5/13. The House passed HR 2048 [LOC | WW], the USA FREEDOM Act, by a vote of 338-88, on May 13, 2015. See, Roll Call No. 224. Republicans voted 196-47. Democrats voted 142-41.

Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) introduced this bill on April 28, 2015. He gave this bill an awkward title that produces an acronym. It is titled the "Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ensuring Effective Discipline Over Monitoring Act of 2015". He also came up with the acronym USA PATRIOT Act back in 2001. (That Act was HR 3162 (107th Congress), the "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001".)

This key provisions of this bill pertain to the controversial government bulk telephone data collection program disclosed by Edward Snowden in 2013. The purported authority for this program is Section 215 of the 2001 Act. However, the plain language of Section 215 does not support this.

Moreover, on May 7, 2015 the U.S. Court of Appeals (2ndCir) issued its opinion in ACLU v. Clapper, holding that the National Security Agency's (NSA) telephone data collection program is not authorized by Section 215 of the 2001 Act. See, stories titled "2nd Circuit Holds NSA Bulk Telephone Data Program Is Not Authorized by Section 215", "Section 215 and the NSA's Bulk Telephone Data Program", and "Reaction to 2nd Circuit's Opinion on Section 215" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,723, May 7, 2015.

This bill would authorize a broad telephone data collection program, but impose some vague limits upon it.

Section 215, and two other controversial provisions of surveillance law, are set to expire, or sunset, on June 1, 2015. This bill would extend these three sunsets to December 15, 2019.

Related Bills in 113th Congress. Rep. Sensenbrenner sponsored a similar bill in the 113th Congress, HR 3361 [LOC | WW], also titled USA FREEDOM Act. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) amended and approved that bill on May 7, 2014. The full House amended and approved it on May 22, 2014, by a vote of 303-121. See, Roll Call No. 230.

The Senate did not pass that bill, or any similar bill, in the 113th Congress. Although, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and others introduced S 2685 [LOC | WW] on July 29, 2014.

For coverage of these 113th Congress bills, see:

• "Sen. Leahy Introduces Senate Version of USA FREEDOM Act", "Analysis of the USA FREEDOM Act's Bulk Data Collection Provisions", and "Analysis of the USA FREEDOM ACT's Special Advocates Provision" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,683, July 30, 2014.
• "Surveillance Reform Bill Update" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,661, May 21, 2014.
• "House to Consider Bill to Limit Bulk Data Collection", "Analysis: HR 3361 and Bulk Collection of Data", and "Analysis: HR 3361 and Encryption Back Door Mandates" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,660, May 20, 2014.
• "House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees Approve Bill to Limit NSA Bulk Collection of Data" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,656, May 8, 2014.
• "House Judiciary Committee to Mark Up Surveillance Reform Bill" and "House Intelligence Committee to Hold Closed Mark Up of Its FISA Reform Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,654, May 6, 2014.

Committee Markup. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) approved HR 2048 on April 30 by a vote of 25-2. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) voted no. Notably, 12 members of the HJC did not cast votes on final passage. See, roll call.

The HJC first rejected numerous proposed amendments. It rejected an amendment offered by Rep. Poe on a roll call vote of 9-24 that would have limited FISA Section 702 authority.

The HJC also rejected an amendment offered by Rep. Steve King (R-IA) on a roll call vote of 4-24 that would have amended Section 501 of the FISA to authorize intelligence agencies to "enter into a voluntary agreement with a person to compensate such person for retaining call detail records for a period".

The HJC rejected on voice votes an amendment offered by Rep. Lofgren that would have permitted whistleblower complaints to the House and Senate Judiciary and Intelligence Committees regarding violations of law in programs covered by the FISA, an amendment offered by Rep. Labrador that would have limited what constitutes an "emergency situation" under Section 215, and an amendment offered by Rep. Jordan that would have created an Office of the Constitutional Advocate within the judicial branch to participate in proceedings before the entity titled Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

The bill was also referred to the House Intelligence Committee (HIC) and the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC). However, the Chairmen of both committees waived further consideration of the bill.

