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Thursday, May 22, 2014, Alert No. 2,662.
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House Passes DOTCOM Act As Part of NDAA

5/22. The House passed HR 4435 [LOC | WW], the "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015" on May 22, 2014, by a vote of 325-98. See, Roll Call No. 240. The House approved an amendment offered by Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) by a vote of 245-177 that contains the text of HR 4342 [LOC | WW], the DOTCOM Act.

Republicans voted 228-0. Democrats votes 17-177. See, Roll Call No. 232.

Had the House passed HR 4342 as a stand alone bill, the Democratic controlled Senate would not have considered it, and even if it did, President Obama would have vetoed it. By passing this bill as part of the critical NDAA, the House leadership has greatly increased the probability that this bill will become law.

In March the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) proposed to relinquish US control over internet domain name system functions. See, NTIA March 14, 2014 release and release. The Obama administration proposal does not involve the Congress, and most Members of Congress learned about it from news media reports

Rep. Shimkus introduced HR 4342 on March 27, 2014. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Communications and Technology (SCT) approved it on April 9, 2014. The full HCC approved it on May 8.

The amendment is identical to the bill. It requires that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) write a report regarding a proposal that the NTIA receives "relating to the relinquishment of the responsibility of the NTIA over Internet domain name system functions".

It further provides that until then, the NTIA "may not relinquish or agree to any proposal relating to the relinquishment of the responsibility" of the NTIA "over Internet domain name system functions, including responsibility with respect to the authoritative root zone file, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority functions, and related root zone management functions."

Rep. John ShimkusRep. Shimkus (at right) said during floor debate on May 21 that "for over two decades, U.S. oversight of the Internet's domain name system has kept the global Internet free and open." This debate is at Congressional Record, May 21, 2014, at pages 4726-8.

"Though dismissed by NTIA as merely a clerical role of assigning and matching domain names with IP addresses, U.S. stewardship of these basic functions has prevented authoritarian governments from censoring content or restricting access to Web sites beyond their borders."

"That all could change," said Rep. Shimkus, "if the administration's announced intention to relinquish our oversight role to an undefined multistakeholder community is not carefully considered."

He warned that "Russia and China have already tried to put domain name authority in the hands of the United Nations' International Telecommunication Union, the ITU; and while the administration says it won't accept a proposal that puts the Internet in the hands of another government or government-led entity, there is no guarantee that won't happen after the initial transfers takes place. One thing is for sure: once our authority is gone, it is gone for good."

Rep. Peter WelchRep. Peter Welch (D-VT) (at left) stated in the House that "Some of my colleagues raise the specter of Russia or China taking over the Internet as a reason for supporting this amendment. These threats against Internet openness are real, but claiming this amendment does anything to address them is false."

Rep. Welch said that "Authoritarian regimes are already using the U.S. Government's stewardship of technical Internet functions as evidence for a need to move these functions to another governmental or intergovernmental entity like the United Nations."

Analysis of Voting on the DOTCOM Act

5/22. The House passed HR 4435 [LOC | WW], the "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015" on May 22, 2014, by a vote of 325-98. See, Roll Call No. 240. The House approved an amendment offered by Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) by a vote of 245-177 that contains the text of HR 4342 [LOC | WW], the DOTCOM Act, a bill to delay President Obama's plan to have the U.S. relinquish control over internet domain name system functions while the Government Accountability Office (GAO) conducts a study of the plan.

Republicans voted 228-0. Democrats votes 17-177. 17 Democrats voted yes. 5 Democrats did not vote. See, Roll Call No. 232.

President Obama plans to relinquish US control over internet domain name system functions solely by executive action. Republicans learned of this from news media reports. Moreover, across a wide range of communications and information technology issues, President Obama has acted via rulemaking proceedings, executive orders, and other executive actions, even to exercise authority Constitutionally committed to the legislative branch. Furthermore, to the extent that the President has consulted with Members of Congress, it has been Democrats.

Hence, regardless of the issue, or the position taken by the President, it was to be expected that Members of Congress would react according to their partisan affiliation. The vote on this amendment did correlate strongly with party affiliation.

Yet, 17 Representatives did not vote with their party . These 17 members provide an opportunity to study what other than party affiliation motivated voting. This article offers four factors.

Democrats who are vulnerable in the November election, who represent Illinois districts, who represent districts with large Hispanic populations, and/or who sit on the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) voted were more likely to vote for this amendment than other Democrats.

First, over half of the Democrats who voted yes are vulnerable to defeat by their Republican opponents in the November election. They have reason to distance themselves from President Obama, to increase their chances of winning re-election to the House.

