4/20. The House Commerce Committee (HCC) released a report [13 pages in PDF] by Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), the Chairman of the HCC, to House Republican leaders regarding the work of the HCC during the first quarter of 2012. This report addresses numerous topics, including incentive auctions, FCC procedural reform, cyber security, and online privacy.

Spectrum Auctions. The report states that "our team spent much of the first session holding hearings, listening to stakeholders, and preparing legislation to free up additional spectrum to support the build-out of the next generation of wireless broadband networks. In the first quarter of 2012, we pushed that legislation over the finish line as part of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act."

It adds that "Growing consumer demand and the increasing number of mobile devices are creating a spectrum crunch. To make more airwaves available for wireless broadband, we advanced legislation to authorize the Federal Communications Commission to conduct voluntary incentive auctions, which give a portion of auction proceeds to licensees who return spectrum to be repurposed for wireless broadband. The result is a more efficient use of our airwaves, vast new swaths of spectrum for wireless broadband development, and a major return for taxpayers who benefit from the auctions."

This bill is HR 3630, [LOC | WW]. See, stories titled "House and Senate Negotiators Reach Agreement on Spectrum Legislation", "Summary of Spectrum Bill", and "Reaction to Spectrum Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,339, February 17, 2012, story titled "House and Senate Pass Spectrum Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,340, February 18, 2012, and story titled "Obama Signs Spectrum Bill into Law" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,345, February 23, 2012.

FCC Reform. This report also addresses HR 3309 [LOC | WW], the "Federal Communications Commission Process Reform Act of 2012". The House, but not the Senate, has passed this bill.

It states that "an industry’s ability to thrive is also affected by the fairness and predictability of the regulations -- and regulators -- that govern it. For that reason, we followed enactment of spectrum reform with common-sense FCC process reform."

See, stories titled "House Passes FCC Process Reform Act", "Summary of Amendments to HR 3309 Approved or Rejected by the House", "House Rejects Amendment Regarding Warning Labels for Surveillance Risks", "House Rejects Amendment Regarding Regulation of Political Speech", "House Rejects Motion Pertaining to Employer Demands for Employee Passwords for Social Networking Sites", "Summary of HR 3309 As Passed by the House", and "Commentary: FCC as an Agent of the Congress" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,361, March 30, 2012.

The report also states that HR 3310 [LOC | WW], the "Federal Communications Commission Consolidated Reporting Act of 2012", "is expected to clear a vote by the full House soon".

Others Issues. This report also reviews the HCC's Subcommittee on Communications and Technologies hearings on cyber security, including data security, and the role of communications networks in securing cyberspace. This report also addresses the HCC's long running review of online privacy.

4/16. Gordon Smith, head of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), gave a speech in Las Vegas at the NAB Show. He discussed recent, current and potential legislative and regulatory proceedings.

Performance Rights Act. Smith (at right) stated that "When I first arrived at NAB, we were fighting passage of the Performance Rights Act, a bill to levy a fee on local radio that had the momentum of a fast moving freight train. But because of some very smart leaders in both the radio and TV business, NAB was able to thwart this piece of legislation that could have devastated the financial model of free and local radio."

Previous Congresses have considered, but not enacted, such legislation. See, for the 111th Congress, HR 848 [LOC | WW], the "Performance Rights Act", and S 379 [LOC | WW]. There was also related legislation in the 110th Congress. See also, story titled "Performance Rights Act Reintroduced" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,896, February 10, 2009.

However, the record industry has not forgotten the issue. Moreover, Victoria Espinel, the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, offered twenty legislative recommendations to Congress regarding intellectual property law on March 15, 2011. That list includes "creating a right of public performance for copyright owners for sound recordings transmitted by over-the-air broadcast stations". See, story titled "Espinel Offers 20 IP Legislative Recommendations" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,212, March 30, 2011.

