3/15. The House Commerce Committee (HCC) approved HJRes 37, a resolution disapproving the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) rules regulating broadband internet access service (BIAS) providers. The vote was 30-23.

Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), the Chairman of the HCC's Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, wrote in his statement on March 14 that this is "a simple resolution that would nullify the FCC's launch of a government takeover of the Internet."

He continued that "despite claims to the contrary, the resolution will create certainty. First, it will remove the overhang surrounding how the FCC will apply the rules. Second, it will eliminate the collateral damage to FCC authority that will come when the FCC loses the court appeal. That decision could hinder the FCC's ability to implement the national broadband plan. The resolution avoids this since it only prevents re-imposition of substantially similar rules rather than affect the FCC’s underlying authority."

He concluded that "A vote against this resolution is nothing more than a vote to allow the FCC to impose substantially similar rules under Title II after the courts strike these down. The FCC continues to hold the Title II proceeding open and Free Press has not been shy that it still wants reclassification."

Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), the Chairman of the HCC, wrote in his statement that "The FCC’s order will harm jobs and the economy by stifling investment and innovation. Even large broadband providers still have concerns. While the cable industry decided it would live with the order rather than face reclassification under Title II, it said in a letter to us that ``there could certainly be an adverse economic impact by chilling the willingness to deploy these new services.´´ The wireless industry also said ``increased regulation tends to depress rather than accelerate investment.´´"

"While the FCC may be loath to admit it, the resolution will prevent further damage to its authority. If the FCC loses its court appeal, the precedent would hinder the FCC’s ability to implement the national broadband plan", said Rep. Upton. "Another benefit of this resolution is that it will eliminate the specter of the FCC adopting substantially similar rules under Title II when it loses in court."

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the HCC, wrote in his statement that "what the majority hopes to accomplish with this bill is to give big phone and cable companies control over what websites Americans can visit, what applications they can run, and what devices they can use."

"Even the companies that might benefit the most from this legislation do not support the resolution. AT&T and Comcast support the FCC’s order because it provides greater certainty for investment. The high-tech industry, consumer groups, civil rights organizations, religious groups, and labor unions all say H.J. Res. 37 is a bad idea."

Finally, he argued that "Instead of wasting precious legislative time on another partisan bill that is not going to become law, we should be looking for areas in which we can accomplish something. Spectrum policy, public safety, broadband deployment, and universal service reform are all ripe for bipartisan attention."

Gigi Sohn, head of the Public Knowledge (PK), stated in a release that "“It's a shame that legislators who would nullify the Federal Communications Commission’s Net Neutrality rules ignore that big network providers would be able to block websites, give preference to others and discriminate in traffic management.  If those legislators had their way, consumers, entrepreneurs and other disadvantaged companies would have no recourse to correct the situation. The transparency rules also would be abolished, leaving consumers and competitors in the dark about what big carriers are doing to manage their traffic."

Craig Aaron, head of the Free Press (FP), stated in a release that his group is "deeply disappointed".

3/15. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it will hold a workshop on April 28, 2011, titled "Public Workshop: Debt Collection 2.0: Protecting Consumers as Technologies Change". It also requested public comments.

See, FTC's March 10 release, and notice in the Federal Register, March 15, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 50, at Pages 14010-14014.

The FTC will examine the application of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which is codified at 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692-1692p, to the use of new information, communications, and payment technologies, including electronic databases, social networking web sites, instant messaging, texting, and electronic payments systems.

The FDCPA was written when debt collectors used person to person phone calling, and USPS mail. The FTC's request for comments propounds 21 multipart questions. Most pertain to the uses being made of new technologies.

The FTC also asks "How do current federal and state laws apply to debt collectors' use of post-FDCPA information technologies? How, if at all, should the law be changed to take into account the costs and benefits of these technologies to consumers and collectors?" The FTC also asks similar questions for new communications and payment technologies.

The FTC also asks whether new information, communications and payment technologies when used in the context of debt collection "create different risks of deception, unfairness, or abuse, compared to those associated with traditional technologies?"

The FTC wrote that "Facebook, which did not become available to the general public until 2006, now has approximately 150 million users in the United States, and some debt collectors are using it to find and contact debtors. The technology that debt collectors use to obtain, store, and manage information about consumers also continues to evolve." (Footnotes omitted from this and other quotations.)

"These trends call for a discussion of the relative costs and benefits to consumers and the debt collection industry of these technologies and correspondingly, whether there is a need for action, including changes in law, policy, or industry practice."