These include Rep. John Barrow (D-GA), Rep. Bill Enyart (D-IL), Joe Garcia (D-FL), Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL), Rep. Dan Maffei (D-NY), Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN), Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV), Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), and Rep. John Tierney (D-MA).

Also, Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-NC), who also voted for the amendment, was vulnerable, but has decided not to run for re-election.

Rep. Barrow, McIntyre, Peterson, and Rahall represent particularly Republican districts. Rep. Tierney won re-election in 2012 with only 48% of the vote, and represents the closest thing Massachusetts has to a Republican district; Romney won 44% of the vote.

The other seven Democrats who voted for the DOTCOM Act represent safer Democratic seats: Rep. Henry Cueller (D-TX), Rep. Mike Capuano (D-MA), Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL), Rep. Tulsi Gabard (D-HI), Rep. Gene Green (D-TX), Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL), Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL), and Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA).

Second, Illinois Reps. Enyart, Foster and Lipinski voted for the amendment, while another, Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL), did not vote. Rep. Shimkus, the sponsor of the amendment, also represents an Illinois district. This could be a consequence of state delegation voting cohesion.

Third, 4 of the 17 Democrats are members of the HASC: Reps. Enyart, Gabbard, Maffei, and McIntyre. There is a reason to suspect that HASC members might be more supportive of the amendment. HASC members spend much of their examining and addressing threats to the US and to world peace and stability, particularly those posed by Russia and the People's Republic of China (PRC). Russia and the PRC are two of the leading proponents, and likely beneficiaries, of US relinquishment.

Russia's recent invasion of the Crimea demonstrates that Russia cannot be trusted to act responsibly in international matters, including perhaps, internet governance issues. Also, recent disclosures regarding the PRC army's cyber theft and the PRC's long running efforts to censor and block internet communications (as well as its belligerence regarding the Spratly and Senkaku Islands, and its assertion of an Air Defense Identification Zone) raise concerns about the PRC's future role in internet governance. HASC members are particularly attuned to these developments.

Fourth, some of the 17 Democrats who voted for the amendment represent districts in which a high percentage of the population is Hispanic, including Reps. Cuellar, Foster, Garcia, Green, Lipinski, Sanchez, and Sinema. Of these, only Rep. Cuellar often votes with Republicans. Rep. Green represents a three quarters Hispanic district in the Houston area. As a member of the HCC, he voted against his President, his party, and the HCC Democratic leaders.

Some of these 17 fall into more than one of the categories identified by this article. However, only one, Rep. Mike Capuano (D-MA), falls into none. His district has more than the national average Hispanic make up, but only a few percentage points more. He has a very safe seat. He is not from Illinois. He is not a member of the HASC. He district includes Cambridge, MIT, Harvard and many information and bio technology companies.

Democrats who represent Silicon Valley and other districts that are home to large internet and tech companies voted against this amendment.

House Passes Online Sex Ads Bill

5/20. The House passed HR 4225 [LOC | WW], the "Stop Advertising Victims of Exploitation Act of 2014" or "SAVE Act", by a vote of 392-19. See, Roll Call No. 222.

Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) stated in the House that "while the growth of the Internet and smartphones has proved to be of great value in many aspects of our lives, it has also been used by criminals to facilitate the commercial exploitation of children and other victims by providing an easy way for pimps or traffickers to market minor sex trafficking victims to potential purchasers who seek to do them harm. With the click of a button, individuals can now use Web sites to advertise, schedule, and purchase sexual encounters with minors, just like they would use these services to rent a car or order a pizza."

Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO) stated that "prostitution has slowly but persistently migrated to an online marketplace. Classified services, like backpage.com and others, are the vehicles for advertising the victims of the child sex trade to the world. Pimps and traffickers blatantly advertise their victims' sexual services, with provocative photographs and unsubtle messages, complete with per-hour pricing. The traffickers pay Web sites like Backpage to display their messages. These Web sites reportedly reap enormous profits at the expense of the victims of sex trafficking. Revenue from U.S. online prostitution advertising totaled $45 million just in the year 2013."

This bill would amend 18 U.S.C. § 1591 , which currently enables prosecution of a wide range of persons for "participation in a venture" of sex trafficking. There is no dispute in the Congress regarding imposing severe criminal penalties on those engaged in core elements of trafficking for prostitution, such as coercing, transporting and selling women. The statute does not specify, however, as to just how far "participation in a venture" reaches, and how far beyond prostitution the term "sex act" reaches.

