the "Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009". It includes appropriations for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

This bill provides $472 Million for the NIST for FY 2009.

It provides another $110 Million for the NIST's Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, and another $65 Million for the NIST's Technology Innovation Program.

It also provides $172 Million for a competitive construction grant program for research science buildings.

2/25. The House passed HR 1105 [LOC | WW], the "Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009". It includes appropriations for the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS).

HR 1105 appropriates $83,676,000. (See, Div. B, Title I, pages 86-88.)

The BIS, which is a component of the Department of Commerce, regulates exports, and other activities, for national security, and other, purposes.

This includes regulation of the export of dual use items, such as computers, microprocessors, software and encryption products. This BIS also regulates business practices that it identifies as "deemed exports", such as employment of foreign nationals, use of software by foreign nationals, and access to technical data by foreign nationals.

The BIS has in the past used its regulation of exports to attempt to control domestic production and sales.

2/25. The House passed HR 1105 [LOC | WW], the "Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009". It includes appropriations for the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Integrated Wireless Network. HR 1105 appropriates $185 Million for "the costs of developing and implementing a nation-wide Integrated Wireless Network supporting Federal law enforcement, and for the costs of operations and maintenance of existing Land Mobile Radio legacy systems."

It also provides that the DOJ "shall transfer to this account all funds made available to the Department of Justice for the purchase of portable and mobile radios".

Antitrust Division. This bill appropriates $157.8 Million for the Antitrust Division.

It further provides that "fees collected for premerger notification filings under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (15 U.S.C. 18a), regardless of the year of collection (and estimated to be $157,788,000 in fiscal year 2009), shall be retained and used for necessary expenses in this appropriation, and shall remain available until expended". (Parentheses in original.)

National Security Division. This bill appropriates $83.8 Million for the DOJ's National Security Division (NSD).

FBI. This bill appropriates over $7 Billion for the expenses of the FBI "for detection, investigation, and prosecution of crimes".

It also appropriates another $153.5 Million "to construct or acquire buildings and sites by purchase".

National Security Letters. This bill also includes a limitation on the use of National Security Letters (NSLs).

It states, "None of the funds made available in this Act may be used to authorize or issue a national security letter in contravention of any of the following laws authorizing the Federal Bureau of Investigation to issue national security letters: The Right to Financial Privacy Act; The Electronic Communications Privacy Act; The Fair Credit Reporting Act; The National Security Act of 1947; USA PATRIOT Act; and the laws amended by these Acts." (See, Div. B, Titled V, Sec. 523, page 178.)

The DOJ's Inspector General has issued reports finding misuse of NSL authority. See, story titled "DOJ IG Releases Reports on Use of NSLs and Section 215 Authority" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,551, March 13, 2007, and story titled "DOJ Inspector General Releases Second Report on FBI Misuse of National Security Letters" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,730, March 12, 2008.

Torture. This bill also contains prohibitions on the use of torture. The ban that applies to the DOJ and FBI  states that "None of the funds made available in this Act shall be used in any way whatsoever to support or justify the use of torture by any official or contract employee of the United States Government." (See, Div. B, Title V, Sec. 519.)

2/25. The House passed HR 1105 [LOC | WW], the "Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009". It includes appropriations for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR). (See, Div. B, Title IV, page 164.)

This bill also includes limitations and instructions for the OUSTR in the negotiation future free trade agreements (FTAs).

This bill provides an appropriation of $47.3 Million for the OUSTR.

It further provides that "negotiations shall be conducted within the World Trade Organization to recognize the right of members to distribute monies collected from antidumping and countervailing duties".

It also provides that "negotiations shall be conducted within the World Trade Organization consistent with the negotiating objectives contained in the Trade Act of 2002, Public Law 107–210."

This bill also provides that "None of the funds made available in this Act may be used to include in any new bilateral or multilateral trade agreement the text of -- (1) paragraph 2 of article 16.7 of the United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement; (2) paragraph 4 of article 17.9 of the United States-Australia Free Trade Agreement; or (3) paragraph 4 of article 15.9 of the United States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement." (See, Div. B, Title IV, Sec. 522, page 178.)

The U.S.-Singapore FTA [236 PDF], at Article 16.7, Paragraph 2, provides that "Each Party shall provide that patent owners shall also have the right to assign, or transfer by succession, a patent and to conclude licensing contracts. Each Party shall provide a cause of action to prevent or redress the procurement of a patented pharmaceutical product, without the authorization of the patent owner, by a party who knows or has reason to know that such product is or has been distributed in breach of a contract between the right holder and a licensee, regardless of whether such breach occurs in or outside its territory. Each Party shall provide that in such a cause of action, notice shall constitute constructive knowledge." (Footnote omitted.)

