Taxes
Wyden: Make Tax Moratorium Permanent
     Fearing deadlock by the congressionally-appointed Internet tax commission, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-OR, introduced legislation with Rep. Christopher Cox, R-CA, that would permanently extend a three-year ban prohibiting states from imposing taxes on Internet access fees or discriminatory telecommunications taxes. Wyden said that the proposal, to be called the Internet Non-Discrimination Act, would extend the ban put in place by the 1998 Internet Tax Freedom Act.

Cyberporn
For .Adults Only?
     Rep. Christopher Cox, R-CA, and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-OR, plan to introduce legislation designed to combat on-line pornography by creating a new Web domain for sexually explicit material, according to a spokesman for Cox. Designed to be a voluntary domain, such as ".adult," ".xxx" or a subdomain on the ".us" domain, that could make it easier for software filters to screen sexually objectionable material, Cox said it had a better chance of passing constitutional muster than the failed Communications Decency Act or the Child Online Protection Act.

Taxes
A New Spin On An Old Bill
     The chief backers of legislation that would provide tax incentives for companies to donate used computers to schools and senior centers have launched a new effort to gain support for the measure, saying it will help address the digital divide by increasing the availability of technology. In a letter to their colleagues, Sens. Spencer Abraham, R-MI, and Ron Wyden, D-OR, argue it will take more than just ensuring that schools are connected to the Internet to reduce the digital divide, the gap between those who have access to new technology and those who do not.

Education
Ed Commission Floats Tech Ideas
     A federal research and development fund targeted toward education technology development or matching funds for local community technology bond initiatives were two options floated this week by the congressional Web-based Education Commission for integrating high-tech advances into schools.

White House
Clinton Click Starts Digital Divide Program
     President Clinton kicked off a comprehensive initiative for closing the digital divide with a proposal in his 2001 budget for more than $2 billion in new tax credits, new education department funding and other federal funding, all aimed at making sure children are "technologically literate" for the 21st century.

Business
Lawmakers Prep Bill TO Raise Visa Cap
     Sen. Spencer Abraham, R-MI, and others plan to introduce legislation that would increase the cap on temporary visas used by high-tech companies and other industries to import skilled foreigners but would not go as far as other measures introduced on the issue. The bill would not go as far as a bill, S. 1440, introduced by Sen. Phil Gramm, R-TX, which would raise the cap on H-1B visas from 115,000 this year to 200,000 through fiscal year 2002. Also this week, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Phil Gramm, R-TX, agreed to cosponsor the bill.

Exports
Gramm Plots To Move Export Act
     Senate Banking Committee Chairman Phil Gramm, R-TX, said he is pushing to get his bill reauthorizing the Export Administration Act to the Senate floor this month but noted that other panels have raised jurisdictional issues. During a news conference to unveil his 2000 agenda, Gramm said he plans to meet with Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-MS, most likely next week to discuss how to move the legislation, S. 1712, which governs the implementation of export controls on products that pose a national security risk.

Y2K
Life Lessons Of Y2K
     Sen. Robert Bennett, R-UT, forwarded several options recommending how Congress should handle oversight of emerging technology issues, including critical infrastructure protection, to Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-MS. Bennett, who headed the Senate's special Y2K committee, said he was able to get congressional leaders to buy into that committee because "it had a termination date." But he is having trouble convincing leaders to establish a more permanent panel to monitor critical infrastructure protection issues, including cyberterrorism.

Cyberterrorism
What Does The FBI Have To Do With It?
     A Senate subcommittee cautioned that the Defense Department and other national security agencies are not playing a big enough role in the Clinton administration's recently released proposal to tackle cyberterrorism. During a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee's Technology and Terrorism Subcommittee, Sens. Jon Kyl, R-AZ, chairman of the panel, and Robert Bennett, R-UT, head of the Senate's Y2K committee, questioned why the FBI is playing the lead role in coordinating the administration's cyberterrorism activities when the Defense Department and National Security Agency have more experience in dealing with the issue.

Privacy
Campbell Bill To Outline Web Privacy Policies
     Rep. Tom Campbell, R-CA, is offering legislation that would create a standardized set of privacy principles to which Web sites could voluntarily choose to abide. Campbell proposes that companies that agree to abide by the standards would only be able to collect personal information on an "opt-in" basis by getting prior customer consent. Additionally, this information could only be used for purposes that were specified when it was collected, and consumers should be able to have access to their personal data collected by Web sites. Data collectors also would be held accountable for failure to adhere to the principles. Also on the privacy front this week, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-VT, and Rep. Ed Markey, D-MA, circulated "Dear Colleague" letters trying to drum up support for their bills seeking greater restrictions on the use of personal information by financial services companies.

Lobbying
Educating Members Tops ITI Priorities
     The Information Technology Industry Council unveiled an initiative called "Understanding the Digital World" to improve members' understanding of how the Internet is changing the economy and their constituents' lives. Headed by IBM Governmental Programs Vice President Christopher Caine, ITI's educational outreach is aimed at getting more members to support many of the industry's policy efforts and to help them better understand the impact of the Internet.

On The Hill
ITI Scores Members On Their High Tech Records
     The Information Technology Industry Council's latest annual congressional high-tech voting guide. The guide shows that there has been general bipartisan support for the industry, though House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-IL, received a higher score than House Minority leader Richard Gephardt, D-IL.

Trade
Top Trade Negotiator To Leave Post
     The chief U.S. negotiator in talks with the European Union over its tough data privacy law will be leaving his job at the Commerce Department, providing an extra incentive to wrap up the negotiations before his departure at the end of March. Commerce Undersecretary for International Trade David Aaron said he planned to leave the Clinton administration to return to the private sector, where he will work for the Washington office of the Dorsey & Whitney law firm.

Antitrust
Coast Is Clear Now That Case Is Closed
     The European Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice announced that they each intend to close their antitrust investigations of domain name registrar Network Solutions Inc.