Security
Panel Casts Partisan Vote For Homeland Security Department
     A bill to create a Cabinet-level homeland security department cleared the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee on a 7-3 party-line vote. The legislation, S. 2452, would incorporate several existing agencies into the new Department of National Homeland Security. Those agencies include the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Customs Service, Coast Guard, Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office, the FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service's border-patrol divisions. The new department would be divided into sections overseeing border security, critical infrastructure issues and emergency-response efforts. Committee Chairman Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., sponsored the bill.

Net Governance
House Passes Bill To Create Child-Friendly Internet Space
     Growing concerns over the ready availability of online smut prompted the House to overwhelmingly pass legislation that would earmark Internet space for child-friendly content. By a vote of 406-2, lawmakers easily passed the bill, H.R. 3833, which would direct the Commerce Department to create a new domain space for kids as part of the United States' designated domain suffix, .us. "I think the World Wide Web should be renamed the world's wicked web," said Michigan Republican Fred Upton, who co-sponsored the measure with John Shimkus, R-Ill., and Edward Markey, D-Mass. He added that whatever content is registered under the domain space, .kids.us, "will be aimed and earmarked for children 12 and under."

Budget
House Science Committee Approves NSF Budget Increase
     The House Science Committee approved a bipartisan bill that would reauthorize the National Science Foundation (NSF) and increase its budget 15 percent each of the next three years. The bill, H.R. 4664, would reauthorize NSF from fiscal 2003 through fiscal 2005. It would authorize $5.5 billion for the agency next year, which would be $719 million -- or 15 percent -- more than this year. The annual 15 percent increases would continue through fiscal 2005. Rep. Nick Smith, R-Mich., has said the panel ultimately hopes to double the agency's budget in five years. The bill would increase the size and duration of NSF grants while maintaining the current 30 percent approval rate of grant applications. The committee also approved a bipartisan bill, H.R. 3130, focused on attracting more U.S. students to science, engineering and other technology-related fields.

Broadband
Panelists: Broadband Price, Content Are Main Detractors
     If America faces a broadband crisis, it is not one of availability but of price and content, panelists told the Senate Commerce Committee during a hearing on telecommunications competition. Before the 1996 Telecommunications Act became law, no Americans had access to high-speed Internet services, and now between 75 percent and 80 percent do, said Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass. "Let's not kid ourselves. This is a huge success story." The telecom industry is in danger of a lawmaker- or regulator-induced crisis if they deregulate the networks of the regional Bell telecom companies to address a perceived gap in broadband availability, he said. Separately, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., announced plans to a introduce legislation calling on the Bush administration to craft a national strategy for high-speed Internet deployment.

Security
Senate Committee Authorizes Anti-Terror Defense Team
     The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to authorize $10 million for a government team to fight Internet terrorism. The bill, S. 1989, would authorize a national cyber-security defense team within the White House. It was approved by voice vote and sent to the Senate, with one amendment authorizing $10 million for fiscal 2003. A committee staff member said the measure would merely authorize what Richard Clarke, President Bush's cyber-security adviser, already is doing and would reserve funding for his team. The legislation would create a cyber-security team consisting of representatives from the CIA and FBI, the departments of Commerce, Defense, Justice, Treasury and State, and any other agencies designated by Clarke. The bill states that the team's functions would include identifying vulnerable areas of the Internet and recommending action to strengthen those areas.

Intellectual Property
Fee Proposal For Streaming Digital Music Is Rejected
     The librarian of Congress and register of copyrights rejected a royalty rate for streaming digital music over the Internet. Proposed by a panel of three arbitrators known as the Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel (CARP), the rate -- 0.14 cents per song -- had been heavily criticized on Capitol Hill as too high by small webcasters who said it would bankrupt them. The six-month quasi-judicial proceeding pitted dozens of attorneys for large webcasters against the recording industry, without significant input from community webcasters. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., concluded a hearing on the CARP last week by urging all sides to reach a settlement. By rejecting the rate without detailing how it will modify it, the Copyright Office set the stage for new negotiations between the two parties, whose proposals had diverged dramatically before the CARP. Webcasters offered to pay 0.014 cents per song, but the Recording Industry Association of America requested 0.4 cents.

Privacy
White House Works On Data Management Privacy Principles
     As the White House unveils online government services, the nation's e-government chief said the Bush administration is working hard to balance concerns over privacy with the need for streamlined information-sharing practices. These challenges are particularly difficult for government, Mark Forman, associate director of information technology and e-government for the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), told the National Academy of Public Administration's privacy conference. To meet President Bush's mandate for more effective management of federal agencies, OMB is spearheading efforts to translate some agency duties to the Internet, providing greater and more efficient access to citizens, businesses, and state and local governments.

Privacy
Minnesota Governor Signs 'Opt In' Privacy Bill
     Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura signed into a law an Internet privacy bill that included some language to ban unsolicited commercial e-mail, or spam, according to staffers in the bill sponsor's office. The bill, S.F. 2908, requires Internet service providers to: get consumer consent before sharing personal information with third parties; disclose certain consumer information pursuant to wiretapping laws; and provide customers with secure accounts. It also allows consumers to sue for violations. The measure prohibits the use of misleading headers by spammers and requires the use of "ADV" to denote an advertisement in e-mail subject lines. E-mails also must provide information to recipients on how to halt the sending of spam. Parties such as the Internet Alliance, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, NetCoalition, Information Technology Association of America and Yahoo opposed the legislation.