On the Hill
Government Reform Tech Subcommittee May Be Eliminated
     The House Government Reform Committee may eliminate the subcommittee focused on technology, information policy and other issues, a spokesman for committee Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., confirmed this week. The spokesman said the committee would discuss eliminating the Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and Census Subcommittee at its organizational meeting later this month or in early February. The Senate Commerce Committee, meanwhile, may eliminate its Communications Subcommittee -- a move that has drawn the objections of some committee members. And Utah Republican Orrin Hatch is expected to chair a new intellectual property subcommittee in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Members of the subcommittee have not been chosen, but an announcement is expected as soon as next week.

White House
Bush Picks Appeals Judge As Next Homeland Security Secretary
     President Bush picked U.S. Appeals Judge Michael Chertoff for the top job at the Homeland Security Department. The president expressed confidence that Chertoff, who has been confirmed by the Senate three times for various posts, once again would win confirmation as Homeland Security secretary. Departing Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said his replacement should focus first on integrating information technology, procurement and research and development, and on creating a single personnel system. Ridge also said the secretary must work with other countries to develop common biometric standards for travel documents, such as scanned fingerprints, digital photographs or iris scans, to confirm travelers' identities.

Security
Ridge Outlines Security Efforts For Bush's Inauguration
     When President Bush is sworn in for a second term on Thursday, people attending the ceremony will encounter unprecedented security, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said. Homeland Security agencies such as the Coast Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Secret Service and Transportation Security Administration will be involved in the effort, Ridge said. Law enforcement agencies will exchange video feeds, connecting with one another through wireless communications devices and monitoring 24-hour surveillance cameras throughout Washington, he said. Mobile command vehicles will coordinate additional communication across multiple law enforcement agencies. Portable X-ray equipment will be deployed to several sites, and the Coast Guard will patrol the nearby Potomac River, Ridge added.

Cyber Security
Ex-Cyber Security Czar Focuses On Global Coordination
     A former White House cyber-security adviser is working to build an international cyber-security partnership program under contract to the Homeland Security Department. The intent of the program is to coordinate global efforts on cyber-security and cyber crime, identify gaps, and develop "metrics" for measuring success. "It's almost like creating a NATO of the cyber-security world," said Howard Schmidt, a former adviser to President Bush. Schmidt is building the program based on elements of a national cyber-security program developed by the former director of Homeland Security's cyber-security division, Amit Yoran, who left in the fall. In other news, Robert Liscouski, the Homeland Security Department's assistant secretary for infrastructure protection, announced his resignation. His departure is the latest in a string of resignations by cyber-security experts at the department, including Yoran. Technology executives and experts argue that the Bush administration is not paying enough attention to the issue.

Telecom
Arrests Prompt Questions About Indiana's Oversight Of E-Rate
     The organization that handles e-rate funding for Indiana has come under fire in recent weeks, prompting departing Gov. Joseph Kernan to criticize the program on his last day in office. The program provides telephone and Internet access to schools and libraries and has been the subject of accusations of fraud and mismanagement. In December an Indiana State University technology worker and one of his friends from high school were arrested for defrauding the state's program out of about $62,000. Kernan said the Intelenet Commission, which runs the state's Web site and provides technology services to public agencies, may have broken federal law by accepting too much e-rate money. Indiana's new governor, Republican Mitch Daniels, criticized Intelenet as ineffective throughout his campaign. His office did not return calls by press time seeking comment on the commission's future.

Courts
Texas Prosecutor Files State's First Anti-Spam Lawsuit
     Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott filed the state's first anti-spam lawsuit against two men who allegedly inundated Texas consumers with unsolicited e-mails from three Nevada-based companies. University of Texas at Austin student Ryan Pitylak and California resident Mark Trotter are named in the complaint as running PayPerAction, Leadplex LLC and Leadplex Inc. The watchdog group SpamHaus.org named the duo's companies the fourth-largest illegal spam operation in the world. In other news, the FTC said it won a court order to stop illegal advertising for six companies accused of sending thousands of X-rated e-mails that provided links to online pornography sites.

Health
Gingrich Pitches 'Travelocity Model' For Health Care
     Information technology will guide the transformation of the healthcare system to offer patients choice and lower prices, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said. He told a group of industry stakeholders at a conference that the healthcare system is beyond reform, with no option but a total transformation of the industry. Gingrich envisions a world where pricing is driven by consumer choice, what he calls the "Travelocity model," after the Internet business that lets consumers customize their travels. In other news, a healthcare advocate warned that rising healthcare costs in America are pushing the system to the verge of "catastrophe," and there is no information technology on the market that could help identify problems or opportunities. And Senate proponents of legislation to allow imports of prescription drugs, including those sold by Internet pharmacies, said they plan to force a floor vote this year.

Telecom
Adelstein Wants Disclosure Of Government-Paid Journalists
     Television and radio journalists paid to promote viewpoints, and the broadcasters who air those views, must disclose the sources of funding or face prosecution under laws against "payola," FCC commissioner Jonathan Adelstein said. Adelstein has called for the agency to investigate whether conservative commentator Armstrong Williams or broadcasters violated laws for failing to disclose that Williams was paid to espouse particular views. Adelstein said a provision in the 1996 Telecommunications Act that bars payola, the practice of independent music promoters paying radio stations to play the songs of affiliated artists, also applies to journalists.

Antitrust
Commission Calls For Study Of Tech And Antitrust
     The Antitrust Modernization Commission voted to study two issues related to how antitrust statutes interact with intellectual property law but rejected seven other study suggestions from the business and antitrust enforcement community. Members of the commission, created by Congress in 2002 to examine possible changes to antitrust laws, voted to address the question of whether "industries involving significant technological innovation" should be treated differently under antitrust laws. They also voted to study the question of how the current intellectual property regime affects competition. The commission's intellectual property working group recommended that the full commission examine the patent-issuance regime and whether it can be improved to encourage more competition.