Floor Debate. The full House debated and passed HR 2048 on May 13. The rule adopted by the House Rules Committee (HRC) did not allow for consideration of any amendments.

Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), the Chairman of the HJC, controlled the time for debate by Republicans. Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), the ranking Democrat on the HJC, and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the HIC, controlled the time of the Democrats. They are all supporters of the bill. They yielded time to other supporters of the bill. Hence, the debate was one sided.

Rep. Goodlatte stated in the House that millions "of telephone metadata records are flowing into the NSA on a daily basis, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Despite changes to the NSA bulk telephone metadata program announced by President Obama last year, the bulk collection of the records has not ceased and will not cease unless and until Congress acts to shut it down. Not even last week's decision by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals will end this collection."

Rep. Goodlatte continued that this bill "affirmatively ends the indiscriminate bulk collection of telephone metadata. But it goes much further than this. It prohibits the bulk collection of all records under section 215 of the PATRIOT Act, as well as under the FISA pen register trap and trace device statute and the National Security Letter statutes."

Rep. Conyers (D-MI) stated that this bill "ends bulk collection, creates a panel of experts to guide the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, and mandates extensive government reporting."

Rep. Conyers (at right) continued that "Today we have a rare opportunity to restore a measure of restraint to surveillance programs that have simply gone too far. For years the government has read section 215 of the PATRIOT Act to mean that it may collect all domestic telephone records merely because some of them may be relevant at some time in the future. Last week, endorsing a view that I and many of my colleagues have held for years, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that ``the text of section 215 cannot bear the weight the government asks us to assign it, and it does not authorize the telephone metadata program.´´"

Rep. Sensenbrenner stated that this bill unites "both national security hawks and civil libertarians", and that it "has the support of privacy groups, tech companies, and the intelligence community".

He argued against "letting section 215 and other surveillance authorities expire" as a threat to national security. He also argued against "a clean reauthorization" as "irresponsible".

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) spoke in favor of the bill. However, he added that "Not every reform I would have hoped to enact is included in this bill. We must do more to protect U.S. person information collected under section 702 of FISA. We must act to reform other authorities, many of them law enforcement rather than intelligence community authorities, to prevent indiscriminate searches in other circumstances."

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), Chairman of the HIC, spoke in favor of the bill. However, he would have preferred a clean reauthorization. "Ideally, we would reauthorize section 215 of the U.S. PATRIOT Act and other expiring FISA authorities without making any changes. These provisions authorize important counterterrorism programs, including the NSA bulk telephone metadata program."

He also made the assertions that "they are constitutional, authorized by Congress, and subject to multiple layers of oversight". He argued that the revised Section 215 authority "will be slower and potentially less effective than the current program".

Opposition. Rep. Mark Sanford (R-SC) submitted a written statement for the record (also published in his web site) expressing his opposition to the bill.

He wrote that "last week a federal appeals court declared that the NSA's bulk data collection on American citizens over the past 14 years was illegal. So why is Congress considering a bill that would legalize a program already deemed illegal? Unfortunately, that is what the USA FREEDOM Act does, and I believe codifies a program that violates the Constitution."

That Court of Appeals opinion held that the program exceeds statutory authority. It did not address the Constitutional challenges.

Rep. Sanford (at right) continued that "the bill uses broad language to define who and what the government can search, which means that it still could technically collect Americans' information in bulk--just not as much as before. The bill does this by leaving the door open for the government to search geographic regions instead of the entire country as it does now. For example, the government could require phone companies to turn over all the records of their customers in South Carolina".

He also argued that this bill is defective because it does not also reform FISA Section 702 "outside the U.S." surveillance authority. He elaborated that "This section allows the government to sweep up the content of an American citizen's emails, instant messages and web browsing history just because they happen to be communicating with someone outside the U.S. In fact, the former NSA director General Keith Alexander admitted that the NSA specifically searches Section 702 data using ``U.S. person identifiers.´´ This so-called ``back door search loophole´´ should have been closed in this bill because it violates the Fourth Amendment by getting around the warrant requirement. The notion that Americans' rights are contingent on the geography of where a call is directed is not consistent with the Constitution and highlights why this particular section needs to be changed."

