7/26. Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) sent a letter [24 pages in PDF] to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) encouraging them to reject AT&T's proposed acquisition of T-Mobile USA.

Sen. Franken is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC), which oversees the DOJ and its Antitrust Division.

Last week, Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) sent a similar letter. See, stories titled "Sen. Kohl and Sen. Lee Split on DOJ and FCC Reviews of AT&T Acquisition of T-Mobile", "Reps. Conyers, Eshoo & Markey Condemn AT&T's Acquisition of T-Mobile", and "Commentary: Due Process of Law in Antitrust Merger Reviews" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,265, July 21, 2011.

Sen. Franken (at left) wrote that "The merger of AT&T and T-Mobile would be a major step towards the creation of an entrenched duopoly in the wireless industry. It would concentrate enormous power over the entire telecommunications sector in the hands of only two companies, and it would incentivize AT&T and Verizon to coordinate prices to the detriment of consumers. I also fear it would only be a matter of months before Sprint is so marginalized that it becomes an acquisition target."

He also wrote that "Thirty-three million Americans have made the decision to purchase wireless service from T-Mobile rather than AT&T. ... Unfortunately, competing for customers has never been AT&T's preferred method of acquiring customers. Instead, it has acquired most of its customers both in the wired and wireless markets through mergers and exclusive agreements." (Footnote omitted.)

He urged the DOJ and FCC to focus on the proposed merger's effect upon the national market, rather than its impact upon local and regional markets. He argued that this merger would undermine competition in the "national, postpaid services that support both data and voice".

He argued that it would create an "effective duopoly" in the national wireless market, and that AT&T and Verizon would then be able to exclude competitors from that market.

He further argued that this merger would harm consumers by leading to higher prices, worse customer service, less innovation in wireless devices, services and operating systems.

He wrote that the merger would result in a loss of jobs in the combined entity.

He also wrote that the merger would undermine "net neutrality".

The DOJ's Antitrust Division filed a comment with the FCC in 2007 in which it expressed opposition to net neutrality regulation. The comment states that "The FCC should be highly skeptical of calls to substitute special economic regulation of the Internet for free and open competition enforced by the antitrust laws. Marketplace restrictions proposed by some proponents of "net neutrality" could in fact prevent, rather than promote, optimal investment and innovation in the Internet, with significant negative effects for the economy and consumers." See also, story titled "Antitrust Division Opposes Network Neutrality" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,647, September 27, 2007.

He also argued that allowing AT&T to acquire more spectrum would serve the public interest. He argued that AT&T does not need more spectrum to deploy its LTE in rural America, and that it should use that spectrum that it has more efficiently.

Finally, he argued that imposing conditions would not eliminate the flaws in the proposed merger.

7/25. AT&T and T-Mobile USA submitted a letter [14 pages in PDF redacted], an Economic Analysis, and an Engineering Analysis to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in support of AT&T's proposed acquisition of T-Mobile USA.

The letter states that "due to the complementarity of the spectrum and networks of AT&T and T-Mobile USA, as well as the tremendous available synergies, the proposed transaction will relieve significant capacity constraints faced by both companies and lead to improved service quality and expanded output of wireless service, among other public benefits".

The letter states that the "analyses provide further detailed support for and quantification of" the synergies that will result from this transaction.

The letter states that Dennis Carlton "and his colleagues have conducted a quantitative Economic Analysis to estimate the likely impact of the proposed transaction on output and quality-adjusted price", which is based on AT&T's Engineering Analysis, and that they estimate that "In each market, the merger simulations project that industry output will rise and average price adjusted for quality will fall as a result of the transaction".

The letter, most of which is redacted from the public version, also states that "Opponents of the proposed transaction have provided analyses using the Upward Pricing Pressure (``UPP´´) framework. As the Applicants have previously pointed out, a central failing of the UPP framework is that, when applied one price at a time, it does not account for the downward pressure on one merging party's price created by the efficiencies-induced fall in the other merging party’s quality-adjusted price. Nevertheless, the Economic Analysis also presents results using the UPP framework, which does not support the claims of merger opponents that the proposed transaction will increase prices." (Footnote omitted.)

