2/26. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) held an executive business meeting at which it approved the nomination of Lorretta Lynch to be the Attorney General (AG) by a vote of 12-8.

The is the head of the Department of Justice (DOJ). She is currently the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

There are 11 Republicans and 9 Democrats on the SJC. Republican Senators Grassley, Sessions, Cornyn, Lee, Cruz, Vitter, Perdue, and Tillis voted no. Republican Senators Hatch, Graham, and Flake voted yes. All of the Democratic Senators voted yes: Leahy, Feinstein, Schumer, Durbin, Whitehouse, Klobuchar, Franken, Coons, and Blumenthal.

The DOJ exercises numerous powers that relate to information and communications technologies (ICT). For example, it conducts antitrust merger reviews of communications companies, brings single firm conduct actions against ICT companies, prosecutes hackers, enforces criminal copyright laws, conducts communications and internet surveillance, and represents other government agencies before the body titled "Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court". However, the debate over Lynch at this meeting did not focus on any of these matters.

Although, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) expressed concern that when asked at her confirmation hearing if the government could order that GPS trackers be placed on all cars, Lynch refused to answer.

While surveillance did not come up at the February 26 meeting, Lynch's January confirmation hearing revealed that she shares the views of the current AG, Eric Holder, and Bush administration AGs, regarding sweeping and secretive exercise of communications and internet surveillance and search and seizures powers by the DOJ, its Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the National Security Agency (NSA).

The full Senate is likely to approve the nomination, but with a significant number of no votes from Republicans.

The opposition to Lynch (at right) stems not from her qualifications, experience, or knowledge. It stems mainly from actions by President Obama that many Republicans understand to be beyond his Constitutional authority, if not illegal, and outgoing AG Eric Holder's defense of those actions. Many Republicans expressed concerns, based upon her statements at her confirmation hearing, that she will place political loyalty to President Obama above sound legal analysis.

With Democrats losing control of the House in the 2010 elections, and the Senate in the 2014 elections, President Obama has increasingly turned to executive orders, executive branch promulgation of rules, and executive branch adjudications, and declined to "take care that the laws be faithfully executed", to pursue his policy objections. He has increasingly done so without the authority of a Congressional statute, and sometimes contrary to statute. To this end, he has appointed persons to the courts and executive branch who cannot spot limitations upon Presidential powers. On this selection criteria, the nomination of Lynch is in keeping with his other recent nominations.

Some Democrats responded at the February 26 meeting that Lynch is not Holder. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) argued to Republicans that they should consider "this is an opportunity to put someone new into the office".

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), a Republican who voted for Lynch, said that "the longer that this nomination is held up, the longer the Attorney General stays in place".

Democrats mostly praised Lynch, but refrained from defending Holder. However, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) argued that the DOJ was political during the Bush administration, and that Holder cleaned it up.

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), the Chairman of the SJC, stated that "what we need from our next Attorney General -- more than anything else -- is independence. The current Attorney General has permitted politics to drive decision making far too often. For that reason, the question for me has been whether Ms. Lynch will make a clean break and take the Department of Justice in a new direction. After thoroughly reviewing Ms. Lynch's testimony, both before the committee and in written follow-up questions, I remain unconvinced she will lead the department in a different direction."

He added that "I suspect Ms. Lynch will be confirmed" by the full Senate.

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) voted against Lynch. He explained that his opposition is related to President Obama's usurpation of legislative authority, for example, with his recent executive orders on immigration.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) voted against Lynch. He stated that the tenure of Holder "has been a disaster", because he has enabled President Obama to violate the Constitution, for example, with his executive orders regarding immigration. He explained that Lynch's responses to questions indicate that she will not stand up to unconstitutional actions by the President.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) voted against Lynch. He said that the reason is that he questions her "willingness to stand as an independent evaluator" of the legality and Constitutionality of the actions of President Obama.

Sen. Cruz said that Holder has turned the DOJ into a "partisan arm", and that Lynch's answers at her confirmation hearing "render her unsuitable" to be head of the DOJ. He said that her answers showed that she cannot identify any limit on Presidential authority. He argued that her answers to questions, and refusals to answer questions, indicate that she would "rubber stamp" the actions of President Obama.

Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) voted no, because of her views regarding the "boundless authority of the President".

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), who voted for Lynch, said that the DOJ "has been politicized, and compromised. It has been weakened and even corrupted". But, he argued that "there is good reason to believe that Ms. Lynch will be more independent than the current Attorney General".

