9/16. The House of Representatives is scheduled to consider this week, subject to a rule, HR 761 [LOC | WW], the "National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 2013", a bill to facilitate and incent domestic mining and extraction of rare earth materials (REMs), which are used in information and communications technology (ICT) products.

The House Republican leadership also temporarily placed this bill on schedule for the House for the week of July 8, 2013.

The House Rules Committee (HRC) will meet on Tuesday evening to adopt a rule for consideration of this bill, including a list of which offered amendments are in order.

Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) and others introduced this bill on February 15, 2013. The House Natural Resources Committee (HNRC) approved it on May 15, 2013.

The rare earth elements from which REMs are made are Scandium, Yttrium, Lanthanum, Cerium, Praseodymium, Neodymium, Promethium, Samarium, Europium, Gadolinium, Terbium, Dysprosium, Holmium, Erbium, Thulium, Ytterbium, and Lutetium. See also, periodic table.

REMs have a wide range of uses. They are used in such ICT products as fiber optic cable and smart phone screens. However, one of their keys uses is in making permanent magnets, which have the properties of compactness, high strength, and very strong magnetic fields. These magnets are used in computer hard drives, cell phones, loudspeakers, headphones, magnetic resonance imaging, cordless electric tools, and other products.

Rare earth elements are located in many locations, including the U.S. The U.S. was once a leading producer of REMs. However, almost all of the world's supply of REMs now comes from the People's Republic of China (PRC).

In 2010 the Congress began to examine the PRC's abuse of its dominant position with respect to REMs, the growing worldwide demand for REMs, and whether and how the US should incent domestic production.

Since then, numerous bills have been introduced. However, there is also strong opposition to any legislation that would increase development of U.S. resources, mainly from within the Democratic Party and the Obama administration.

In addition, the U.S. and other nations have complained to the World Trade Organization (WTO) that the PRC is imposing export restraints, export duties, and export quotas on REMs in violation of its WTO commitments. That is, the US, Japan and European Union have alleged that the PRC is exploiting its dominance in REM production to favor domestic producers, discriminate against foreign competitors, and leverage technology transfers. These complaints are pending.

See, story titled "US, Japan and EU Take Rare Earths Issue to WTO" and story titled "OUSTR Explains Rare Earths Request for Consultations" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,349, March 14, 2012. And see, and story titled "US, Japan and EU Request WTO DSP for REM Complaint Against PRC" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,406, July 10, 2012.

See also, US's complaint [5 pages in PDF] in WTO Docket DS 431, Japan's complaint [5 pages in PDF, English] in WTO Docket DS 433, and EU's complaint [5 pages in PDF] in WTO Docket DS 432.

REMs must be mined and extracted. The US has more stringent environmental protection regulation, as well as more tedious permitting processes, than the PRC. HR 761 is intended to ease the permitting process.

The bill recites in its findings that "out of 25 major mining countries, the United States ranked last with Papua New Guinea in permitting delays".

For more TLJ coverage, see the following stories:

• "House Science Committee Approves Rare Earths Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,134, September 28, 2010.
• "House Passes Rare Earths Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,136, September 30, 2010.
• "OUSTR Is Considering Filing WTO Complaint Against PRC For Its Rare Earths Export Restraints", "Molycorp and Hitachi Plan Joint Ventures for Production of Rare Earth Magnets", "PRC Further Curtails Exports of Rare Earths", and "Outgoing Senators Bayh and Bond Introduce Rare Earths Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,189, December 29, 2010.
• "Update on Rare Earth Materials Legislation" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,261, July 17, 2011.
• "Sen. Murkowski Assigns Some Blame for Rare Earths Problem on US Government Regulation" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,349, March 14, 2012.

Bills Introduced in the 113th Congress:

• HR 761.
• HR 981 [LOC | WW], the "Resource Assessment of Rare Earths Act of 2013" or the "RARE Act of 2013", a bill that would require a study to be completed within three years, but nothing else. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) introduced this bill on March 6, 2013.
• HR 1022 [LOC | WW], the "Securing Energy Critical Elements and American Jobs Act of 2013". This is a large bill that includes a section that would create a "Rare Earth Materials Loan Guarantee Program". Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) introduced this bill on March 6, 2013. No action has been taken.
• HR 1063 [LOC | WW], the "National Strategic and Critical Minerals Policy Act of 2013". This bill would require a study. It also contains numerous findings and policy statements. However, it would make no changes to law that would facilitate the development of domestic REM production. Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) introduced this bill on March 13, 2013. The HNRC approved this bill on May 15, 2013.

9/16. The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) published a notice in the Federal Register (FR) in which it announced a hearing and comment period regarding government surveillance activities.

The hearing will be held from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM on Friday, October 4, 2013 at the Mayflower Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Ave., NW.  The deadline to submit written comments is 11:59 PM ET on October 25, 2013.

The PCLOB also announced that it will "address the activities and responsibilities of the executive and judicial branches of the federal government regarding the government's counterterrorism surveillance programs", including "the federal government's surveillance programs operated pursuant to Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act and Section 702 of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act."

