5/21. The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee's (SHSGAC) Subcommittee on Investigations released a memorandum [40 pages in PDF] titled "Offshore Profit Shifting and the U.S. Tax Code - Part 2 (Apple Inc.)". (Parentheses in original.)

This memorandum states that Apple "has used a variety of offshore structures, arrangements, and transactions to shift billions of dollars in profits away from the United States and into Ireland, where Apple has negotiated a special corporate tax rate of less than two percent."

It continues that "One of Apple's more unusual tactics has been to establish and direct substantial funds to offshore entities in Ireland, while claiming they are not tax residents of any jurisdiction. For example, Apple Inc. established an offshore subsidiary, Apple Operations International, which from 2009 to 2012 reported net income of $30 billion, but declined to declare any tax residence, filed no corporate income tax return, and paid no corporate income taxes to any national government for five years. A second Irish affiliate, Apple Sales International, received $74 billion in sales income over four years, but due in part to its alleged status as a non-tax resident, paid taxes on only a tiny fraction of that income."

The Subcommittee will hold a hearing on May 21 at 9:30 AM on this matter in the huge hearing room of the Dirksen Building, Room 106. See, notice.

Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), the Chairman of the Subcommittee, stated in a release that "Apple sought the Holy Grail of tax avoidance. It has created offshore entities holding tens of billions of dollars, while claiming to be tax resident nowhere. We intend to highlight that gimmick and other Apple offshore tax avoidance tactics so that American working families who pay their share of taxes understand how offshore tax loopholes raise their tax burden, add to the federal deficit and ought to be closed."

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), the ranking Republican on the Subcommittee, stated in this release that "Apple claims to be the largest U.S. corporate taxpayer, but by sheer size and scale, it is also among America's largest tax avoiders ... A company that found remarkable success by harnessing American ingenuity and the opportunities afforded by the U.S. economy should not be shifting its profits overseas to avoid the payment of U.S. tax, purposefully depriving the American people of revenue."

5/20. The Supreme Court issued its opinion [44 pages in PDF] in City of Arlington v. FCC, a case involving an FCC declaratory ruling regarding state and local reviews of cell tower applications under 47 U.S.C. § 332.

The Supreme Court held that "an agency’s interpretation of a statutory ambiguity that concerns the scope of its regulatory authority (that is, its jurisdiction)" is entitled to deference under the Supreme Court's 1984 opinion in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, 467 U.S. 837.

Chevron is the landmark case regarding administrative procedure gives the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and other "independent" agencies wide latitude to write regulations that give wild and implausible interpretations to federal statutes. Although, in the matter under review, the FCC issued a reasoned and logical interpretation of a statute.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted and released a Declaratory Ruling [42 pages in PDF] on November 18, 2009 in which it concluded that "reasonable period of time" within the meaning of Subsection 332(c)(7)(B)(ii) is presumptively 90 days to process a collocation application to place a new antenna on an existing tower, and 150 days to process all other applications.

See, story titled "FCC Adopts Declaratory Ruling Regarding State and Local Tower Siting Procedures" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,017, November 23, 2009.

Statutes. Subsection 332(c)(7)(B)(i) provides that "The regulation of the placement, construction, and modification of personal wireless service facilities by any State or local government or instrumentality thereof -- (I) shall not unreasonably discriminate among providers of functionally equivalent services; and (II) shall not prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting the provision of personal wireless services".

Subsection 332(c)(7)(B)(ii) provides that "A State or local government or instrumentality thereof shall act on any request for authorization to place, construct, or modify personal wireless service facilities within a reasonable period of time after the request is duly filed with such government or instrumentality, taking into account the nature and scope of such request." (Emphasis added.)

Subsection 253(a) provides that "No State or local statute or regulation, or other State or local legal requirement, may prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting the ability of any entity to provide any interstate or intrastate telecommunications service."

Then, subsection 253(d) provides that if the FCC "determines that a State or local government has permitted or imposed any statute, regulation, or legal requirement that violates subsection (a) or (b) of this section, the Commission shall preempt the enforcement of such statute, regulation, or legal requirement to the extent necessary to correct such violation or inconsistency."

Subsection 332(c)(7)(A), a savings clause, provides that "nothing in this chapter shall limit or affect the authority of a State or local government or instrumentality thereof over decisions regarding the placement, construction, and modification of personal wireless service facilities."