This FCC proceeding is WT Docket No. 11-65.

Derek Turner of the Free Press, which opposes the merger, stated in a release that "After failing to make a credible case in the first go-round, AT&T is desperately trying a do-over."

He argued that "AT&T is asking the FCC for a do-over because its case for the merger was obliterated by the evidence. Free Press and others have demonstrated time and again before the FCC that both of AT&T's central claims -- that the merger will lead to greater rural buildout and improved quality -- are nothing more than a facade. AT&T could accomplish both of these goals without this merger and without killing off a major competitor."

7/26. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC), which is scheduled to begin a three day mark up of bills on July 27, 2011. The first item on the agenda is HR 1981 [LOC | WW], the "Protecting Children from Internet Pornographers Act of 2011", also know as the data retention bill. The HJC released a manager's amendment on July 26, 2011.

The bill as introduced would create a mandate that all "electronic communication service" (ECS) and "remote computing service" (RCS) providers retain for 18 months "the temporarily assigned network addresses the service assigns to each account". For a summary of the bill as introduced, see story titled "Summary of HR 1981, Data Retention Bill" and "Summary of Existing Data Retention Mandates" both also in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,257, July 13, 2011.

The manager's amendment makes numerous significant changes. It reduces the minimum retention period from 18 to 12 months. It deletes the exemption for wireless service providers. It adds exemptions for not for a fee providers, such as coffee shops and libraries that offer free wireless connections. It adds an exemption for service not offered to the public. It clarifies that only internet access service providers are covered. It broadly expands the types of data that must be retained. It limits who can gain access to the data retained under the bill's mandate. It allows covered services providers six months to come into compliance with the data retention mandate.

The mark up session is scheduled to begin at 11:15 AM on Wednesday, July 27. The HJC usually takes up items in the order in which they are listed on the agenda.

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), the Chairman of the HJC, introduced this bill on May 25, 2011. The HJC held a hearing on July 12, 201l. See, story titled "House Crime Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Data Retention Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,257, July 13, 2011.

The bill, even as amended by this manager's amendment, is full of undefined phrases and words, and fraught with vague meanings. Yet, it does not bear the attributes of hasty or inexpert authorship. Rather, it appears to be a careful and thoughtful work, drafted with calculated uncertainty, to give law enforcement authorities and prosecutors maximum interpretational leeway, and leverage over service providers.

What Data Must Be Retained. The manager's amendment addresses what data must be retained. The base bill provides that covered entities must retain "the temporarily assigned network addresses the service assigns to each account".

The manager's amendment provides that covered entities "shall retain ... a log of the temporarily assigned network addresses the provider assigns to a subscriber to or customer of such service that enables the identification of the corresponding customer or subscriber information under subsection (c)(2) of this section". (Language of the manager's amendment is shown in red.)

The data retention mandate is in Section 4 of the bill. The clause, "under subsection (c)(2) of this section", is not a reference to a subsection (c)(2) of section 4 of the bill. (There is not one.) Rather, this is a reference to subsection (c)(2) of 18 U.S.C. § 2703, which is the section of the Stored Communications Act (SCA) that requires disclosure of stored communications to the government. Section 4 of this bill amends Section 2703, by adding a new subsection (h).

(There is already one data retention mandate in Subsection 2703(f). See, story titled "Summary of Existing Data Retention Mandates" both also in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,257, July 13, 2011.)

Subsection 2703(c)(2) lists the things that and ECS or RCS must give to the government, if it has them. The manager's amendment, which lacks clarity, could be construed to mandate that covered service providers must collect the items on this (c)(2) list.

The list is "name", "address", "local and long distance telephone connection records, or records of session times and durations", "length of service (including start date) and types of service utilized", "telephone or instrument number or other subscriber number or identity, including any temporarily assigned network address", and "means and source of payment for such service (including any credit card or bank account number)." (Parentheses in original.)