Incentive Auctions. Smith stated that "On the TV front, this year we worked successfully with our friends in Congress to shape a piece of spectrum legislation that allows television stations to participate in a voluntary auction, but ensures that those not participating are held harmless."

He added that "we averted a spectrum grab from misguided friends who would have you believe that broadcasting is yesterday's technology."

"We have demonstrated that through engaging the other side, through our unity and by using all our tools, we can change the course of legislation that threatens the public's access to local radio and TV."

But, he also offered this warning. "Recent press reports quote the telecommunications industry saying the spectrum legislation passed by Congress is only the beginning -- a ``down payment´´ of what they're seeking in terms of access to the airwaves. They want us out of this game. We can't let down our guard."

Retransmission Consent. Smith stated that "We're also fighting to ensure that viewers continue to have dynamic content choices, by retaining a free market retransmission consent process." He said that "Stations deserve to be allowed to negotiate for compensation of their highly valued programming."

He continued that "some cable and satellite companies don't want to pay a fair rate for the signals of local stations. ... The other side says the market is broken, but with nearly all retransmission consent deals being completed successfully, the cable and satellite lobby's notion of ``market failure´´ is simply false."

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski (at left) also spoke at the same event. He said in his speech that "the FCC's approach so far on retrans has generally been to resist calls for agency intervention and encourage private, market-driven agreements between broadcasters and cable and satellite providers. The basic view is that it is both economically sensible and consistent with the statutory scheme for broadcasters that have invested in desirable programming to seek and receive retransmission fees."

Genachowski elaborated that "the calls for agency intervention continue. The cable industry points to historical benefits that broadcasters have received from government, and argues strongly that these give broadcasters an unfair advantage in a marketplace that has changed significantly since the retransmission consent law was adopted. Consumer groups and others are concerned about effects on consumers and on independent cable programmers."

He also noted that "We opened an FCC proceeding because these are important issues, and we continue to watch the marketplace carefully to determine whether further Commission action is warranted."

This proceeding is MB Docket No. 10-71.

The retransmission consent regulatory regime was established by the Cable Act of 1992, and is further implemented by FCC rules. However, the FCC has little statutory authority in this area.

47 U.S.C. § 325 provides that "No cable system or other multichannel video programming distributor shall retransmit the signal of a broadcasting station, or any part thereof, except ... with the express authority of the originating station".

That is, broadcasters can charge cable companies and other MVPDs for retransmission of their programming. The companies have been negotiating retransmission consent contracts for 18 years.

Unlike in 1992, there are now usually multiple MVPDs in each market. When one MVPD has permission to retransmit a particular program, but another does not, consumers can switch providers. However, there are switching costs. Subscribers of a particular MVPDs can experience unexpected disruption of programming that they want to watch if a new retransmission consent agreement is not reached.

SOPA and PIPA. Smith also offered his assessment of the success of Google and other companies in blocking further House and Senate consideration of bills that would address web sites dedicated to infringing activity.

Those bills are HR 3261 [LOC | WW], the "Stop Online Piracy Act" or "SOPA", and S 968 [LOC | WW], the "Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011", "PROTECT IP Act", or "PIPA".

"Earlier this year, we witnessed a debate that pitted the content community against the technology community ... The idea behind SOPA and PIPA was simple and straightforward: Don't steal our creative content."

"But it didn't matter," said Smith, "The technology community -- the Googles and Wikis -- used their medium just as we did -- to create a powerful megaphone to change forever how battles are won, or lost, inside the Beltway.

"They changed the debate. Shockingly, ``Thou shalt not steal,´´ became ``Do not censor the Internet.´´"

Internet TV. Smith also discussed competitive threats to broadcasters. "We must continue to look for ways to integrate the power of broadcasting and broadband to improve the viewer experience. Our adversaries -- your competitors -- are doing this. They're smart. They're ruthless. And they are well-financed."

He said that "The current broadcasting model can be undone by technology ... or government ... or some unintended consequence from either."