The FTC continues that "The Internet, through public search engines and proprietary commercial platforms, allows access to large quantities of information about consumers in a consolidated and searchable format. Web-based social media channels also contribute to the available pool of data, as they allow consumers to post information about themselves online, including the identities of friends and family members, whom collectors could approach for certain information. Further, a variety of database platforms now exist that purport to aid debt collectors in maintaining and updating information about consumers. All of these technologies may enhance collectors' ability to locate or skip-trace consumers and verify the accuracy of their information. At the same time, however, the collection and retention of what may be sensitive personally identifiable information may raise privacy concerns for consumers."

The FTC notice also states that new communications technologies, including social networking web sites, "raise potential consumer protection concerns as well, including the security of electronic communications, whether such communications satisfy the FDCPA's written notice requirements, and how they implicate the FDCPA's prohibition against contacting consumers at inconvenient times or places."

The workshop will be held on April 28, 2011, from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM in the FTC's Satellite Building Conference Center, at 601 New Jersey Avenue, NW.

The deadline to submit comments that will be reviewed by the FTC prior to the workshop is April 7, 2011. All other comments are due by May 27, 2011.

3/15. The National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) announced that it has hired Michael Powell to be its President and CEO, effective April 25, 2011.

Powell (at left), who currently works for Providence Equity Partners, was a member of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from 1997 through 2005, and its Chairman from 2001 through 2005.

Powell stated in an NCTA release that "Cable is a dynamic and highly innovative industry, providing cutting edge services and content that Americans love ... The broadband platform the industry has deployed is a critical part of the infrastructure needed to realize our national ambition to be a great nation in the Information Age. I am excited to help lead companies committed not only to their businesses, but to improving U.S. competitiveness and supporting invaluable programs in important areas such as education."

Powell will replace Kyle McSlarrow (at right), who has been named President of Comcast/NBC Universal.

FCC Commissioner Meredith Baker wrote in a statement that "With Michael, we are all lucky to have someone of his caliber back in the policymaking world on a day-to-day basis. Congratulations also to NCTA on doing the near impossible, finding a worthy successor to Kyle McSlarrow. I look forward to working with Michael and Kyle in their new capacities."

See also, Michael Copps' statement and Robert McDowell's statement. Both congratulated Powell.

Former Sen. Gordon Smith, head of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), stated in a release that the "NAB salutes the NCTA for its outstanding choice of former FCC Chairman Michael Powell as its new president and CEO. I got to know Michael well during my tenure on the Senate Commerce Committee, and always found him to be thoughtful, engaging and a tremendous public servant. Though NAB and NCTA do not always agree on every issue, we look forward to working with Michael in the months ahead on public policy issues where we might find mutual agreement."

Matthew Polka, head of the American Cable Association (ACA), congratulated Powell in a release, and added that "Everyone in the independent cable community wishes Michael the very best in his new position, and we look forward to working with him on the issues that are important to both large and small cable operators."

Craig Aaron of the Free Press (FP) stated in a release that there is a "furiously spinning revolving door between industry and the FCC", and that Powell "looked out for the interests of companies like Comcast and Time Warner during his tenure at the Commission". The FP is a Washington DC based interest group that lobbies for more regulation of broadband internet access service (BIAS) providers. It is frequently at odds with the NCTA.

In contrast, Gigi Sohn, head of the Public Knowledge (PK), and another proponent of increased BIAS regulation, wrote graciously about Powell's appointment in a PK release.

3/15. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) announced that Donna Christensen will serve on the House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. See, release. See also, Christensen's release of March 9.

3/15. Sarah Morris joined the New America Foundation (NAF) as a Policy Analyst. See, NAF release. She previously worked for the Media Access Project (MAP).

3/14. The Senate confirmed James Boasberg to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court (DC) by a vote of 96-0. See, Roll Call No. 39, and Congressional Record, March 14, 2011, at Page S1611.

3/11. Colin Rhinesmith joined the New America Foundation (NAF) with the title of "Google Policy Fellow". The NAF stated in a release that he will work on "issues related to the digital divide".

3/10. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) held an executive business meeting at which it held over consideration of James Cole to be Deputy Attorney General, the number two position at the Department of Justice (DOJ). His nomination is on the agenda for the SJC's March 17 meeting.

3/9. The Copyright Royalty Judges published a notice in the Federal Register that announces the final determination of the rates and terms for two statutory licenses, permitting certain digital performances of sound recordings and the
making of ephemeral recordings, for the period beginning January 1, 2011, and ending on December 31, 2015. This is the Webcasting III proceeding,  Docket No. 2009-1. See, Federal Register, March 9, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 46, at Pages 13025-13058.