Proponents of this bill have argued that when law enforcement authorities find child pornography (CP) online, they often have the photographic evidence, and internet protocol (IP) addresses, but not the identity of the person who used those IP addresses. The bill is necessary, they argue, to identify the user of those IP addresses.

For example, Rep. Smith wrote in his opening statement for the HJC's July 12 hearing that "Often, the only way to identify a pedophile who operates a website or exchanges child pornography images with other pedophiles is by an Internet Protocol address. Law enforcement officials must obtain a subpoena and then request from the Internet Service Provider the name and address of the user of the IP address."

However, if the manager's amendment requires retention of all the items on the (c)(2) list, then retention would go far beyond that required for the stated purpose of the bill. For example, the (c)(2) list includes phone call records.

Also, mandating the retention of names, addresses, phone numbers, bank account numbers, and credit card numbers would require service providers to build and maintain a treasure trove of information for hackers and other data thieves intent on committing large scale financial fraud.

Shall Retain. The bill as introduced, and the manager's amendment, use the words "shall retain". This is another undefined phrase, and another component of the bill that may lead to conflicting interpretations.

Proponents of the bill have discussed retention as the act of not destroying or deleting data or records already in the service provider's possession.

However, the actual language of the bill may give rise to the argument (which is likely to be advanced by law enforcement and prosecutorial entities) that "shall retain" both requires that certain data be collected and stored, whether or not the service provider wants to do so, or whether or not it has done so in the past, and that once so collected and stored, not be destroyed or deleted for the minimum time period.

That is, the bill may entail two mandates: to collect data, and to keep that data for one year.

Regulated Entities. While the bill as introduced exempted wireless providers, the manager's amendment expands the class of covered entities by dropping that exemption.

In addition, the manager's amendment narrows the covered entities from all ECS and RCS providers, which are broad and ambiguous terms, to any "commercial provider of an electronic communication service".

The manager's amendment defines this as "a provider of electronic communication service that offers Internet access capability for a fee to the public or to such classes of users as to be effectively available to the public, regardless of the facilities used".

This definition has several key components. First, the clause, "for a fee", would exempt coffee shops, libraries, hotels and other entities that provide internet access service at no charge. However, if those same coffee shops, libraries and hotels charged for internet access, then they may be required to collect, store and retain data on their customers. Notably, many of these entities would not collect certain data but for the mandate. For example, a coffee shop that charges for internet access may also have to collect personal information from the customer.

The clause, "offers Internet access", provides that the mandate applies only to internet access service providers, and not to any current or future service that makes use of IP numbers that the government could assert is an ECS or RCS.

The clause, "to the public", would appear to exempt private services. However, the bill does not elaborate, or provide a definition.

Limitation on Who Can Access Retained Data. Next, the base bill imposes no limitations upon who can obtain access to the data retained pursuant to the mandate of the bill. Such data would be business records, and available to a wide range of requestors in civil, criminal and administrative proceedings or investigations.

The manager's amendment provides that "Access to a record or information required to be retained under this subsection may not be compelled by any person or other entity that is not a governmental entity".

This clause may be in need of clarifying language, first to make clear that the bill preempts state procedural law to the contrary, and second to make clear that in private litigation, when a litigant who obtains a subpoena or discovery order from a court, that does not qualify as compulsion by "a governmental entity".

Financial Institutions. The base bills also contains provisions related to the targeting of financial institutions. The base bill would add a new section to the criminal code, to be codified at a new 18 U.S.C. § 1960A, that would provide that "Whoever knowingly conducts, or attempts or conspires to conduct, a financial transaction (as defined in section 1956(c)) in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, knowing that such transaction will facilitate access to, or the possession of, child pornography (as defined in section 2256) shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both." (Parentheses in original.)

The manager's amendment adds that "This section does not apply to a financial transaction conducted by a person in cooperation with, or with the consent of, any Federal, State, or local law enforcement agency".

The testimony at the HJC's July 12 hearing revealed CP is being distributed via peer to peer file sharing, and not by commercial transactions. Hence, there is no articulated reason for including a section targeting financial institutions, even as amended.