Thirdly, Rep. Sanford lamented that "this bill does not require the government to destroy information obtained on Americans who are not connected to an investigation."

Similarly, Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA) wrote that "the bill would continue to allow for large swaths of information gathering. Simply put, I cannot vote for a bill that does not protect the privacy enshrined in the Fourth Amendment and guaranteed to all Americans. The risk of faulty information collection is not a risk I am willing to take with any American's privacy. Upholding the U.S. Constitution is non-negotiable."

He added in a release that the "USA Freedom Act is just a watered down version of the Patriot Act".

Former prosecutors, including Rep. Tom Marino (R-PA) and Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC), backed the bill. Former judges, including Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) and Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), both voted against the bill.

Rep. King, Rep. Jordan, and Rep. Labrador, who had tried unsuccessfully to amend the bill in Committee, voted no. However, Rep. Lofgren voted yes.

5/13. The House passed HR 2048 [LOC | WW], the USA FREEDOM Act, by a vote of 338-88, on May 13, 2015. See, Roll Call No. 224.

Its full title is "Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ensuring Effective Discipline Over Monitoring Act of 2015". The following is a summary of its contents.

Section 215 and Bulk Data Collection. This is a huge bill -- 122 pages in PDF. However, its centerpiece is reformation of the National Security Agency's (NSA) bulk telephone data collection program. This bill would not end bulk collection of telephone data. Rather, it would amend 50 U.S.C. § 1861 to impose some limits upon the scope.

Section 1861 of Title 50 is the purported authority for issuance of the telephone metadata orders first reported by news media in June of 2013 based upon disclosures by Edward Snowden. It is also known as Section 501 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The 2001 surveillance act (Section II of the USA PATRIOT Act) amended Section 1861/501 in its Section 215. Hence, this section is variously referred to as 215, 501, and 1861.

The 2001 Act was HR 3162 (107th Congress), the "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001".

The NSA has built its telephone metadata program out of a series of orders issued by the body titled "Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court" or FISC. HR 2048 would also provide some changes to the FISC process. However, it would continue to make decisions in an ex parte, non-adversial, and secret process, without affording affected communications companies and surveiled people basic elements of due process of law.

Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee (HJC), stated during floor debate on May 13 that "In place of the current bulk telephone metadata program, the USA FREEDOM Act creates a targeted program that allows the intelligence community to collect non-content call detail records held by the telephone companies, but only with the prior approval of the FISA court and subject to the ``special selection term´´ limitation. The records provided to the government in response to queries will be limited to two ``hops,´´ and the government's handling of any records it acquires will be governed by minimization procedures approved by the FISA court.

Rep. Goodlatte (at right) also asserted that this bill "prevents government overreach by strengthening the definition of ``specific selection term´´ -- the mechanism used to prohibit bulk collection -- to ensure the government can collect the information it needs to further a national security investigation while also prohibiting large-scale, indiscriminate collection, such as data from an entire State, city, or ZIP Code."

However, the definitions in the bill are not so clear. Consequently, Congressional opponents of the bill have argued that the bill would allow the FISC to order a phone company to give the government all of its records for an entire state.

The bill (at Section 107) does state that a "specific selection term" does not includes a "broad geographic region, including the United States, a city, a county, a State, a zip code, or an area code", but then adds an exception that arguably swallows this limitation.

The bill also provides that a "specific selection term" could, for example, identify a state if it is "used as part of a specific identifier as described in clause (i)". This clause provides that a "specific selection term" includes any "term that specifically identifies ... or any other specific identifier".

The FISC created the current bulk data collection program without statutory authority. This bill would create a statutory authority which, in the hands of the FISC, could result in the continuation of bulky data collection program.