Subsection 337(c)(7)(B)(v) provides for judicial review of "any final action or failure to act by a State or local government".

Proceedings Below. But, this matter arose because the CTIA filed a Petition for Declaratory Ruling [44 pages in PDF] with the FCC regarding the meaning of "within a reasonable time", and the FCC issued such a declaratory ruling (DR).

The City of Arlington, and the City of San Antonio, both located in the state of Texas, filed a petition for review with the U.S. Court of Appeals (5thCir) in which they argued that the FCC lacked authority to adopt this DR.

The cities argued that Subsections 332(c)(7)(A) and 337(c)(7)(B)(v) together display a Congressional intent to withhold from the FCC authority to interpret the limitations in Subsection 332(c)(7)(B).

The Court of Appeals, applying Chevron deference to the question whether the FCC possessed statutory authority to adopt the 90 and 150 day time frames, denied the petition for review.

The Supreme Court granted certiorari on the sole issue of Chevron deference.

Supreme Court. The Supreme Court affirmed. Justice Scalia wrote the opinion of the Court, in which Justices Thomas, Ginsburg, Sotomayor, and Kagan joined.

Scalia wrote that "The question here is whether a court must defer under Chevron to an agency’s interpretation of a statutory ambiguity that concerns the scope of the agency’s statutory authority (that is, its jurisdiction)." (Parentheses in original.)

"The argument against deference rests on the premise that there exist two distinct classes of agency interpretations: Some interpretations -- the big, important ones, presumably -- define the agency’s “jurisdiction.” Others -- humdrum, run-of-the-mill stuff -- are simply applications of jurisdiction the agency plainly has. That premise is false, because the distinction between “jurisdictional” and “nonjurisdictional” interpretations is a mirage. No matter how it is framed, the question a court faces when confronted with an agency’s interpretation of a statute it administers is always, simply, whether the agency has stayed within the bounds of its statutory authority."

Justice Breyer wrote a concurring opinion.

Chief Justice Roberts wrote a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Kennedy and Alito joined.

He wrote that "My disagreement with the Court is fundamental. It is also easily expressed: A court should not defer to an agency until the court decides, on its own, that the agency is entitled to deference. Courts defer to an agency’s interpretation of law when and because Congress has conferred on the agency interpretive authority over the question at issue. An agency cannot exercise interpretive authority until it has it; the question whether an agency enjoys that authority must be decided by a court, without deference to the agency."

FCC Chairman Mignon Clyburn stated in a release that "I am pleased that, as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision today, one of the Commission’s major achievements in promoting broadband access will continue to protect consumers and drive investment. Removing obstacles to the timely build-out of wireless broadband services remains a key priority."

5/17. The House amended and passed HR 1062 [LOC | WW], an untitled bill that would impose additional requirements upon the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) when promulgating rules. It would require cost benefit analyses.

This bill, which is not likely to be enacted into law, would only affect rulemaking proceedings, and existing rules, of the SEC. However, it could serve as a model, were the Congress to consider similar legislation to reign in burdensome rulemaking by other federal agencies -- especially the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The Executive Office of the President's (EOP) Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a document titled "Statement of Administration Policy " on May 15 that states that "the Administration opposes passage of H.R. 1062". However, this statement does not threaten a veto.

This bill is backed by Republicans, who argue that the SEC is promulgating rules that are are burden on the economy, small businesses, and job creation. There is also the matter that the SEC has failed to comply with statutory mandates to write rules that implement HR 3606 [LOC | WW], the "Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act" or "JOBS Act", which would facilitate access to capital by start up companies, especially in the tech sector.

The vote on final passage was 235-161. See, Roll Call No. 160. Republicans voted 218-0. Democrats voted 17-161. 37 members did not vote.

Democrats who represent districts with high percentages of Republican voters, and/or who narrowly won election in 2012, were more likely than other Democrats to vote for the bill, or not vote. Also, Hispanic Democrats, and Democrats who represent districts with high percentages of Hispanic voters, were more likely than other Democrats to vote for the bill, or not vote.

From Silicon Valley, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) did not vote, while Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-VA) voted against the bill.

Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) is the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC), which reported this bill. He stated that this bill simply says that the SEC "has to adopt cost-benefit analysis to ensure that the advertised benefits of one of their rules is actually measured against the actual cost of what they're doing". See, Congressional Record, May 17, 2013, at Page H2732.

Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ), the sponsor of the bill, said that "At a time when new regulation after new regulation is being proposed by this administration, it is critical that we restore some semblance of order to the regulatory process and ensure that our Nation's small businesses do not continue to drown in a sea of red tape."

Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-TN) stated that "Title I of the JOBS Act was so important for smaller companies in trying to go public, because a lot of regulations come with the IPO process. If more and more of a company's resources have to be dedicated to government regulations, the company can't expand and create jobs. That's why we need a balanced approach to regulations."

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the HFSC, spoke in opposition. She said that "the bill before us today adds even more requirements, tying up the SEC resources, and putting it at even greater risk for litigation for every rule".

She also said that "It is ironic that as House Republicans push this bill forward, they are also calling for the SEC to speed up its efforts on Jobs Act rules."

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) said that this bill "would in effect cripple the SEC just as it undertakes the immense task of implementing the essential Dodd-Frank reforms."

She added that "bill comes in the guise of requiring the SEC to undertake a cost-benefit analysis of regulations. But it is really a prescription for paralysis of the SEC's ability to protect our investors and our markets".

This bill provides that "Before issuing a regulation under the securities laws ... the Commission shall ... clearly identify the nature and source of the problem that the proposed regulation is designed to address, as well as assess the significance of that problem, to enable assessment of whether any new regulation is warranted ... utilize the Chief Economist to assess the costs and benefits, both qualitative and quantitative, of the intended regulation and propose or adopt a regulation only on a reasoned determination that the benefits of the intended regulation justify the costs of the regulation", and "identify and assess available alternatives to the regulation".

It also provides that "In deciding whether and how to regulate, the Commission shall assess the costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives, including the alternative of not regulating, and choose the approach that maximizes net benefits".

While this bill would only impose requirements upon the SEC, it adds that "It is the sense of the Congress that other regulatory entities ... should also follow the requirements of" this bill.

5/20. Yahoo and Tumblr announced in a release that "they have reached a definitive agreement for Yahoo! to acquire Tumblr."

The two companies added that "Per the agreement and our promise not to screw it up, Tumblr will be independently operated as a separate business. David Karp will remain CEO. The product, service and brand will continue to be defined and developed separately ... Total consideration is approximately $1.1 billion, substantially all of which is payable in cash."

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

The Senate will meet at 2:00 PM. It is scheduled to resume consideration of S 954 [LOC | WW], the "Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013".

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will resume its long running executive business meeting, begun on May 9, in which it is marking up its huge immigration bill. See, notice. Location: Room 216, Hart Building.

Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) regarding it revisions to its patent fees rule. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 54, March 20, 2013, at Pages 17102-17108, and story titled "USPTO Issues Corrected Patent Fees Rule" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,540, March 25, 2013.

Deadline to submit replies to oppositions to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to the Petition for Reconsideration and Clarification [12 pages in PDF] filed by the US Telecom regarding the rural health care reform Report and Order [242 pages in PDF], adopted on December 12, 2012 and released on December 21, FCC 12-150 in WC Docket No. 02-60. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 79, April 24, 2013, at Page 24147.

EXTENDED TO JUNE 19. Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Office of General Counsel (OGC) and Enforcement Bureau (EB) in response to the Public Notice regarding whether the full Commission should make changes to its broadcast indecency policies, and especially, policies regarding isolated expletives, and isolated non-sexual nudity. The FCC released that PN on April 1, 2013. It is DA 13-581 in GN Docket No. 13-86. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 76, April 19, 2013, at Pages 23563-23564, setting comment deadlines. And see, May 10, 2013 Public Notice, DA 13-1071, extending comment deadlines.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. The House will consider several non-technology related items under suspension of the rules. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

The Senate will meet at 10:00 AM. It is scheduled to resume consideration of S 954 [LOC | WW], the "Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013".