Article 17 of the US-Australia FTA [PDF], at Article 17.9, Paragraph 4, provides that "Each Party shall provide that the exclusive right of the patent owner to prevent importation of a patented product, or a product that results from a patented process, without the consent of the patent owner shall not be limited by the sale or distribution of that product outside its territory, at least where the patentee has placed restrictions on importation by contract or other means."

Article 15 of the US-Morocco FTA [PDF], at Article 15.9, Paragraph 4, provides that "Each Party shall provide that the exclusive right of the patent owner to prevent importation of a patented product, or a product that results from patented process, without the consent of the patent owner shall not be limited by the sale or distribution of that product outside its territory."

2/25. The House passed HR 1105 [LOC | WW], the "Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009". It includes appropriations for various science related federal entities.

OSTP. This bill appropriates $5.3 Million for the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), which is a part of the Executive Office of the President.

NSF. This bill appropriates $5.2 Billion for the expenses of the National Science Foundation (NSF). It appropriates another $152 Million for acquisition of equipment and facilities.

It appropriates another $845 Million for "expenses in carrying out science and engineering education and human resources programs and activities pursuant to the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended (42 U.S.C. 1861-1875)". (Parentheses in original.)

It appropriates another $294 Million for "agency operations and award management". It appropriates another $4 Million for the National Science Board, and another $12 Million for the NSF's Office of Inspector General.

This is in addition to the science funding in the NIST appropriation for FY 2009. See, story in this issue titled "HR 1105 Provides NIST Funding".

Also, HR 1 [LOC | WW], the huge spending bill enacted earlier this month, includes huge appropriations for the NIST and NSF. That bill included another $580 Million for the NIST for research and construction of facilities. That bill also included another $2.5 Billion for the NSF for research, $100 Million for education, and $400 Million for equipment and construction.

See, story titled "Spending Bill Includes Research Funding" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,899, February 13, 2009.

2/25. The House passed HR 1105 [LOC | WW], the "Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009". It includes appropriations for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

This bill provides for the FCC for expenses for FY 2009 $341.9 Million. (See, Division D, Title V, pages 315-317.)

It further provides that "$341,875,000 of offsetting collections shall be assessed and collected ... so as to result in a final fiscal year 2009 appropriation estimated at $0" and that "any offsetting collections received in excess of $341,875,000 in fiscal year 2009 shall not be available for obligation".

It further provides that "not less than $3,000,000 shall be available to establish and administer a State Broadband Data and Development matching grants program for State-level broadband demand aggregation activities and creation of geographic inventory maps of broadband service to identify gaps in service and provide a baseline assessment of statewide broadband deployment".

It further provides that "proceeds from the use of a competitive bidding system that may be retained and made available for obligation shall not exceed $85,000,000 for fiscal year 2009".

It further provides that "not to exceed $25,480,000 may be transferred from the Universal Service Fund in fiscal year 2009 to remain available until expended, to monitor the Universal Service Fund program to prevent and remedy waste, fraud and abuse, and to conduct audits and investigations by the Office of Inspector General."

This bill also extends for another year, to December 31, 2009, Section 302 of the Universal Service Antideficiency Temporary Suspension Act. (See, Div. D, Title V, Sec. 501.)

This bill also provides that "None of the funds appropriated by this Act may be used by the Federal Communications Commission to modify, amend, or change its rules or regulations for universal service support payments to implement the February 27, 2004 recommendations of the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service regarding single connection or primary line restrictions on universal service support payments." (See, Div. D, Title V, Sec. 502.)

This issue contains the following items:
 • House Passes Omnibus Appropriations Bill
 • HR 1105 Provides USPTO Funding
 • HR 1105 Provides NTIA Funding
 • HR 1105 Provides NIST Funding
 • HR 1105 Provides BIS Funding
 • HR 1105 Provides DOJ Funding
 • HR 1105 Provides OUSTR Funding
 • HR 1105 Provides Science Funding
 • HR 1105 Provides FCC Funding
 • HR 1105 Provides FTC Funding
 • HR 1105 Provides Privacy Related Funding
 • Gary Locke Nominated for Secretary of Commerce

2/25. President Obama nominated Gary Locke to be Secretary of Commerce. He is a former Governor of the state of Washington. See, White House news office release. See also, statement by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and statement by Sen. Kay Hutchison (R-TX).

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. It will consider HR 1106 [LOC | WW], the "Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009". See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of February 23, and schedule for February 26.