The PCLOB added that "Recommendations for changes to these programs and the operations of the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Court will be considered at the hearing to ensure that counterterrorism efforts properly balance the need to protect privacy and civil liberties."

Section 215 and Section 702 have long been two of the most controversial statutory sections that authorize federal surveillance. They are also the authorities relied upon by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and National Security Agency (NSA) for the surveillance activities disclosed by Edward Snowden in June of this year.

Section 215. Section 215 of the 2001 USA PATRIOT ACT amended 50 U.S.C. § 1861 to enable the government to obtain records from phone companies, and others, pursuant to a very low standard -- mere relevance to an investigation.

It provides that if the government submits an application to the court that states that there are "reasonable grounds to believe that the tangible things sought are relevant to an authorized investigation" of terrorism, intelligence activities, or activities of foreign powers, then the "judge shall enter an ex parte order as requested".

This Section 1861 of Title 50, as amended by Section 215 of the 2001 Act, is the authority for issuance of the Verizon order disclosed by Snowden, and published by the Guardian in June. See, story titled "FISC Orders Verizon to Produce Call Data for Everyone Every Day" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,571, June 5, 2013.

This order, and subsequent government statements, disclosed that the NSA is using this authority to collect from other companies, all call record data, on all persons, on an ongoing basis. See also, story titled "Government Surveillance Programs Extend to Other Phone Companies and Internet Companies", and related stories, in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,572, June 6. 2013.

Section 1861 of Title 50 has a storied history. It is also known as Section 501 of the FISA. The 2001 surveillance act (Section II of the USA PATRIOT Act) amended Section 1861/501 in its Section 215. And since, there have been contentious debates over, and amendments to, this controversial provision. These debates have usually been conducted with reference to "Section 215", rather than 1861 or 501.

See, HR 3162, 107th Congress, titled "USA PATRIOT Act", signed on October 26, 2001, Public Law 107-56.

Section 1851 requires that such application "shall include ... a statement of facts showing that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the tangible things sought are relevant to an authorized investigation (other than a threat assessment) conducted in accordance with subsection (a)(2) to obtain foreign intelligence information not concerning a United States person or to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities, such things being presumptively relevant to an authorized investigation if the applicant shows in the statement of the facts that they pertain to -- (i) a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power; (ii) the activities of a suspected agent of a foreign power who is the subject of such authorized investigation; or (iii) an individual in contact with, or known to, a suspected agent of a foreign power who is the subject of such authorized investigation".

The referenced subsection (a)(2) merely requires that the investigation be conducted pursuant to "guidelines approved by the Attorney General" and that it "not be conducted of a United States person solely upon the basis of activities protected by the first amendment to the Constitution".

Section 1851 also requires that the FBI's application contain an "enumeration of the minimization procedures adopted by the Attorney General". However, the above referenced Verizon order does not reference minimization.

Section 1861 also grants broad immunity from liability for anyone, such as Verizon, who complies with a Section 1861 order.

Section 702. 50 U.S.C. § 1881a codifies Section 702 authority for acquisition of "outside" the U.S. communications.

Section 702 was added to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 by the 110th Congress with enactment of HR 6304 [LOC | WW], the "Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2008".

On June 8, 2013, James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), released a statement titled "Facts on the Collection of Intelligence Pursuant to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act".

The 112th Congress extended this controversial authority by passage of HR 5949 [LOC | WW], the "FISA Amendments Act Reauthorization Act of 2012". See, stories titled "Senate Approves Bill to Extend FISA Outside the US Warrantless Intercept Authority", "Senate Debate: Case For the FISA Extension Bill", "Senate Debate: Case Against the FISA Extension Bill", "Senate Rejects Amendments to FISA Extension Bill", and "Commentary: Analysis of Senate Votes on the FISA Extension Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,499, December 30, 2012, and stories cited in these stories.

Section 702 authority is scheduled to sunset on December 31, 2017.

This section, which was originally enacted in 2008 with a December 31, 2012 sunset, allows federal surveillance, without individualized court approval, under the FISA, of people believed to be outside of the US. More specifically, it pertains to "the targeting of persons reasonably believed to be located outside the United States to acquire foreign intelligence information".

However, US citizens are located abroad, persons abroad communicate with persons inside the US, and those conducting surveillance often do not know the location of the persons they are attempting to surveil. Hence, this provision enables the government to conduct warrantless wiretaps and other surveillance of US citizens located in the US when communicating with persons whom the government believes are abroad.

Foreigners located outside the US are not protected by the 4th Amendment. The US government can wiretap them at will without court approval without violating US law. However, the 2008 Act authorizes surveillance that also results in the interception of communications of persons who are protected by the 4th Amendment.

It should be noted that the provision in the 2008 Act does require a court order. However, it allows broad generalized orders. It allows orders that cover entire surveillance programs, without identification or description of any person, phone, or email account. The 4th Amendment requires individualized orders. That is, it requires orders "particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized".