Sen. Flake voted for Lynch. He said that she is qualified, and that it is immaterial to him that he disagrees with some of her views. And, since Holder will not leave until his replacement is confirmed, he is anxious confirm Lynch to get Holder out of office.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the ranking Democrat on the SJC, stated that Lynch is a "highly qualified nominee".

Sen. Leahy also used this meeting to complain about Republican delay in consideration of Democratic nominees. During the two periods in the Bush administration when Democrats held the majority in the Senate, Sen. Leahy and other Democrats delayed consideration of Republican nominees, while Republicans complained about those delays. Now, the roles are reversed.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) voted for Lynch. He said that President Obama's executive orders "set in motion a very dangerous precedent". Also, he said that "I have nothing but distain" for what President Obama has done on immigration". But, he said, Lynch "is well qualified".

Also, Sen. Graham said that "she understands the war on terror", and "she seems to be a tough minded person when it comes to terrorism". He said too that "nobody on our side would have picked her", but a Democrat is President now.

"Eric Holder is ready to go, and I wish him well. He is about to go make a lot of money", said Sen. Graham.

Holder previously worked at the law firm of Covington & Burling. Senior DOJ officials in the Obama administration have tended to take high income jobs at large firms when they have left the DOJ. See, for example, story titled "Raman Joins Covington" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,652, May 2, 2014.

2/27. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) and others introduced HR 1147 [ LOC | WW | PDF], the "Legal Workforce Act", on February 27, 2015. This bill would make the E-Verify regime mandatory.

The sponsors of this bill seek to achieve policy goals and solve social problems by developing a federal government IT system, and imposing a related private sector mandate.

Outline of this Article:
  Introduction.
  Legislative History.
  February 4 Hearing.
  Summary of E-Verify and HR 1147.
  Weaknesses in the IT System.

Introduction. The bill has been assigned to the House Judiciary Committee (HJC), House Ways and Means Committee (HWMC), and House Education and Workforce Committee (HEWC). Although, the HWMC and HEWC may be discharged.

The twelve other original sponsors of the bill are all Republicans. Most are members of the HJC.

The HJC is scheduled to meet to mark up HR 1147 and three other immigration related bills on March 3 and 4, 2015. See, HJC notice.

Participation in the federal government's E-Verify program is currently voluntary for employers. Although, federal contractors must participate, and some states mandate participation for various categories of employers. This bill would make it mandatory for all employers, and preempt state laws, but allow states to enforce the federal law.

Rep. Smith (at right) stated in a release that "The Legal Workforce Act is crucial legislation that puts legal workers first and enjoys broad support with the American public. It is also free, quick, easy-to-use and effective".

He said that "Almost 20 million Americans are unemployed or underemployed. Meanwhile, seven million people are working in the United States illegally. By expanding the E-Verify system, this bill will ensure that new jobs only go to legal workers".

This release states that "This bill requires all U.S. employers to use E-Verify, a web-based system that checks the Social Security numbers of newly hired employees against Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security records to help ensure that they are genuinely eligible to work in the U.S."

The DHS's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) states in a web page that"E-Verify is an Internet-based system that allows businesses to determine the eligibility of their employees to work in the United States."

The underlying concept is that employers all have computers, internet access, and human resources professional who can quickly, easily, and instantaneously submit E-Verify requests online at the point of making an employment decision. Meanwhile, the federal government develops, updates and improves databases, with complete and accurate information on all persons eligible for employment in the U.S.

Moreover, the government can enable employers submitting requests to receive immediate responses, because the system is based on the use of a unique identifier -- the Social Security Number (SSN).

As a result, persons not eligible for employment will not be able to get jobs. So, they will all leave the country. And, no more will seek entry.

Internet and database technology will solve the problem of illegal immigration, and all manner of social ills.

At least, this is the theory.

Legislative History. The voluntary E-Verify program has been around for almost two decades. Moreover, there were serious efforts in recent Congresses to pass legislation to make the program mandatory. But, no bill has gotten further than the HJC.

On April 26, 2013, Rep. Smith introduced HR 1772 [LOC | WW], also titled the "Legal Workforce Act". The HJC passed it in the closing days of the 113th Congress, on December 16, 2014. The full House did not pass it. HR 1147 (114th Congress) is a re-introduction of HR 1772 (113th Congress)

In the 112th Congress, Rep. Smith introduced HR 2164 [LOC | WW] and the superseding HR 2885 [LOC | WW], both titled the "Legal Workforce Act". See, story titled "Rep. Smith Introduces Bill to Mandate Use of Government Databases to Determine Employment Eligibility" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,300, September 13, 2012. The HJC amended and approved HR 2885 on September 22, 2012. However, the full House did not pass it.