This bill would extend the reach of the prohibition to cover "advertising". Specifically, this bill would enable prosecutors to target online service providers that provide a venue for advertising.

Section 1591, as amended by this bill, would provides as follows. The amendments would add the words shown in red.

    (a) Whoever knowingly---

    (1) in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, or within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, recruits, entices, harbors, transports, provides, obtains, advertises, or maintains by any means a person; or

    (2) benefits, financially or by receiving anything of value, from participation in a venture which has engaged in an act described in violation of paragraph (1),

    knowing, or, except where, in an offense under paragraph (2), the act constituting the violation of paragraph (1) is advertising, in reckless disregard of the fact, that means of force, threats of force, fraud, coercion described in subsection (e)(2), or any combination of such means will be used to cause the person to engage in a commercial sex act, or that the person has not attained the age of 18 years and will be caused to engage in a commercial sex act, shall be punished as provided in subsection (b).

The statute currently is awkwardly worded, and lacks clarity. This bill would add to uncertainty as to what is prohibited. This legislation does not reference, but will impact, web site operators and their contractors and employees. The bill leaves uncertainty regarding what may be the criminal liability of web site operators, and their employees and contractors, for carrying sex related ads, for hosting interactive or social networking sites in which users post sex related material, or for providing search results that list web pages that offer sex acts.

Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), who voted against the bill, stated that "Notably, the prohibition on advertising does not only apply to the sex trafficker who places the ad, but also applies to individuals and entities who facilitate or have a minor role in publishing the ad, such as someone who works for an Internet Web site which is involved."

Rep. Bobby ScottRep. Scott (at right) also objected to the mandatory minimum sentences. He stated that "there may be circumstances in which all of the employees of a communications company, including receptionists or computer maintenance workers, know that the venture publishes such advertising, but chose to look the other way. They should be held liable under the provisions of this bill, but many of them would certainly not warrant a mandatory sentence, in certain circumstances, of 15 years".

Only one Republican voted against this bill, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY). He is variously described as libertarian, conservative, and tea party. On May 22, he voted against HR 3361 [LOC | WW], the USA FREEDOM Act. See, Roll Call No. 230. He tweeted this: "WARNING - This is NOT the USA Freedom Act you think it is: It will actually Legalize #NSA bulk collection on American Citizens." On April 18, 2013, he was one of only 29 Republicans to vote against HR 624 [LOC | WW], the "Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act". See, Roll Call No. 117.

See also, stories titled "House Judiciary Committee to Mark Up Sex Ads Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,648, April 28, 2014, and "House Judiciary Committee Approves Bill to Criminalize Online Sex Advertising" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,651, May 1, 2014.

House Science Committee Begins Mark Up of NSF, NIST and OSTP Reauthorization Bill

5/21. The House Science Committee (HSC) began its mark up HR 4186 [LOC | WW], the "Frontiers in Innovation, Research, Science, and Technology Act of 2014", also known as the "FIRST Act".

This bill would, among other things, authorize appropriations for the National Science Foundation (NSF), the (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and Executive Office of the President's (EOP) Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) for fiscal years 2014 and 2015.

Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-IN) introduced this bill on March 10. The HSC's Subcommittee on Research and Technology amended and approved this bill on March 13. The HSC has not yet scheduled a meeting to continue its mark up of this bill.

This bill authorizes the appropriation to the NSF of $7,171,918,000 for FY 2014 and $7,279,496,770 for FY 2015. It authorizes the appropriation to the NIST of  $850,000,000 in FY 2014 and $862,750,000 in FY 2015. It authorizes the appropriation of $5,555,000 to the OSTP in FY 2014 and $5,555,000 for FY 2015.

However, the main debate lies in how the NSF is to go about awarding grants.

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), the Chairman of the HSC, stated in a release that "The NSF has funded too many questionable grants at the expense of higher priority research in fields like engineering, mathematics, computer science and biology. For example, a game that focuses on people from the future leaving voicemails about climate change does not seem like the best use of limited taxpayer funds." See, NSF grant to Columbia University of $5,655,000.

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), the ranking Democrat on the HSC, stated in a release that "The FIRST Act contains many harmful and chilling provisions, including Sections 106, 115, and 117 of the bill. These provisions are consistent with the Majority’s year-long assault on the National Science Foundation and the researchers supported by the agency."

Rep. Eddie Bernice JohnsonRep. Johnson (at left) stated that "having no bill emerge from Committee would be better than passing a bad bill".