8:00 - 10:00 AM. Broadband Census News LLC will host a panel discussion titled "Gigabit Nation: What Have We Learned About Ultra-High Speed Broadband?". The speakers will be Sheldon Grizzle (Gigtank), Kevin McElearney (Comcast Cable), David Sandel (Sandel & Associates), William Wallace (US Ignite), Scott Wallsten (Technology Policy Institute), and Drew Clark (Broadband Census News LLC). Breakfast will be served. This event is open to the public. The price to attend is $47.12. See, notice and registration page. This event is also sponsored by Comcast NBCUniversal, Google, and US Telecom. Location: Clyde's of Gallery Place, 707 7th St., NW.

9:00 AM - 12:30 PM. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) will host an event titled "Threat and Response: Combating Advanced Attacks and Cyber-Espionage". The speakers will be David DeWalt (Ch/CEO of FireEye), Ashar Aziz (FireEye), Shane McGee (General Counsel of Mandiant), James Mulvenon (Defense Group, Inc.), Shawn Henry (CrowdStrike), James Lewis (CSIS), Bruce McConnell (Deputy Under Secretary for Cybersecurity, National Protection and Programs Directorate, DHS), John Nagengast (AT&T), John Gilligan (The Gilligan Group), and Robert Lentz (Cyber Security Strategies). See, notice. Location: CSIS, B1 Conference Center, 1800 K St., NW.

9:30 AM. The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee's (SHSGAC) Subcommittee on Investigations will hold a hearing titled "Offshore Profit Shifting and the U.S. Tax Code -- Part 2 (Apple Inc.)". Location: Room 106, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee (HCC) will hold a hearing titled "Cyber Threats and Security Solutions". The witnesses will be Patrick Gallagher (Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology), Dave McCurdy (American Gas Association), Mike McConnell (Booz Allen Hamilton), James Woolsey, Michael Papay (Northrop Grumman Information Systems), Phyllis Schneck (McAfee), Charles Blauner (Citigroup), Duane Highley (Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation), and Robert Mayer (US Telecom Association). See, notice. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Science Committee's (HSC) Subcommittee on Research and Subcommittee on Technology will hold a joint hearing titled "The Current and Future Applications of Biometric Technologies". The witnesses will be Charles Romine (National Institute of Standards and Technology), John Mears (International Biometrics and Identification Association), and Stephanie Schuckers (Center for Identification Technology Research). See, notice. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Finance Committee (SFC) will hold a hearing related to IRS misconduct in targeting tea party groups. See, notice. Location: Room 215, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM - 3:30 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host an event titled "The Next Generation University". Live webcast. See, notice. Location: NAF, Suite 400, 1899 L St., NW.

2:00 PM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Communications and Technology (SCT) will hold a hearing titled "Cybersecurity: An Examination of the Communications Supply Chain". The witnesses will be Jennifer Bisceglie (Interos Solutions), Robert Dix (Juniper Networks), Mark Goldstein (Government Accountability Office), John Lindquist (Electronic Warfare Associates), David Rothenstein (Ciena), Stewart Baker (Steptoe & Johnson), and Dean Garfield (Information Technology Industry Council). See, notice. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

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

Deadline to submit comments to the Copyright Office (CO) in response to its notice of inquiry (NOI) regarding potential improvements and technical enhancements to the information technology platforms that support its registration and recordation functions. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 56, March 22, 2013, at Pages 17722-17724, and story titled "Copyright Office Issues Notice of Inquiry on Improving Its IT" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,540, March 25, 2013.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. The House will consider several non-technology related items. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

8:30 AM - 1:00 PM. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) will host an event titled "U.S.-China Economic Relations in the Next Decade". See, notice. Location: CSIS, B1 Conference Center, 1800 K St., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Science Committee's (HSC) Subcommittee on Energy will hold a hearing titled "America's Next Generation Supercomputer: The Exascale Challenge". The witnesses will be Roscoe Giles (Chairman of the DOE's Advanced Scientific Computing Advisory Committee), Rick Stevens (DOE's Argonne National Laboratory), Dona Crawford (DOE's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory), and Daniel Reed (University of Iowa). See, notice. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Finance Committee (SFC) will hold a hearing on S 662 [LOC | WW], the "Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Reauthorization Act of 2013". The witnesses will be __. See, notice. Location: Room 215, Dirksen Building.

