11/18. Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA), the ranking Republican on the House Natural Resources Committee (HNRC), sent a letter on November 18, 2010, to House Republicans in which he proposed transferring the House Commerce Committee's (HCC) jurisdiction over energy to the HNRC. HCC Republicans immediately wrote in opposition.

The proposal could impact policy making that affects information and communications technologies (ICT). The HCC is currently a committee with broad jurisdiction under House Rule 10f, which expressly gives it jurisdiction over "Regulation of interstate and foreign communications", numerous energy related matters, "public health", and other things. In addition, in practice, the HCC legislates broadly on issues affecting ICT, sometimes under its jurisdiction over "Consumer affairs and consumer protection" or "Interstate and foreign commerce".

In addition, some House Homeland Security Committee (HHSC) members seek more jurisdiction over homeland security related issues. Members of the House Science and Technology Committee (HSTC), which has little jurisdiction, seek more.

The debate over committee jurisdiction is a consequence of the change in party control of the House.

Rep. Hastings (at right) wrote that the HCC "controls health care, interstate commerce, technology, telecommunications, the FDA, consumer protection and energy. In terms of legislative power, it is a Goliath. This is the Committee that spawned both Obamacare and the Democrats' cap-and-trade national energy tax."

He also wrote that currently energy jurisdiction is divided between the HCC and HNRC, and that his proposal would "marry" the two halves. He also said that it would "level the power of Committees" and "allow more Members to serve on Committees overseeing the top priorities of our Conference and the nation".

18 Republican members of the HCC sent a letter [PDF] on November 18 to Rep. John Boehner (R-OH), Speaker elect for the 112th Congress, and Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), Majority Leader elect, that opposes Rep. Hastings' proposal.

Democrats on the HCC also oppose the move, but as members of the minority party in the 112th Congress, will not be involved in making the decision.

In the last fifteen years the members of the HCC have aggressively and often successfully fought to seize jurisdiction from others, especially on matters relating to ICT.

The 18 wrote that the Republicans on the HCC acted in a concerted and partisan manner in the current Congress to oppose "Nancy's Pelosi's liberal agenda". They wrote that the proposal "ferrets jurisdiction away from committees that have proven their moxie and sends it to committees that haven't experienced a true partisan fight in the past two years".

The 18 wrote that "We will vote against a rules package that includes any diminution of our Committee's jurisdiction."

Obamacare and cap and trade aside, HCC Republicans and Democrats have a tradition of acting together on most matters within the jurisdiction of HCC, and in attempting to ferret away the jurisdiction of others.

For example, one of the motivations for enacting the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was to transfer jurisdiction over telecommunications regulation from U.S. District Court Judge Greene and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to the Congress, and especially, the HCC and Senate Commerce Committee (SCC).

Then, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which is overseen by the HCC and SCC, asserted, with the backing of many HCC and SCC members, de facto antitrust merger review authority, greatly expanding the jurisdictions of the FCC, HCC, and SCC, while diluting the power of the Judiciary Committees.

The HCC has also claimed jurisdiction over intellectual property issues, which nominally fall within the jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committees, by asserting and exercising jurisdiction over bills pertaining to protection of collections of data, exemption to the anti-circumvention provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), and protection of copyright via network management practices of broadband internet access providers.

The HCC has also meddled in criminal law matters, which fall within the jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committees. When the HJC has considered amendments to criminal law to address harmful conduct on the internet, HCC members have introduced bills dealing with the same issue, but providing only civil enforcement authority to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), thereby inserting themselves into the legislative process at the committee level on matters that fall within the jurisdiction of another committee.

The Commerce Committees have also sparred with the tax committees. For example, the FCC and Commerce Committees structured the $2.25 Billion per year e-rate subsidy program in a manner that circumvented the House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee (SFC). The program is funded by an FCC administered tax, rather than from taxes collected by the Department of the Treasury.

Finally, there is the matter of disposition of spectrum auction revenues. Spending public funds falls within the jurisdiction of the Appropriations Committees.

The transfer of jurisdiction can affect the selection of Chairmen and ranking members, and committee assignments. And this can affect the work of committees.

It should be noted that Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) has already made a move. He is a senior member of the HCC, and a former Chairman of its Subcommittee on Commerce, Technology and the Internet (SCTI). He is currently Chairman of the HCC's Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment. However, in the 112th Congress he will likely have no ranking member position at the HCC. Rather, he announced in a letter [PDF] to House Democrats on November 10, 2010, that he will instead exercise his seniority to become the ranking Democrat on the HNRC. See also, Rep. Markey's release. He stands to benefit from Rep. Hastings' proposal.

