On the Hill
Commission Asks Congress For Cash
     In an effort to avoid corporate money and public contributions, the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce is drafting a letter to Congress asking for funding. A draft will be circulated among members of a subcommittee charged with financing issues this week, with a goal of getting a final letter to Congress by next week, said the commission's Executive Director Heather Rosenker. "It's drafted and the subcommittee is going to review it," Rosenker said. "It will go to leadership and those interested in the issue." It's unclear whether Congress will forward any cash for the commission, since it clearly stated in the Internet Tax Freedom Act that the panel could accept donations rather than federal funding.

Campaigns
Bush Picks High-Tech Team
     After his successful fundraising tour of Silicon Valley, Texas Governor George W. Bush and Republican presidential frontrunner named a team of high-tech CEOs to advise him on developing a technology policy platform for his campaign. Chairing the team is Michael Dell, CEO of Dell Computer, the direct-sales computer company Dell founded when he was attending University of Texas at Austin. Co-chairing the group is former Netscape Communications CEO Jim Barksdale, now managing partner with the Barksdale Group; Autodesk CEO Carol Bartz, Cisco CEO John Chambers, EMC founder Richard Egan; Texas Instruments founder Tom Engibous; Microsoft CEO Bob Herbold, Oracle President Ray Lane and Agillion CEO and Texas venture capitalist Steve Papermaster.

Lobbying
Chip, Chip Hooray
     Republicans last month invited high-tech CEOs to Washington for a high profile summit to express their support for the industry. Not to be outdone, Democrats this week are heading to Silicon Valley to strut their stuff. This recent interparty competition for high-tech companies' support empowers them, and it's a surefire way for Silicon Valley firms to get their policy concerns addressed - a dramatic difference from several years ago. "It is really gratifying," said Marc Andreessen, America Online's chief technology officer and a founder of Netscape Communications. "Five years ago, it was hard to get anyone's attention…now the New Democrats are supporters and Republicans are supporters. …Government has moved beyond being a necessary evil…now we are at an engagement point," he said. Andreessen, a supporter of Vice President Al Gore's bid for the presidency, is hosting a retreat for a group of moderate Democrats, called the New Democrats, beginning Thursday in Silicon Valley. Others hosts are Wade Randlett, Democrat political director at Technology Network, the region's bipartisan lobbying group, Brook Byers and John Doerr, partners at venture capital firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers.

Crime
Investigations Continue In NSI Hack
     Authorities are still investigating the source of a hacking incident Friday that hit Network Solutions Inc.'s Web site, diverting users to the sites of a competitor and ICANN, the non-profit corporation charged with taking over administration of the Internet. A spokesman for the FBI's Washington field office said that the agency is investigating the incident but would not provide any more details.

Privacy
Consumers Can Opt-Out Of Databases
     In a long-awaited move designed to bolster consumer privacy both on-line and off-line, the Direct Marketing Association said that it will require its members to let their customers "opt-out" of their marketing databases, the association announced Wednesday. Calling the effort "the DMA privacy promise to American consumers," association officials said that they would spot check members and expel those who violated its provisions. Businesses that share telephone, address, and e-mail information with other companies must annually notify their customers that they can "opt-out," or choose not to have this information traded or sold.

E-commerce
Sour Grapes On The Hill
     House Republican leaders have been drawn into a little-noticed tussle between two junior members over the issue of selling alcohol over the Internet. Rep. Joe Scarborough, R-FL, charge that such sales allow minors access to alcohol, while the lobbies representing beer and wine distributors and retailers also have weighed in heavily against Internet sales. But Rep. George Radanovich, R-CA, a vintner from California's Central Valley, has called on some powerful friends -- including Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-TX -- to help him save the practice. Proponents like Radanovich say conventional wine and beer sellers simply want to preserve their market share by squeezing out competitors. "It's really a monopoly status bill being disguised as an underage drinking bill," he said. Critics of direct shipping got a boost last month when the Senate adopted an amendment to the juvenile justice bill offered by Sen. Robert Byrd, D-WV, that would allow states to seek injunctions against the practice in federal court. In the House, Scarborough tried to offer the legislation as an amendment to the juvenile justice bill. Radanovich went directly to Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-IL. "I really begged him not to do it," he said. Radanovich was able to obtain a meeting with Hastert, DeLay, Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-TX, Republican Conference Chairman J.C. Watts of Oklahoma and Scarborough to try and settle the issue. Radanovich is a deputy whip in DeLay's organization, and DeLay often distributes Radanovich's wine to friends and associates.

On The Hill
Gramm Could Lift Cap On H-1B Visas
     When Congress returns next week from its recess, Sen. Phil Gramm, R-TX, is likely to introduce legislation that would increase the number of temporary visas available for foreign skilled workers, again stirring up a controversial debate over industry claims of a high-tech worker shortage. Gramm's legislation would increase the number of visas, known as H-1B visas, to 200,000 and repeal the Social Security earnings test, which cuts benefits for retirees who earn more than $15,000 in additional income. The provision is aimed at encouraging older workers to stay employed past retirement age, Gramm has said. In response to industry claims that there was not enough U.S. workers to fill its needs, Congress passed legislation in the 105th Congress to temporarily raise the H-1B visa cap from 65,000 to 115,000 for fiscal years 1999 and 2000, and 107,500 for 2001. Gramm's bill would increase the cap indefinitely, depending on the needs of industry.

Culture
Technology Gaps Splits Over Race
     The racial gap between those who use the Internet and those who don't has evolved into a "racial ravine" that the government wants to help close through a patchwork of corporate donations and initiatives. "The digital divide persists, and in many cases is widening," said Assistant Secretary of Commerce Larry Irving, who heads the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, when he released a new report Thursday analyzing Americans' use of technology. While more Americans are online, a growing gap persists: 32.4 percent of whites are using the Internet, versus 11.7 percent of blacks and 12.9 percent of Hispanics. A combination of race, income and education contribute to the usage gap. Irving pointed out that low-income individuals are more likely to use computers and Internet services at schools, libraries and community centers. For example, unemployed people are more than three times more likely to use public libraries to access the Internet than the national average. Irving said the results show that federal discounts for technology through the e-rate program are working. "When people say the e-rate doesn't matter, if it wasn't for schools and libraries those rates would be lower," he said. The Federal Communications Commission approved a funding increase for the e-rate to $2.25 billion, up from $1.6 billion last year, to the objections of some lawmakers.

Internet Access
Middle East, North Africa Face Net Censors
     While the Internet has become an important empowering tool enabling individuals around the world to communicate and obtain information, many citizens in the Middle East and North Africa face significant obstacles in accessing the Internet, according to a new report released Thursday. A report conducted by Human Rights Watch found that many countries continue to block access to Web sites that provide cultural, political and other information censored in other media outlets. At the same time, government control in many countries of telecommunications services and the high cost of computer and telecommunications equipment also have kept many Middle Easterners and North Africans from accessing the Internet. "In a region where nearly every government censors or punishes speech critical of authorities, there can be little doubt that Internet growth has been slowed by fear among those in power that democratizing Internet access will undermine state control over information," the report said. Middle Eastern and North African countries use various ways to restrict Internet access including extending laws limiting free expression in the print or broadcast media to the Internet. Countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Yemen and United Arab Emirates also filter content by technical means such as proxy servers that block access to sites determined to be inappropriate. Some also monitor e-mail from their citizens, the report said.

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