Business
Stock Option Issue May Hit House Soon
     The House may take up a Senate-passed bill possibly as soon as next week aimed at removing a potential disincentive for employers to provide stock options to their hourly workers. The legislation would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to exclude from overtime requirements any value or income generated from a stock option, stock appreciation right or stock purchase plan. To qualify, plans would have to meet certain criteria such as ensuring that employee participation is voluntary and that terms of the plans are fully disclosed to workers. The Senate passed the measure, S. 2323, sponsored by Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-KY, earlier this month.

Labor
OSHA Defends Proposal On Worker Injuries
     The Occupational Safety and Health Administration defended a controversial provision in its proposed ergonomics rules aimed at encouraging workers to report repetitive stress injuries, often caused by computer work, against charges that it would tamper with state worker compensation laws. During a hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee's employment, safety and training panel, Republicans charged that the Worker Restriction Protection provision included in the proposed ergonomics rules released in November exceeded OSHA's authority under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The provision requires employers to provide temporary compensation if an employee must be removed from a hazardous task or occupation because of a musculoskeletal disorder, or repetitive stress injury.

Labor
A Valley Of Support For Visa Plan
     Silicon Valley companies continue to support a bipartisan H-1B visa bill, introduced by Rep. David Dreier, R-CA, over a competing bill addressing the technology worker shortage offered by Rep. Lamar Smith, R-TX, said Rep. Rick Lazio, R-NY, during a break on his tour of high-tech businesses this week.

Taxes
Group Warns About 'Electronic Confederacy'
     An effort by a majority of the nation's governors to work together to simplify state sales tax systems to make the system more applicable to the Internet could be unconstitutional, and ultimately lead to an "electronic confederation," warns a Dallas-based think tank. The Institute for Policy Innovation, in a study released in late March, says that states entering into a compact with each other for tax purposes would violate the Constitution and the federal government's right to regulate interstate commerce.

Lobbying
Industry Turns Up Heat On Undecided Votes
     As part of its efforts to build grassroots support for congressional passage of permanent normal trade relations, the Electronic Industries Alliance is targeting undecided House members in competitive high-tech districts on the importance of the China measure. For example, EIA planned to hold a meeting this week in Democratic Rep. Rush Holt's suburban New Jersey district to discuss the importance of PNTR to the tech industry. Holt, a freshman in a GOP-leaning district, officially is undecided but leaning against voting for PNTR. Meanwhile, only four House members are traveling with Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman beginning Monday on a junket that is intended to encourage Congress to approve permanent normal trade relations status for China. The Commerce and Agriculture Departments had hoped for at least 25 members to attend the junket.

Privacy
Lobbyists Say HHS Plan A Muddle
     The medical records privacy rules proposed by the Department of Health and Human Services are so complicated and far-reaching that it will take longer to implement them and cost businesses more unless Congress steps into the debate, health care industry lobbyists told a Senate committee. But a medical researcher and a privacy advocate defended the Clinton administration's proposal in a hearing before the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee, calling it a step forward for preserving the confidentiality of personally-identifiable health information.

Privacy
Bryan Blocks Bill Over Privacy Concerns
     Staff to Senate Banking Financial Institutions Subcommittee ranking member Richard Bryan, D-NV, said Bryan will object to proceeding to pending financial regulatory relief legislation unless he can offer an amendment to strengthen consumers' financial privacy rights.

Digital Divide
Watts Targets Tax Breaks For Divide Solution
     House Republican Conference Chairman J.C. Watts, R-OK, this week told Silicon Valley high-tech executives and community leaders that targeted tax breaks would allow markets to equalize access to new technology, rather than new programs. Watts, speaking at a luncheon hosted by Lucent Technologies and attended by executives from Sun Microsystems, Apple, Intel, the American Electronics Association, the Education Technology Alliance and others, pushed a handful of tax credits as one solution to bridging the divide between technology haves and have nots.

On The Hill
Report: Program Copies Private Sector
     A new government report charges that the controversial Advanced Technology Program is supporting some research goals that already are being conducted by the private sector and is using ineffective criteria for selecting which projects to fund. In a report released by the House Science Committee, the General Accounting Office found that all three ATP projects it analyzed were aimed at achieving broad research goals similar to those being funded and pursued in the private sector.

Campaigns
Site Aims To Host Presidential Cyber Debate
     Sixteen major Web portals and news organizations that reach 85 percent of Internet users unveiled a non-partisan political Web site and plan to host a month-long "cyber-debate" between the two leading presidential candidates in October. The site, Web White and Blue 2000, is being produced by the Markle Foundation and promoted by Mike McCurry, former White House press secretary, and Doug Bailey, founder of the political newsletter The Hotline (now a part of Nationaljournal.com) who more recently founded the non-profit Freedom Channel.com.
- by Sharon McLoone