Crime
Senate Considers A Cultural Delete
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-UT, proposed exempting the entertainment industry from antitrust laws in order to develop an Internet violence and sex ratings system that would pass First Amendment muster. Hatch made the proposal at a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing of the Justice Department that was dominated by concerns about juvenile violence. Hatch said the industry should have "a limited exemption from the antitrust laws" to "enter into joint discussion, consideration and agreement over developing and enforcing material regarding violence and sexually-explicit material in video games and on the Internet." Attorney General Janet Reno she was willing to work on the proposal.

Crime
Judiciary Won't Hyde From Issue
The role the Internet played in the Columbine High School shootings is likely to play a "very important" role in a House Judiciary Committee investigation into the tragedy during a broad-ranging oversight hearing, Chairman Henry Hyde, R-IL, said. Scheduled for May 13, the hearing will focus on both the rash of violent gun attacks in public schools and everyday violence in inner cities. But Hyde admitted that regulating the Internet "is a difficult issue, with First Amendment concerns about what, if anything, can be done." Hyde's announcement comes on the heels of President Clinton's announcement of a strategy summit on May 10 with representatives from the entertainment, Internet and gun industries to debate ways to cut youth violence.

Y2K
Juds Give H.R. 775 A Y2K OK
The House Judiciary Committee approved its Y2K liability bill, H.R. 775, 15-14, without any major deviations from the alternative crafted for the panel by Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-VA. The committee sank an alternative measure proposed by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-CA, by a 15-9 tally. That version had received tentative approval by the White House, while the Republican-supported plan had generated a veto threat. Earlier in the debate, the committee members agreed to take out a provision that would have capped attorney fees at $1,000 an hour. The amendment was offered by Rep. Asa Hutchinson, R-AR, and received support from Democrats. The controversial measure was never included in Senate versions of Y2K liability legislation, S. 96, which is indefinitely stalled until Republicans and Democrats can reach an agreement to revive it. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-MS, has yanked the bill in favor of Kosovo and banking legislation. Approval from the entire body is needed to bring the bill back to the Senate floor. A spokeswoman for Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain, R-AZ, said it's up to Democrats to make the next move on the legislation. Last week, McCain and Sens. Dodd, Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, Ron Wyden, D-OR, Orrin Hatch, R-UT, and Robert Bennett, R-UT, reached a compromise amendment that was blocked by the Commerce Committee's top Democrat Fritz Hollings, SC.

Taxes
Lawmakers: Give Them Some Credit
A group of lawmakers unveiled legislation to permanently extend and expand the research and development tax credit to make it easier for high-tech startups and other small businesses to take advantage of it. Sens. Pete Domenici, R-NM, and Jeff Bingaman, D-NM, introduced the bill, S. 951, that they say goes much further than other measures that have been offered that would only provide a permanent extension of the tax credit. A Congressional Research Service study found that five of six startup companies do not take full advantage of the tax credit because of how it is currently structured, supporters said.

Budget
R&D May Get A Frist Full Of Dollars
Although Sen. Slade Gorton, R-WA, chimed in with reservations, the Federal Research Investment Act sailed through a markup and was approved in the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee with no opposition. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Bill Frist, R-TN, authorizes the government to nearly double spending for R&D funding for the next ten years. S. 296 outlines programs such as partnerships among federal labs, universities and industry and increased support for academic research. "It's a nice bill, it's a feel-good bill, but it isn't going to happen in reality," Gorton said, who has supported the R&D tax credit.

Fraud
SEC's Force Field
The Securities and Exchange Commission is beefing up its Internet enforcement efforts by doubling the size of its "cyberforce" next year and launching a new committee to advise the commission on burgeoning technology-trading issues, SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt said. He named Gen. Ken Minihan, former head of the National Security Agency, and Bran Ferren, a legend in high-tech circles for his work as head of Disney's Imagineering efforts, to lead the new commission. The body will have a total of eight to 10 members.

