E-Government
House Panel Eyes Paper Receipts For Electronic Votes
     The House Administration Committee this week approved a bill that would require paper records of votes cast on electronic machines but did so over Republican objections. The committee analyzed whether the bill, which was approved 6-3, would impose reasonable mandates on state and local officials responsible for conducting elections. Republicans cited concerns from some state election officials that the legislation would be unnecessarily aggressive in requiring states to update their systems by 2008. Panel ranking Republican Vernon Ehlers of Michigan accused Democrats of attempting to approve the legislation, H.R. 811, without substantive debate. California Republican Kevin McCarthy also warned that "election official after election official" has told him the bill is not ready. The House Energy and Commerce Committee, meanwhile, approved measures that target computer threats like secretly installed spyware and that would prohibit most sales of Social Security numbers.

Budget
White House, House GOP Blast Security Legislation
     The White House threatened to veto the fiscal 2008 Homeland Security Department authorization bill, as House Republicans decried a Democratic debate rule for the bill that prevented amendments. One after one, GOP lawmakers said they were denied by the Democratic-dominated House Rules Committee from offering amendments to the bill, which would authorize about $40 billion in spending for security programs. Republicans also complained that Democrats stripped or altered, without consulting the GOP, nearly 40 provisions after House Homeland Security Committee approval. "This deal makes a mockery of the democratic process ... and unfortunately will probably make our country less safe," said Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. "Welcome to homeland security, Democratic style." The House eventually passed the security bill by a wide margin but only after an exchange of barbs and put-downs between the top Democrat and Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee.

Privacy
Key Senators, Others Slam Plan For Standard IDs
     The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee slammed proposed regulations to create national standards for driver's licenses that he said were "forced through" by the Republican-led Congress last year without adequate deliberation. The law, known as the REAL ID Act, requires new ID cards by May 2008. Vermont Democrat Patrick Leahy said at a hearing of his panel that the statute is "a good example of what happens when the federal government imposes itself rather than creating a partnership with states." Privacy and civil liberties concerns about the law are compounded by the potential cost, Leahy said. Ranking Republican Arlen Specter also noted that REAL ID has received "a checkerboard of responses." Eleven state legislatures have filed resolutions opposing the law, two states have rejected the mandate, and 33 have indicated they will comply, he said.

Broadband
Panelists Sketch Ideas For Boosting High-Speed Web
     Congress can take steps to encourage the growth of affordable, high-speed Internet penetration across the United States, witnesses told a House Small Business subcommittee. Lawmakers can promote broadband deployment by making permanent the ban on taxing Internet access, said William Deere, a vice president at the U.S. Telecom Association. Congress also should encourage the Rural Utilities Service to enhance incentives for the private sector to provide broadband in rural and remote areas, he said. FCC member Jonathan Adelstein added his voice to the call for tax incentives and said Congress also could provide "adequate" funding for broadband loans and grants from the utilities service. Adelstein voiced concern about the lack of a comprehensive U.S. broadband deployment plan and blamed that shortcoming for the U.S. decline in global broadband rankings.

Broadband
Techies, Lawmakers Ponder Promise Of Web Video
     Internet entrepreneur Mark Cuban told lawmakers that unless there is significant investment in the Internet, further technological and economic advancements will be hampered. There is "plenty of bandwidth and upside for the backbone of the Internet," he said at a House subcommittee hearing. But online video is "only as good as its weakest link" and "right now, with limited exceptions, those links are pretty weak." Cuban, who is chairman of the high-definition television cable network HDNet, challenged the view that Internet video will replace traditional television using peer-to-peer technology because P2P does not reduce the bandwidth needed to serve video. But panel Chairman Edward Markey, D-Mass., sees reason for hope. He said that when he chaired his first hearing on HDTV many years ago, the platform was far from ready. "Now we can see a light at the end of the tunnel, or rather, at the end of the tuner."

On The Hill
Report Urges Capitol Transparency Via Technology
     House lawmakers joined citizen advocates on Capitol Hill to urge more transparency in Congress and technological reforms to achieve that goal. The Open House Project, an initiative of the Sunlight Foundation, released its recommendations to make Congress a more "open, public and fully transparent organization." The report consists of 10 proposals, ranging from improving access to legislative and committee information to easing restrictions on the ways lawmakers can use the Internet. The report also urges committees to post online all records of their proceedings, and it proposes public access to select Congressional Research Service reports, which are produced for members of Congress and typically are made available only at high prices. House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, endorsed the proposals. The Heritage Foundation also hosted a discussion about the project.

Politics
CNN Wins Praise For Allowing Use Of Debate Video
     CNN won praise for its announcement that the network will grant unrestricted access to video footage from the presidential debates it will host in June. The decision will let citizens use excerpts of the debates to make their points in online discussions or in relaying news. CNN is scheduled to host a Democratic debate June 3 and a Republican debate June 5. In April, a bipartisan group called Free Debates began protesting online usage restrictions on debate coverage. The appeal heightened as MSNBC hosted a debate with Republican candidates but did not make the video freely available. Before the MSNBC debate, the group had urged the Democratic and Republican parties to back open access to debate video. CNN is the only network to adopt the idea, so there is still pressure on the parties to act.

E-Government
Midwest Spat Over E-Tolls May Impact U.S. Policy
     A dispute between a private company that runs the Indiana toll road and the government in neighboring Illinois may have nationwide policy implications. The controversy is about equity. Commuters pre-pay electronic tolls when purchasing their Illinois I-Pass and Indiana I-Zoom permits. Illinois offers Indiana's I-Zoom holders the same low rate as Illinoisans, but Indiana is refusing to match the offer. Policy experts note that other states have forged cooperative pacts for such e-tolls. "Our I-Pass users really need this discount," said Brian McPartlin, executive director of the Illinois toll authority. But Spain-based Cintra-Macquarie, an international consortium that has leased the Indiana Toll Road, opposes any more discounts. Illinois officials are pressing Indiana's government to compel the discount. McPartlin said he is considering charging Indiana users the "full cash rate" if Indiana does not reciprocate with a reduced rate to Illinoisans.