The 2008 Act also contains some limitations on this broad surveillance authority. For example, the government "may not intentionally target any person known at the time of acquisition to be located in the United States" under this authority.

More Information. The members of the PCLOB are David Medine, Rachel Brand, Elisebeth Cook, James Dempsey, and Patricia Wald. See, their PCLOB biographies, and story titled "Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on PCLOB Nominees" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,375, April 19, 2012.

This hearing is free, and open to the public. For more information, contact Susan Reingold at 202-331-1986 or info at pclob dot gov. See, FR, Vol. 78, No. 179, September 16, 2013, at Pages 56951-56952.

9/12. Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) sent a letter [2 pages in PDF] to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in which he expressed "concern about Facebook's proposed expansion of its facial recognition program".

Nominally, Sen. Franken addressed his letter to Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook. However, he sent copies to the FTC Commissioners. The letter is in the nature of a request to a government agency to investigate.

Sen. Franken is not a member of the Senate Commerce Committee (SCC), which oversees the consumer protection activities of the FTC.

The letter does conclude with one question directed to Facebook. "How many faceprints does Facebook have?"

Sen. Franken wrote that Facebook's "proposed expansion of this program is highly troubling, especially since Facebook has refused to promise its customers that it won't share this program or its data with third parties in the future".

Sen. Franken explained that "Two weeks ago, Facebook proposed changes to its Data Use Policy that would expand the faceprint database to include faceprints of public profile phones -- not just the photos that users have been tagged in. Presumably, this would lead to a significant expansion of Facebook's faceprint database. It would also likely capture some of Facebook's least active users -- those who are visible in their public profile photo but are not tagged in any other photos. These people are often less active users who may not be aware of Facebook's privacy changes."

"Facial recognition technology has profound implications for privacy." Sen. Sen. Franken (at right) continued that it "tracks you in the real world, from cameras stationed on street corners and in shopping centers, and through photographs taken by friends and strangers alike. Unlike other biometrics such as fingerprints and iris scans, which require physical contact or proximity, facial recognition can operate at a distance, entirely without the knowledge of the person being identified. And there is no practical way for an individual person to stop it."

"Unfortunately, no federal law governs the commercial use of this technology."

Sen. Franken warned that Facebook's database of "faceprints" could be "abuse by bad actors".

The Senate Judiciary Committee's (SJC) Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law, which Sen. Franken chairs, held a hearing on July 18, 2012 titled "What Facial Recognition Technology Means for Privacy and Civil Liberties". See, SJC web page with hyperlinks to prepared testimony. The focus of that hearing was facial recognition technology generally, not Facebook's use of such technology.

See also, September 4, 2013 letter [5 pages in PDF] to the FTC sent by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and other groups. See, related story in this issue titled "EPIC Urges FTC to Take Action Against Facebook for Changes to Privacy Policy".

9/4. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and other groups sent a letter [5 pages in PDF] to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) urging it to take action against Facebook in connection with its recently announced changes to its "Data Use Policy".

The other signers of the letter are the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD), Consumer Watchdog (CW), Patient Privacy Rights (PPR), U.S. Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG), and Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC).

They wrote that "The changes will allow Facebook to routinely use the images and names of Facebook users for commercial advertising without consent. The changes violate Facebook's current policies and the 2011 Facebook settlement with the FTC. The Commission must act to enforce its Order."

On November 29, 2011, the FTC released an administrative complaint against Facebook, and an Agreement Containing Consent Order [10 pages in PDF] that settled that action. The FTC stated in a release that "Facebook changed its website so certain information that users may have designated as private -- such as their Friends List -- was made public. They didn't warn users that this change was coming, or get their approval in advance." See also, story titled "FTC Imposes Privacy Related Terms on Facebook" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,315, November 29, 2011.

That eight count complaint alleged "unfair or deceptive acts or practices" in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act, which is codified at 15 U.S.C. § 45.

Count 6 of the complaint pertained to photos. It stated that "Facebook has collected and stored vast quantities of photos and videos that its users upload", and that Facebook has "disseminated statements communicating that a user can restrict access to his or her profile information -- including, but not limited to, photos and videos that a user uploads – by deleting or deactivating his or her user account".

But, the FTC complaint states that contrary to Facebook's assertions, "Facebook has continued to display users' photos and videos to anyone who accesses Facebook's Content URLs for them, even after such users have deleted or deactivated their accounts".

EPIC wrote in its letter that Facebook's just announced policy contains the following new language: "You give us permission to use your name, profile picture, content, and information in connection with commercial, sponsored, or related content (such as a brand you like) served or enhanced by us. This means, for example, that you permit a business or other entity to pay us to display your name and/or profile picture with your content or information, without any compensation to you." (Parentheses in original.)