10:30 PM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed hearing on undisclosed matters. See, notice. Location: Room HVC-304, Capitol Visitor Center.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "Surveillance Cameras: Helpful or Harmful?". The speakers will be Daniel Castro (ITIF), Paul Rosenzweig (Heritage Foundation), Jay Stanley (ACLU), Julian Sanchez (Cato) and Carrie Johnson (NPR). See, notice. Location: ITIF/ITIC, Suite 610A, 1101 K St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:15 PM. The American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Antitrust Law will host an on site and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "Identifying Antitrust Issues in IP Matters". The speakers will be Al Pfeiffer (Latham & Watkins), Shylah Alfonso (Perkins Coie), Logan Breed (Hogan Lovells), Avery Gardiner (Verizon Communications), and Henry Su (FTC Bureau of Competition). Free. No CLE credits. See, notice. Location: Hogan Lovells, 555 13th St., NW.

12:30 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "Nominations". See, notice. The SJC will provide a live and archived webcast. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

9:40 to 11:50 AM. The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) will hold a closed meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 93, May 14, 2013, at Pages 28237-28238. Location: Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

12:40 - 4:00 PM. The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) will hold a meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 93, May 14, 2013, at Pages 28237-28238. Location: participants will meet in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building; public access is by webcast only.

1:00 PM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed hearing on undisclosed matters. See, notice. Location: Room HVC-304, Capitol Visitor Center.

2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing on the nomination of Anthony Foxx to be Secretary of Transportation. See, SCC notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

Extended deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding elevating the allocation status of Earth Stations Aboard Aircraft (ESAA) in the 14.0-14.5 GHz band from secondary to primary and whether giving ESAA licensees primary status in the 14.0-14.5 GHz band would require a change to the technical rules. The FCC adopted this NPRM on December 20, 2012, and released it on December 28, 2012. It is FCC 12-161 in IB Docket No. 12-376. See, original notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 46, March 8, 2013, at Pages 14952-14957. See also, second notice in the FR, Vol. 78, No. 61, March 29, 2013, at Page 19172.

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

Supreme Court conference day. See, Supreme Court calendar.

8:30 AM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed hearing on undisclosed matters. See, notice. Location: Room HVC-304, Capitol Visitor Center.

9:00 - 11:00 AM. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) will host an event titled "The Geopolitics of Internet Governance". The speakers will include Phil Verveer, Veni Markovski (ICANN VP for Russia, CIS and Eastern Europe), Sally Wentworth (Strategic Public Policy), Bill Smith (PayPal), Laura DeNardis (American University), David Vyorst (Relay Station Social Media), and James Lewis (CSIS). Registration required. Reporters are excluded. See, notice. Location: CSIS, B1 Conference Center, 1800 K St., NW.

11:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing on the nomination of Penny Pritzger to be Secretary of Commerce. See, SCC notice and story titled "President Obama Picks Democratic Fund Raiser for Secretary of Commerce" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,557, May 6, 2013. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

1:00 - 5:00 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will hold another in its series of meetings regarding mobile application transparency. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 62, April 1, 2013, at Pages 19461-19462. Location: American Institute of Architects, 1735 New York Ave., NW.

1:00 PM. The US Telecom will host part two of a two part webcast seminar titled "VoLTE: Technology and Challenges". The price is $149. See, notice.

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

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Public Notice (PN) [17 pages in PDF] regarding its e-rate tax and subsidy program for schools and libraries. The FCC released this PN on April 9, 2013. It is DA 13-592 in CC Docket No. 02-6 and GN Docket No. 09-51. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 78, April 23, 2013, at Pages 23877-23882.

Rep. Cantor's schedule states that "no votes are expected" in the House.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [47 pages in PDF] regarding implementation of the 2012 spectrum act's provisions regarding deployment of a nationwide public safety broadband network in the 700 MHz band under a nationwide license issued to the FirstNet. See, HR 3630 [LOC | WW], the "Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012", Public Law No. 112-96. The FCC adopted this item on March 7, 2013, and released the text on March 8. It is FCC 13-31 in PS Docket Nos. 12-94 and 06-229, and WT Docket No. 06-150. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 79, April 24, 2013, at Pages 24138-24147.

The House will not meet the week of May 27 through May 31. See, House calendar for the 113th Congress, 1st Session.

The Senate will not meet the week of May 27 through May 31. See, Senate calendar for the 113th Congress, 1st Session.

Memorial Day. This is a federal holiday. See, OPM list of 2013 federal holidays.