Budget
Budget Agreement For Fiscal 2003 Includes Tech Programs
     Language that would suspend funding for a Defense Department data-mining project survived congressional negotiations on spending levels as Congress reached agreement on a consolidated budget bill for fiscal 2003. Under the legislation, the Total Information Awareness (TIA) program housed within the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency would not receive funding until the Bush administration provides a report on the program's impact on civil liberties. The high-tech sector is keen on other measures in the budget legislation, including $3.5 billion in assistance to state and local "first responders" to emergencies, $45 million to aid the FBI in upgrading its information technology systems, and $1.19 billion for the Patent and Trademark Office. The agreement also restores funding for the Immigration and Naturalization Service's National Security Entry-Exit Registration System, which uses biometric technologies to screen temporary foreign visitors at U.S. ports of entry. The House and Senate cleared the bill this week.

Security
Justice Offers Draft Bill Expanding Law Enforcement Powers
     Building on anti-terrorism legislation passed within weeks of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Justice Department officials have crafted language that would eliminate many protections against surveillance of U.S. citizens and offer law enforcement dramatic new powers. The draft language would allow law enforcement officials to monitor citizens who gather information for lawful foreign organizations. It also would lower the surveillance standards for multi-purpose computers like Pocket PCs, create a database for storing DNA information about suspected terrorists, and mandate a five-year penalty for engaging in technology encryption when committing a felony. "The Bush administration's draft ... would radically expand law enforcement and intelligence gathering authorities," Georgetown University law professor David Cole said.

Telecom
FCC Delay Sparks Anxiety, Blame In Telecom Industry
     With tensions tightly strung in the telecommunications industry, the FCC's one-week postponement of a key decision tipped the sector into a sea of anxiety and blame. The FCC announced that it would delay its scheduled Thursday meeting until Feb. 20, the last day to meet a court-ordered deadline to decide on rules that govern the terms under which regional Bell telecom companies share their networks with competitors. Some blame FCC Commissioner Kevin Martin, saying that the delay stems from his unwillingness to adhere to Chairman Michael Powell's likely deregulatory agenda and instead supporting a strong state role in deciding the network-access rules. Martin faces criticism from those who support the Bell position, who also are urging the White House to get involved to "bring any of the stray sheep back in line," an industry source said.

Lobbying
Tech Lobbyists Work To Rally Support For Stimulus Plan
     Lobbyists with the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) and Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) are assisting House Republicans in rallying support within the information technology sector for the White House economic stimulus plan while they also try to add other industry priorities to a final package. Senior vice presidents Ralph Hellmann of ITI and Brian Kelly of EIA have been working with House and Senate leaders to garner industry support for the economic package, which has been criticized by lawmakers from both parties." Our main job is to build support for the president's package and for the individual priorities that we would like to see added to the package," Kelly said of the industry's lobbying strategy. The high-tech sector has several priorities for a final package, including: an accelerated tax write-off for company purchases of new equipment and an expansion of a first-year bonus depreciation; a permanent and enhanced research and development tax credit; tax relief for overseas profits returned to the United States; and a tax incentive for high-speed Internet services.

On The Hill
House Names Members To Security Committee; Bills Planned
     House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Christopher Cox, R-Calif., and ranking Democrat Jim Turner, D-Texas, named the members of their committee, including several lawmakers close to the high-tech community. They also signaled that the committee plans to move legislation later in the year. Cox's committee will coordinate all House oversight of the Homeland Security Department, as well as of the law enacted last year that established the department. But other committees will retain oversight of the specific homeland security functions that fall in their jurisdiction, such as immigration at the Judiciary Committee. Republican members of the committee, many of whom chair other House committees, will include: Sherwood Boehlert of New York, David Dreier and Duncan Hunter of California, Jennifer Dunn of Washington, Robert Goodlatte of Virginia, James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin, Lamar Smith of Texas, W.J. (Billy) Tauzin of Louisiana, and Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania. The Democratic minority will include Jane Harman and Zoe Lofgren of California, and Edward Markey of Massachusetts.

Executive Branch
Commerce Proposes Merger Of Telecom, Tech Agencies
     The convergence of the telecommunications and technology worlds has prompted the Commerce Department to propose merging its three key technology divisions into one agency. The plan to merge the Technology Administration, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the e-commerce functions of the International Trade Administration would require legislative approval, but several telecom and technology companies quickly endorsed the idea. Industry officials currently must go to different locations within Commerce, depending on the issues they want to discuss with the administration. The plan garnered praise from AT&T and a roster of tech lobbying groups. However, Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee, said: "This move is highly counter-productive. ... This proposal is also quite untimely. Just when the telecommunications marketplace needs more focused energy and streamlined action to promote economic growth and new jobs, this proposal buries NTIA and its highly important policy portfolio beneath new layers of red tape and administrative officialdom."

Net Governance
U.S. Fights To Limit Web, Software Regulation At U.N. Summit
     The United States is fighting to keep regulations on Internet use and "open source" software out of the international discussions at a high-profile information society event later this year, according to a senior U.S. official. The underlying code to open-source software is open to inspection and alteration. U.S. officials are heading into a two-week planning session for the upcoming U.N. World Summit for Information Society (WSIS) meeting in December with the goal of keeping participants focused on issues where there is common ground, said David Gross, deputy assistant secretary of State for international communications and information policy.