Encryption
H.R. 850 Three-For-All
Three additional committees have been given jurisdiction over legislation to loosen controls over the export of encryption, but the panels will have less time to take up the measure than they did in the 105th Congress. The House Parliamentarian's Office last week referred H.R. 850 to the Intelligence, Armed Services and Commerce Committees until July 2. The Judiciary and International Relations committees have primary jurisdiction over the legislation; Judiciary approved H.R. 850 in March. A spokesman for the International Relations Committee said the panel plans to take up the legislation but did not provide a date. "It puts us on track to bring the bill [to the House floor] in the summer or early fall," said Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-VA, H.R. 850's chief sponsor. House Commerce Committee Chairman Thomas Bliley, R-VA, made clear that when his committee takes up encryption legislation, national security concerns about lifting export controls on encryption software won't hold sway with him. "Anyone in the U.S. can buy 128 [bit key] encryption but you can't sell it overseas because the FBI is afraid it will fall into the wrong hands," he said. "Well that guy can get it overseas from Germany... so U.S. companies are getting penalized on the wrong side." House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-TX, has said he believes the bill will reach the floor by this summer.

Education
An E-rate Increase?
FCC Chairman William Kennard is seeking a $350 million boost to pay for discounted Internet hookups for schools and libraries, a move that could reopen the fight over how the e-rate program is funded. Kennard said he is recommending the program be fully funded at $2.25 billion in its second year, up from the $1.9 billion the program received in its first year. Sen. Conrad Burns, R-MT, and Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-LA, plan to reintroduce legislation next week that would fund the e-rate through a portion of a telephone excise tax."The FCC, when it comes to these types of programs, plays with funny money," said Tauzin spokesman Ken Johnson.

E-commerce
Bliley Bill Signed, Sealed, Delivered
Digital signatures moved a step closer toward legal recognition after House Commerce Committee Chairman Thomas Bliley, R-VA, introduced an electronic signature bill. The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act would prohibit the voiding of a contract simply because it was signed electronically. It also ensures that the government cannot discriminate on the type of technology used for e-signatures. The bill also expresses the desire of the Congress to have the Commerce Department negotiate international agreements that would remove obstacles to the use of digital signatures and requires Commerce's National Telecommunications Information Administration to report to Congress about barriers to electronic signatures in other countries.

Export
House Group Wants Looser Controls
Providing potential political cover for the Clinton Administration, a group of 79 House lawmakers is urging the White House to relax export controls on computers to keep up with recent advances in computer chip performance. The lawmakers, along with industry officials, say improvements in technology have made some computers commonly used by businesses subject to export review by the federal government. They argue that if current thresholds for review are not raised, government officials will be overwhelmed and U.S. companies could lose market share. "We are concerned that failure to update those controls as soon as possible will lead to a decline in U.S. technological leadership and competitiveness and as a result will erode the ability of the U.S. computer industry to sustain its positive contributions to our national economic security," the lawmakers said in the Wednesday letter to President Clinton.

Intellectual Property
Prepping Principles For Patents
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-CA, announced a "tentative agreement in principle" in a long-festering House dispute over legislation to overhaul the patent system. Rohrabacher's office circulated a draft of selected principles behind an American Inventors Protection Act that it said represented a compromise with Rep. Howard Coble, R-NC, chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property. Previous attempts at patent reform by Coble had been stymied by opposition from Rohrabacher and Rep. Tom Campbell, R-CA, who argued that the reforms would dilute inventors' rights. The agreement apparently covers all three of the major points of debate: a narrow interpretation of the "first to invent defense" against patents, publication of patents prior to their being issued, and the extent to which patents could be re-examined or challenged.

Internet Access
Virginia Pair Drop Net Legislation
Seeking to open high-speed cable networks to Internet competition, limit the flow of unsolicited e-mail and provide basic on-line privacy protection, Reps. Bob Goodlatte, R-VA, and Rick Boucher, D-VA, dropped their long-anticipated Internet legislation. The two introduced two nearly identical bills. Goodlatte's has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee, while Boucher's goes to the Commerce Committee. Both bills would require cable companies to open their high-speed data networks to competing Internet service providers, a provision that would be enforced under federal antitrust laws. "We must make sure no single technology is favored over another," Goodlatte said. He and Boucher agreed that AT&T's proposed merger with cable company MediaOne, and its recent acquisition of TCI, could threaten the growth of the Internet.

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