Extension of Sunsets. The primary urgency for enacting legislation now is that Section 215 authority, and two other provisions of surveillance law, are set to sunset on June 1, 2015.

The bill would extend (at Section 705) three sunsets from June 1, 2015 to December 15, 2019. The three pertain to Section 215, as well as to provisions of surveillance law regarding lone wolves and roving wiretaps.

The Congress created, and sunsetted, lone wolf surveillance authority in 2004. The FISA was originally enacted in 1978. It pertains to surveillance of a "foreign power" and an "agent of a foreign power". The term "foreign power" is defined to include "a group engaged in international terrorism". The FISA gives the government broader powers to conduct surveillance of foreign powers and their agents, and under lower standards, than the government possesses under Title 18 when conducting surveillance of U.S. persons.

The Congress amended the FISA in 2004 to provide that certain individuals, who are not agents of any power or terrorist organization, are subject to FISA based surveillance. These individuals, acting alone, are sometimes referred to a lone wolves. The Congress included this language in Section 6001 of S 2845 (108th Congress), the "Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004". This Act is Public Law No. 108-458.

Section 6001 of the 2004 Act amended 50 U.S.C. § 1801(b) to revise the definition of "agent of a foreign power". The 2004 Act amended the definition to include "any person other than a United States person, who ... engages in international terrorism or activities in preparation therefore", thus bringing individuals acting alone within the reach of the FISA. The 2004 Act also included a sunset clause. It incorporated by reference the sunset clause in Section 224 of the 2001 Act.

The Congress created, and sunsetted, roving wiretap authority in 2001.

Section 206 of the 2001 Act amended Section 105(c)(2)(B) of the FISA, which is codified at 50 U.S.C. § 1805, to have the effect of allowing the court to authorize roving wiretaps.

Section 1805(c)(2)(B) provides that "An order approving an electronic surveillance under this section shall direct ... upon the request of the applicant, a specified communication or other common carrier, landlord, custodian, or other specified person, or in circumstances where the Court finds, based upon specific facts provided in the application, that the actions of the target of the application may have the effect of thwarting the identification of a specified person, such other persons, furnish the applicant forthwith all information, facilities, or technical assistance necessary to accomplish the electronic surveillance in such a manner as will protect its secrecy and produce a minimum of interference with the services that such carrier, landlord, custodian, or other person is providing that target of electronic surveillance".

For more detail on lone wolves and roving wiretaps, and the history of the early extensions of their sunsets, see story titled "House and Senate Extend Expiring Surveillance Provisions" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,054, March 3, 2010. The most recent extension of the sunsets for Section 215, lone wolves, and roving wiretaps, to June 1, 2015, was enacted by the 112th Congress in S 990, the "PATRIOT Sunsets Extension Act of 2011". It is now Public Law No. 112-14.

Section 702. This bill does not revise the Section 702 surveillance program. However, it would create a limited Section 702 exclusionary rule.

This program is based upon the controversial "outside" the U.S. provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). It is codified at 50 U.S.C. § 1881a. It was enacted by the bill titled "Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2008", Public Law No. 110-261. Although, the 2008 Act replaced a temporary provision contained in a 2007 Act, titled the "Protect America Act".

Section 702 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, information obtained under Section 702 can be used not only for intelligence and counter-terrorism purposes, but also in criminal prosecutions.

It enables, for example, warrantless wiretaps of certain U.S. citizens who are inside the U.S. whom the government believes to be communicating with certain persons outside of the U.S.

While the bill does not change this surveillance program, it would provide (at Section 301) for the exclusion of evidence obtained under this surveillance program from trials and other enumerated proceedings when the FISC has determined that such evidence was obtained in violation of Section 702.

The 112th Congress extended the sunset on this provision to the end of 2017. See, HR 5949 [LOC | WW], the "FISA Amendments Act Reauthorization Act of 2012", Public Law No. 112-238.