"So let me get this straight. Wireless carriers want to roll out a mobile TV service, just like ours. And they are asking the government for more of our spectrum to do it. And their service, most assuredly, would not be free." Smith added that "It seems to me that the government could be in the position of picking the wireless industry as the winner and the consumer as the loser."

He said that "the wireless industry's ``one-to-one´´ architecture could never match our ability to broadcast voice and video to the masses. Broadband can never replicate the lifeline role of the local broadcaster. ... Especially in an emergency."

Radio Tuners in Mobile Phones. "This is a standard feature on cell phones in Europe and Asia", said Smith. "Many phones in the U.S. already have this capability, but the carriers don't make that known and may refuse to activate the chip. Why?

"Some say because they have a vested interest in charging consumers with fees for data streaming."

He continued that "given the certain failure of mobile phones in a lifeline situation, we're hopeful that over time, carriers will come to understand and appreciate the importance of having an activated radio tuner in these devices, and to off load their ever congested airwaves."

He added that "We also need to be on tablets, laptops and game consoles and on mobile devices not yet developed."

4/19. Rep. Scott Tipton (R-CO), Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO) and Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) introduced HR 4469 [LOC | WW | PDF], the "The Four Corners Television Access Act of 2012".

This bill would amend 17 U.S.C. § 122(a)(4)(C), regarding satellite carriage of certain broadcast signals, and 47 U.S.C. § 341, regarding cable carriage of certain broadcast signals. However, this bill is narrowly targeted to affect only Montezuma County and La Plata County in the southwest corner of the state of Colorado.

Rep. Tipton, who represents these two counties, issued a release that states that this bill would enable "cable operators to offer Colorado-based broadcast television stations to southwestern Colorado residents by allowing ``retransmission of significantly viewed´´ content (as deemed by Nielsen Media Research statistics). The ``significantly viewed´´ status refers to the demand by residents in the area for Colorado broadcasts, and permits broadcasters and entities to retransmit broadcast signals in this region. One-size-fits-all mandates by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) currently prohibit this occurrence." (Parentheses in original.)

He added that "Allowing ``retransmission to be permitted´´ gives satellite providers the ability to retransmit Colorado-based broadcasts outside of the current Designated Market Area (DMA) to specific affected Colorado counties that meet certain Nielsen Media Research statistics. This is critical as close to 60% of residents in the designated area depend on satellite television because of the region's geography and other factors."

The FCC adopted satellite television significantly viewed rules in November of 2010 to implement Section 203 of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2010 (STELA). See, NPRM (FCC 10-130 in MB Docket No. 10-148) and Report and Order (FCC 10-193).

4/24. Rep. Eddie Johnson (D-TX) and other Democrats introduced HR 4483 [LOC | WW], the "Broadening Participation in STEM Education Act", a bill pertaining to National Science Foundation (NSF) grants related to university science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, and underrepresented minority groups at institutions of higher education. It was referred to the House Science Committee (HSC).

4/19. Rep. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) introduced S 2323 [LOC | WW], a bill to provide appropriations for the Department of Commerce (which includes the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS)), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and science related agencies. Sen. Mikulski is the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee's (SAC) Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies. See also, Sen. Mikulski's release.

4/17. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) and Rep. David Scott (D-GA) introduced HR 4367 [LOC | WW]. This bill would amend the Consumer Credit Protection Act, which is also known as the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, to limit the fee disclosure requirement for an automatic teller machine to the screen of that machine. It was referred to the House Financial Services Committee. Rep. Luetkemeyer and Rep. Scott are members.

4/23. The Senate confirmed Brian Wimes to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri by a vote of 92-1. See, Roll Call No. 67.

4/23. Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), the Chairman and ranking Democrat of the House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, announced the formation of a Federal Spectrum Working Group. They will be ex officio members. Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY) and Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA) will be co-chairs. The other members will be Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL), Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), Rep. John Barrow (D-GA), and Del. Donna Christensen (D-VI). All are members of the HCC.