The EPIC and its allies also complained about Facebook's censorship of its users' speech regarding privacy. "In 2010 FB shut down all of the privacy groups on Facebook, including ``FB users against new TOS,´´ which had more than 150,000 members. And Facebook subsequently revised its governing documents to prevent the use of the company's name in any Facebook group, including groups that were formed to protest Facebook's business practices." (Footnotes omitted.)

9/11. President Obama nominated John Carlin to be Assistant Attorney General (AAG) in charge of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) National Security Division (NSD). See, White House news office release and release.

The previous NSD AAG was Lisa Monaco. She left to join President Obama's White House staff as counterterrorism advisor.

The NSD was created in 2006. Kenneth Wainstein was the first AAG. Like Monaco, he then became the President's (Bush) counter-terrorism advisor.

The NSD has a wide range of responsibilities, many of which are technology related. It has responsibility for prosecutions of espionage laws. This would include prosecution of Julian Assange and Edward Snowden, if the U.S. could obtain jurisdiction over them, and prosecuted them under 18 U.S.C. § 798.

The NSD also has responsibility for prosecution of theft of trade secrets (often from US technology companies) under 18 U.S.C. § 1832.

The NSD also handles criminal violations of export control laws (often sales of controlled information technology products to entities in the People's Republic of China).

See, 2013 DOJ NSD memorandum [104 pages in PDF] titled "Summary of Major U.S. Export Enforcement, Economic Espionage, Trade Secret and Embargo-Related Criminal Cases (January 2007 to the present: updated Feb. 14, 2013)". (Parentheses in original.)

In addition, the NSD obtains seeks orders pursuant to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) from the body titled "Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court", that contain individualized orders particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized, as well as orders that create broad surveillance programs.

Carlin (at right) has worked at the NSD since 2011, as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General and Chief of Staff, and since March as the acting AAG.

Before joining the NSD, he worked at the DOJ's Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 2007 through 2011, including as Chief of Staff to former FBI Director John Mueller. Before that, he was a prosecutor in the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.

He was also briefly National Coordinator of the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property program at the DOJ.

9/15. President Obama stated in a release that "I spoke with Larry Summers and accepted his decision to withdraw his name from consideration for Chairman" of the Federal Reserve Board. (Emphasis added.)

9/13. The White House news office announced in a release that Gene Sperling, Director of the National Economic Council (NEC) and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, will leave on January 1, 2014, and that President Obama will appoint Jeffrey Zients to be Director of the NEC.

9/13. George Mason University law school hired Douglas Ginsburg to be a professor of law. He will also continue as a senior status Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir). See, GMU release.

9/12. President Obama announced his intent to nominate David Arroyo to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). See, White House news office release.

9/11. President Obama nominated Daniel Yohannes to be Representative of the US to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). See, White House news office release and release.

9/6. President Obama announced his intent to appoint Megan Mack to be the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). See, White House news office release.

9/13. The Wall Street Journal published a story by Mark Maremont titled "Google Jet Fleet Loses a Pentagon Fuel Perk: Questions Raised About Founders Use for Non-Government Flights". It states that the Department of Defense did not renew an agreement that had allowed jets owned by Sergey Brin, Larry Page and Eric Schmidt to use Moffett Federal Airfield, and to buy "sharply discounted jet fuel bought from the Pentagon". The article states that "The most frequent destinations were Los Angeles and New York, but the planes also flew 20 times to the Caribbean island of Tortola; 17 to Hawaii; 16 to Nantucket, Mass.; and 15 to Tahiti."

9/12. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Mignon Clyburn gave a speech regarding the FCC's universal service subsidy program titled "Lifeline".

9/9. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and Rep. Marc Veasey (D-TX) introduced HR 3064 [LOC | WW], the "Forensic Science and Standards Act of 2013". This bill would create a "national forensic science research program", and establish a National Forensic Science Coordinating Office at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Notably, it defines forensic science to include digital forensics. The bill was referred to the House Science Committee (HSC) and House Judiciary Committee (HJC).

8/29. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filed a motion to dismiss [36 pages in PDF] with the U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) in Spectrum Five v. FCC, App. Ct. Nos. 13-1231 and 13-1232.

Tech Law Journal publishes a free access web site and a subscription e-mail alert. The basic rate for a subscription to the TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert is $250 per year for a single recipient. There are discounts for subscribers with multiple recipients.

Free one month trial subscriptions are available. Also, free subscriptions are available for federal elected officials, and employees of the Congress, courts, and executive branch. The TLJ web site is free access. However, copies of the TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert are not published in the web site until two months after writing.

For information about subscriptions, see subscription information page.

Tech Law Journal now accepts credit card payments. See, TLJ credit card payments page.

TLJ is published by David Carney
Contact: 202-364-8882.
carney at techlawjournal dot com
3034 Newark St. NW, Washington DC, 20008.

Privacy Policy
Notices & Disclaimers
Copyright 1998-2013 David Carney. All rights reserved.