Also, it should not now go unnoticed that there is a contest for the position of Chairman of the HCC.

In 2001 House Republicans transferred the HCC's limited jurisdiction over securities regulation to the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC). However, that action was also intertwined with settlement of a contest for committee leadership positions. Former Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA) and former Rep. Mike Oxley (R-OH) were both senior members of the HCC Committee. Rep. Oxley was also a member of the HFSC. Rep. Tauzin was selected Chairman of the HCC, Rep. Oxley was selected Chairman of the HFSC, and Rep. Oxley took a piece of HCC jurisdiction with him to the HFSC.

11/18. The House rejected a Republican proposal to terminate federal funding for National Public Radio (NPR) on a roll call vote of 239-171. See, Roll Call No. 576. It was a nearly straight party line vote. Democrats voted 239-3. Republicans voted 0-168.

More specifically, during consideration of a motion to concur in the Senate Amendment to HR 1722 [LOC | WW], the "Telework Enhancement Act of 2010", the House rejected HR 6417 [LOC | WW] on ordering the previous question. The House proceeded to approve the motion to concur in the Senate amendment to HR 1722. See, related story in this issue titled "House Approves Government Telework Bill".

Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO), the sponsor of HR 6417, stated that "When Republicans assume the Majority in the House next January, I expect NPR funding will be one of many government expenditures facing close scrutiny. At a time when the federal government borrows 40 cents of every dollar it spends, we simply cannot afford to spend money on non-essential government services."

The new Republican majority in the House in the 112th Congress, and this vote, may suggest that proposals for new forms of federal subsidization of journalism are doomed. Private entities, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are studying the future of journalism and news media, including proposals for federal subsidies.

The FCC has an open proceeding titled "Future of Media and the Information Needs of Communities". It is numbered GN Docket No. 10-25. Steve Waldman is handling this review. See, stories titled "Genachowski Announces Plan to Assess the Media" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,010, November 2, 2009, "FCC's Baker Opposes Government Funding of Journalism" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,039, January 26, 2010, and "or of the press" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,069, April 1, 2010.

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), the House Republican Whip, stated in a release after the vote on November 18 that "Barely two weeks after an historic election, House Democrats demonstrated today that they are still not ready to listen. News organizations are free to do, say and operate on their own terms, but that doesn't mean that taxpayers should be forced to fund them. Today's vote was just the latest common sense YouCut to cut spending and save taxpayer dollars, and again Democrats showed that they just don't get it. If the Democrat Majority wants to continue to ignore the will of the people that’s their prerogative, but the new Republican Majority will not follow suit next year."

Rep. Cantor (at right), whom House Republicans picked to be the House Majority Leader in the 112th Congress, maintains a web site titled "YouCut". It states that "It allows you to vote, both online and on your cell phone, on spending cuts that you want to see the House enact. Each week, we will take the winning item and offer it to the full House for an up-or-down vote, so that you can see where your representative stands on your priorities."

The YouCut web site also states that "NPR receives taxpayer funding in two different ways. First, they receive direct government grants from various federal agencies, including the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Education, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Over the past two years this direct funding has totaled approximately $9 million. But NPR also receives taxpayer funds indirectly. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting makes grants to public radio stations. While some of these grants can be used for any purpose, some can only be used to acquire and produce programming. Often this programming is purchased from NPR. Indeed programming fees and dues paid by local public radio stations to NPR accounts for approximately 40% of NPR's budget or about $65 million last year. A portion of these funds were originally federal tax dollars provided to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to the local public radio stations."

NPR stated in a release after the vote that "good judgment prevailed". It wrote that the House Republicans' proposal is "unwarranted attempt to interject federal authority into local station program decision-making. Furthermore, restrictions on the authority of CPB -- a Congressionally chartered, independent non-profit organization -- to make competitive grants to NPR, or any other public broadcasting entity, is misguided."

"It is imperative for federal funding to continue", the NPR concluded.

Josh Silver, head of the Free Press, stated in a release that "Public broadcasting is a vital resource to communities across the country, where it is often the last bastion of serious in-depth journalism, cultural coverage and educational programming. That’s why it consistently ranks in surveys of taxpayers as the most trusted source of news and the best use of federal money besides the military. We shouldn’t be trying to take money away from public media at the very moment that we need it most to fill in the gaps created by the collapse in commercial journalism and to counteract the dangerous, offensive propaganda being pushed by people like Rogers Ailes at Fox News."

