Encryption
McCain Bill Coming, But Is Kerrey On Board?
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain, R-AZ, introduced encryption legislation, S. 798, that goes much further in liberalizing export control laws than a measure he offered in the 105th Congress. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-OR, said McCain's latest legislation represents "movement in our direction." But Sen. Bob Kerrey, D-NE, who co-sponsored McCain's encryption legislation in the 105th Congress, is holding off on backing McCain's latest measure even though he too has signaled a shift in position on the issue. "We're not rejecting it, but we certainly haven't made this move together," Kerrey said. Sen. Conrad Burns, R-MT, is unlikely to introduce his own legislation to loosen controls on encryption exports after signing on to McCain's measure. "At this point, we don't see the need," said Burns spokesman Ben O'Connell.

Export
Clinton May Loosen Up In May
President Clinton could have a proposal to loosen export controls on high-performance computers in May if agency officials can reach consensus on just how loose to make them. However, lower-level officials from the agencies involved, including Commerce, Energy, Defense and State, are having a difficult time reaching an agreement, according to Commerce Assistant Secretary for Export Administration Roger Majak. Agency officials also may remove some countries from the list of those that require a government review before computers can be exported there for certain uses. Some nations in Latin America and the newest members of NATO — Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic — are among those that could be deleted. The subcommittee is examining the effectiveness of the current export control system as part of its effort to reauthorize the Export Administration Act, the law that governs the export control process. It expired in 1994. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Phil Gramm, R-TX, said he is aiming to have the committee approve a bill within three weeks. Subcommittee Chairman Michael Enzi, R-WY, said he hoped to have a draft bill next week.

Telecom
DeWine: FCC In The Slow Lane
The Federal Communications Commission is taking too long to rule on telecommunications mergers, according to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee who want to impose time limits on the agency's decision-making process. "In an industry that has been as active and vibrant as telecommunications, it is absolutely essential that the regulatory agencies move quickly and efficiently to resolve competitive issues," said Sen. Mike DeWine, R-OH, who heads the Senate Antitrust, Business Rights and Competition Subcommittee. DeWine held a hearing on S. 467, the Antitrust Merger Review Act, which would, in part, set deadlines for the FCC to approve or disapprove of mergers. The bill would give the FCC 30 days to request documents from merging companies. If no documents were requested, the merger would be automatically approved. If the FCC did request documents, it would have 180 days to act.

Y2K
An FY1999 Bug For Y2K Funding?
The Senate is making a grab for $973 million in emergency Y2K funding that Congress appropriated last year, an Office of Management and Budget official told House lawmakers Tuesday. OMB Acting Director for Management Deidre Lee urged House lawmakers to block the Senate move in conference negotiations over the FY1999 emergency supplemental appropriations bill, S. 544. "Not only would it eliminate the remaining balance in the emergency fund (about $500 million), but it would also force agencies to stop planned and ongoing procurements for Y2K-related activities," she said at a joint hearing held by the House Government Reform and Science committees on federal Y2K readiness. Rep. Stephen Horn, R-CA, chairman of the House Government, Management, Information and Technology Subcommittee, said that Lee's claims are "demagoguery" by the Clinton Administration. The bill would divert emergency Y2K funding as part of $2.4 billion earmarked for Central American hurricane victims, among other things. The House version, H.R. 1141, would provide $1.3 billion in emergency funding, but would not dip into the emergency Y2K funds that were appropriated last year. Sen. Robert Bennett, R-UT, who chairs the Senate Y2K committee, called the Senate plan "shortsighted."

Y2K
The Juds Go For The Jugular
The House Judiciary Committee, one of the most partisan committees in Congress, held the first hearing on House Republican leadership-backed Y2K litigation reform legislation. But divisions are lingering over whether the bill would unnecessarily limit consumers' rights. "I'm not going to be bullied by this nonsense about how bad this [Y2K] problem is... I think business groups are taking advantage of the fears around Y2K to try to create precedent for sweeping liability reform," said ranking committee Democrat John Conyers, MI. In contrast, Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde, R-IL, argued that "the magnitude of this problem demands solutions which will reduce litigation whenever possible."

Privacy
Swindle: Don't Tell Intel What To Do
In promoting his three-year moratorium on Internet privacy regulation, Federal Trade Commissioner Orson Swindle said the agency should restrict itself to cases of outright fraud and avoid the urge to intervene in the controversial Intel Pentium III microprocessor issue. Intel announced in January that each PIII would ship with a unique identification number that would be able to track a user's trail across the Web. Although the company introduced the Pentium III with the identification number deactivated, the privacy controversy has continued to dog Intel, which is still facing a consumer boycott by privacy groups. The Center for Democracy and Technology intends to file a suit encouraging the FTC to charge Intel with an unfair trade practice.

Business
Jackson PUSHes For A Diverse Valley
The Rev. Jesse Jackson launched the Silicon Valley branch of his two-year-old Wall Street Project, meeting with several high-tech executives seeking ways to open their business doors to women and minorities. "Silicon Valley is an area of prosperity and growth. It is the key to America's industrial strength in the next millenium and it has grown with the support of government... yet they are leaving a considerable number of Americans behind," Jackson said in an interview with National Journal's Technology Daily. Late in the week, Symantec Corp. became the first major Silicon Valley company to name an African-American as its CEO, former IBM executive John Thompson.

Taxes
Locals' Letter Pans Tax Panel
County and city officials could file court documents soon in an attempt to block the congressionally-appointed Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce from meeting as scheduled in June. The National Association of Counties and the U.S. Conference of Mayors sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-MS, and Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-SD, asking them for a meeting to discuss the composition of the Internet tax panel. The groups are threatening a preliminary injunction that would block the commission's meeting, slated for June 21 and 22 in Williamsburg, VA, if the issue is not addressed. The groups say there are too many business representatives on the panel, and that the imbalance violates the Internet Tax Freedom Act that created the panel.

Telecom: Broadband
Lining Up To Lobby
AT&T, MCI WorldCom and local competitive telephone associations are jumping into the competitive broadband lobbying fray, forming their own coalition to push the roll out of high-speed data services. The new group, the Competitive Broadband Coalition, joins a growing field of corporate and public interest groups that are hitting the Hill with shades of a similar message: access to the Internet should be fast and open to competitors.

Privacy
Something For Everyone In Burns/Wyden Bill
Sens. Conrad Burns, R-MT, and Ron Wyden, D-OR, introduced an online privacy bill which they say should please both industry and consumers. "We want to protect consumers and the person doing business," Burns said. "To protect the integrity of the tool, some things have to be done." The bill does not differ greatly from a draft that Burns posted on his Web site in February. It would allow consumers to opt out of giving personal information to online businesses, but would also offer online businesses to continue privacy policies they've already developed if they meet the goals of the bill. "The whole idea is to give a broad berth for voluntary efforts," Wyden said. "We're trying to address both economic and privacy concerns." Industry groups have balked at legislation setting standards for how they use information collected online, and instead have supported a self-regulation approach. But Burns said that self-regulation doesn't go far enough to protect consumers, and does not have a reliable enforcement mechanism.