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ADMINISTRATION: Investigating The Investigators

Homeland Security
Senate Resumes Action on FISA Bill
     The Senate broke a two-week impasse late this week over how to deal with amendments to a bill overhauling the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and Senate Majority Leader Reid said work on the legislation should be completed as early as Tuesday, Feb. 12. Senators rejected an amendment that would have empowered the secret FISA court to bar the government from using or disseminating information about U.S. residents if that information was collected using procedures found to be illegal. The Senate also rejected another amendment that would have required the government to obtain a court warrant to conduct electronic surveillance if the "significant purpose" is to obtain communications of a U.S. resident inside the United States. Bush administration officials had threatened a veto if either amendment had passed. The Senate backed an amendment that would allow the FISA court to expedite hearings when an electronic communications provider challenges a government order. A floor battle is expected next week over three amendments that would alter or strike a provision in the bill granting retroactive legal immunity to telecommunications companies that helped the administration conduct warrantless electronic surveillance on U.S. residents dating back to 2001. The administration says it will veto the bill if the liability provisions are not included.

Homeland Security
Cybersecurity Post Nominee Is Under Investigation
     The Homeland Security Department has appointed an official who is under federal investigation to a key position overseeing a program worth hundreds of millions of dollars aimed at securing computer networks across the federal government. Last week's appointment of Homeland Security Chief Information Officer Scott Charbo to be deputy undersecretary for the national protection and programs directorate drew immediate criticism from House Homeland Security Chairman Thompson. In a Feb. 1 letter to Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff, Thompson said an investigation conducted by his committee last year showed Charbo failed to properly address computer security breaches within agencies housed at department headquarters and found incompetent and possibly illegal activity by private contractor Unisys. The FBI and Homeland Security inspector general are investigating the security breaches that occurred under Charbo's watch and the work by Unisys, according to Thompson and congressional aides. The IG's office confirmed to CongressDaily that its investigation is continuing. The FBI would not comment on the matter. Thompson said Charbo will be responsible for overseeing a critical part of a massive cybersecurity initiative that the Bush administration has launched. "Given his previous failings as chief information officer, I find it unfathomable that you would invest him [Charbo] with this authority," Thompson's letter said.

Intellectual Property
Stakeholders Make Final Push For Patent Bill Compromise
     Lawyers and lobbyists for biotechnology, high-tech, manufacturing, pharmaceutical and other industries have begun what some believe is the final push to find compromise on a patent overhaul bill expected to reach the Senate floor in the coming weeks. Technology and telecommunications executives speaking on behalf of the Coalition for Patent Fairness, which backs the bill, seemed hopeful that a spate of closed-door meetings with members as well as a multi-stakeholder discussion hosted by Senate Judiciary Chairman Leahy may help move the bill closer to passage. The measure's most controversial provision -- one that that would change the standard for calculating damages in infringement cases -- will receive most of the attention, staffers said. Other contentious sections pertain to challenging patents after they are granted and clamping down on litigants' ability to "venue shop" for friendly courts. Despite the group's stated willingness to compromise, the coalition, which includes Cisco, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft and others, said it would oppose a bill that stripped those sections. Meanwhile, in a letter to Leahy this week, the Bush administration vowed to continue opposing the legislation if the language regarding damages in infringement lawsuits is not changed. And a group of labor groups also raised concerns this week about the patent bill.

Intellectual Property
Copyright Provisions Remain In House-Passed Higher Ed Bill
     Higher education legislation passed Thursday by the House includes language that advocates of "fair use" of copyrighted material claim might imperil the federal financial aid of students at schools that do not monitor file-sharing on campus. Buried in the massive bill, which is aimed at lowering tuition costs and streamlining the student aid application process, is text that critics say is an attempt by Hollywood to force schools to monitor their networks. One provision would require colleges to publicize their policies on illegal file-sharing and another would require them to report those policies annually to the Education Department. Both would be written into universities' contracts with the agency that lets them take part in federal loan programs. Two other components of the bill that are not tied to financial aid eligibility ask schools to develop plans to deter illegal downloading and offer students alternative, legal ways of swapping content. While the bill does not require schools to report student copyright violations, the Digital Freedom Campaign, which is backed by the Consumer Electronics Association, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and others, urged lawmakers "to not allow special interests to hold universities and their students hostage." The Copyright Alliance, which represents content producers such as Microsoft and NBC Universal, sent a letter to House Speaker Pelosi supporting the language.