7/26. Rep. David Wu (D-OR) announced that he will resign from the House of Representatives. See also, story titled "Rep. Wu to Face Ethics Committee Investigation" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,270, July 26, 2011.

7/26. President Obama signed into law S 1103 [LOC | WW], an untitled bill that makes Robert Mueller eligible for nomination for a two year extension of his ten year term (which expires on August 2, 2011) as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). See, White House news office release. President Obama then promptly nominated Mueller for this two year term. See, White House news office release. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) stated in a release that "I am pleased the President has signed the bill to extend the FBI Director’s term and sent the nomination of Robert Mueller to the Senate. I urge Senate leaders to promptly schedule a vote on the nomination. There is no time to waste to ensure that there is no lapse in leadership at the FBI."

7/26. The Senate confirmed Paul Engelmayer to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court (SDNY) by a vote of 98-0. See, Roll Call No. 117.

7/26. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) set the deadline (August 22, 2011) to comment on petitions for reconsideration of the FCC's Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration [144 pages in PDF] regarding pole attachments. That order is FCC 11-50 in WC Docket No. 07-245 and GN Docket No. 09-51. The FCC adopted and released it on April 7, 2011. The National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), COMPTEL, and tw telecom filed a petition for reconsideration on June 8, 2011. The Coalition of Concerned Utilities also filed a petition for reconsideration on June 8, 2011. See, June 20, 2011 Public Notice and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 143, Tuesday, July 26, 2011, at Pages 44495-44496.

7/26. The U.S. Court of Appeals (7thCir) issued its opinion in Nova Design Builds v. Grace Hotels, an architectural design copyright case. The District Court granted summary judgment to the defendant on the grounds that the plaintiff's designs were insufficiently original to qualify for copyright protection. The Court of Appeals affirmed. This case is Nova Design Builds, Inc. v. Grace Hotels LLC, et al., U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, App. Ct. No. 10-1738, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, D.C. No. 08 C 2855, Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan presiding. Judge Frank Easterbrook wrote the opinion of the Court of Appeals, in which Judges Kanne and Wood joined.

7/25. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) extended the deadline (from August 8 to August 15, 2011) to submit comments regarding the proposed self-regulatory guidelines submitted to the FTC by Aristotle International, Inc. under the safe harbor provision of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Rule. See, original notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 123, Monday, June 27, 2011, at Pages 37290-37291, and notice of extension.

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

The Senate will meet at 9:30 AM.

9:00 AM. Day one of a two day meeting of the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Information Systems Technical Advisory Committee (ISTAC). The July 27 portion of the meeting is open to the public. The agenda includes "Wassenaar Proposals for 2012", and industry presentations on "Coherent Optical Technologies", "Graphics Processors", and "60 GHz MMIC Applications". See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 130, Thursday, July 7, 2011, at Pages 39845-39846. Location: Room 3884, DOC, 14th Street between Constitution and Pennsylvania Aves., NW.

9:00 - 10:00 AM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "When Enforcement Cultures Collide: Best Practices for Antitrust Compliance and Investigations in Asia". The speakers will be Jennifer Chippendale (Sheppard Mullin), Yumiko Aoi (City-Yuwa Partners), Paul Jones (Jones & Co.), and Youngjin Jung (Kim & Chang). CLE credits. Free. Open to reporters. See, notice.

10:00 AM. The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee (SHSGAC) will hold a hearing titled "Improving Emergency Communications". The witnesses will be Gregory Schaffer (DHS National Protection and Programs Directorate), Michael Varney (Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection), Robert McAleer (Director of the Maine Emergency Management Agency), and Charles Ramsey (Police Commissioner, Philadelphia Police Department). See, notice. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

11:15 AM. Day one of a two three day meeting of the House Judiciary Committee (HJC) to mark up bills. The first of five items on the agenda is HR 1981 [LOC | WW], the "Protecting Children From Internet Pornographers Act of 2011", a bill to mandate data retention. See, stories titled "House Crime Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Data Retention Bill", "Summary of HR 1981, Data Retention Bill", and "Summary of Existing Data Retention Mandates" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,257, July 13, 2011. The fourth item is HR 83 [LOC | WW], the "Bullying Prevention and Intervention Act of 2011". See, story titled "House Judiciary Committee to Mark Up Data Retention and Bullying Bills" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,267, July 23, 2011. See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

1:00 PM. The House Small Business Committee (HSBC) will hold a hearing titled "Bureaucratic Obstacles for Small Exporters: Is our National Export Strategy Working?". See, notice. Location: Room 2360, Rayburn Building.