The House will meet at 2:00 PM in pro forma session. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

The Senate will meet at 2:00 PM.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The American Constitution Society (ACS) will host a panel discussion titled "Supreme Court Preview". The speakers will be Caroline Fredrickson (ACS), Pamela Harris (Georgetown University Law Center), Randy Barnett (GULC), Joshua Civin (NAACP), Andrew Pincus (Mayer Brown), David Strauss (University of Chicago Law School). Lunch will be served. Location: National Press Club, Holeman Lounge, 13th Floor, 529 14th St., NW.

Deadline to submit to the Copyright Office's (CO) Copyright Royalty Judges petitions to participate in, and pay the $150 filing fees for, the proceeding to determine the Phase II distribution of royalties deposited with the Register of Copyrights for the statutory license allowing distant retransmission of over the air television and radio broadcast signals by cable system operators. See, 17 U.S.C. § 111, and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 159, August 16, 2012, at Pages 50113-50114.

Deadline to submit to the Copyright Office's (CO) Copyright Royalty Judges petitions to participate in, and pay the $150 filing fees for, the proceeding to determine the Phase II distribution of royalties deposited by satellite carriers for a statutory license to retransmit over the air television broadcast stations. See, 17 U.S.C. § 119, and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 159, August 16, 2012, at Pages 50114-50115.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) [175 pages in PDF] regarding its e-rate tax and subsidy program for school and libraries. The FCC adopted and released this NPRM on July 19, 2013, and released it on July 23. It is FCC 13-100 in WC Docket No. 13-184. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 161, August 20, 2013, at Pages 51597-51644.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) [38 pages in PDF] regarding speech to speech relay service by persons with speech disabilities. This FNPRM is FCC 13-101 in CG Docket Nos. 08-15 and 03-123. The FCC adopted and released this FNPRM on July 19, 2013. See, Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 158, August 15, 2013, at Pages 49717-49720.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that refresh the FCC's record regarding property records for rate of return carriers. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 157, August 14, 2013, at Pages 49420-49422. See also, the FCC's order [127 pages in PDF] titled "Memorandum Opinion and Order and Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking", which is also known as the US Telecom Forbearance Long Order. The FCC adopted that order on May 10, 2013, and released it on May 17. It is FCC 13-69 in WC Docket No. 12-61, CC Docket Nos. 00-199 and 99-301, and numerous other dockets. And see, the FCC's July 23, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1617).

The House will meet at 12:00 NOON for morning hour, and at 2:00 PM for legislative business. The House 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.

8:00 - 10:00 AM. Broadband Census News LLC will host a panel discussion titled "How Will FirstNet Improve Public Safety Communications?". The speakers will be __. 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, Google, and US Telecom. Location: Clyde's of Gallery Place, 707 7th St., NW.

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a three day on site and webcast event hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division's (CSD) National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) titled "4th Annual NICE Workshop Navigating the National Security Education Interstate Highway". See, event website and agenda [PDF]. Location: NIST, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.

8:45 AM - 12:00 NOON. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host an event titled "Broadband, Economic Growth, and the Implications for Spectrum Policy". The speakers will include Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), Chairman of the House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, and Jason Furman (Chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisors). At 9:30 AM, there will be a panel titled "Regulation, Broadband Growth, and the Economy". The speakers will be Robert Shapiro ( Sonecon), Bret Swanson (Entropy Economics), Christopher Yoo (University of Pennsylvania), and Kevin Hassett (AEI). At 11:00 AM, there will be a panel titled "How to Make Spectrum More Available". The speakers will be Larry Irving, Robert McDowell (Hudson Institute), Preston Padden (Expanding Opportunities for Broadcasters Coalition), and James Glassman. Free. Open to the public. See, notice. Location: AEI, 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

9:00 - 10:30 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "The Size and Shape of Online Piracy". The speakers will include Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Robert Atkinson (ITIF), Sandra Aistars (Copyright Alliance), David Price (NetNames), and Morgan Reed (Association for Competitive Technology). See, notice. Webcast. Location: Room 485, Russell Building.

9:30 AM. The Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies will meet. Open to the public. See, notice. Location: SEC, Multi-Purpose Room, LL-006, 100 F St., NE.

11:00 AM - 12:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "The Law of Fashion: An EU Perspective on Litigation and IP Law". The speakers will be Simon Bennett (Fox Williams), Holger Gauss (Grünecker), Boriana Guimberteau (FTPA), Lorenzo Litta (De Simone & Partners), and Barbara Kolsun (Stuart Weitzman). Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