More on Proposals to Subsidize Media. On October 19, 2009, the Columbia Journalism Review (CJR) published a paper advocating government subsidies titled "The Reconstruction of American Journalism". See, story titled "Former Washington Post Executive Editor Wants FCC to Subsidize Journalism Under Expanded Universal Service System", TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,007, October 22, 2009. On October 2, 2009, the Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy (KC) released a report [148 pages in PDF] titled "Informing Communities: Sustaining Democracy in the Digital Age". See, story titled "Knight Commission Offers Policy Recommendations Regarding Information and Journalism" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,996, October 5, 2009. On January 28, 2010, the University of California's (USC) Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism released a paper [20 pages in PDF] titled "Public Policy and Funding the News". The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) held a two day conference titled "How Will Journalism Survive the Internet Age?" on December 1 and 2, 2009. See, FTC web page with hyperlinks to prepared testimony.

11/18. Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), the ranking Republican on the House Commerce Committee (HCC), and Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX), the ranking Republican on the HCC's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, sent a letter [PDF] to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) asking it to examine National Public Radio (NPR) funding and spending.

Specifically, they ask the GAO to examine whether it "is using or used any federally appropriated funds -- obtained either directly or through payments to NPR from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), public radio stations, or other sources -- for the creation of content as opposed to the technical operation of the network and its stations."

They also expressed concern about the NPR's termination last month of news analyst Juan Williams for comments made on a Fox News program. They wrote that "we are deeply concerned that the precipitous action taken to terminate Williams' contract may reflect a tendency on the part of NPR management to use its ethics rules to silence employees whose greatest offense in contravention of the rules of political correctness".

The two asked the GAO to study the NPR's funding sources. They also ask, "Were any federally appropriated funds expended" in investigating or disciplining Williams?

They also wrote that "many taxpayers may not share the editorial views of NPR".

11/18. The House passed a HRes 1721, a motion to concur in the Senate Amendment to HR 1722 [LOC | WW], the "Telework Enhancement Act of 2010", a bill pertaining to teleworking at federal agencies only. The House approved the motion on a vote of 254-152. It was a nearly straight party line vote. Democrats voted 240-3. Republicans voted 14-149. See, Roll Call No. 578.

The House passed an earlier version of this bill on July 14, 2010, by a vote of 290-131. See, Roll Call No. 441. See, story titled "House Passes Government Telework Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,104, July 14, 2010.

The Senate amended and passed the bill on September 29, 2010. See, story titled "Senate Passes Government Telework Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,137, October 1, 2010.

This bill requires federal agencies to establish a plan that authorizes employees to telework. It does nothing to promote, or reduce barriers to, teleworking in the private sector. See also, story titled "Congress Inactive on Private Sector Telework Bills" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,104, July 14, 2010.

11/17. Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced S 3961 [LOC | WW], the "E-Rulemaking Act of 2010", a bill to amend the E-Government Act of 2002, which is codified at 44 U.S.C. § 3501 note, to reform the electronic rulemaking process.

Sen. Lieberman stated in a release that "Electronic rulemaking has improved tremendously, particularly with the refinement and strengthening of the website Regulations.gov. But much more needs to be done ... Our bill will make the regulatory process easier to navigate for both the public and government agencies and will encourage innovations to strengthen the ability of Americans to interact with their government."

Sen. Collins stated in this release that "This bill would open a window onto government, help create standardization of federal rulemaking and enhance the one-stop website, Regulations.gov ... Public participation is the lifeblood of a healthy democracy and this bill would improve the government's digital capabilities in order to give the public more access and more input on all federal rules."

The bill was referred to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Sen. Lieberman is the Chairman. Sen. Collins is the ranking Republican.

The House will not meet. It will next meet on Monday, November 29, 2010, at 2:00 PM. See, HConRes 332.

The Senate will meet at 10:30 AM for morning business.

10:00 AM. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) will hold a public hearing regarding Malaysia's participation in ongoing negotiation of a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement. The OUSTR seeks comments on, among other things, "electronic commerce issues" and "trade-related intellectual property rights issues that should be addressed in the negotiations". See, notice in the Federal Register, October 20, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 202, at Pages 64778-64779. See also, International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) request to testify [PDF]. Location: OUSTR, Conference Rooms 1 and 2, 1724 F St., NW.

9:00 - 11:00 AM. The Canada Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars will host a panel discussion titled "Privacy and Information Sharing: The Search for an Intelligent Border". The speakers will be Mary Ellen Callahan (Chief Privacy Officer of the Department of Homeland Security) and Wesley Wark (University of Toronto). Jim Harper (Cato Institute) will moderate. Location: Woodrow Wilson Center, Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania, NW.