4/19. Alan Behr joined the New York City office of the law firm of Phillips Nizer as a partner. His work includes copyright and  trademark matters for publishing and technology clients. He was previously at Alston & Bird. Before that, he was the chief legal officer at Atari.

4/24. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in a release that it has "intervened in a lawsuit against Japanese company, Toyo Ink Manufacturing Co. Ltd. and its U.S. subsidiaries", Toyo Ink International Corp., Toyo Ink America LLC, and Toyo Ink Manufacturing America LLC. The complaint alleges that these companies misrepresented the country of origin on documents presented to U.S. Customs and Border Protection to avoid paying antidumping and countervailing duties. Toyo Ink International responded in a release that "We are disappointed by today's announcement by the Department of Justice that it is intervening in a whistleblower lawsuit initiated by a Toyo Ink competitor. The whistleblower allegations that Toyo Ink engaged in any fraudulent activity are false and appear to be driven by business considerations rather than facts. Toyo Ink has a substantial presence in the US, including multiple production facilities and administrative offices providing meaningful employment opportunities for US workers. ... Toyo Ink expects its conduct to be fully vindicated by the court and regrets the competitor’s attempts to gain an unfair competitive advantage over Toyo Ink by initiating this unfounded lawsuit." Toyo Ink makes printing ink, including for film printing, paper printing, printed circuit boards (PCBs), flexible printed circuits (FPCs), RFID antennas and EMI shields.

4/23. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) released its Index of Consumer Technology Expectations (ICTE) for the month of April. The CEA stated in a release that the ICTE "fell to 84.4, down 4.5 points from March. The ICTE, which measures consumer expectations about technology spending, is two points higher than this time last year."

4/20. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released an agenda for its event on Friday, April 27, 2012, titled "Open Meeting". This agenda contains the same five items as the FCC's preliminary agenda. See, story titled "FCC Releases Tentative Agenda for Meeting of April 27" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,369, April 12, 2012.

4/20. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a civil complaint in the U.S. District Court (SDNY) against Thomas and John Hunter alleging violation of Section 17 of the Securities Act and Section 10b of the Securities Exchange Act in connection with their alleged touting of penny stocks by e-mail. They were paid to tout certain stocks, but falsely alleged to newsletter recipients that they had a "stock picking robot" that was "a highly sophisticated computer trading program and the product of extensive research and development". They made money from stock promoters and from the sale of newsletter subscriptions. See also, SEC release. This case is SEC v. Thomas Edward Hunter and John Alexander Hunter, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, D.C. No. 12-SV-3123, Judge Jesse Furman presiding.

4/20. Daniyar Zhaxalyk pled guilty in the U.S. District Court (SDTex) to one count of money laundering associated with a hack and dump scheme involving stock market accounts. The Department of Justice (DOJ) stated in a release that "The indictment charged that Zhaxalyk's co-conspirators illegally accessed brokerage accounts to engage in a stock fraud scheme in which the compromised accounts were used to purchase borrowed shares of stock at above-market prices from the defendants’ personal brokerage accounts. Zhaxalyk’s co-conspirators then allegedly repurchased the borrowed shares at the considerably lower market price, returned the borrowed shares to the stock lender and claimed as profit the difference between the market price and the inflated price paid by the compromised victim accounts. Zhaxalyk admitted that he received and made wire transfers and withdrawals of the funds generated from the fraudulent stock sales and supervised other Houston-based students recruited into the scheme to launder funds."

4/19. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report [29 pages in PDF] titled "Federal Telework: Program Measurement Continues to Confront Data Reliability Issues".

