Budget
Homeland Security Gets 'Spankings' In Spending Bill
     The House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee this week approved a fiscal 2007 budget for the Homeland Security Department that would withhold funds for several major department priorities. The measure also rejected a Bush administration request for an increase in airline passenger fees. The subcommittee approved about $32 billion in discretionary spending for the department next year. The administration's smaller $31 billion request included $1.3 billion in revenue from increasing the fee that airline passengers pay. The subcommittee has rejected such a fee increase for two years, and subcommittee Chairman Hal Rogers, R-Ky., said he wanted "to send a message to the administration that this fee is dead on arrival." Rogers added that the subcommittee is not hesitating to give the department "spankings and punishment." The spending plan would withhold $1.3 billion in funding, including $500 million for the science and technology directorate, until the department submits strategic plans.

E-Government
Senate Deal Won't End Debate Over Immigrant Workers
     A section in the Senate's immigration bill that would require employers to check the immigration status of their workers is gaining rapid support from industry groups and immigrant advocates, but a deal still would need to be reached with the House. The Senate is redrafting sections of the measure, S.2611, after negotiations broke down last month. One section would establish an electronic system that employers would have to use to verify that workers they hire can be legally employed. The system also would give the Homeland Security Department access to Social Security Administration databases, something that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff recently said is critical for investigations. Industry groups and immigrant advocates support the Senate's plan, as opposed to requirements in a House-passed border security bill. Major differences between the bills include compliance deadlines, employer penalties, privacy protections, redress processes for correcting errors, and employer liability protections.

Security
Terrorist Cells Now More Tech-Savvy, Report Says
     Terrorist cells have become more sophisticated by employing advanced technologies that allow them to further globalize their messages, a State Department report found. In the annual report on international terrorism, the department noted an overarching trend in the use of technology that allows small, autonomous terrorist cells to move under the U.S. radar. The department said terrorists have incorporated into operational planning the use of technology in communications, propaganda and targeting. Terrorist groups "use technology, especially the Internet, to improve their global reach, intelligence collection and operational capacity," said Hank Crumpton, special coordinator for counter terrorism at State. Terrorists often flee to cyberspace as a "new type of safe haven," Crumpton said, adding that by "harnessing the Internet's potential for speed, security and global linkage," they are disseminating propaganda and recruiting operatives. Terrorists also go online to raise funds.

Telecom
House Panels Vie For Exclusive Rights To Bill
     The House Parliamentarian's office has been the scene of a furious back-and-forth battle between committees over telecommunications legislation. The House Energy and Commerce Committee submitted a lengthy reply to last week's request for a referral of the bill by the Judiciary Committee. In the eight-page reply, aides to Energy and Commerce Chairman Joe Barton, R-Texas, detailed six issues in which the committee believes its jurisdiction is secure. Judiciary, in turn, replied to the Energy and Commerce document, according to a congressional source. The areas that Energy and Commerce identified as exclusive jurisdiction included cable franchises, franchise fees and the question of bundling certain services. The core reasons for jurisdiction cited by Judiciary included antitrust law, particularly as it pertains "network neutrality," an attempt to thwart Bell and cable operators from offering high-speed Internet delivery to preferred companies. Democrat Rick Boucher and Republican Bob Goodlatte, Virginians who sit on Judiciary, also discussed the issue in an interview with Technology Daily.

Telecom
Senate Judiciary Eyes Commerce Chairman's Bill
     The Senate Judiciary Committee is likely to seek a role in reshaping telecommunications law, according to a committee aide. At least three panel members are concerned about some of the issues addressed in the bill crafted by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, the aide said. "Net neutrality is something we have significant jurisdiction over," the aide said, referring to a dispute about whether Bell telephone and cable companies must be barred from charging Internet companies for speedier content delivery. "It's basically a vertical integration issue that involves competition policy, not directly telecommunications policy." Three senators on Judiciary also are concerned about antitrust, copyright policy, distance learning and rights-of-way issues presented in the bill. The senators are: Republican Orrin Hatch of Utah; Herbert Kohl of Wisconsin, the top Democrat on the Antitrust Subcommittee; and committee top Democrat Patrick Leahy of Vermont.

Television
Senate Panel Considers Action On 'Indecency' Bill
     The Senate Commerce Committee is exploring a possible vote on broadcast "indecency" legislation, congressional and industry sources said. Observers cautioned that panel Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, has not made a final decision. But word that Commerce is even considering the idea suggests a softening of Stevens' resistance to moving an indecency bill at this time. A committee spokesman declined comment. The measure would increase penalties from $32,500 per incident to $325,000 for violating the FCC's obscenity rules. A pending House bill would up fines to $500,000 per incident but also contains "three-strikes-and-you're out" language that could cost repeat broadcast violators their licenses. Stevens has sent mixed signals for months about his approach to indecency, but one source privately said Senate Commerce now is eyeing a mid-May vote on the issue bill. The panel tentatively has scheduled a work session for May 18 that could include the legislation. Lobbying by groups like the Family Research Council and Focus on the Family may be a factor.

Cyber Security
FTC Wary Of Legislative Mandate To Protect Data
     FTC Chairwoman Deborah Majoras reassured people at a Progress and Freedom Foundation event that her agency understands the need for both progress and freedom when it comes to security. She said cooperation is the most critical element. Majoras said law enforcement alone will not sufficiently transform Internet security, and the FTC is not asking Congress to legislate a specific safety standard. "Our view is we should not legislate a requirement that data must be encrypted," Majoras said. "Encryption should be considered when examining reasonable security practices." She said encrypting low-risk data could make transactions so slow that consumers lose interest in the product or service. But Majoras said the FTC disagrees with those people who argue that there is no cost to consumers if data is not protected. In one case last year, she said, people using personal information obtained from several retail companies made millions of dollars in fraudulent purchases.