Section 106 of the bill provides that the NSF shall fund "basic research and education in the sciences" only if it finds that it has the "potential to achieve" either "(A) increased economic competitiveness in the United States; (B) advancement of the health and welfare of the American public; (C) development of a STEM workforce and increased public scientific literacy in the United States; (D) increased partnerships between academia and industry in the United States; (E) support for the national defense of the United States; or (F) promotion of the progress of science in the United States."

Section 115 of the bill provides that "As a condition of receiving a research grant from the Foundation, a principal investigator shall sign a statement certifying that the findings and conclusions of any article authored by such principal investigator, using the results of the research conducted under the grant, that is published in a peer-reviewed publication, otherwise made publicly available, or incorporated in an application for a research grant or grant extension from the Foundation, will contain no falsification or fabrication and will be free of any plagiarism."

In This Issue
This issue contains the following items:
 • House Passes DOTCOM Act As Part of NDAA
 • Analysis of Voting on the DOTCOM Act
 • House Passes Online Sex Ads Bill
 • House Science Committee Begins Mark Up of NSF, NIST and OSTP Reauthorization Bill
 • More News
Washington Tech Calendar
New items are highlighted in red.
Friday, May 23

The House will meet at 3:00 PM in pro forma session.

The Senate will meet at 10:00 AM in pro forma session.

Day two of four of elections for the European Parliament.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding its second draft SP 800-90 A Rev. 1 [112 pages in PDF] titled "Recommendation for Random Number Generation Using Deterministic Random Bit Generators".

Saturday, May 24

Day three of four of elections for the European Parliament.

Sunday, May 25

Day four of four of elections for the European Parliament.

Monday, May 26

Memorial Day. This is a federal holiday. See, Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) 2014 calendar of federal holidays.

The House will not meet.

The Senate will not meet the week of May 26-30, except for pro forma sessions on May 27 and 30.

Tuesday, May 27

The Senate will meet at 12:00 NOON in pro forma session.

The House will not meet.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers Committee will host an event titled "Co-Chair Election and Planning Meeting". Location: Covington & Burling, 1201 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

11:59 PM. Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in response to its request for information on its potential transition of Internet Time Service (ITS) from a NIST only service to private sector operation of an ensemble of time servers that will provide NIST traceable time information in a number of different formats over the internet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 58, March 26, 2014, at Pages 16772-16774.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to Part VI(A) of its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding closed captioning of video programming. Part VI(A) pertains to "Responsibilities for Meeting the Closed Captioning Obligations". The FCC adopted this FNPRM on February 20, 2014, and released it on February 24, 2014. It is FCC 14-12 in CG Docket No. 05-231. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 59, March 27, 2014, at Pages 17093-17106.

Wednesday, May 28

The House will meet at 12:00 NOON for morning hour, and at 2:00 PM for legislative business. The schedule for the week includes consideration of HR 4660 [LOC | WW, the "Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015", and a yet to be introduced resolution regarding human rights in the People's Republic of China. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics' (RTCA) Special Committee 231, TAWS-GPWS. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 73, April 16, 2014, at Page 21505. Location: RTCA, Suite 910, 1150 18th St., NW.

9:30 - 11:00 AM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a panel discussion titled "Localism Over Consolidation: An Exploration of Public Broadband Options". The speakers will be Christopher Mitchell, Joanne Hovis, Will Aycock, Catharine Rice, and Sarah Morris. Free. Open to the public. Webcast. See, notice. Location: NAF, Suite 400, 1899 L St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:15 PM ET. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "Fundamentals of Antitrust Exemptions and Immunities". The speakers will be Stephen Medlock (Mayer Brown), Carrie Amezcua (McDermott Will & Emery), Michael Gleason (Jones Day), and Gregory Luib (FTC). Prices vary. No CLE credits. See, notice.

12:30 - 2:00 PM. The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "Octane Fitness and Highmark: A Look at the Supreme Court’s New Standards for Attorney Fee Awards". CLE credits. Prices vary. See, notice.

1:00 - 2:00 PM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "The Copyright Alert System: Year One in Review". The speakers will be Doug Brake (ITIF), Jerry Berman (Center for Democracy and Technology), Thomas Dailey (Verizon), Jill Lesser (Center for Copyright Information). See, notice. Location: Room 121, Cannon Building, Capitol Hill.

3:00 PM. Deadline for Representatives to submit to the House Rules Committee (HRC) proposed amendments to HR 4681 [LOC | WW], the "Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2014 and 2015". See, notice.