There was also an effort to make E-Verify mandatory in the 111th Congress. See, for example, HR 3308 [LOC | WW], the "Secure America Through Verification and Enforcement Act of 2009" or "SAVE Act".

February 4 Hearing. The HJC's Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security held a hearing on February 4, 2015 on this topic. See, HJC web page for that hearing.

Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Chairman of the HJC, wrote in his opening statement that "One way to make sure we discourage illegal immigration in the future is to prevent unlawful immigrants from getting jobs in the U.S. Requiring the use of E-Verify by all employers across the country will help do just that. The web-based program is a reliable and quick way for employers to electronically check the work eligibility of newly hired employees."

The Subcommittee heard from four witnesses -- all representatives of employers. The Subcommittee did not hear from any workers who had been wrongfully denied the right to work, or who had been delayed at length from working.

Charles Connor of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives wrote in his prepared testimony that a "mechanism such as mandatory E-verify would have a devastating impact on our industry" because most "of the agricultural workforce is in the United States without proper work authority."

Randel Johnson of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce wrote in his prepared statement that his group supports a federal E-Verify mandate. But, he added that there should be numerous qualifications and conditions. For example: state mandates should be preempted, employers should not be held liable for the actions of their subcontractors, there should be no private right of action against employers who use E-Verify, the government should first set up an program for the agriculture sector to hire alien workers, E-Verify should only apply to new hires, and more. Notably, not all of the Chamber's requests are in the just introduced bill.

Jill Blitstein of the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources wrote in her prepared testimony that her group supports a federal mandate. But, she said that compliance by university employers "it is a very labor-intensive process".

One problem that she noted was that universities employ many aliens who are without SSNs, but who are eligible to work.

In contrast, Rep. Smith said that "it will take about one minute per employee".

Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), the ranking Democrat on the HJC, stated that the HJC has considered this type of legislation many times.

He argued that E-Verify "cannot be made mandatory for all employers without comprehensive reform of the immigration system".

He argued that "Immigrants often fill gaps in our own workforce where there aren't enough Americans to do the work." He predicted that "No one would pick the fruit and vegetables".

"Crops would rot in the field." Rep. Conyers added that upstream and downstream jobs held by Americans would be put at risk.

Rep. Sheila Lee (D-TX) also said that mandatory E-Verify must be part of comprehensive immigration reform.

She also objected to the lack of due process to eligible workers erroneously denied work.

Summary of the E-Verify Program and HR 1147. This program was created by Title IV of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, Public Law No. 104-208. The current program is codified at 8 U.S.C. § 1324a notes.

The E-Verify program is an information technology (IT) based national identification system. It is based upon government electronic databases that include names and (SSNs). Employers contact the government online to ask if an applicant for employment is eligible under immigration law for employment.

The purposes of this program are to shift enforcement from border areas to workplaces, and to transfer much of the responsibility for enforcing immigration law to the private sector.

This bill is premised upon the assumptions that the government is capable of creating an IT based system that can enable employers to ascertain whether job applicants are eligible to be employed in the US, and that by effectively preventing ineligible persons from working, aliens will have little incentive to illegally enter into or stay in the US.

HR 1147 would add a new subsection to Section 1342a. It provides that the DHS "shall establish and administer a verification system", which might be contracted out to a non-government entity. It directs employers to contact the DHS or its designee by phone or "electronic media concerning an individual's identity and whether the individual is authorized to be employed".

The bill further provides that DHS "verification system shall provide confirmation or a tentative nonconfirmation of an individual's identity and employment eligibility within 3 working days of the initial inquiry".

The mandate would apply to all employers. However, it would be phased in at different times, based upon the size of the employer.

The bill would preempt states laws, but allow states to enforce the federal law. Moreover, the federal government cannot take over an enforcement action already initiated by a state.

Weaknesses in the IT System. There are many reasons to suspect that a mandatory E-Verify regime would not work in practice as well as its promoters now predict.

The sponsors tout this regime as a quick and easy internet based system. That is, employers have offices, human resources professionals, computers and internet access. If they hit any snags, they are backed up by tech support and legal departments. So, the requests should be easy to submit.