1:00 - 2:30 PM. Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) will host an event titled "Cloud Computing and Federal Data Center Consolidation Thought Leadership". The speakers will include Sen. Carper, Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), Vivek Kundra (OMB Federal Chief Information Officer), and others from government and the private sector. See, notice. For more information, contact Emily Spain at 202-224-2441. Location: Room SVC-201, Capitol Visitor Center.

1:00 - 2:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "Reputation Management in the Digital Age: How “Information Permanency” Affects the Way Businesses and Individuals Are Viewed by Others". The speakers will be David Bralow (Tribune Company), Margaret Holt (Chicago Tribune), Jeffrey Rosen (George Washington School of Law), and David Thompson (Munger Tolles & Olson). Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

1:00 - 2:00 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast and telecast panel discussion titled "60 iPhone and iPad Apps in 60 Minutes for Lawyers". The price is $195. No CLE credits. See, notice.

2:30 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing on five U.S. District Court nominees: Edgardo Ramos (USDC/SDNY), Andrew Carter (USDC/SDNY), Jesse Furman (USDC/SDNY), Rodney Gilstrap (USDC/EDTex), and Jennifer Zipps (USDC/DAriz). See, notice. The SJC will webcast this event. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

3:00 - 6:00 PM EST. Webcast of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee meeting in Boulder, Colorado. The call in number is 1-888-603-8915. The Pin is 32552#. See, NTIA notice and agenda, and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 127, Friday, July 1, 2011, at Pages 38638-38639.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [15 pages in PDF] regarding whether to make the grandfathered providers permanently eligible for universal service subsidies under the FCC's rural health care program. The FCC adopted this NPRM on June 20, 2011, and released the text on June 21, 2011. It is FCC 11-101 in WC Docket No. 02-60. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 123, Monday, June 27, 2011, at Pages 37307-37309.

Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) regarding its proposed changes to certain patent fee amounts for FY 2012 to reflect fluctuations in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 123, Monday, June 27, 2011, at Pages 37296-37300.

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

8:30 AM - 5:30 PM. Broadband Census News LLC and others will host an event titled "Telecom 2018 Workshop". The topic will be the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Technical Advisory Committee's (TAC) recommendation for setting a date for sunsetting the PSTN. See, event web site. Location: Wiley Rein, 1776 K St., NW.

9:00 AM. Day one of a two day meeting of the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Information Systems Technical Advisory Committee (ISTAC). The July 28 portion of the meeting is closed. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 130, Thursday, July 7, 2011, at Pages 39845-39846. Location: Room 3884, DOC, 14th Street between Constitution and Pennsylvania Aves., NW.

10:00 AM. Day two of a two three day meeting of the House Judiciary Committee (HJC) to mark up bills. The first of five items on the agenda is HR 1981 [LOC | WW], the "Protecting Children From Internet Pornographers Act of 2011", a bill to mandate data retention. See, stories titled "House Crime Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Data Retention Bill", "Summary of HR 1981, Data Retention Bill", and "Summary of Existing Data Retention Mandates" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,257, July 13, 2011. The fourth item is HR 83 [LOC | WW], the "Bullying Prevention and Intervention Act of 2011". See, story titled "House Judiciary Committee to Mark Up Data Retention and Bullying Bills" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,267, July 23, 2011. See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold an event titled "Consideration of Member Request to Access Classified Information". See, notice. Location: Room HVC-304, Capitol Building.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed hearing titled "Ongoing Intelligence Activities". See, notice. Location: Room HVC-304, Capitol Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda again includes consideration of Steve Six (to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit). The revised agenda adds consideration of Morgan Christen (U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit), and four District Court nominees: Yvonne Rogers (USDC/NDCal), Richard Andrews (USDC/DDel), Scott Skavdahl (USDC/DWyo), and Sharon Gleason (USDC/DAk). The SJC will webcast this event. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "The First Sale Doctrine After Costco and Vernor: Where Do We Go from Here?". The speakers will be Scott Bain (Software and Information Industry Association), Andrew Berger (Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt), and William Dunnegan (Dunnegan LLC). Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