The Senate will will meet at 9:30 AM. It will resume consideration of S 160 [LOC | WW], a bill to provide the District of Columbia a seat in the House.

9:15 AM - 4:00 PM. The Free State Foundation will host a one day conference titled "New Directions in Communications Policy". The keynote speaker will be Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). There will be panels on broadband policy and net neutrality, universal service and intercarrier compensation issues, and media regulatory policy. The speakers will include Michael Powell, Deborah Tate, Richard Wiley, Robert Atkinson (ITIF), Steve Davis (Qwest), Gerald Brock (George Washington University), Jeff Campbell (Cisco), Jim Cicconi (AT&T), Robert Crandall (Brookings Institution), Diane Disney (Pennsylvania State University), James Gattuso (Heritage Foundation), Ellen Goodman (Rutgers School of Law), John Mayo (Georgetown University), Kyle McSlarrow (NCTA), Glen Robinson (University of Virginia Law School), Jim Speta (Northwestern University School of Law), Tom Sugrue (T-Mobile), Tom Tauke (Verizon), Joe Waz (Comcast), Steven Wildman (Michigan State University), and Christopher Yoo (University of Pennsylvania Law School). This event is free. RSVP to Susan Reichbart at sreichbart at freestatefoundation dot org. Location: National Press Club, 13th Floor, 529 14th St. NW.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Courts and Competition Policy will hold a hearing titled "Competition in the Ticketing and Promotion Industry". See, notice. The HJC will webcast this hearing. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Science Committee (HSC) will hold a hearing titled "Beyond the Classroom: Informal STEM Education". See, notice. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes consideration of the nominations of David Ogden to be Deputy Attorney General, Thomas Perrelli to be Associate Attorney General, and Elena Kagan to be Solicitor General. The SJC will webcast this event. See, notice. The SJC will webcast this event. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

Deadline to submit written comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) regarding whether or not to adopt some form of deferred examination for patent applications. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 28, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 17, at Pages 4946-4947.

Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of February 23 states that no votes are expected in the House.

FULL. 12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Legislative, Wireless and Wireline Committees will host a brown bag lunch titled "Broadband and the Economy: What should be the role of Broadband in Stimulating U.S. Economic Recovery". Location: USTelecom, Suite 400, 607 14th St., NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding application of the closed captioning rules to digital broadcasting, specifically to broadcasters that choose to use their digital allotment to multicast several streams of programming. The FCC adopted this item on November 3, 2008, and released the text [57 pages in PDF] on November 7, 2008. It is FCC 08-255 in CG Docket No. 05-231. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 13, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 8, at Pages 1654-1661.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to assist it in preparing a report to the Congress on the status of competition in markets for the delivery of video programming. The FCC engaged in the legal fiction of adopting a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) on November 27, 2007. It did not release the text [41 pages in PDF] of a NOI until January 16, 2009. It is FCC 07-207 in MB Docket 07-269. This NOI requests comments regarding "changes in the marketplace between 2006 and 2007". See, notice in the Federal Register, February 11, 2009, Volume 74, No. 27, at Pages 6875-6882.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division regarding its draft [149 pages in PDF] of Special Publication 800-85A-1, titled "PIV Card Application and Middleware Interface Test Guidelines".

10:00 - 11:30 AM. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) will host an event titled "Political Online Advertising in the 2008 Election: Politics Will Never Be the Same Again". See, notice and registration page. Location: Venable, 575 7th St., NW.

10:00 AM. Deadline for foreign governments to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) regarding countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection. These comments assist the OUSTR in fulfilling its obligations under Section 182 of the Trade Act Act of 1974. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 23, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 14, Page 4263-4264.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding possible revision or elimination of rules under the Regulatory Flexibility Act. See, notice in the Federal Register, December 30, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 250, at Pages 79667-79683.

EXTENDED TO MARCH 16. Deadline to submit FCC Form 477to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). This is the FCC semi-annual form for collection of data on local telephone and broadband internet access lines. See also, February 12, 2009, Public Notice [2 pages in PDF]. See, February 23, 2009, order [3 pages in PDF].

9:00 AM - 5:15 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Advanced Scientific Computing Advisory Committee (ASCAC) will meet. The agenda for March 3 includes "View from Washington", "ASCR Update", "Changes to INCITE Program", "Update on Extreme Scale Science Workshops", "Cyber Security R&D Planning", "Realizing Petascale Computing", "ESnet Update", "ASCAC Subcommittee Updates", and "Public Comment". See, notice in the Federal Register, February 10, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 26, at Page 6608. Location: American Geophysical Union (AGU), 2000 Florida Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law will hold a hearing titled "Circuit City Unplugged: Why Did Chapter 11 Fail To Save 34,000 Jobs?". See, notice. The HJC will webcast this hearing. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE) will hold a conference titled "Design Concepts of Future Electric Transmission". See, notice in the Federal Register, February 2, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 20, at Page 5826. Location?

