Labor
Reid Calls On GOP To Send Visa Bill To Senate
     The partisan squabbling over H-1B visa legislation took a new turn as Senate Minority Whip Harry Reid, D-NV, called on Republicans to bring H-1B legislation to the Senate floor for a vote even as the GOP continues to blame Democrats for the delay in moving the measure. Reid urged Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-MS, in a letter to "bring H-1B visa legislation to the Senate floor for consideration as soon as possible…I have heard from more than enough companies to know that this is imperative to the IT industry maintaining a worldwide lead in this sector."

Encryption
Industry Cries For Looser Encryption Rules
     Some U.S. high-tech companies and others called on the federal government to further loosen encryption regulations in response to a recent announcement by the European Union that it would dramatically liberalize its export restrictions on products destined to about 10 friendly countries. The calls were made in comments filed with the Commerce Department in response to encryption regulations put in place in mid-January that provided a significant portion of the encryption export relief U.S. companies had been seeking for several years.

Taxes
Committee Votes To Repeal Phone Tax
     The House Ways and Means Committee voted to repeal a federal 3 percent excise tax on telephone calls. Committee Chairman Bill Archer, R-TX, was planning to offer an amendment that would phase-out the tax, which raises about $5 billion annually for the federal government, over a several-year period. The original bill, H.R. 3916, offered by Rep. Rob Portman, R-OH, would have immediately repealed the tax. However, White House economic adviser Gene Sperling this week indicated the measure may not be acceptable to President Clinton, at least until its price tag's impact on the budget is known.

Privacy
FCC Says It Didn't Weigh Privacy
     The Federal Communications Commission conceded in court that it had not weighed privacy or cost considerations and that it had been "sloppy" when it drafted regulations that implement a controversial wiretap law. Although a panel of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals meted out tough questions to attorneys on all sides of the legal dispute over the 1994 Communication Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, the FCC attorney's statements prompted dismay from each of the three judges.

Exports
Computer Export Issue Stirs Debate
     Debate is brewing within the computer industry ranks and among some of their allies on Capitol Hill over whether some industry leaders were too quick to agree to an amendment on computer export controls to the defense authorization bill. The amendment, sponsored by House Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier, R-CA, would cut the amount of time Congress has to consider changes to computer export controls covering about 50 "Tier Three" countries from 180 days to 60 days, not including those days when Congress is adjourned at the end of the year.

Crime
Officials Examine Love Bug's Impact
     Most federal agencies were squarely hit by the "ILOVEYOU" virus because a lack of coordinated notice from federal officials and a lack of internal communication, Congress' watchdog told the Senate Banking Financial Institutions Subcommittee. "The incident was a good lesson learned, but an expensive lesson learned," said Jack Brock, the General Accounting Office's director of government and information systems. "It pointed to a lack of coordinated oversight. Agencies need to do more." A new incarnation of the virus began to attack computers late this week.

E-commerce
Industry Rallies Against Postal Service
     Charging that the United States Postal Service's increasing forays into e-commerce are anticompetitive, secretive, and in conflict with other legislative bodies governing the Internet, technology industry officials are preparing to file a formal complaint against the agency and are seeking support from Capitol Hill. "If the U.S. wishes to go after a bloated bureaucratic monopoly using bully techniques to stifle competition, they should be looking at the U.S. Postal Service, not Microsoft," said David McClure, executive director of the U.S. Internet Industry Association. McClure said that his organization does not take a position on the Microsoft antitrust case.

Courts
AOL Pays $3.5 Million in SEC Settlement
     America Online has agreed to pay a $3.5 million fine as part of a settlement of a case brought by the Securities Exchange Commission over how the company accounted for certain advertising costs during 1995 and 1996.

Lobbying
Venture Capitalists Enter Lobbying Game
     As accounting issues become increasingly important to high-tech venture capitalists, the National Venture Capital Association is boosting its profile in the lobbying game with the opening of a Silicon Valley chapter.

On The Hill
House Investigates Net Drug Sales
     The House Commerce Committee's Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee plans to grill federal officials next week over why they aren't more actively cracking down on illegal drugs sales over the Internet.
- by Sharon McLoone