9:30 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Media Access Project (MAP) will host a panel discussion titled "Online Video: Incumbent Providers Meet a Disruptive New Technology". The speakers will be Susan Fox (Disney), David Goodfriend (Weiner Brodsky Sidman & Kider), Kyle McSlarrow (National Cable & Telecommunications Association), and Johanna Shelton (Google). Breakfast will begin at 8:30 AM. This event is free and open to the public. See, notice. Location: Dickstein Shapiro, 1825 I St., NW.

10:30 AM - 1:30 PM. The Public Knowledge will host an event titled "Demonstrations of Cut The Cord Technologies". At 10:30 - 11:00 AM, there will be a "Press Availability". At 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM, there will be exhibits. The participants will include Roku, Revision3, PlayOn, and Popbox. For more information, contact Art Brodsky 202-861-0020 (office), 301-908-7715 (cell), or abrodsky at publicknowledge dot org. Location: Foyer, Rayburn Building, Capitol Hill.

11:00 AM. The Broadcasting Board of Governors will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 12, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 218, at Pages 69397-69398, and notice in the Federal Register, November 15, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 219, at Page 69620. Location: Cohen Building, Room 3321, 330 Independence Ave., SW.

Day two of a three day event hosted by the Federalist Society titled "2010 National Lawyers Convention". At 3:15 - 4:45 PM, there will be a panel titled "Free Speech: Anonymity and The First Amendment". The speakers will be Lloyd Mayer (University of Notre Dame Law School), Bradley Smith (Capital University Law School), Raymond Randolph (Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir)), Joel Reidenberg (Fordham University School of Law), and Brett Kavanaugh (Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir)). At 5:45 PM, Judge Dennis Jacobs of the U.S. Court or Appeals for the (2ndCir) will speak. See, notice and agenda. Location: Mayflower Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Ave., NW.

Deadline for the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) to submit its report to the Senate Finance Committee (SFC) in its proceeding titled "China: Intellectual Property Infringement, Indigenous Innovation Policies, and Frameworks for Measuring the Effects on the U.S. Economy". See, notice in the Federal Register, May 10, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 89, at Pages 25883-25884.

Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in response to its request for comments regarding creating a "fast-track ex parte reexamination voucher pilot program to create incentives for technologies and licensing behavior that address humanitarian needs". See, notice in the Federal Register, September 20, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 181, at Pages 57261-57262.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Internet Policy Task Force regarding the relationship between the availability and protection of online copyrighted works and innovation in the internet economy. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 5, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 192, at Pages 61419-61424.

Day three of a three day event hosted by the Federalist Society titled "2010 National Lawyers Convention". At 10:45 AM – 12:15 PM, there will be a panel titled "Administrative Law: Limits to Government and Regulatory Authority: Comcast v. FCC". The speakers will be Marvin Ammori (University of Nebraska College of Law), Ronald Cass, Thomas Hazlett (George Mason University School of Law), Austin Schlick (FCC General Counsel), and Diarmuid O'Scannlain (Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir)). Also at 10:45 AM – 12:15 PM, there will be a panel titled "Telecommunications: Rewriting the Telecomm Act: Has the Time Come?". The speakers will be Robert McDowell (FCC Commissioner), Thomas Tauke (Verizon), Shawn Chang (Majority Counsel, House Commerce Commerce), Parul Desai (Consumers Union), Raymond Gifford (Wilkinson Barker Knauer), Howard Waltzman (Mayer Brown), David Sentelle (Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals DCCir)), and Maureen Ohlhausen (Wilkinson Barker Knauer). See, notice and agenda. Location: Mayflower Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Ave., NW.

9:30 - 11:00 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) and will host an event to discuss a report [107 pages in PDF] titled "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (and The Self-Destructive) of Innovation Policy", by Steven Ezell (ITIF) and Robert Atkinson (ITIF). The speakers will be Atkinson, Grant Aldonas (Split Rock International), Marcus Noland (Peterson Institute for International Economics), and Bruce Stokes (National Journal). See, notice. This event is free and open to the public. Location: ITIF/ITIC, 6th floor, 1101 K St., NW.

11:00 AM. The Free Press (FP) will host a news conference by teleconference to release and discuss a report titled "Restoring FCC Authority to Make Broadband Policy: A Way Forward After Comcast v. FCC". The speakers will be Tim Wu (Columbia University law school), Susan Crawford (Yeshiva University law school), Aparna Sridhar (FP), and Josh Silver (FP). The call in number is 888-792-8352; the conference ID is 24410747.