The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) released a report [196 pages in PDF] titled "Report on the Surveillance Program Operated Pursuant to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act" on July 2, 2014. See, story titled "PCLOB Releases Report on FISA Section 702" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,671, July 7, 2014.

Other Provisions. This bill (at Section 401) would authorize the FISC to appoint amicus curiae to participate in its proceedings. However, it would not allow any actual representation of affected persons or entities.

This bill (at Section 502) would revise the procedure for recipients of National Security Letters (NSLs) to challenge nondisclosure requests.

This bill (at Section 402) would require declassification of all significant FISC opinions, and provide procedures for certified questions of law to the body titled "FISA Court of Review" and Supreme Court.

This bill (at Section 603) would impose some limits upon the government's authority to limit what information companies disclose regarding government surveillance.

This bill would also contains some new surveillance provisions. Rep. Goodlatte stated in the House on May 13 that this bill "enhances America's national security by closing loopholes that make it difficult for the government to track foreign terrorists and spies as they enter or leave the country; clarifying the application of FISA to foreign targets who facilitate the international proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; increasing the maximum penalties for material support of a foreign terrorist organization".

This bill also includes lengthy revisions of the criminal code that do not change surveillance law. First, the bill contains changes to criminal prohibitions regarding safety of maritime navigation (Sections 801-805). Second, it contains changes to substantive criminal prohibitions regarding nuclear terrorism (Section 901-902).

5/18. The Senate has not yet passed HR 2048 [LOC | WW], the USA FREEDOM Act, or a related bill. It did not pass a bill in the 113th Congress either.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), the Senate Majority Leader, stated on May 18 that "It's also my intention this week to ... responsibly extend the expiring provisions of FISA." See, release.

On May 14, 2015, Sen. McConnell introduced S 1357 [LOC | WW], a short untitled bill that would merely extend sunsets on Section 215, lone wolf, and roving wiretap authority from June 1, 2015 to July 31, 2015.

Both S 1357 and HR 2048 are on the Senate Calendar.

The Senate is scheduled to be in recess next week, because of Memorial Day observances.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV), Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) spoke in the Senate on May 12 in praise of the House passed bill. See, Congressional Record, May 12, 2015, at Pages S2872-9.

Sen. Leahy said that "For years, Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act has been used by the NSA to justify the bulk collection of innocent Americans' phone records. Americans were appropriately outraged when they learned about this massive intrusion into their privacy. Look at what happened last week. The highly respected Federal Second Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed what we have known for some time: The NSA's bulk collection of Americans' phone records is unlawful, it is not essential, and it must end. That basically says it all. It is unlawful, it is not essential, and it should end."

He continued that "for years the NSA collected metadata about billions of emails sent by innocent Americans using the same justification. Should we allow the government to sweep up all of our credit card records, all of our banking or medical records, our firearms or ammunition purchases? Or how about anything we have ever posted on Facebook or anything we have ever searched for on Google or any other search engine? Who wants to tell their constituents that they support putting all this information into government databases?"

"I say enough is enough. I do not accept that the government will be careful in safeguarding this secret data--so careful that they allowed a private contractor named Edward Snowden to walk away with all this material. What is to stop anybody else from doing exactly the same thing?"

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) stated in the Senate on May 14 that "Republicans in the Senate want to move forward without making any changes", and that "The Republican leader is isolated in his desire for a clean extension of illegal spying programs".

He also said that "Republicans and Democrats have vowed to filibuster a clean extension if the Republican leader brings one to the floor. That is what is going to happen here in the Senate. I have heard extended statements by the junior Senator from Kentucky, who said that. There are others who feel the same way. Even if my friend plows forward in the face of what the bipartisan opposition is to this matter, it will take at least a week to secure the vote." See, Congressional Record, May 14, 2015, at Page S2898.

He stated in the Senate on May 19 that the Republicans filibustered his attempts to pass a bill in the 113th Congress. He added that "the majority leader continues to stand in the way of bipartisan reform to end these illegal practices. As we face the June 1 expiration of these authorities, the majority leader still offers no viable alternative." See, Congressional Record, May 19, 2015, at Page S3009-10.