But, this describes places of employment were very few ineligible persons hold jobs. The bulk of ineligible workers are in agriculture, restaurants, construction, and other jobs where the employers are small businesses, dispersed, and without human resources departments, or even internet access. Moreover, hiring often takes place at remote locations.

This bill is 63 pages in PDF. Much of this sets forth the requirements imposed upon employers. This is stuff for human resources departments, if not also legal departments.

In short, E-Verify is a complex web based program directed at employers who tend not to be tech savvy, connected, or literate in legal matters.

Next, the program merely identifies whether the data submitted by the employer (which is submitted to it by the job applicant) matches the data held by the government for an eligible person. If the job applicant submits the name and SSN for an eligible person, and presents false identification to the employer, the E-Verify system is foiled. It will produce a false positive.

The bill acknowledges that identity theft will enable ineligible persons to be confirmed as eligible. The bill directs the DHS to attempt to minimize "identity theft use in the system".

Rep. Goodlatte stated at the February 4 hearing that "in cases of identity theft, when an individual submits stolen identity documents and information, E-Verify may confirm the work eligibility of that individual."

Rep. Smith said at the February 4 hearing that the government IT system will detect this fraud. In particular, "if the Social Security Number shows unusual multiple uses, the Social Security Administration locks the number for employment verification purposes, and notifies the owner that their personal information may be compromised".

But, (1) how does the SSA know which user of the SNN to notify?, (2) how does the legitimate holder of that SSN get a job in the mean time?, and (3) what prevents the employer from not hiring, or firing, the legitimate holder of the SSN simply because it does not want to spend time and resources on the matter?

Also, whether a name supplied by a job applicant to an employer matches the SSN given to that employer is a relatively simple matter for an IT system. But, rendering a determination of "employment eligibility" may call for a legal conclusion, which in some cases would be complex. Neither an IT system, nor DHS personnel, are capable of making such determinations without errors.

The HJC received testimony in the 112th Congress that the E-Verify program is error prone. Eligible workers are falsely not confirmed as eligible. Ineligible workers are falsely confirmed as eligible. See for example, February 10, 2011 prepared testimony of Richard Stana of the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

Rep. Goodlatte said at the February 4 hearing that the error rate is down to .3 percent. Randel Johnson of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said that there are about 60 Million new hires per year. Taking these two statistics together, there would be about 180,000 errors per year. Rep. Goodlatte did not estimate how many of these would be people wrongfully denied the right to work.

The language of HR 1147 also suggests that its authors contemplate many errors by the government. It does several things to insulate the government from liability for errors.

First, it provides that in the event of "error of the verification mechanism", "No class action may be brought".

Second, victims of government error "may seek compensation only through the mechanism of the Federal Tort Claims Act".

Third, the victim would not be entitled to monetary damages -- not even for lost wages. The only remedy permitted by HR 1147 is "injunctive relief to correct such error".

This program creates an additional incentive to engage in identity theft. This may lead persons who have engaged in identity theft for employment purposes to then leverage their identity theft for other illegal purposes, such as financial fraud and theft, which would harm the victims of identity theft.

2/24. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), at the request of the U.S. Court of Appeals (2ndCir), filed an amicus curiae letter brief in Paul Sterling v. Mercantile Adjustment Bureau, a civil action involving the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

The District Court asked the FCC, "Does the Telephone Consumer Protection Act's prohibition on automated calls, absent prior consent from the called party, apply to a new and non-consenting user of a cellular telephone number previously assigned to a consenting user?"

The FCC declined to offer any opinion or interpretation.

It stated in a letter to the Court that the FCC "has not directly spoken to this question in any of its rules or orders", and that "precisely the same question is now pending before the FCC in an administrative proceeding".

Hence, "We believe it would be inappropriate for FCC litigation counsel to prejudge the agency’s ultimate disposition of this question in an amicus brief".

The TCPA is codified at 47 U.S.C. § 227. The FCC's TCPA rules are codified at 47 C.F.R. 64.1200.

The court proceeding is Paul Sterling v. Mercantile Adjustment Bureau, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, App. Ct. No. 14-1247-cv, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, D.C. 1:11-cv-00639.

The FCC's pending adjudicatory proceedings are part of the FCC's long running CG Docket No. 02-278. See, August 11, 2014 petition of Rubio's Restaurant, Inc., June 3, 2014 petition of Stage Stores, Inc., and January 16, 2014 petition of United Healthcare Services, Inc.

