Security
Republican 'Hold' Delays Senate Cyber-Security Bill
     An effort to quickly move through the Senate a bipartisan bill authorizing $903 million over five years for cyber-security research has snagged on an anonymous Republican "hold," sources said this week. GOP aides said the issue of concern has been resolved, but the Senate Democratic cloakroom said a hold is still active. "It is our understanding there is a hold on it from the Republican side," said Carol Guthrie, the spokeswoman for bill sponsor Ron Wyden, D-Ore. "This is particularly distressing in light of Senator Wyden's policy of publicly announcing when he puts a hold on a piece of legislation." Publicly announcing a hold is "a step toward resolving differences in a bipartisan manner," she added. A Republican aide, however, said the delay is not a formal hold but rather one Republican office "taking a closer look" at the legislation. The measure would authorize grants for basic research and industry partnership programs.

Telecom
Daschle Urges FCC To Meet Court Deadline On Telecom Rules
     After a big telecommunications industry push to get the Senate to join the debate about regulating the industry, Senate Majority Leader Thomas Daschle sent a letter to the FCC asking the agency to complete action on an outstanding proceeding. The South Dakota Democrat wrote to FCC Chairman Michael Powell and the three commissioners, urging timely completion of the so-called triennial review that examines the rules under which the regional Bell companies must make their networks available to competitors. "A move toward timely, effective action on these and other matters could bring some essential clarity to market conditions in the telecommunications industry," the letter said.

Intellectual Property
Lawmakers Offer Digital Rights Bills
     Silicon Valley Democrat Zoe Lofgren introduced legislation designed to let consumers make personal copies of digital music, movies and books despite technologies that copyright holders deploy to protect digital rights. Virginia Democrat Rick Boucher and California Republican John Doolittle introduced a similar measure to reaffirm the "fair use" doctrine in the digital era. Both measures would permit consumers to circumvent copy-control technologies that content owners are increasingly placing on their works, but Lofgren would permit that step only if copyright owners do not tell consumers how to do so without additional cost or burden. Several high-tech companies and associations joined with academics, consumer groups and library associations to promote the Boucher-Doolittle bill, which would modify the part of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) that makes it illegal to circumvent copyright-control technologies. The legislation is likely to face stiff opposition from the motion picture and recording industries, as well as some software companies.

On The Hill
House Passes Bill Against Internet Gambling
     The House passed legislation that would force banks to stop the use of their credit cards for Internet gambling and to block Internet casinos from accepting money from Americans. The bill also would require that Internet service providers block gambling Web sites. With the Senate entrenched in debate over homeland security and policies on Iraq, however, it is unclear whether the legislation will be addressed there before the session ends. Iowa Republican Jim Leach, the author of the House bill, said that while restrictions already apply to Internet gambling, his bill would give law enforcement agencies and regulators the tools to pursue those who continue the practice. Those who take bets from Americans could face up to five years in prison. But many Internet casinos are overseas and outside U.S. jurisdiction.

E-Government
Freeze On Tech-Related Security Funds Sees Support
     The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) freeze on certain technology-related homeland security spending is a necessary step to avoid redundancy and ensure the effective consolidation of many federal agencies into the proposed Homeland Security Department, lawmakers and federal officials said. "This freeze is commendable," Virginia Republican Tom Davis, chairman of the House Government Reform Technology and Procurement Policy Subcommittee, said during a hearing. "When it comes to protecting homeland security, we need to make sure that we are not simply spending more money. We need to spend money on what works." In July, OMB directed seven agencies -- all of which likely would be included in the new department -- to temporarily halt spending on new "development or modernization" projects exceeding $500,000, pending a review. But some in the tech industry have concerns. "It is important that IT companies be notified as soon as practicable as decisions are made so that they may allocate or reallocate personnel and other resources as necessary to best serve the needs of the department," one tech executive testified.

Net Governance
ICANN Committee Finalizes Body's Restructuring Proposal
     The Internet's oversight body finalized plans for overhauling its structure, suggesting changes in funding for the organization and new rules for participation in it. In its final report, a committee formed by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) released proposed bylaws. An ICANN spokeswoman said the proposal outlines "themes that were already established from the last report" issued by ICANN's Evolution and Reformation Committee. Under a plan to fund ICANN, the committee proposed reducing the original suggestion of a fee on domain names from 25 cents per name to 17 cents. In order to build cash reserves, ICANN could raise the fee to 20 cents. But all fee changes would be reviewed annually. The plan also details the job for an ICANN ombudsman. ICANN's board will vote on the proposal next month at its meeting in Shanghai, China.

Campaigns
Lobbyists Foresee Good Times In Senate Under Either Party
     While political analysts debate whether New Jersey Democrat Robert Torricelli's decision to abandon his campaign just weeks before Election Day will hurt or help Democrats maintain control of the Senate, high-tech officials say leadership by either party is a positive for the industry. High-tech lobbyists said that since taking the Senate reins in June 2001, Majority Leader Thomas Daschle, D-S.D., has supported industry's agenda, including passing export-control reform, accelerating the tax write-off businesses may take for buying tech products, and granting the president trade-negotiating authority. At the same time, Senate Republicans have an organized high-tech task force. "I think both leaderships have done pretty well by the tech sector," said Jason Mahler, vice president and general counsel for the Computer and Communications Industry Association.