Sen. Reid also said that "The House of Representatives is not going to pass a 60-day extension, nor should it. We should not extend this illegal program for one more day, and we do not need to do so. After all, we have a solution in hand. Why try to ignore reality and go on with something else? We have a responsible solution. In fact, it is the only responsible solution. Broad consensus has developed around the bipartisan USA FREEDOM Act of 2015."

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

Further extended deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to section IV.B of its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding special access. Section IV.B pertains to "Possible Changes to Pricing Flexibility Rules after Proposed One-Time, Multi-Faceted Market Analysis". The FCC adopted this this FNPRM on December 11, 2012, and released it on December 18, 2012. It is FCC 12-153 in WC Docket No. 05-25. This is an oft extended deadline. First, see original notice in the Federal Register (FR), Vol. 78, No. 8 January 11, 2013, at Pages 2600-2614, setting original deadlines. Second, see July 2013 Public Notice extending deadlines. Third, see notice in FR, Vol. 79, No. 52, March 18, 2014, at Pages 15092-15093, and March 5, 2014 Public Notice (DA 14-302), further extending deadlines. Finally, see September 15, 2014 Public Notice (DA 14-1328), and notice in the FR, Vol. 79, No. 186, September 25, 2014, at Pages 57492-57493, setting this deadline.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. The House will consider several bills related to federally funding research, including HR 1119 [LOC | WW], the "Research and Development Efficiency Act", HR 1156 [LOC | WW], the "International Science and Technology Cooperation Act of 2015", and HR 1158 [LOC | WW], the "Department of Energy Laboratory Modernization and Technology Transfer Act of 2015". See, Rep. McCarthy's schedule.

The Senate will meet at 10:00 AM.

10:00 AM. The House Foreign Affairs Committee's (HFAC) Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade will hold a hearing titled "Trade Promotion Agencies and U.S. Foreign Policy". See, notice. Location: Room 2172, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will meet to mark up several bills, including HR 451 [LOC | WW], the "Safe and Secure Federal Websites Act of 2015". Location: Room 2154, Rayburn Building.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "Getting There in the Digital Age: How to Craft a 21st Century Surface Transportation Bill". The speakers will be Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX), Hillary Cain (Toyota), Robert Atkinson (ITIF), and Stephen Ezell (ITIF). Free. Open to the public. Lunch will be served. See, notice. Location: Room 2237, Rayburn Building.

1:00 PM. The House Financial Services Committee's (HFSC) Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit will hold a hearing titled "Protecting Critical Infrastructure: How the Financial Sector Addresses Cyber Threats". The witnesses will be Kenneth Bentsen (SIFMA), Greg Garcia (Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council), Rob Nichols (Financial Services Forum), Russell Fitzgibbons (The Clearing House), Jason Healey (Columbia University). See, notice. Location: Room 2128, Rayburn Building.

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.

3:00 PM. The House Rules Committee (HRC) will meet to adopt rules for consideration of HR 880 [LOC | WW], the "American Research and Competitiveness Act of 2015", and HR 2262 [LOC | WW], the "Spurring Private Aerospace Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship Act of 2015" or "SPACE Act". See, notice. Location: Room H-313, Capitol Building.

3:00 - 4:00 PM. The Brookings Institution (BI) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "Reinvigorating the Media Industry in the Digital Age". The speakers will be E.J. Dionne (BI), Anne MacKinnon (University of Wyoming), Nathan Pippenger (UC Berkeley), and Tom Rosenstiel (BI). See, notice.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. The House will consider HR 880 [LOC | WW], the "American Research and Competitiveness Act of 2015", and HR 1806 [LOC | WW], the "America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015". See, Rep. McCarthy's schedule.

10:00 AM. The House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) will meet to mark up numerous minor bills, some of which would reduce regulatory burdens on small companies. See, notice. Location: Room 2128, Rayburn Building.