12:00 NOON. The Georgetown University's (GU) Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy will host a panel discussion titled "China Trade and Investment Policy: Shifting Winds?". The speakers will be Daniel Bahar (Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Investment), Claire Reade (Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for China Affairs), Erin Ennis (U.S. China Business Council), Doug Guthrie (George Washington University), and Bradford Jensen (GU). Free. Open to the pubic. Lunch will be served. See, notice and registration page. Location: Room B-318, Rayburn Building.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers Committee will host a brown bag lunch. For more information, contact Lindsey Tonsager at ltonsager at cov dot com or Justin Faulb at jfaulb at eckertseamans dot com. Location: Covington & Burling, 1201 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The Brookings Institution (BI) will host a panel discussion titled "Mobile Learning: Transforming Education and Engaging Students and Teachers". The speakers will be Peggy Johnson (Qualcomm), Darrell West (BI), Chris Dede (Harvard Univ.), Shirley Malcom (AAAS), Dallas Dance (Baltimore Country Public Schools), Julie Evans, Michael Flood, Elizabeth Foster, Michael Hirshon (AAAS), and Kathy Spencer. See, notice. Location: BI, 1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

2:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Advisory Committee on Diversity for Communications in the Digital Age will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 126, July 1, 2013, at Page 39289. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, Room TW-C305, 445 12th St., SW.

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

5:00 PM. The House Rules Committee (HRC) will meet to adopt a rule for consideration of HR 761 [LOC | WW], the "National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 2013", a bill to facilitate and incent domestic mining and extraction of rare earth materials, which are used in information and communications technology products. See, notice. Location: Room H-313, Capitol Building.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Inquiry (NOI) regarding allegations that certain fixed satellite service (FSS) operators are warehousing satellite orbital locations and frequency assignments and are foreclosing competitors from purchasing capacity on their satellites. This NOI is FCC 13-79 in IB Docket No. 13-147. The FCC adopted this NOI on June 5, 2013, and released it on June 7. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 139, July 19, 2013, at Pages 43118-43122.

Deadline to submit comments to the President's Export Council in advance of its September 19, 2013 meeting. The agenda for the meeting includes discussion of intellectual property provisions of the the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), expansion of the WTO Information Technology Agreement (ITA), reform of the U.S. export control regime, the 9th WTO Ministerial Conference to be held in Bali, Indonesia on December 3-6, 2013, forced localization policies, government procurement, and de minimis reform. Webcast. See, notice in the Federal Register Vol. 78, No. 170, September 3, 2013, at Pages 54238-54239.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00  NOON for legislative business. The schedule for the week includes consideration of HR 761 [LOC | WW], the "National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 2013", a bill to facilitate and incent domestic mining and extraction of rare earth materials, which are used in information and communications technology products. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

7:45 AM - 4:30 PM. The Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) will host a webcast event titled "Managing the Mobile Onslaught: Securing Endpoints to Apps". Free. See, event website.

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Day two of a three day on site and webcast event hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division's (CSD) National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) titled "4th Annual NICE Workshop Navigating the National Security Education Interstate Highway". See, event website and agenda [PDF]. Location: NIST, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.

9:30 AM. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (SHSGAC) will hold a hearing on the nominations of Stevan Bunnel to be General Counsel of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Suzanne Spaulding to be the DHS Under Secretary for National Protection and Programs. See, notice. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will hold a closed hearing titled "Oversight of the Administration’s Use of FISA Authorities". The witnesses will be __. No webcast. See, notice. Location: Room HVC-301, Capitol Visitor Center.

10:00 AM. The House Homeland Security Committee's (HHSC) Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies will meet to mark up HR 2952 [LOC | WW], the "Critical Infrastructure Research and Development Advancement Act of 2013" or "CIRDA Act", and HR ___, the "Homeland Security Cybersecurity Boots on the Ground Act". Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

10:00 AM. The President's Export Council's (PEC) Subcommittee on Export Administration (SEA) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, Number 171, September 4, 2013, Page 54450. Location: Department of Commerce, Hoover Building, Room 3884, 14th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues, NW.

10:00 AM - 2:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) North American Numbering Council (NANC) will meet. See, FCC's August 26, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1804 in CC Docket No. 92-237). Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

2:00 PM. House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet will hold a hearing titled "The Role of Voluntary Agreements in the U.S. Intellectual Property System". The witnesses will be __. Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing on the nominations of Michael O’Rielly to be a Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Terrell McSweeny to be a Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "Fair Play? Competition in Sports Broadcasting and the Local Sports Fan". The speakers will be Jonathan Rubin (Rubin PLLC), John Schmidtlein (Williams & Connolly), John Wyss (Wiley Rein), and Steve Vieux. Free. No CLE credits. For more information, call 202-626-3463. The DC Bar has a history of barring reporters from its events. See, notice. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

