Y2K
A Whole Lott Of Nothing
The Senate Y2K liability bill S. 96, aimed at stemming lawsuits from Year 2000 computer glitches, ran into its own procedural glitch as it failed to get enough votes to move the bill to a final vote this week. The bill failed, not entirely because of its substance, but because of an ongoing fight between Democrats and Republicans over how Republicans have handled the amendment process on the Senate floor for all bills this year. Although a compromise bill had been crafted by sponsor Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain, R-AZ, with Sens. Robert Bennett, R-UT, Christopher Dodd, D-CT, Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, Orrin Hatch, R-UT, and Ron Wyden, D-OR, the vote to end debate on S. 96 failed 52-47, with all 45 Democrats voting no. Sixty votes were needed for the bill to move to a final vote. Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-MS, vowed to keep any Y2K liability bill off the floor unless Democrats pledged not to attempt to attach unrelated amendments. Despite defeat, McCain said he is hopeful that S. 96 will be revived in the Senate next week.

Y2K
Goodlatte's Substitute Feature
Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-VA, has drafted a substitute to the House's main Y2K liability bill, H.R. 775, that eliminates provisions aimed at helping small businesses prepare for the 2000 date change. But the bill, one of several in a crowded minefield of legislation, maintains a controversial measure capping attorney fees in Y2K-related cases. Goodlatte is shepherding the bill through the House Judiciary Committee; the bill's drafters, which include Reps. Christopher Cox, R-CA, Tom Davis, R-VA, Bob Dreier, R-CA, and Jim Moran, D-VA, among others, do not sit on that panel.

Piracy
Still Serious About Sanctions
Combating software piracy is a "cornerstone of commercial diplomacy" for the Clinton Administration, and the White House is willing to wield trade sanctions as a tool to enforce the interests of U.S. software makers, officials said Thursday. Stuart Eizenstat, undersecretary of state for Economic, Business and Agricultural Affairs, said while software piracy is still "unacceptably high," it has fallen worldwide. Called by Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-NE, chairman of the Subcommittee on International Economic Policy, Export and Trade Promotion, the hearings morphed into a mutual admiration society of administration and software officials, who have previously battled over tech-related trade issues.

Privacy
Private Examination
Sen. Robert Bennett, R-UT, unveiled his Medical Information Protection Act against a backdrop of children with health ailments who he said could be jeopardized by more stringent medical privacy legislation. The bill is the fourth piece of legislation introduced this Congress that is designed to address the question of medical privacy, an issue that in 1996 Congress mandated it would resolve by August 21, 1999. Bennett's bill would establish a federal right for patients to gain access to their medical records and require patient consent for disclosures to non-medical organizations, while still allowing medical researchers access to aggregate health data with personally identifiable information stripped from the records. Bennett's proposed legislation would preempt all other state laws on the subject.

Taxes
Barksdale Exits Tax Panel
After a weary battle over the makeup of a tax commission, Netscape Communications CEO James Barksdale finally will step down from the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce to make room for a local representative. "I have talked with Jim Barksdale, and he has agreed that the best thing for the commission would be that he withdraw his name." Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-MS, said. Washington County commissioner Delna Jones from Oregon will fill the seat.

Education
Declining Grade
Despite a burgeoning employment market and high wages, a new report finds that the number of college students majoring in high-tech fields has declined since 1990, sparking concern by high-tech industry officials that a lack of skilled workers could impede the industry's growth. The American Electronics Association report found a five-percent decline in the number of college students graduating with high-tech related degrees, from 219,000 to 208,000 between 1990 and 1996.

Encryption
SAFE's Next Steps
The House Republican leadership endorsed major encryption legislation, giving crucial momentum to the bill as it makes its way through committee. The SAFE encryption bill, H.R. 850, which would lift encryption export controls, "is a balanced and bipartisan solution to the current problems with U.S. encryption policy," according to a "Dear Colleague" letter circulated to members. The letter bears the signatures of House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-TX, House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-TX, House Republican Conference Chair J.C. Watts Jr., R-OK, and SAFE co-sponsor Rep. Bob Goodlatte R-VA. The House Judiciary Committee passed the legislation in March, and the House International Relations Committee is scheduled to be the next in line to consider the bill. Armey has told Goodlatte that he expects the legislation to be on the floor of the House by the summer, according to a Goodlatte aide.

Internet Access
Goodlatte Draft May Please OpenNET
Broad Internet legislation proposed by Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-VA, tracks closely with demands made by corporate coalition OpenNET, which has argued that high-speed data networks should be open to competing Internet service providers. The Antitrust Broadband Competition and Consumer Protection Act would prohibit any Internet access provider, including cable, phone or wireless, from favoring an affiliated ISP over competitors. The bill also would require local phone companies to offer upgraded phone network loops to competitors, crack down on unsolicited e-mail, attempt to speed broadband deployment and offer online privacy protections, according to a draft of the bill. A Goodlatte staffer said the provisions are part of an early draft. "We've been through 20 drafts, and this is about draft 10," he said. The staffer declined to say when Goodlatte would introduce the bill or outline what changes have been made. Goodlatte had planned to introduce the Internet bill with Rep. Rick Boucher, D-VA, last week, but the bill was delayed after Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-LA, who heads the House Commerce Committee's technology subcommittee, indicated he would block it.

Internet Access
Is AT&T The New Media One?
AT&T's offer to purchase cable company MediaOne for $58 million should "ring alarm bells" regarding the future structure of the Internet, said Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Media Education. "AT&T is assembling a giant closed Internet." Chester's group is part of a coalition of consumer associations called No Gatekeepers. This group, along with OpenNET, a corporate coalition spearheaded by America Online, has argued that AT&T needs to open its new and growing cable network to competing Internet service providers. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain, R-AZ, plans into introduce legislation to have the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the FCC study how fast broadband services are being deployed.