Intellectual Property
Federal Court Hears Challenge To PTO Rules
     A federal court was set to hear arguments Friday over whether Patent and Trademark Office rules unveiled in the fall aimed at increasing patent system efficiency violate a law that governs how agency regulations are proposed and set. The litigation is playing out as Congress considers legislation aimed at streamlining PTO operations and changing how courts handle patent disputes. U.S. District Judge James Cacheris of the Eastern District of Virginia issued a preliminary injunction to the PTO rule changes after drug manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline complained the revisions could endanger 100 of its pending patent applications. The procedures, published in August, limit applicants to filing two new continuing applications and one request for continued examination.

Antitrust
House Latest To Probe Possible Microsoft-Yahoo Deal
     The chairman of a House Energy and Commerce panel said that he plans to hold a hearing on consolidation in the Internet advertising sector, including an examination of the effects of Microsoft's potential bid for Yahoo. "The recent announcement by Microsoft demonstrates that consolidation of companies in the Internet advertising world will continue, irrespective of whether this specific deal materializes," said Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., who heads the Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection Subcommittee. He added that the panel will request a confidential briefing from the appropriate government regulators and hold a hearing this spring "to explore the tough competition and consumer privacy issues that have been and will be raised by this activity." Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman Herb Kohl, D-Wis., said in a statement last week that he plans to scrutinize Microsoft's offer to purchase Yahoo and the effect such a merger would have on competition and privacy. Meanwhile, a House Judiciary subcommittee on the Microsoft bid for Yahoo that had been scheduled for Friday was postponed.

Telecommunications
Bush Proposes Boost For FCC, NTIA Budgets
     In his FY09 budget proposal released this week, President Bush has proposed slight boosts in funding for the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the FCC to help both agencies in their efforts to shepherd the nation's digital transition. Under Bush's budget released Monday, NTIA would receive $19.2 million, about $1.7 million more than the $17.5 million Congress appropriated for FY08. The agency is playing a key role in shepherding the nation's transition to digital television in early 2009. It has been tasked with overseeing a $1.5 billion coupon program that will issue $40 vouchers toward the purchase of converter boxes -- which owners of analog TV sets with over-the-air reception will need to receive broadcasts after Feb. 17, 2009. Meanwhile, the administration also has proposed that the FCC receive $338 million in FY09, a $25 million increase over the $313 million the agency secured from Congress for FY08. "The requested FY09 funding level would provide funding to conduct an outreach campaign to educate consumers about the impact and benefits of the transition to digital television," the FCC said in a statement. The agency listed several other initiatives that would benefit from increased funding, including efforts to improve interoperable communications for emergency first responders.

Budget
Budget Plan Aims To Boost Science And Technology R&D
     President Bush's plan to double research and development funding at key science agencies over a decade inched forward with his FY09 budget request released earlier this week. He asked for $12.2 billion, an overall increase of 15 percent for the Energy Department's Office of Science, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director John Marburger told reporters that Bush's total federal R&D budget is $147 billion, an increase of $3.9 billion over FY08. Non-defense outlays are "modest" but "more than adequate" to meet the needs of the agencies involved, he said. Despite this, Marburger, warned that the "continued erosion of the physical science budget really is a serious problem." He expressed similar concerns about the forthcoming rounds of layoffs at national research laboratories, which are anticipated to begin this month. House Science and Technology Chairman Gordon criticized the R&D budget proposal as "an incomplete and short-sighted plan to promote U.S. competitiveness.