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 1998-2015 David Carney. All rights reserved.

EXTENDED TO MARCH 13. Deadline to submit applications to the Department of Commerce's (DOC) International Trade Administration (ITA) to participate in the Cyber Security Business Development Mission to Poland and Romania scheduled for May 11-15, 2015. See, original notice in the Federal Register (FR), Vol. 79, No. 189, September 30, 2014, at Pages 58746-58749, and extension notice in the FR, Vol. 80, No. 32, February 18, 2015, at Pages 8607-8608, February 18, 2015.

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

The Senate will meet at 2:00 PM.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Allvoice Developments v. Microsoft, App. Ct. No. 14-1258. This is an appeal from the U.S. District Court (WDWash) in a patent infringement case involving speech recognition technology. See, December 23, 2013 order. Panel A. This case is the third of four on the schedule. See, oral arguments schedule. No live webcast. Archived audio webcast. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in SynQor v. Artesyn Technologies, App. Ct. No. 14-1459. This is an appeal from the U.S. District Court (EDTex) in a patent infringement case involving power converter systems used to power circuitry in large computer systems and telecommunication and data communication equipment. Panel B. This is the second of four cases on the schedule. See, oral arguments schedule. No live webcast. Archived audio webcast. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Mayfair Wireless v. Cellco Partnership, App. Ct. No. 14-1587. This is an appeal from the U.S. District Court (DDel) in a patent infringement case. Panel B. This case is the third of four on the schedule. See, oral arguments schedule. No live webcast. Archived audio webcast. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Fuzzysharp Technologies v. Intel, App. Ct. No. 14-1261. This is an appeal from the U.S. District Court (NDCal) in a patent infringement case. Panel B. This case is the fourth of four on the schedule. See, oral arguments schedule. No live webcast. Archived audio webcast. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Medtrica Solutions v. Steris, App. Ct. No. 14-1400. This is an appeal from the U.S. District Court (WDWash) in a patent infringement case. The patent in suit is not ICT related. However, there is a post Octane Fitness attorneys fees issue. Panel C. This is the second of four cases on the schedule. See, oral arguments schedule. No live webcast. Archived audio webcast. Location: Courtroom 203, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Gametek v. Zynga, App. Ct. No. 14-1620. Panel E. This case is the second of four on the schedule. See, oral arguments schedule. No live webcast. Archived audio webcast. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in eTAGZ v. Flambeau, App. Ct. No. 14-1285, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (DUtah). Panel E. This case is the third of four on the schedule. See, oral arguments schedule. No live webcast. Archived audio webcast. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

1:30 - 3:00 PM. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) will host a panel discussion titled "Driving the Internet of Things". The speakers will be Kevin Vincent (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), Michael Westra (Ford Motor Company), Nitesh Dhanjani (Ernst & Young). Webcast. See, notice. Location: CSIS, 1616 Rhode Island Ave., NW.

2:00 - 2:45 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host an event titled "The Path Ahead for US Internet Policy: A Conversation with Representative Greg Walden". Free. Open to the public. Live and archived webcast. See, notice. Location: AEI, 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

3:30 PM. Jeff Pulver, Charlie Giancarlo, George Gilder and Bryan Martin will host a teleconferenced event titled "Reaction and Analysis Regarding the FCC Net Neutrality Order". These four (and Mark Cuban and Daniel Berninger) submitted a comment to the FCC on January 22, 2015 in this proceeding (GN Docket No. 14-28) The dial in numbers are 866-952-1906 or 785-424-1825.

4:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on the Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law will hold a hearing three bills: HR 348 [LOC | WW], the "Responsibly And Professionally Invigorating Development Act of 2015", or "RAPID Act"; HR 712 [LOC | WW], the "Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act of 2015"; and HR 1155 [LOC | WW], the "Searching for and Cutting Regulations that are Unnecessarily Burdensome Act of 2015", or "SCRUB Act". The RAPID Act, which would amend the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), is primarily directed at regulation of the oil and gas industry, but may also impact bird based regulation of communications. This is a reintroduction. See, HR 2641 [LOC | WW] (113th Congress) and HR 4377 [LOC | WW] (112th Congress). The witnesses will be William Kovacs (U.S. Chamber of Commerce), Sam Batkins (American Action Forum), Patrick McLaughlin (Mercatus Center at George Mason University), and Amit Narang (Public Citizen). Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

5:00 PM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed hearing on undisclosed matters. No webcast. See, notice. Location: Room HVC-304, Underground Capitol Building.

