Security
Panelists Lambaste Aviation Officials For Sept. 11 Lapses
     The independent commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks criticized aviation officials for not strengthening available technologies that it said could have helped thwart the terrorist plot. The panel recommended that officials take steps to do so now. "I strongly suggest, it seems like a no-brainer, putting [suspected terrorist] names on the [no-fly] list," Slade Gorton, a former senator from Washington, said during the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks' second day of hearings on Capitol Hill to unveil its initial findings of how the hijackers breached the nation's aviation security system. Gordon expressed shock that, according to the group's findings, the Federal Aviation Administration had access to other agencies' more robust "watch list" databases with more than 60,000 names of suspected terrorists yet housed a "no-fly" list with less than 20 names -- and that none of the 19 hijackers were on that list.

Telecom
Rep. Boucher Favors Push For Major Telecom Reform
     A technology leader in the House endorsed the idea of pursuing big telecommunications reforms next year, noting that policy needs to be reformed to ensure universal access to affordable services and to tackle technology changes. "The time has come to say universal service is an important principle" and to expand how many services contribute to the fund for ensuring the affordability of communications, Rick Boucher, D-Va., said at a National Consumers League forum on the high-speed Internet. Boucher said he expects resistance from big companies that do not pay into the fund but noted that social goals of universal service are too important and that the program must be sustained. Meanwhile, Sen. Ted Stevens said this week that hopes that in 2005, should he take the helm of the Senate Commerce Committee, Congress can rewrite telecommunications law.

Antitrust
Consumer Groups See Flaws In Media-Ownership Data
     Consumer groups charged that the FCC relied on faulty data when it crafted its decision to relax media-ownership rules, saying that the agency overestimated the importance of consumers' use of the Internet as a news source and underestimated newspapers. The FCC used its data to set media-ownership thresholds, including relaxing the rule on newspaper-television cross ownership. But the FCC asked only one question and it was faulty, said Chris Murray, legislative counsel to Consumers Union. Instead of asking specific questions, the FCC asked what source of information the respondent used in the last seven days for local news and current affairs. A survey commissioned by consumer groups asked what sources of information were most important for national and local news.

Taxes
Senate To Consider Tech-Friendly U.S.-Japan Tax Treaty
     The Senate Foreign Relations Committee next month will consider a recently completed tax treaty with Japan that could provide a boost to exports from U.S. software makers and other technology companies. "This makes U.S. companies better able to compete in that market," said Judy Scarabello, vice president for tax policy at the National Foreign Trade Council. It also would give "certainty and understanding" about the tax treatment U.S. companies receive from Japan, and it would provide procedures for recourse for companies if there is a dispute over taxable revenue. The Treasury Department completed the treaty in November, and it awaits Senate ratification. The pact would update a 30-year-old U.S.-Japan tax treaty.

Budget
Record Deficit Predicted For Fiscal 2004 Before A Decline
     The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected a record $477 billion federal deficit for fiscal 2004 before the government reduces the red ink the following year. The new prediction for fiscal 2004 represents a slight decrease from August's forecast of $480 billion. Increased investment in information technology during the late 1990s, particularly in telecommunications equipment, eventually resulted in businesses having more capacity than they needed and led to a decline in business fixed investment between 2000 and 2003. CBO now foresees "solid gains" for investment in information technology over the next two years. Meanwhile, CBO projected that FCC spectrum auctions will generate about $15 billion between fiscal 2005 and fiscal 2014, with the bulk coming before fiscal 2008. Baseline mandatory spending for the universal service fund that seeks to give all Americans access to telecom service is set at $6 billion for fiscal 2004 and is expected to jump to $32 billion from fiscal 2005-09, and to $68 billion from fiscal 2005-14.

Budget
Va. Tech Association To Get $1 Million For Business Center
     The Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) plans to create a center for entrepreneurship thanks to a federal grant approved as part of the omnibus spending legislation that President Bush signed into law last week. Virginia Republican Frank Wolf, chairman of a House Appropriations subcommittee, secured a $1 million earmark for the project, and the two-year grant will be administered through the Small Business Administration. Programs offered through the center will cover activities ranging from education and youth outreach to business-oriented "incubator" services, including consulting and mentoring for northern Virginia startup companies. The center is expected to be up and running in late February or early March, timed to coordinate with an existing NVTC mentorship program in the Fairfax County school system.