12:30 PM. Rep. Michelle Bachman (R-MN) will give a speech. Sold out. Prices vary. Lunch will be served. Location: Ballroom, National Press Club, 13th floor, 529 14th St., NW.

1:00 PM. The US Telecom will host a webcast presentation titled "Turning Wi-Fi into a Viable Extension of Your Mobile Broadband Offering". Free, See, notice.

2:30 PM. The Senate Intelligence Committee (SIC) will hold a closed hearing. See, notice. Location: Room 219, Hart Building.

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

8:30 AM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) is scheduled to release its advance estimate of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product, 2nd Quarter 2011. See, BEA schedule.

9:30 AM. Day three of a three day meeting of the House Judiciary Committee (HJC) to mark up bills. The first of five items on the agenda is HR 1981 [LOC | WW], the "Protecting Children From Internet Pornographers Act of 2011", a bill to mandate data retention. See, stories titled "House Crime Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Data Retention Bill", "Summary of HR 1981, Data Retention Bill", and "Summary of Existing Data Retention Mandates" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,257, July 13, 2011. The fourth item is HR 83 [LOC | WW], the "Bullying Prevention and Intervention Act of 2011". See, story titled "House Judiciary Committee to Mark Up Data Retention and Bullying Bills" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,267, July 23, 2011. See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

12:15 - 1:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "A Reduced History of Telecom Regulation: From the Railroads and the Titanic to iPad Snooki". The speaker will be Dan Brenner (Hogan Lovells). For more information, contact Evan Morris at Evan dot Morris at harris dot com, Mark Brennan at Mark dot Brennan at hoganlovells dot com, or Brendan Carr at BCarr at wileyrein dot com. Location: Wiley Rein, 1776 K St., NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding its draft SP 800-63 Revision 1 [110 pages in PDF] titled "Electronic Authentication Guideline".

Rep. Cantor's schedule for the House states that "Members are advised a weekend session is possible".

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the report submitted to the FCC on June 30, 2011, by the technical working group co-chaired by LightSquared and the U.S. Global Positioning System Industry Council (USGIC). See, FCC International Bureau's (IB) order dated June 30, 2011. It is DA 11-1133 in DA 11-1133. See also report, part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, and part 7.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding its draft SP 800-90 A [135 pages in PDF] titled "Recommendation for Random Number Generation Using Deterministic Random Bit Generators".

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding its draft NIST IR-7802 [25 pages in PDF] titled "Trust Model for Security Automation Data 1.0".

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding its draft SP 800-126 Rev. 2 [51 pages in PDF] titled "The Technical Specification for the Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP): SCAP Version 1.2".

Deadline for the federal government to raise the limit on federal borrowing.

9:00 AM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Materials Processing Equipment Technical Advisory Committee (MPETAC) will hold a partially closed meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register Vol. 76, No. 138, Tuesday, July 19, 2011, at Pages 42678-42679. Location: DOC, Hoover Building, Room 3884,14th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution Aves., NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "Cybercrime: Updating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to Protect Cyberspace and Combat Emerging Threats". The witnesses will be James Baker (DOJ's Associate Deputy Attorney General) and Pablo Martinez (U.S. Secret Service). See, notice. The SJC will webcast this event. Location Room 226, Dirksen Bulding.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The House Science Committee (HSC) will hold a hearing titled "Impacts of the LightSquared Network on Federal Science Activities". See, notice. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

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