Deadline to submit comments to the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies in advance of its March 4, 2015 meeting to discuss "rules and regulations affecting small and emerging companies under the federal securities laws". See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 80, No. 31, February 17, 2015, at Pages 8374-8375.

The House will meet at 9:30 AM, but adjourn immediately. At 10:45 AM, Benjamin Netanyahu (Prime Minister of Israel) will address the House. The legislative schedule for the week includes consideration of several non-technology related bills. See, Rep. McCarthy's schedule.

9:00 - 10:30 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "China's Hundred Year Marathon with the United States". The speakers will be Stephen Ezell (ITIF), Richard D'Aveni (Dartmouth College business school), Michael Pillsbury (Hudson Institute), and Patrick Mulloy (Center for National Policy). Free. Open to the public. Webcast. See, notice. Location: ITIF/ITIC, Suite 610, 1101 K St., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will meet to mark up four immigration related bills. However, these bills, like President Obama's actions, do not address either STEM visas or H1B visas. One bill on the agenda, HR 1147 [LOC | WW | PDF], the "Legal Workforce Act", would, among other things, make the E-Verify regime mandatory. Webcast. This is the first day of a two day mark up. HR 1147 is the first item on the agenda. Webcast. This is the first day of a two day mark up. See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Automated Merchandising v. Lee, App. Ct. No. 14-1728. This is an appeal from the U.S. District Court (EDVa). Panel D. This cased is the third of four on the schedule. See, oral arguments schedule. No live webcast. Archived audio webcast. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Sealant Systems International v. TEK Global, App. Ct. No. 14-1405, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (NDCal) in a patent infringement case. The patent in suit is not ICT related. However, the District court granted injunctive relief to a patent owner who is not practicing or licensing the patent in suit. See, the Supreme Court's 2006 opinion in eBay v. MercExchange. Panel F. This case is the second of two on the schedule. See, oral arguments schedule. No live webcast. Archived audio webcast. Location: Courtroom 203, 717 Madison Place, NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. The Proskauer law firm will host a webcast seminar titled "Managing the Risk of Cyber Liabilities and Operations Disruption: Responsibilities of the Board of Directors". The speakers will be Margaret Dale, John Failla, Steven Gilford, and Kristen Mathews (all of Proskauer). CLE credits.

12:30 - 2:00 PM. The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "Best Practices to Secure Allowance of Patent Application Claims Using Evidence". The speakers will be Courtenay Brinckerhoff (Foley & Lardner), Mary Till (USPTO), and Anthony Son (Andrews Kurth). CLE credits. The price ranges from $95 to $135. See, notice.

2:00 PM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a hearing titled "Understanding the Cyber Threat and Implications for the 21st Century Economy". The witnesses will be __. Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 2322, Rayburn Building.

2:00 PM. The House Appropriations Committee's (HAC) Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies will hold a hearing on the FY16 budget for the Department of Commerce (DOC). The witness will be Penny Pritzger (Secretary of Commerce). See, notice. Location: Room H-309, Capitol Building.

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 several non-technology related bills. See, Rep. McCarthy's schedule.

8:00 AM. The Economic Club of Washington will host an event at which Michael Dell will speak. Breakfast will be served at 8:00 AM. The program will begin at 8:25 AM. Location: Fairmont Washington DC Georgetown Hotel, Grand Ballroom, 2401 M St., NW.

8:45 AM - 12:30 PM. The Brookings Institution (BI) will host an event titled "Can Forces Align to Use Health IT to Improve Care and Lower Costs?". Free. Open to the public. Webcast. See, notice. Location: BI, 1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

9:00 AM. The House Science Committee (HSC) will meet to mark up several research related bills: HR 1119, the "Research and Development Efficiency Act", HR __, the "International Science and Technology Cooperation Act of 2015", HR  __, the "Science Prize Competitions Act", HR  __, the "Department of Energy Laboratory Modernization and Technology Transfer Act of 2015", and HR 874, the "American Super Computing Leadership Act". See, notice. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