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

The Senate will meet at 10:00 AM.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "The Emergence of Online Video: Is It The Future?". The witnesses will be Barry Diller (IAC), Paul Misener (Amazon), Susan Whiting (Nielsen Company), and Blair Westlake (Microsoft). See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

2:00 PM. The House Homeland Security Committee's (HHSC) Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Management will hold a hearing titled "America is Under Cyber Attack: Why Urgent Action is Needed". See, notice. Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

2:00 - 3:30 PM. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division will host a presentation titled "Market Structure, Regulation and Mobile Network Penetration". The speaker will be Yan Li (University of East Anglia) co-author of a paper with the same title. For more information, contact Thomas Jeitschko at 202-532-4826 or atr dot eag at usdoj dot gov. Location: Liberty Square Building, 450 5th St., NW.

2:00 - 3:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast and telecast panel discussion titled "Should I Sue? The Perils of Litigation in the Age of Anonymous". This panel will address hacking attacks launched in retaliation for the filing of lawsuits. The speakers will be Tanya Forsheit (InfoLawGroup), Marcia Hofmann (Electronic Frontier Foundation), Steven Teppler (Edelson McGuire), and Gib Sorebo (SAIC). Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

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

3:00 - 4:30 PM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "Resolved: U.S. Ex-Im Bank Financing is a Vital Component of U.S. Competitiveness". The speakers will be Robert Atkinson (ITIF), Sallie James (Cato Institute), Andrew Roth (Club for Growth), and Loren Thompson (Lexington Institute). See, notice. Location: Congressional Auditorium, Capitol Visitor Center.

4:30 PM. Deadline to submit to the House Rules Committee (HRC) amendments to HR 3523 [LOC | WW], the "Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2011" or "CISPA". See also, April 19 base bill [18 pages in PDF].

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a panel discussion titled "Red Channel, Blue Channel: How Fox and MSNBC Are Transforming American Politics". See, notice. Location: Policy Restaurant and Lounge, 1904 14th St., NW (near U Street Metro.)

6:00 - 8:15 PM. Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Transactional Committee will host an event titled "New Developments in Merger Analysis and their Implications in FCC Merger Review". CLE credits. Prices Vary. Registrations and cancellations due by 12:00 NOON on Monday, April 23. See, notice. Location:  Mayer Brown, 1999 K St.,  NW.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host the second part of a two part program titled "Preserving Intellectual Property Rights in Government Contracts". The speakers will be David Bloch (Winston & Strawn), Richard Gray (Department of Defense), John Lucas (Department of Energy), and James McEwen (Stein McEwen). The price to attend this part ranges from $89 to $129. CLE credits. See, notice. For more information, call 202-626-3488. The DC Bar has a history of barring reporters from its events. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

TIME? The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) will host an event titled "CES on the Hill". See, notice. Location: Room B-357, Rayburn Building.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. It will consider, under suspension of the rules, HR 2146 [LOC | WW], the "Digital Accountability and Transparency Act", or DATA Act. See, story titled "Rep. Issa Releases Revised Draft of DATA Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,376, April 20, 2012. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule for the week.

The Senate will meet at 9:30 AM. It will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S 1925 [LOC | WW], the "Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2011". At 2:00 PM, it will resume consideration of S 1789 [LOC | WW], the "21st Century Postal Service Act of 2012".

TIME CHANGE. 10:00 AM. 9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an oversight hearing on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano will testify. See, notice. The SJC will webcast this event. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Financial Services Committee's (HFSC) Subcommittee on Capitol Markets will hold an oversight hearing on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The witness will be SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro. See, notice. Location: Room 2128, Rayburn Building.

10:30 AM. The Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) will hold a closed hearing on the FY 2013 budget for national and military intelligence programs. The witnesses will be James Clapper and Michael Vickers. See, notice. Location: Room SVC-217, Capitol Visitor Center.

2:30 PM. The Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) will hold a hearing titled "Expanding Broadband Access, Promoting Innovation, and Protecting Consumers in a Communications Revolution: Fiscal Year 2013 Resource Needs for the Federal Communications Commission". The witness will be FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. See, notice. Location: Room 138, Dirksen Building.