6:00 - 9:00 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a discussion of the book [Amazon] titled "Startup Rising: The Entrepreneurial Revolution Remaking the Middle East". The speakers will be Christopher Schroeder (the author), Yousef Al Otaiba (Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates), and Leila Hilal (NAF). For more information, contact Ariel Bogle at bogle at newamerica dot net. Location: Smith & Wollensky steak house, 1112 19th St., NW.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [102 pages in PDF] regarding making spectrum in the 1695-1710 MHz, 1755-1780 MHz, 2020-2025 MHz, and 2155-2180 MHz bands available for Advanced Wireless Services (AWS). The FCC adopted and released this NPRM on July 23, 2013. It is FCC 13-102 in GN Docket No. 13-185. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 161, August 20, 2013, at Pages 51559-51595.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) [160 pages in PDF] regarding the its waste, fraud and abuse plagued video relay service (VRS) program. This FNPRM is FCC 13-82 in CG Docket Nos. 10-51 and 03-123. The FCC adopted this FNPRM on June 7, 2013, and released it on June 10. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 129, July 5, 2013, at Pages 40407-40421. See also, story titled "FCC Adopts VRS R&O and FNPRM" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,576, June 12, 2013.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding its public safety Travelers' Information Stations (TIS) rules, under which Public Safety Pool (PSP) eligible entities transmit noncommercial travel related information over AM band frequencies to motorists on a localized basis. The FCC adopted this item on July 18, 2013, and released it on July 23. It is FCC 13-98 in PS Docket No. 09-19. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 160, August 19, 2013, at Pages 50370-50372. See also, August 20 Public Notice (DA 13-1784).

Deadline to submit comments to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in response to its Notice of Inquiry (NOI) regarding its common format for transition plans to be developed by federal entities to facilitate the relocation of, and spectrum sharing with, U.S. government stations in spectrum bands reallocated from federal use to non-federal use, or to shared use, and auctioned by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 160, August 19, 2013, at Pages 50396-50399.

Deadline to file pre-hearing briefs and statements in advance of the U.S. International Trade Commission's (USITC) September 25, 2013 hearing titled "Digital Trade in the U.S. and Global Economies". See, USITC release, and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 162, August 21, 2013, at Pages 51744-51746. See also, story titled "USITC Releases First Report on Digital Trade" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,589, August 26, 2013.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding TW Telecom of Kentucky's August 16, 2013 application, pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 214 and 47 C.F.R. § 63.71, to discontinue certain services in Louisville, Kentucky. See, FCC's September 3, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1855 in WC Docket No. 13-210).

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00  NOON for legislative business. The schedule for the week includes consideration of HR 761 [LOC | WW], the "National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 2013", a bill to facilitate and incent domestic mining and extraction of rare earth materials. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Day three of a three day on site and webcast event hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division's (CSD) National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) titled "4th Annual NICE Workshop Navigating the National Security Education Interstate Highway". See, event website and agenda [PDF]. Location: NIST, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.

9:00 AM. Day one of a two day event titled "Cyber Security and Critical Infrastructure Protection Symposium". Prices vary. See, event website. Location: Holiday Inn Rosslyn at Key Bridge, 1900 North Fort Myer Drive, Arlington, VA.

9:30 AM. The President's Export Council will meet. The agenda for the meeting includes discussion of intellectual property provisions of the the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), expansion of the WTO Information Technology Agreement (ITA), reform of the U.S. export control regime, the 9th WTO Ministerial Conference to be held in Bali, Indonesia on December 3-6, 2013, forced localization policies, government procurement, and de minimis reform. Webcast. See, notice in the Federal Register Vol. 78, No. 170, September 3, 2013, at Pages 54238-54239. Location: __.

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

10:00 AM. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) will hold a hearing on the nomination of Caroline Kennedy to be Ambassador to Japan. Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 216, Hart Building.

10:00 - 11:30 AM. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) will host an on site and teleconferenced event titled "CDT Health Privacy Press Briefing". The speakers will be __. The call in number is 877-366-0711. The participant code is 9566-8245#. A light breakfast will be served. See, notice. For more information, contact Brian Wesolowski at brian at cdt dot org or 202-407-8814. Location: CDT, Suite 1100, 1634 I St., NW (on Farragut Square).

11:00 AM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Advisory Committee for the 2015 World Radiocommunication Conference will meet. See, FCC's August 13, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1747 in IB Docket No. 04-286), and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 162, August 21, 2013, at Pages 51725-51726. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

12:45 - 2:45 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "Impact of New SEC Rules on Private Offerings". The speakers will be Jonathan Ingram (SEC), Karen Wiedemann (SEC), John Coffee (Columbia Law School), David Weild, and Ford Ladd. The price to attend ranges from free to $30. No CLE credits. For more information, call 202-626-3463. The DC Bar has a history of barring reporters from its events. See, notice. Location: Jenner & Block, 9th floor, 1099 New York Ave., NW.

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 reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its August 29, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1846 in WC Docket No. 10-90) that requests comments regarding its Version 3.2 of the Connect America Fund Phase II Cost Model, and especially model costs for undersea cable connecting non-contiguous areas to the contiguous U.S.

