Internet Access
ISPs Fight To Save Net TV
     Congressional supporters of the Satellite Home Viewers Act are poised to reach a last-minute deal with Senate Banking Chairman Phil Gramm, R-TX, to allow approval of the bill in the final countdown to adjournment. The maneuvering in the Senate may leave enough time for top House Republicans to work out another complication that has arisen in the bill. During 11th-hour negotiations, Judiciary Committee staff added a provision that would block Internet companies, such as America Online, from ever receiving a compulsory license to retransmit audio or video programming, such as TV programming. The provision, which is supported by Hollywood, could have far-reaching consequences for Internet companies, which could be barred from carrying movies, live video feeds or records. Commerce Chairman Thomas Bliley, R-VA, opposes the online provision and has secured a commitment from the Judiciary Chairman Henry Hyde, R-IL, to talk about the provisions. But Judiciary members assert that they agreed merely to discuss the provision — not to remove it. Additionally, a compromise version of anti-cybersquatting legislation was attached to the satellite TV bill. It prohibits the practice of registering an Internet address that is a trademark or corporate service mark with the intent of selling it to the highest bidder.

E-commerce
House Passes Dig Sig Bill
     The House overwhelmingly approved the electronic signature bill, H.R. 1714, by a vote of 356-66, with all but three of those opposed Democrats. The legislation establishes that electronic contracts are as legally binding as pen and paper contract.

Export
Computer Export Waiver Deal Reached
     Computer companies apparently have reached a compromise with Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, R-VA, to allow for a one-time waiver of legislation requiring a six-month congressional review before some computer export changes can go into effect. The computer industry has been lobbying Congress since July to allow all the Clinton Administration's looser controls on computer exports to take effect before the six months is up in mid-January. Industry argues that six months is too long to wait for the changes to go into effect, because given the rapid pace of technology advances, products can go out of date in that time. They say the current regulatory requirements make it too difficult to distribute abroad commodity computers covered by the export controls.

Encryption
WH, Stand By Your Policy Promises
     The top sponsors of House encryption legislation are urging the White House to live up to its promises to provide major encryption export relief by ensuring that the regulations it is writing to implement the September announcement do not limit the scope of the changes. Reps. Bob Goodlatte, R-VA, and Zoe Lofgren, D-CA, sent a letter to President Clinton addressing several issues they want to ensure are addressed before the administration finalizes the details of regulations it is currently crafting to implement September's encryption announcement. Also this week, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-VA, the sponsor of H.R. 850, a bill that would lift most export controls on generally available encryption, and members of the House Republican leadership, with the exception of House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-IL, sent a letter to the president concerning the regulations. The administration has promised to complete the regulations by Dec. 15.

Y2K
Clinton Says Bug Won't Plague Nation
     President Clinton for the first time personally assured the United States that there would be no major national computer breakdowns when the clock turns to the Year 2000. Clinton's statement followed the administration's release of the fourth and final quarterly report on the progress that companies and governments have made in fixing the Y2K bug in their computer systems. The report shows that 99 percent of all critical computer systems, such as traffic control and Social Security payrolls, will be working without a problem into the next millennium.

Taxes
GOP Lawmakers Look To Axe Net Taxes
     Backed by a bevy of anti-tax groups releasing their proposals for eliminating e-commerce taxes, Ohio Republicans Reps. John Boehner and John Kasich introduced legislation that would prohibit state and local government from collecting sales and use taxes on Internet transactions. The National Governors' Association, which will send its own proposal calling for the collection of sales taxes on the Internet to the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce, railed against the Kasich bill, saying it discriminates against Main Street retailers by providing a tax advantage to e-commerce vendors. The bill's introduction coincided with the E-Freedom Coalition's presentation of its proposal to ban e-commerce taxes. The proposal comes just hours after commission Chairman Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore, R, offered his similar plan to ban e-commerce taxation.

Business
Lawmakers Push For R&D Extension
     The Republican House leadership urged their colleagues to support a five-year research and development tax credit, as leaders on the Senate and House tax writing committees and administration officials work to reach agreement on a tax extender package. House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-TX, Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-TX, and Republican Conference Chair J.C. Watts, R-OK, said that extending the tax credit would increase personal incomes by $11 billion after 13 years and would provide a 31 percent return on investment, based on a PriceWaterhouseCoopers study on the impact of R&D tax credits.

Antitrust
Hatch Back With Antitrust Legislation
     Senate Judiciary Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-UT, made good last week on a pledge to seek an increase in the minimum value of all mergers that trigger antitrust reviews by the Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department's antitrust division. A measure introduced by Hatch and cosponsored by Judiciary Antitrust, Business Rights and Competition Subcommittee Chairman Mike DeWine, R-OH, and ranking member Herb Kohl, D-WI, raises the minimum value, referred to as the Hart-Scott-Rodino threshold, from $15 million to $35 million.

Education
PowerUP And Get Us Out Of Here
     Executives from computer and software companies unveiled PowerUP, an initiative designed to provide underprivileged children the skills and resources to actively participate in and benefit from the digital revolution. "The Internet is growing at an explosive pace," said Steve Case, America Online chairman and CEO, and the chairman of PowerUP’s board. Case joined Gateway Chairman and CEO Ted Waitt and America's Pride Chairman retired Army General Colin Powell to introduce the multimillion dollar partnership designed to bridge the digital divide by way of the combined efforts of the high-tech industry and non-profit organizations.

Privacy
Attacking Profiles Head-On
     Online profiling by Web advertisers is likely to emerge as the next hot-button issue in the area of data privacy, according to businesses and privacy advocates squaring off at a workshop sponsored by the Department of Commerce and the Federal Trade Commission.

Internet Access
RNC Gains Online Power With New Portal
     The Republican National Committee unveiled the first national political party portal, which also offers Internet dial-up service, as part of the ongoing promotion of its e.gov technology agenda. RNC Chairman Jim Nicholson announced the plan for GOPnet.com, which will be partnered with Internet service provider Big Planet. The new service will offer Republican political news, an event calendar, chat rooms, message boards and a link to the users' state party headquarters.

Business
High-tech Honchos Kick Off Policy Institute
Citing the lack of unbiased information about the Internet, a group of well-known high-tech executives and experts allied to formally create the Internet Policy Institute, which its founders term the "Brookings Institution" of the Internet. Companies and foundations providing monetary support include the Washington Post, America Online, MCI WorldCom, Network Solutions Inc., Morino Institute, NASDAQ, the Maverick Foundation and AT&T.

Campaigns
Bush Finds A Charitable Tech Community
     Republican presidential candidate Texas Governor George W. Bush led the pack of presidential contenders in political donations from the computer equipment and services industry, raking in $575,558 for the first nine months of 1999, according to the latest analysis of Federal Elections Commission data by the Center for Responsive Politics. In the second spot is Democrat presidential candidate Vice President Al Gore, who received $276,687, ahead of his rival former Sen. Bill Bradley, D-NJ, whose campaign raised $173,025 from the industry.

We welcome your feedback; please e-mail comments to Managing Editor Sharon McLoone at smcloone@nationaljournal.com.