Homeland Security
Justice and Homeland Security Grants Take Hit Under Budget
     The Homeland Security Department's FY09 budget request would boost funding for border security but slash money for politically popular grant programs. The Bush administration is seeking about $37.6 billion in discretionary spending for the department, about $2.5 billion more than was sought for FY08. DHS is seeking about $2.2 billion -- about $1.5 billion less than Congress allocated for FY08 -- for grant programs that help state and local governments, law enforcement agencies, ports, firefighters and emergency responders -- reductions Congress is likely to reject. DHS also is seeking about $294 million to begin a cyber security program to protect computer networks across the federal government from attacks and intrusions. The department also wants about $1.3 billion for programs to detect and counter explosives, of which $1.1 billion is for technology at the nation's airports. And the department is requesting $140 million to implement the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which will eventually require U.S. citizens to have a federal identification document in order to enter the country when traveling from Mexico, Canada or the Caribbean. The Justice Department, meanwhile, would face a cut of more than 10 percent under Bush's budget -- with proposed reductions in funding for programs aimed at helping local police, but new spending for border security and the FBI. The White House requested cutting the Justice Department budget to $20.3 billion from an estimated $22.7 billion for FY08. The president's proposal, however, would boost the FBI's budget to $7.1 billion from $6.5 billion in FY08. Much of the proposed increase -- $362 million -- would go to anti-terror programs for surveillance technology and cyber security. DOJ also has proposed $43.9 million for an integrated wireless network for law enforcement.

Telecommunications
Commerce Secretary: DTV Coupon Funding Is Adequate
     Commerce Secretary Gutierrez said Thursday that a $1.5 billion federal program that will issue $40 vouchers toward the purchase of converter boxes needed to keep older television sets functioning after the February 2009 digital transition is sufficient. "We believe we have enough coupons," he said during an appearance at a Best Buy store in Washington to highlight the availability of the devices beginning Feb. 17 by that retailer, as well as Radio Shack and Wal-Mart. The Commerce Department will issue up to 33.5 million coupons, but they expire after 90 days if unused -- making them available to other consumers. During the briefing, National Association of Broadcasters President David Rehr said stepped-up public outreach in the near future would dramatically increase demand for the vouchers. Still, he is taking a wait-and-see attitude on whether the initiative should be expanded.

Trade
Business, Labor Step Up Efforts On Colombia Agreement
     Business and labor groups stepped up their sparring over the United States-Colombia free trade agreement, in advance of competing delegations to the Andean nation this month. A coalition of nearly 800 companies and trade groups wrote to lawmakers Thursday urging support for the agreement, which is at the top of the Bush administration's trade agenda. While labor interests are standing in the way, union officials plan to visit the country next week to push Colombia to crack down on violence against trade unionists. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, a longtime free-trade critic, predicted the Colombia deal would not be approved this year despite the fact that the administration was "frenetically" pushing it. Trade Representative Schwab later this month also plans to lead a delegation of members of Congress to Colombia. Approval of the agreement "will advance both the economic and foreign policy interests of the United States, to the immediate benefit of U.S. workers, farmers, consumers and companies," the letter from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce-led Latin America Trade Coalition said. Colombia still imposes steep duties on manufactured goods and agricultural products, while 90 percent of Colombian products enter the U.S. duty-free. Also this week, Brown and Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., unveiled their "2008 trade reform agenda" that entails passage of an anti-sweatshop labor bill they introduced last year and a new bill requiring benchmarks for any new free trade agreement.

Privacy
White House, Congress Faulted For Privacy Board Impasse
     A member of the defunct White House Privacy and Civil Liberties Board criticized the Bush administration for "dragging its feet" in nominating members for the congressionally mandated panel, hinting that appointments might be left for the next president. "They don't like an independent board and they never have," said Lanny Davis, a special counsel to former President Clinton and the lone Democrat on the panel, which was created in 2004 at the urging of the commission that investigated the 2001 terrorist attacks. It was reconstituted last year to be an independent agency in the executive branch amid concerns over its autonomy. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Lieberman and ranking member Susan Collins, R-Maine, whose panel must approve nominations to the board, have issued statements calling for the swift appointment of a board. Mark Robbins, the panel's former executive director and now a State Department adviser in Iraq, said while the new board won't be operational "anytime soon...it has nothing to do with what some wrongly perceive as the administration's hostility to a board." He added that any delays have more to do with the normal nomination process.