3/8. The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) released its draft FIPS-201 -2 [88 pages in PDF] titled "Personal Identity Verification (PIV) of Federal Employees and Contractors". The deadline to submit comments is June 6, 2011.

2/28. The House passed HR 394 [LOC | WW], the "Federal Courts and Venue Clarification Act of 2011", by a vote of 402-0. See, Roll Call No. 148. The Senate has not yet passed this bill. This bill addresses diversity of citizenship, removal to a U.S. District Court, and venue in civil actions.

2/28. The House passed HR 368 [LOC | WW], the "Removal Clarification Act of 2011", by a vote of 396-4. See, Roll Call No. 150. The Senate has not yet passed this bill. This bill addresses removal of actions against federal officers and agencies to a U.S. District Court. 28 U.S.C. § 1442 already provides that actions may be removed. This bill clarifies that this removal procedure also applies to pre-suit discovery.

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The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule for the week of March 14.

The Senate will meet at 10:00 AM. It will resume consideration of S 493 [LOC | WW], the "SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011".

9:00 AM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee (RPTAC) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 22, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 35, at Pages 9744-9745. Location: DOC, Room 4830, Hoover Building, 14th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues, NW.

10:00 AM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Emergency Response Interoperability Center Public Safety Advisory Committee will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register: February 28, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 39, at Page 10898. See also, FCC's ERIC web page. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room.

1:30 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Courts, Commercial, and Administrative Law will hold a hearing titled "Wireless Tax Fairness Act of 2011". See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule for the week of March 14.

The Senate will meet at 9:30 AM. It will resume consideration of S 493 [LOC | WW], the "SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011".

9:00 AM. The Washington International Trade Association (WITA) will host an event titled "Breakfast with WTO Deputy Director General Rufus Yerxa". See, notice. Location: Horizon Ballroom, Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave.,  NW.

9:30 - 11:30 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host an event titled "The National Purposes in the National Broadband Plan: One Year Later". The speakers will be Blair Levin, Jennifer Manner (FCC), Steve Midgley, Nick Sinai, Phoebe Yang, Elana Berkowitz, Mohit Kaushal, and Robert Atkinson (ITIF). See, notice. Location: Jenner & Block, Suite 900, 1099 New York Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Homeland Security Committee's (HHSC) Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Security Technologies will hold a hearing titled "Examining the Cyber Threat to Critical Infrastructure and the American Economy". See, notice. Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "The State of Consumer Online Privacy". The witnesses will be Jonathan Leibowitz (FTC Chairman), Lawrence Strickling (head of the NTIA), Erich Andersen (Microsoft), John Montgomery (GroupM Interaction), Ashkan Soltani, Barbara Lawler (Intuit), and Chris Calabrese (ACLU). See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

10:00 - 11:30 AM. The Mobile Future (MF) will host an event titled "Mobile Future Forum: Spectrum, Consumers and America’s Small Businesses". The speakers include FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. The MF will webcast this event. See, notice. Location: Voxiva, Suite 400, 1990 K St., NW.

1:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will hold an oversight hearing on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host an event titled "16th Copyright Office Speaks Luncheon with Hon Maria Pallante -- Register of Copyrights". This event is closed to reporters. See, notice. The price to attend ranges from $55 to $65. Location: City Club of Washington at Franklin, 1300 I St., NW.

1:00 PM. The House Small Business Committee (HSBC) will hold a hearing titled "Spurring Innovation and Job Creation: The SBIR Program". See, notice. Location: Room 2360, Rayburn Building.

1:00 - 6:00 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) and the Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event titled "6th Annual ABA/FCBA Privacy & Data Security Symposium". The speakers will include Timothy Robinson (office of Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL)) and Jessica Rich (Deputy Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection). CLE credits. The price to attend ranges from $195 to $300. See, notice. Location: Arnold & Porter, 555 12th St.,  NW.

2:00 PM. The House Appropriations Committee's (HAC) Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government will hold a hearing on the FY 2012 budget request for the Department of the Treasury (DOT). The witness will be Timothy Geithner. Location: Room 2359, Rayburn Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing on the nominations of Paul Oetken and Paul Engelmayer to be Judges of the U.S. District Court (SDNY). See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

The House will meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule for the week of March 14.

9:00 AM - 12:15 PM. The American Enterprise Intstitute (AEI) will host a half day conference titled "Reconsidering America's China Policy: Engaging Party and People". The speakers will include Rebecca MacKinnon (New America Foundation), author or works on internet freedom. Location: AEI.