9:30 AM. The Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies will meet to discuss "rules and regulations affecting small and emerging companies under the federal securities laws". See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 80, No. 31, February 17, 2015, at Pages 8374-8375. Location: SEC, Multi-Purpose Room LL-006, 100 F St., NE.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will meet to mark up four immigration related bills. However, these bills, like President Obama's actions, do not address either STEM visas or H1B visas. One bill on the agenda, HR 1147 [LOC | WW | PDF], the "Legal Workforce Act", would, among other things, make the E-Verify regime mandatory. Webcast. This is the second day of a two day mark up. HR 1147 is the first item on the agenda. See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (SHSGAC) will meet to mark up numerous bills, including HR 615 [LOC | WW], the "Department of Homeland Security Interoperable Communications Act", and S  280 [LOC | WW], the "Federal Permitting Improvement Act of 2015". Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Board of Trustees v. Micron Technology, App. Ct. Nos. 14-1509, 14-1509 and 14-1509. This is an appeal from the USPTO. Panel G. See, oral arguments schedule. No live webcast. Archived audio webcast. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Apple v. Samsung Electronics, App. Ct. No. 14-1802. Panel G. See, oral arguments schedule. No live webcast. Archived audio webcast. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Barron v. SCVNGR, App. Ct. No. 14-1708, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (DMass) in a patent infringement case involving U.S. Patent No. 7,499,873 titled "Communication Through a Financial Services Network". See, July 7, 2014 summary judgment memorandum. This case is the third or four on the schedule. Panel I. This case is the third of four on the schedule. See, oral arguments schedule. No live webcast. Archived audio webcast. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:30 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Communications and Technology will hold a hearing titled "Reauthorization of the Federal Communications Commission: The FCC’s FY 2016 Budget Request". The witness will be Jon Wilkins (FCC). Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 2322, Rayburn Building.

12:00 NOON - 2:15 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a panel discussion titled "Will Technology Put an End to Disability?". The speakers will be Jennifer French, Larry Jasinksi, Will Oremus, Gregor Wolbring, Julia Bascom, Teresa Burke, and Lawrence Long. Free. Open to the public. See, notice. Location: NAF, Suite 400, 1899 L St., NW.

12:30 - 1:30 PM. The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "Look out! The States Are Watching Your Patent Demand Letters!". The speakers will be Sharon Israel (Mayer Brown), Dennis Skarvan (Caterpillar), Erik Jones (Illinois Attorney General's Office), and Vince Garlock (AIPLA). No CLE credits. Prices vary. See, notice.

2:00 - 5:00 PM. The House Foreign Affairs Committee's (HFAC) Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific will hold a hearing titled "The Trans-Pacific Partnership: Prospects for Greater U.S. Trade". The witnesses will be Claude Barfield (American Enterprise Institute), Tami Overby (U.S. Chamber of Commerce), and Scott Miller (Center for Strategic and International Studies). See, notice. Location: Room 2172, Rayburn Building.

2:00 PM. The House Homeland Security Committee's (HHSC) Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies will hold a hearing titled "Industry Perspectives on the President’s Cybersecurity Information Sharing Proposal". The witnesses will be __. See, notice. Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a program titled "Introduction to Export Controls". The speakers will be Carol Kalinoski and Thomas Scott (Ladner & Associates). 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.

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 several non-technology related bills. See, Rep. McCarthy's schedule.

9:00 AM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a hearing titled "The Growing Cyber Threat and its Impact on American Business". The witnesses will be __. See, notice. Location: Room HVC-210, Underground Capitol Building.

9:00 AM. The House Financial Services Committee's (HFSC) Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises will hold an oversight hearing on the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Division of Enforcement. See, notice. Location: Room 2167, Rayburn Building.

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM. The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics' (RTCA) Special Committee 224, Airport Security Access Control Systems, will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 80, No. 29, February 12, 2015, at Page 7907-7908. Location: RTCA, Suite 910, 1150 18th St., NW.

9:30 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations will hold a hearing on HR 707 [LOC | WW], the "Restoration of America's Wire Act". This bill pertains to internet gambling. The witnesses will be __. Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. Live and archived webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Belden v. Berk-Tek, App. Ct. Nos. 14-1676 and 14-1677, appeals from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) Patent and Trial Appeal Board (PTAB) in an inter partes review of a patent regarding data cable technology. Panel K. See, oral arguments schedule. No live webcast. Archived audio webcast. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Materials Technical Advisory Committee will hold an on site and teleconferenced meeting. Open to the public. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 80, No. 32, February 18, 2015, at Pages 8591-2. Location: Room 3884, Hoover Building, 14th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues, NW.