10:30 AM. The House Appropriations Committee (HAC) will meet to mark up the FY 2016 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies appropriations bill. See, notice. Location: Room 2359, Rayburn Building.

10:30 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will meet in executive session to consider numerous items, including S 1297 [LOC | WW], the "Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act", and S 1359 [LOC | WW], the "E-Warranty Act of 2015". Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

11:00 AM. The House Homeland Security Committee (HHSC) will meet to mark up numerous bills, including HR 1738 [LOC | WW], the "Integrated Public Alert and Warning System Modernization Act of 2015", HR 1646 [LOC | WW], the "Homeland Security Drone Assessment and Analysis Act", HR 1637 [LOC | WW], the "Federally Funded Research and Development Sunshine Act of 2015", and HR 1626 [LOC | WW], the "DHS IT Duplication Reduction Act of 2015". See, notice. Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. The Heritage Foundation (HF) will host a panel discussion titled "Efficient Cybersecurity Regulation: Ensuring the Cure Isn’t Worse than the Disease". The speakers will be Maureen Ohlhausen (FTC Commissioner), Paul Rosenzweig (Red Branch Consulting), Phil Goldberg (Shook, Hardy & Bacon), and Steven Bucci (HF). Free. Open to the public. Webcast. See, notice. Location: HF, 214 Massachusetts Ave., NE.

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "Privacy and Information Security Monthly Update". The speakers will be Kurt Wimmer (Covington & Burling), and Patrick Bernhardt, Libby Greismann, and Julie O'Neill (all of Morrison & Foerster). Prices vary. No CLE credits. See, notice.

2:00 PM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Communications and Technology (SCT) will meet to consider several bills related to administrative procedure at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). See, notice. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event titled "Five Years after the Broadband Plan–Where Do Things Stand on USF and Intercarrier Compensation Reform?". CLE credits. No webcast. Prices vary. See, notice. Location: Davis Wright Tremaine, Suite 800, 1919 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

The House will meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. The House will consider HR 2262 [LOC | WW], the "Spurring Private Aerospace Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship Act of 2015" or "SPACE Act". See, Rep. McCarthy's schedule.

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

9:30 AM. The House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) will meet to mark up several bills, including HR 1853 [LOC | WW], a bill to direct the President to develop a strategy to obtain observer status for Taiwan in the International Criminal Police Organization, aka INTERPOL. See, notice. Location: Room 2172, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes __. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Banking Committee will meet to mark up S __, the "Financial Regulatory Improvement Act of 2015". See, notice. Location: Room __, Dirksen Building.

10:30 AM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will host an event titled "Open Commission Meeting". Open to the public. Webcast. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

11:00 AM - 5:15 PM. The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Homeland Security Advisory Council will meet. It will meet in open session from 11:00 AM to 4:15 PM. It will meet in closed session from 4:15 to 5:15 PM. The agenda for the closed session includes "operational updates on cyber security and the current threat environment". See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 80, No. 86, May 5, 2015, at Pages 25706-25707. Location: Wilson Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "Effectively Managing Electronically Stored Information in International Cartel Cases". The speakers will be Adam Hemlock (Weil Gotshal), James Aquilina (Stroz Friedberg), Megan Jones (Hausfeld), Mark Krotoski (Morgan Lewis & Bockius), and Phillip Warren (Covington & Burling). Prices vary. No CLE credits. See, notice.

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. The Brookings Institution (BI) will host a a speech by Susan Thornton (U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State) titled "Taiwan: A Vital Partner in East Asia". See, notice. Location: BI, 1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

2:00 - 3:00 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "Step into My Virtual Office: Using Technology to Serve Clients of Moderate Means". The speakers will be Richard Granat and Stephanie Kimbro. Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

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.

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

Memorial Day. This is a federal holiday. See, Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) 2015 calendar of federal holidays.

The House will not meet the week of May 25-29.

The Senate will not meet the week of May 25-29. See, 2015 Senate Schedule.

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