9:30 AM. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee (HOGRC) will hold a hearing titled "The Freedom Of Information Act: Crowd-Sourcing Government Oversight". See, notice. Location: Room 2154, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda again includes consideration of Gordon Liu to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir),  Edward Chen to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court (NDCal), and James Cole to be Deputy Attorney General. The agenda also includes consideration of Kevin Sharp (USDC/MDTenn), Roy Dalton (USDC/MDFl), and Claire Cecchi (USDC/DNJ). The agenda also includes consideration of several bills, including S 410, the "Sunshine in the Courtroom Act". The SJC rarely follows its published agendas. The SJC will webcast this event. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will meet to mark up several bills, including HR 1056, the "Patent Continuing Disclosure Act". See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Appropriations Committee's (HAC) Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government will hold a hearing on the FY 2012 budget requests for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Information Technology Management of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and federal acquisition at the GSA. The witnesses will include Vivek Kundra (OMB Chief Information Officer) and David Powner (GAO Director of Information Technology Management). Location: Room 2359, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM - 1:00 PM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed meeting titled "Intelligence Authorities". See, notice. Location?

10:30 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "Investing in Federal R&D". The witnesses will be John Holdren (head of the EOP's OSTP), Patrick Gallagher (head of the NIST), Subra Suresh (National Science Foundation), and Waleed Abdalati (NASA). See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

12:00 NOON - 1:45 PM. The DC Bar Association will host an event titled "Estate Planning with Digital Assets and Tech Savvy Clients". The speakers will be Anne W Coventry (Pasternak & Fidis) and Karin Prangley (Krasnow Saunders Cornblath). See, notice. The price to attend ranges from free to $35. For more information, call 202-626-3463 Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

2:00 PM. The House Appropriations Committee's (HAC) Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies will hold a hearing on the FY 2012 budget request for the Department of Commerce. Gary Locke will testify. Location: Room 2359, Rayburn Building.

Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) regarding how it might use the Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries (PTDLs) more effectively. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 8, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 26, at Pages 6764-6765.

The House will not meet. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule for the week of March 14.

Supreme Court conference day (discussion of argued cases, and decision on cert petitions). Closed.

8:30 - 10:00 AM. The Washington International Trade Association (WITA) will host an event titled "2011 Congressional Trade Agenda". The speakers will include Angela Ellard (Republican staff, House Ways & Means Committee), Viji Rangaswami (Democrat, HWMC), Amber Cottle (Republican, Senate Finance Committee), and Everett Eisenstat (OUSTR). See, notice. Location: Amphitheater, Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [46 pages in PDF] regarding TV band rules and incentive auctions. The FCC adopted and released this item on November 30, 2010. It is FCC 10-196 in ET Docket No. 10-235. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 1, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 21, at Pages 5521-5537. See also, story titled "FCC Adopts NPRM on TV Band Rules" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,168, December 4, 2010.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding its CORES Registration System. The FCC adopted this NPRM on November 19, 2010, and released the text on December 7, 2010. It is FCC 10-192 in MD Docket No. 10-234. See, Federal Register, February 1, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 21, at Pages 5651-5677.

The House will be in recess Monday, March 21 through Friday, March 25.

9:30 - 11:30 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a discussion of the book [Amazon] titled "The Great Stagnation", by Tyler Cowen (George Mason University). The speakers will be Cowen, Rob Atkinson (ITIF), and Edward Luce (Financial Times). See, notice. Location: ITIF/ITIC, 1101 K St., NW.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a discussion of the book [PDF] titled "World Wide Mind: The Coming Integration of Humanity, Machines and the Internet", by Michael Chorost. The speakers will be Chorost and Andres Martinez (NAF). See, notice. Location: NAF, 1899 L St., NW.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Advanced Scientific Computing Advisory Committee (ASCAC). See, notice in the Federal Register, February 22, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 35, at Pages 9765-9766. Location: American Geophysical Union, 2000 Florida Ave., NW.

TIME? The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) will hold a hearing regarding preparation of its 2011 Special 301 report, regarding countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on IP protection. See, notice in the Federal Register, December 30, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 250, at Pages 82424-82426. See also, story titled "OUSTR Seeks Input for Special 301 Report" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,191, January 3, 2011. Location: OUSTR, 1724 F St., NW.

TIME? The National Science Foundation (NSF) will host an event titled "Assumption Buster Workshop: Defense-in-Depth Is a Smart Investment for Cyber Security". See, notice in the Federal Register, February 7, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 25, at Pages 6637-6638. Location?