12:00 NOON. Deadline to submit written comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) regarding Malaysia's participation in ongoing negotiation of a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement. The OUSTR seeks comments on, among other things, "electronic commerce issues" and "trade-related intellectual property rights issues that should be addressed in the negotiations". See, notice in the Federal Register, October 20, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 202, at Pages 64778-64779.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [79 pages in PDF] regarding expanding the FCC's disability access technology mandates. The FCC adopted and released this item on August 5, 2010. It is FCC 10-145 in WT Docket No. 07-250. See, notice in the Federal Register: September 8, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 173, at Pages 54546-54560. See also, story titled "FCC Adopts Disability Access Policy Statement, Order, and NPRM" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,120, August 6, 2010.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Inquiry [102 pages in PDF] regarding the use of microwave for wireless backhaul. The FCC adopted and released this item on August 5, 2010. It is FCC 10-146 in WT Docket Nos. 10-153, 09-106, and 07-121. See, story titled "FCC Adopts Wireless Backhaul NPRM and NOI" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,120, August 6, 2010, and notice in the Federal Register, August 24, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 163, at Pages 52185-52209.

Deadline to submit comments to the Copyright Office (CO) regarding its proposed rules changes affecting deposit account holders. The CO notice states that it proposes to "set the minimum level of activity required to hold a deposit account at 12 transactions per year; require deposit account holders to maintain a minimum balance in that account; mandate the closure of a deposit account the second time it is overdrawn; and offer deposit account holders the option of automatic replenishment of their account via their bank account or credit card." See, notice in the Federal Register, October 8, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 195, at Pages 62345-62348.

No events listed.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its October 25, 2010, Public Notice (PN) regarding its closed captioning rules. This PN is DA 10-2050 in CG Docket 05-231, ET Docket No. 99-254. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 17, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 221, at Pages 70168-70169.

Thanksgiving Day. This is a federal holiday. See, Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) web page titled "2010 Federal Holidays".

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Defense (DOD) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking regarding amending its Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) regarding patents, data, and copyrights, including for software. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 27, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 186, at Pages 59411-59468.

11/18. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) held an executive business meeting at which it held over consideration of S 3728 [LOC | WW], the "Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Protection Act".

11/17. Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) introduced HR 6417 [LOC | WW], a bill to prohibit federal funding of certain public radio programming. It was referred to the House Commerce Committee (HCC).

11/17. Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) spoke in the Senate about S 3538 [LOC | WW], the "National Cyber Infrastructure Protection Act", introduced by Sen. Bond and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) on June 24, 2010, and other cyber security bills. He said that he filed a substitute amendment. He also said that "There are many different opinions out there on how best to tackle the cyber security problems we face", and "The next Congress needs to focus on passing effective cyber legislation". See, Congressional Record, November 17, 2010, at Page S7949.

11/18. The House Ethics Committee (House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct) adopted a report [PDF] on November 18, 2010, by a vote of 9-1, that censures Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) for committing violations of House ethics rules "on a continuous and prolonged basis". However, it also found that none of the violations involved "any direct personal financial gain". See also, November 16 report [9 pages in PDF] of the Adjudicatory Subcommittee which explains the violations. The violations relate to his use of his office to solicit funds from large corporations for a college center named for him, and his federal tax returns.

11/18. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) and the Kaufman Foundation released a report [68 pages in PDF] titled "The 2010 State New Economy Index".

11/18. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) published a notice in the Federal Register that announces that its is reviewing, and requests comments on, the operation, effectiveness, and implementation of and compliance with various telecommunications agreements, including the World Trade Organization (WTO) General Agreement on Trade in Services. Initial comments are due by 12:00 NOON on December 17, 2010. Reply comments are due by 12:00 NOON on January 14, 2011. The OUSTR also announced that it will conclude its review by March 31, 2011. See, Federal Register, November 18, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 222, at Pages 70770-70771.

10/28. The U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir) issued its opinion [17 pages in PDF] in Global Naps v. PUC California, a case involving interpretation of an interconnection agreement between two competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs), Global Naps California and Cox California Telecom, as it pertains to voice over internet protocol (VOIP) calls. The Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment of the District Court, which affirmed the order of the CPUC in favor of Cox. This case is Global Naps California, Inc. v. Public Utilities Commission of California, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, App. Ct. No. 09-55600, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Judge Margaret Morrow presiding, D.C. No. 2:07-cv-04801-MMM-SS. Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain wrote the opinion of the Court of Appeals, in which Judges Richard Tallman and Joan Lefkow (USDC/NDIll) joined.

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