The House will meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. The schedule for the week includes consideration of HR 761 [LOC | WW], the "National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 2013", a bill to facilitate and incent domestic mining and extraction of rare earth materials. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

9:00 AM. Day one of a two day event titled "Cyber Security and Critical Infrastructure Protection Symposium". Prices vary. See, event website. Location: Holiday Inn Rosslyn at Key Bridge, 1900 North Fort Myer Drive, Arlington, VA.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Blanca Telephone Company v. FCC, App. Ct. No. 12-1365. This is a petition for review of a final order of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding hearing aid compatibility. See also, FCC brief [70 pages in PDF] filed on March 1, 2013. Judges Garland, Ginsburg, and Sentelle will preside. This is the second item on the Court's agenda. Location: USCA Courtroom, 4th floor, Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. The Heritage Foundation (HF) will host a panel discussion titled "Does Technology Lead to Tyranny? The Fourth Amendment and New Technologies in a Digitized World?". The speakers will be Miguel Estrada (Gibson Dunn & Crutcher), Susan Herman (ACLU), Orin Kerr (George Washington University Law School), and Paul Larkin (HF). Free. Open to the public. See, notice. Location: HF, 214 Massachusetts Ave., NE.

12:00 NOON. Patient Privacy Rights (PPR) and Microsoft will host a panel discussion titled "What Lessons Can Health Care Take Away from the Revelation of NSA Surveillance?" The speakers will be Daniel Weitzner (MIT Decentralized Information Group), Deborah Peel (PPR), Sydney Brownstone (Fast Company), Adrian Gropper (PPR), and Andy Oram (O'Reilly Media). Box lunches will be served, starting at 11:30 AM. For more information, contact Ashley Hughes at ahughes at deweysquare dot com. Location: Microsoft, 901 K St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The DC Bar Association will host an webcast panel discussion titled "Understanding the Final HIPAA Rules". The speakers will be Susan McAndrew (DHHS) and Joy Pritts (DHHS). The price is $35. This is a replay of a previously recorded event. No CLE credits. For more information, call 202-626-3463. Reporters are barred. See, notice. The HIPAA rules are published in a notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 17, January 25, 2013, at Pages 5565-5702. They take effect on September 23.

11:59 PM. Deadline to deliver regulatory fees for FY 2013 to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). See, FCC Public Notice (DA 13-1796).

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding the proposed parental consent method [85 pages in PDF, redacted] submitted by AssertID on June 18, 2013 under the Voluntary Commission Approval Processes provision of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 162, August 21, 2013, at Pages 51677-51678. See also, FTC release.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding Time Warner Cable's (TWC) August 8, 2013 Petition for Preemption [30 pages in PDF] of the North Carolina Rural Electrification Authority (NCREA) with respect to the arbitration of an interconnection agreement between TWC and Star Telephone Membership Corporation. See, FCC's August 16, 2013 Public Notice, DA 13-1772 in WC Docket No. 13-204.

The House will not meet the week of September 23 through September 27. See, House calendar for the 113th Congress, 1st Session.

1:00 - 4:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Technological Advisory Council (TAC) will meet. See, August 19, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1774). Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

Deadline to submit to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) post hearing written testimony and rebuttal testimony regarding the OUSTR's September 9 hearing in its Section 301 investigation of the intellectual property related actions of government of Ukraine. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 143, July 25, 2013, at Page 45011. Location: OUSTR, 1724 F St., NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [57 pages in PDF] regarding broadband services onboard airplanes and the 14.0-14.5 GHz band. This NPRM is FCC 13-66 in GN Docket No. 13-114. The FCC adopted and released this NPRM on May 9, 2013. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 132, July 10, 2013, at Pages 41343-41351.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Media Bureau (MB) in response to its June 25, 2013 Public Notice (PN) regarding the FCC's requirement that broadcast television stations publish their political files online. This PN is DA 13-1440 in MB Docket No. 00-168. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 131, July 9, 2013, at Pages 41014-41016.

Deadline to submit to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) replies to oppositions to the petition for reconsideration [21 pages in PDF] filed by the American Association for Justice (an interest group that represents plaintiffs' trial lawyers) of the FCC's order [202 pages in PDF] regarding human exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields. The FCC adopted this order on March 27, 2013, and released its on March 29. It is FCC 13-39 in ET Docket No. 03-137. See, FCC Public Notice, and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 166, August 27, 2013, at Page 52893.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to AT&T's July 22, 2013 request for an interim waiver [30 pages in PDF] of FCC rules, pending disposition of AT&T's February 19, 2012 petition for rulemaking, to permit the use of Power Spectral Density (PSD) measurements for certain of its Florida station operations in the Cellular Radiotelephone Service. See, FCC's August 22, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1743 in WT Docket No. 13-202).

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) regarding the request of the Laboratory Accreditation Bureau (LAB) for accreditation by the FCC. See, FCC's August 23, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1795 in ET Docket No. 13-208).

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the July 15, 2013 ex parte presentation [91 pages in PDF] of LightSquared regarding GPS, and particularly its terrestrial wireless handsets in the 1626.5-1660.5 MHz Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) uplink portion of the L-band. See, FCC's August 7, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1717 in IB Docket Nos. 12-340, 11-109, etc.)

Effective date of changes to HIPAA privacy, security, enforcement and breach notification rules promulgated pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 17, January 25, 2013, at Pages 5565-5702.