6:00 PM. The House Appropriations Committee's (HAC) Subcommittee on Homeland Security will meet to mark up the Homeland Security Appropriations Bill for FY 2015. See, notice. Location: Room H-140, Capitol Building.

RESCHEDULED FROM MAY 21. LOCATION CHANGE. 6:00 - 7:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) International Committee will host an event titled "Reception". The speaker will be Daniel Sepulveda (Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy). No webcast. No CLE credits. Prices vary. The deadline for registrations and cancellations is 5:00 PM on May 26. See, notice. Location: Hogan Lovells, Room 13 West, 555 13th St., NW.

EXTENDED FROM APRIL 28. Extended deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Public Notice (PN) that requests comments to refresh the record regarding the ability of non-English speakers to access emergency information. This PN is DA 14-336 in EB Docket No. 04-296. The FCC released it on March 11, 2014. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 60, March 28, 2014, at Pages 17490-17493, and April 24 Public Notice (DA 14-552) extending deadlines.

Thursday, May 29

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

Supreme Court conference day. See, October Term 2013 calendar.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day two of a two day meeting of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics' (RTCA) Special Committee 231, TAWS-GPWS. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 73, April 16, 2014, at Page 21505. Location: RTCA, Suite 910, 1150 18th St., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed business meeting. No webcast. See, notice. Location: Room HVC-304, Capitol Building.

10:15 AM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed hearing on undisclosed matters. No webcast. See, notice. Location: Room HVC-304, Capitol Building.

10:30 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will hold a hearing titled "Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security". See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

12:00 NOON. The National Economists Club (NEC) will host a lunch. The speaker will be Linda Dempsey (National Association of Manufacturers). The title of her speech is "Harnessing Trade and the Global Economy to Grow Manufacturing". Open to the public. Prices vary. No webcast. See, notice. Location: Chinatown Garden Restaurant, 618 H St., NW.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "What's a Trademark to Do: Protection and Infringement on the Internet". The speakers will be Eric Fingerhut (Dykema Gossett) and Joanne Ludovici (McDermott Will & Emery). The price to attend ranges from $89 to $129. CLE credits. No webcast. For more information, call 202-626-3488. 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 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Wireline Committee will host an event titled "Net Neutrality Redux: What Should the FCC Do?". The speakers will be Greg Haledjian, Jim Smith, Sean Lev (Kellogg Huber), Peter Karanjia (Davis Wright Tremaine), Scott Cleland (Precursor), Chris Lewis (Public Knowledge), Philip Macres, Robert Quinn (AT&T), Michael Altschul (CTIA), Robert Beury (Cogent Communications), and Earl Comstock (Eckert Seamans). Prices vary. CLE credits. No webcast. The deadline for registrations and cancellations is 5:00 PM on May 28. See, notice. Location: Davis Wright Tremaine, 1919 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

Friday, May 30

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

The Senate will meet at 2:00 PM in pro forma session.

9:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Over Criminalization Task Force will hold a hearing titled "Penalties". See, notice. Location: Room 2237, Rayburn Building.

12:00 NOON. The Internet Caucus will host an event titled "NSA Surveillance Powers: How Effective Are They At Thwarting Terrorist Attacks?". See, notice. Location: __.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) regarding its draft document [255 pages in PDF] titled "NIST Framework and Roadmap for Smart Grid Interoperability Standards, Release 3.0". This is also known as NIST SP 1108R3. See, NIST April 16 release, and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 72, April 15, 2014, at Page 21210.

More News

5/22. The House Rules Committee (HRC) announced that it may meet during the week of May 26 to adopt a rule for consideration of HR 4681 [LOC | WW], the "Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2014 and 2015". The HRC did not set a date and time for this meeting. It did set a deadline for Representatives to submit proposed amendments -- 3:00 PM on Wednesday, May 28. See, notice.

5/21. The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in a release that beginning on July 11, 2014, the DOJ will "electronically record interviews occurring in a place of detention". This applies to the DOJ prosecutors, and DOJ components, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosive (ATF), and U.S. Marshals Service (USMS). The DOJ added that "prosecutors and agents are directed to use video recording to satisfy the presumption whenever possible. If video recording equipment considered suitable under agency policy is not available, audio equipment may be substituted. The policy applies broadly to all statements of persons in federal custody of the FBI, DEA, ATF or USMS after arrest, but prior to initial appearance."

5/19. The Supreme Court granted certiorari in Department of Homeland Security v. Robert MacLean, Sup. Ct. No. 13-894, a case involving the Whistleblower Protection Act. See, Orders List at page 2.

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