6:30 PM. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) will host an event titled "Digital Patriots Dinner". The honorees will be Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), and David Rubenstein (Managing Director of the Carlyle Group). There will be a reception at 6:30 PM. The dinner will begin at 7:30 PM. See, notice. Location: Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania, Ave., NW.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. It will consider, under suspension of the rules, HR 2096 [LOC | WW], the "Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2011", HR 3834 [LOC | WW], the "Advancing America's Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Act of 2012", and HR 4257 [LOC | WW], the "Federal Information Security Amendments Act of 2012". The House will also begin consideration, subject to a rule, of HR 3523 [LOC | WW], the "Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2011" or "CISPA". See, Rep. Cantor's schedule for the week.

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) will host an event titled "2012 Washington Caucus". For more information, contact Maggie Clark at 202-783-0070 or mclark at ccianet dot org. There will no webcast. Location: Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will host a workshop titled "Paper, Plastic ... or Mobile? An FTC Workshop on Mobile Payments". See, notice. Location: FTC Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

9:00 AM - 2:30 PM. The Cato Institute will host a conference titled "Is Immigration Good for America". Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) will speak at 12:00 NOON. Free. See, notice and registration page. Location: Cato, 1000 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet will hold a hearing titled "International Patent Issues: Promoting a Level Playing Field for American Industry Abroad". See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Ways and Means Committee's (HWMC) Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures will hold a hearing regarding expiring tax provisions. The R&D tax credit expired on December 31, 2011. The witnesses will be members of Congress. Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) will testify regarding HR 942 [LOC | WW], the "American Research and Competitiveness Act of 2011", a bill that would revise and make permanent the R&D tax credit. See, hearing notice. See, also, 21 U.S.C. § 41, story titled "Tax Bill Enacted With R&D Tax Credit Extension" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,182, December 18, 2010, and story titled "Ways and Means Subcommittee Hearing to Address Expired R&D Tax Credit" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,376, April 20, 2012. Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building.

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

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

POSTPONED. 10:00 AM. The House Appropriations Committee's (HAC) Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government will hold a hearing on the FY 2013 budget for the Supreme Court. The witnesses will be Justices Anthony Kennedy and Stephen Breyer. See, notice. The HAC will webcast this event. Location: Room 2359, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee (HOGRC) will hold a business meeting. 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 the nominations of Michael Shea (USDC/DConn), Gonzalo Curiel (USDC/SDCal), Robert Shelby (USDC/DUtah). The SJC will webcast this event. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. The Heritage Foundation (HF) will host an event titled "Lessons from Homeland Security Regulatory Regimes: CFATS and Cybersecurity". The speakers will be Jamie Conrad (Conrad Law & Policy Counsel), Peter Weaver (International Liquid Terminals Association), Paul Rosenzweig (HF), and Steve Bucci (HF). See, notice. Location: HF, 214 Massachusetts Ave., NE.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "Social Media: Legal Considerations For Corporate Counsel". The speakers will be Brent Kidwell (Jenner & Block), Paul Meyer (Towers Watson), Blair Vietmeyer (E*TRADE Financial Corporation), and Michael Lowman (Jenner & Block). The price to attend ranges from free to $15. No CLE credits. See, notice. For more information, call 202-626-3463. The DC Bar has a history of barring reporters from its events. Location: Jenner & Block, 9th Floor, 1099 New York Ave., NW.

3:00 - 4:30 PM. The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA), U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) will host an event titled "World Intellectual Property Day". The opening speakers will be Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), David Kappos (head of the USPTO), and John Bryson (Secretary of Commerce). There will then be a panel discussion. The speakers will be Todd Dickenson (AIPLA), David Kappos, James Pooley (WIPO) and Al Langer (inventor). At 4:30 - 6:00 there will be a reception. Free. Exhibits will be on display. Register by sending an e-mail to WorldIPDay at aipla dot org. Location: Room 562, Dirksen Building.

6:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) State and Local Committee will host an event titled "USF Contributions: Where Do We Go From Here?". CLE credits. Prices vary. The deadline for registrations and cancellations is Wednesday, April 25, at 12:00 NOON. See, notice and schedule. Location: ___.

The House will meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. It will complete consideration, subject to a rule, of HR 3523 [LOC | WW], the "Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2011" or "CISPA". See, Rep. Cantor's schedule for the week.

9:15 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement will on another hearing on the E-Verify program. It also held a hearing on February 10 and a hearing on April 18. This one is titled "E-Verify: The Perspective of Employers Who Use It". See, notice. See also, story titled "Rep. Lamar Smith Seeks Passage of E-Verify Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,337, February 15, 2012. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

11:00 AM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold an event titled "Open Meeting". See, agenda, and story titled "FCC Releases Tentative Agenda for Meeting of April 27" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,369, April 12, 2012. Location: FCC headquarters, Room TW-C305, 445 12th St., SW.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) the regarding the types and depth of testing that the NTIA intends to conduct in Phase II/III of the Spectrum Sharing Innovation Test Bed pilot program to assess whether devices employing Dynamic Spectrum Access techniques can share the frequency spectrum with land mobile radio systems. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 60, Wednesday, March 28, 2012, at Page 18793.

9:00 AM - 6:30 PM. Day one of a two day event hosted by Codepink Women for Peace titled "Drone Summit: Killing and Spying by Remote Control". The speakers will include Amie Stepanovich (EPIC), Hina Shamsi (ACLU), and Jay Stanley (ACLU). Most of the topics to be covered relate to foreign wars. However, the conference will also address "the future of domestic drone surveillance". See, notice. Location: Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church, 900 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

10:00 AM - 4:00 PM. Day two of a two day event hosted by Codepink Women for Peace titled "Drone Summit: Killing and Spying by Remote Control". See, notice. Location: United Methodist Building, 100 Maryland Ave., NE.

The Senate will not meet on the week of Monday, April 30, through Friday, May 4.

The Senate will not meet on the week of Monday, April 30, through Friday, May 4.

12:30 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold an event at which David Robbins and other FCC employees will discuss social media and the FCC web site. The FCBA asserts that this is an FCBA event. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St.,  SW.

9:30 AM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Sensors and Instrumentation Technical Advisory Committee (SITAC) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register Vol. 77, No. 75, Wednesday, April 18, 2012, at Page 23222. Location: DOC, Hoover Building, Room 3884, 14th Street between Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues, NW.

1:00 - 2:00 PM. The law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski will host a webcast seminar titled "International E-Discovery: When Cyber Workspaces Collide with U.S. Litigation". CLE credits. See, notice and registration page.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) [339 pages in PDF] regarding it Lifeline and Link Up universal service tax and subsidy programs. The FCC adopted this FNPRM on January 31, 2012 and released the text on February 6, 2012. It is FCC 12-11 in WC Docket Nos. 11-42, 03-109, and 12-23, and CC Docket No. 96-45. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 42, Friday, March 2, 2012, at Pages 12784-12791.

12:30 - 2:00 PM. The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) will host a webcast presentation titled "Patent Prosecution Under the AIA: Strategies For Before, During and After the Transition to First to File". The speakers will be Joseph Matal (Sen. Jon Kyl's Senate Judiciary Committee counsel) and Courtney Brinckerhoff (Foley & Lardner). CLE credits. CD, MP4 download, archived webcast, and other formats available. Prices vary. See, registration page.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to NextG Networks of California, Inc.'s December 21, 2011, Petition for Declaratory Ruling (part 1 and part 2) regarding whether it is a "commercial mobile radio service" or "CMRS" within the meaning of the FCC's rules. See, FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau's (WTB) February 16, 2012 Public Notice (DA 12-202 in WT Docket No. 12-37). See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 39, Tuesday, February 28, 2012, at Pages 12055-12056. And see, NextG Networks web site.

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