10:00 AM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) North American Numbering Council (NANC) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 80, No. 32, February 18, 2015, at Pages 8646-8647. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) will host a panel discussion titled "Information Sharing for Cybersecurity". The speakers will be Michael Daniel (EOP NSC Cybersecurity Coordinator), Tim Roxey (North American Electric Reliability Corporation), Shane McGee (FireEye, Inc.), Greg Nojeim (Center for Democracy and Technology), and Katherine Konieczny (Department of Energy). Webcast. See, notice. Location: CSIS, 1616 Rhode Island Ave., NW.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) International Telecommunications Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "A Globally Neutral Net: Discussion and Comparison of International Approaches and Global Norms for Net Neutrality". The speakers will be Sheba Chacko (BT), Andrea Glorioso (EU Delegation), Christopher Libertelli (Netflix), Matthew Del Nero (FCC), Erik Stallman (CDT), and Praveen Goyal (Hogan Lovells). Free. Bring your own lunch. No CLE credits. No webcast. See, notice. Location: Hogan Lovells, Conference Room C406, 555 13th St., NW.

2:00 - 3:00 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship Meeting. Open to the public. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 80, No. 30, February 13, 2015, at Pages 8058-9. Location: Room 4830, Hoover Building, 14th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues, NW.

2:30 PM. The Senate Intelligence Committee (SIC) will hold a closed hearing on undisclosed matters. No webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 219, Hart Building.

Deadline to submit petitions for exemption to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Public Notice (PN) announcing the top five nonbroadcast networks for the purposes of the FCC's video description rules (VDR). The VDRs mandate that multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) systems that serve 50,000 or more subscribers must provide 50 hours of video description per calendar quarter during prime time or children's programming on each of the top five national nonbroadcast networks. This PN announces that the top five are USA, Disney Channel, TNT, Nickelodeon, and TBS. Any program network that believes it should not be in this top five may file a petition for exemption. The FCC's Media Bureau (MB) released this PN on January 7, 2015. It is DA 15-18 in MB Docket No. 11-43. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Federal Register, Vol. 80, No. 22, February 3, 2015, at Pages 5749-5750.

The House may meet, but in pro forma session only. See, Rep. McCarthy's schedule.

Supreme Court conference day. See, 2014-2015 calendar. Closed to the public.

8:30 AM - 1:00 PM. Day two of a two day meeting of the Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship Meeting. Open to the public. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 80, No. 30, February 13, 2015, at Pages 8058-9. Location: Room 4830, Hoover Building, 14th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues, NW.

9:00 - 11:00 AM. The US Telecom will host an event titled "National Cybersecurity Policy Forum". Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) will give an opening speech. At 9:30 AM, there will be a panel titled "Information Sharing & Initiatives". The speakers will be Ari Schwartz (EOP's National Security Council), Charlie Mitchell (Inside Cybersecurity), Christopher Boyer (AT&T), Tony Sager (Center for Internet Security), and David Turetsky (Akin Gump). At 10:15 AM, there will be a panel titled "NIST Cybersecurity Framework: Next Steps". The speakers will be Adam Sedgewick (NIST), David Perera (Politico), Larry Clinton (Internet Security Alliance), Brian Finch (Pillsbury Winthrop), Kevin Morley (American Water Works Association), and Jesse Ward (NTCA The RuralBroadband Association). . Free. Open to the public. Webcast. See, notice. Location: National Press Club, First Amendment Lounge, 13th floor, 529 14th St., NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in TMI Products v. Rosen Entertainment Systems, App. Ct. No. 14-1553, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (CDCal) in a patent infringement case. The patents in suit relate to electronics in car headrests, but at issue is the enforceability of a waiver of the defense of invalidity in a licensing agreement. Panel N. This case is the first of three on the schedule. See, oral arguments schedule. No live webcast. Archived audio webcast. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 - 11:30 AM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a panel discussion titled "Electric Shock: Threats, Risks, and Vulnerabilities in the U.S. Electric Grid". The speakers will be Patricia Hoffman (Assistant Secretary of Energy), Calving Butler (CEO of Baltimore Gas and Electric), Nancy Thompson (Sacramento Municipal Utility District), Sharon Burke (NAF), and Shane Harris (NAF). Free. Open to the public. See, notice. Location: NAF, Suite 400, 1899 L St., NW.

Deadline to submit nominations to the Department of Health and Human Services' (DHHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's (NCOHIT) for membership on its Health Information Technology Standards Committee (HITSC). See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 80, No. 29, February 12, 2015, at Pages 7869-7870.