9:00 AM - 4:15 PM. The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission will hold a meeting titled "China's Military and Security Activities Abroad". See, notice in the Federal Register, February 2, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 20, at Pages 5896-5897. Location: Room 562, Dirksen Building, Capitol Hill.

9:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. Day one of a two day meeting of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Advanced Scientific Computing Advisory Committee (ASCAC) will meet. The agenda for March 4 includes "Gordon Bell Petascale Application -- Superconductors International Collaboration", "INCITE User Perspective", and "Public Comment". See, notice in the Federal Register, February 10, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 26, at Page 6608. Location: American Geophysical Union (AGU), 2000 Florida Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will hold a hearing on HR 848 [LOC | WW], the "Performance Rights Act". See, notice. The HJC will webcast this hearing. See also, story titled "Performance Rights Act Reintroduced" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,896, February 10, 2009. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

2:00 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "Getting to the Truth Through a Nonpartisan Commission of Inquiry". The SJC will webcast this event. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

3:00 - 5:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Consumer Advisory Committee will meet. See, FCC notice [PDF] and notice in the Federal Register, February 17, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 30, at Page 7435. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room (Room TW-C305), 445 12th St., SW.

TIME? The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) will hold a hearing regarding its plans to initiate negotiations on a Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement with Singapore, Chile, New Zealand, Brunei Darussalam, Australia, Peru and Vietnam. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 26, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 15, at Pages 4480-4482. Location?

Deadline to register for the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Office of Law Enforcement Standards' (OLES) March 11, 2009, meeting via the internet to bring Project 25 Compliance Assessment Program stakeholders together to discuss what the process will be to assess software based test tools for the Project 25 Compliance Assessment Program. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 17, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 30, at Pages 7397-7398.

9:30 - 11:00 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host an event titled "The Need for Speed: The Importance of Next-Generation Broadband Networks". Location: ITIF, Suite 200, 1250 Eye St., NW.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold an event titled "Open Meeting". Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room (Room TW-C305), 445 12th St., SW.

2/25. The House passed HR 1105 [LOC | WW], the "Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009". It includes appropriations for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

HR 1105 appropriates $259.2 Million for the FTC.

It also provides that "not to exceed $168,000,000 of offsetting collections derived from fees collected for premerger notification filings under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (15 U.S.C. 18a), regardless of the year of collection, shall be retained and used for necessary expenses in this appropriation". (Parentheses in original.)

It also provides that "not to exceed $21,000,000 in offsetting collections derived from fees sufficient to implement and enforce the Telemarketing Sales Rule, promulgated under the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act (15 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.), shall be credited to this account, and be retained and used for necessary expenses in this appropriation." (Parentheses in original.)

It also provides that "the sum herein appropriated from the general fund shall be reduced as such offsetting collections are received during fiscal year 2009, so as to result in a final fiscal year 2009 appropriation from the general fund estimated at not more than $70,200,000".

2/25. The House passed HR 1105 [LOC | WW], the "Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009". It includes appropriations and mandates related federal government activities that affect privacy and civil liberties.

PCLOB. First, HR 1105 provides an appropriation of $1.5 Million for the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB), which was statutorily reconstituted in 2007.

It appropriates for expenses of the PCLOB, "as authorized by section 1061 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (5 U.S.C. 601 note), $1,500,000, to remain available until September 30, 2010." (Parentheses in original.)

See also, Section 801 of HR 1 [LOC | WW] in the 110th Congress, which President Bush signed into law on August 3, 2007. It is now Public Law No. 110-53.

Prohibition on Federal Monitoring of Internet Use. HR 1105 again contains a provision that none of the appropriated funds may be used by any federal agency "to collect, review, or create any aggregation of data, derived from any means, that includes any personally identifiable information relating to an individual's access to or use of any Federal Government Internet site of the agency".

It also provides that no funds may be used by any federal agency "to enter into any agreement with a third party (including another government agency) to collect, review, or obtain any aggregation of data, derived from any means, that includes any personally identifiable information relating to an individual's access to or use of any nongovernmental Internet site."

However, it also provides exceptions.

Privacy Act. HR 1105 also provides that "None of the funds made available in this Act may be used in contravention of section 552a of title 5, United States Code (popularly known as the Privacy Act) and regulations implementing that section." (Parentheses in original.)

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