Security
Senate Subcommittee Cuts Grant Funding For 'First Responders'
     The nation's police officers, firefighters and other "first responders" to emergencies were hit in the pocketbook this week, as Senate appropriators cut proposed funding from their grant programs to pay for more law enforcement and technology along U.S. borders next year. The Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee quickly agreed by voice vote to shift funding that President Bush had requested for the Homeland Security Department in fiscal 2006 toward strengthening border activities. The full committee approved the bill two days later. The overall legislation would provide $30.8 billion in discretionary spending for the department and its programs -- $1.2 billion less than last year. "The essence of the bill is that we should address threats," said Subcommittee Chairman Judd Gregg, R-N.H. He added that the panel voted to cut funding for the first-responder grant programs because states and communities have not spent $7 billion from previous years.

Lobbying
Tax Coalition Asks Congress For Permanent R&D Credit
     A coalition of top companies and industry groups penned a letter to the chairmen and ranking Democrats of the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees, urging them to support a permanent research and development tax credit. "America's future is inextricably linked to the ability of companies to make a sustained, reliable commitment to long-term research," the R&D Coalition wrote. The group voiced support for companion bills, S. 627 and H.R. 1736, that would permanently extend the research credit. It is set to expire at the end of this year. "In this extremely competitive global economy, it's very important that we level the playing field for R&D costs and promote incentives," said Connecticut Republican Nancy Johnson, the author of the House bill. The letter was signed by 452 companies and 102 trade associations.

Campaigns
Defender Of Unregulated Web To Leave Election Agency
     Bradley Smith, a controversial member of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), sent his resignation letter to President Bush. The staunchly anti-regulatory Smith made no secret of his dislike of a sweeping 2002 campaign-finance law and frequently has been criticized by advocates of the measure, which outlawed large, unregulated "soft money" contributions to political parties. "I serve a purpose for the [campaign-finance] reform lobby," Smith said. "I'm the whipping boy to raise money and to excuse all their mistakes." Smith played watchdog for the Internet community earlier this year when he warned that the commission was considering more restrictive disclosure regulations for politically oriented online journals known as Web logs, or blogs. Internal FEC documents later leaked to the press showed eventually abandoned draft rules to that effect.

Antitrust
Court's Decision May Reignite Debate Over Media Ownership
     The debate over how much media conglomerates can grow without undermining news diversity in local communities may reignite soon thanks to a Supreme Court action. As expected, the court declined to consider appeals from several media companies regarding a 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision in June 2004 that overturned portions of the nation's media-ownership rules. The rules, which the FCC issued in July 2003, loosened the restrictions on how many companies media conglomerates could own in local and national markets. The 3rd circuit concluded that the commission's rule on ownership of broadcast and print or radio and television outlets in the same markets was not supported by "reasoned analysis." The court also criticized the FCC's use of its "diversity index" to make decisions about ownership limits in local media markets. In particular, it said the commission made "unrealistic assumptions about media outlets' relative contributions to viewpoint diversity in local markets" and "gave too much weight to the Internet as a media outlet." The court further rejected the commission's rules on local-television ownership and asked it to rework the rules with a better analysis and rationale.

Digital Television
Broadcasters' Bid To Build Converters Called A 'Stunt'
     The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and a technical organization said they would request quotes on the price to build a prototype of a box for television sets that can convert digital to analog signals. "A workable, low-cost converter box is vital to the success of the digital transition," NAB chief Eddie Fritts said in a statement. "This project demonstrates our commitment to move the process forward. I trust the consumer electronics industry will respond favorably to this [request] and join us in developing this important technology." But Consumer Electronics Association CEO Gary Shapiro called the request a "publicity stunt" and "a solution in search of a problem." Electronics companies say they already have built low-cost converter prototypes, which they have demonstrated to reporters and to Capitol Hill aides.

Telecom
Mayors' Group Urges Local Action On Telecom Issues
     A group of mayors meeting in Chicago over last weekend urged Congress to respect state and local sovereignty in regard to telecommunications issues like franchising and taxing authority. It is important that "local governments understand the full implications" of an expected rewrite of the 1996 Telecommunications Act because the role of local governments "will be challenged," said Michael Guido, mayor of Dearborn. "It's in the [telecom] industry's strong interest to have government oversight limited to the federal government." Local officials need to make sure that telecom providers cannot deploy new services to only the most affluent neighborhoods, he said, referring to a tactic known as redlining. The conference's Transportation and Communications Standing Committee approved several resolutions aimed at preserving local sovereignty while allowing for technology emergence.

Health
Doctors Promote Emergency Center In Case Of Terrorist Act
     An attack of mustard gas at noon on a weekday in Washington's Dupont Circle could claim some 1,500 victims. But 1,500 ventilators, let alone hospital beds, would be hard to find -- and if a hospital had 1,500 ventilators, they would cause a power failure. That is the message health experts gave Capitol Hill staffers in arguing that the nation's capital is not ready to handle a major bioterrorist attack. "The national capital area is nowhere near [where] it must be to deal with" bioterrorist threats, said Mark Smith, chairman of the emergency medicine department at Washington Hospital Center. Smith, who can rattle off possible catastrophes such as chemical spills, anthrax sprayed from a rooftop, the plague and small pox, has been working to build a regional emergency facility that would serve as a national model. For nearly a decade, the Washington Hospital Center has been conceiving a modern, all-risks-ready emergency unit called ER One, which is still in the design phase.