Politics
Debate Has Poignant, Creative, Silly Moments
     Democratic presidential hopefuls took blunt questions via online video in Charleston, S.C., this week at a debate co-sponsored by CNN and YouTube. Usually the questions were serious -- such as when a father who had lost a son asked when the Iraq war would end, and when a woman with breast cancer pulled off her wig while asking about healthcare reform. But other questions veered to the silly, such as when a talking snowman asked about global warming and how it will affect his snowman son. Some of the videos posed questions that people often discuss privately but that do not get asked in the more traditional debate formats. One questioner asked Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, "Are you black enough?" Another asked Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, "Are you feminine enough?" Before and after the event, online experts debated just how innovative the new debate format is.

Budget
Senators Add Money For Border Technology To Bill
     The Senate passed a bill that would allocate $40.6 billion to the Homeland Security Department in fiscal 2008, including $3 billion in technology and resources for border security and to curtail illegal immigration that was added during floor debate. The vote was 89-4, but it put Congress on a path toward a showdown with the White House. President Bush had threatened to veto the legislation over its spending levels even before the new money was added. The bill would greatly exceed Bush's request for grants to improve communications equipment and other things. In approving the extra funding, Senate Democrats and Republicans declared that gaining control of the nation's borders and going after illegal aliens constitutes a national emergency. "If there was ever a legitimate emergency in this country, I think this would be one of those times because we've lost control of our border," said Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

Telecom
Lawmakers Divided Over Consumer Protections In Auction
     Several House Democrats urged FCC Chairman Kevin Martin to embrace more consumer protections for an upcoming spectrum auction, while many Republicans warned that his proposals already go too far. But Martin's compromise, which would impose consumer-friendly requirements on a portion of the frequencies, also elicited praise from members in both parties. Massachusetts Democrat Edward Markey, the chairman of a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee that held a hearing on the matter, commended Martin for seeking to create "a beachhead for consumer choice and innovation" but still called the plan "quite modest" because it would only require about a third of the spectrum to be accessible to unaffiliated devices and software. Fred Upton of Michigan, the subcommittee's ranking Republican, called Martin's proposal a "gamble" that favors Google. AT&T has reacted strongly to Google's insistence on more conditions in the auction as a prerequisite for the company bidding on airwaves.

Lobbying
Tech Groups Seek Quick Action On Two Trade Pacts
     The U.S. High-Tech Trade Coalition is lobbying hard for passage of trade agreements in Panama and Peru after the August congressional recess. The group also wants agreements with Colombia and South Korea resolved over the next year. The group of 15 tech trade associations planned to meet with the staff of about 50 Republican lawmakers and 60-70 Democratic House members. "Peru and Panama are good agreements, and we want to make sure they understand the other two behind them are of equal importance to us," said Ralph Hellman of the Information Technology Industry Council. Earlier this month, the group also sent a letter to House and Senate leaders. "Given the importance of global supply chains and the fact that overseas sales make up 60 percent of the high-tech industry's total revenues, access to free and fair trade is imperative to the industry's total competitiveness," the letter said.

Health
Appropriators Seek Privacy Framework For E-Health
     Amid widespread uneasiness over privacy protections, House appropriators are calling on the federal office in charge of health information technology to submit a security framework and overarching plan for its federal funding. The Appropriations Committee said in its report for Health and Human Services Department funding in fiscal 2008 that it "has not provided the full budget request for health information technology" because the office has not submitted an implementation plan for achieving strategic goals." The Government Accountability Office recommended such a plan. The spending legislation would require the HHS secretary to give the House and Senate Appropriations committees a plan by March 1 that includes performance measures, milestones, timelines and required funding for meeting objectives. Also, the House committee requested "a privacy and security framework that will establish trust among consumers and users of electronic personal health information."

E-Government
Senators Are Cautious About Changes To E-Voting
     Senators said it would be best to avoid rushing to implement comprehensive election legislation and force states to adopt new e-voting systems before they are ready. State and local election officials told the Senate Rules and Administration Committee during a hearing that while they generally support federal efforts to ensure the security and reliability of e-voting systems, they should be allowed to upgrade their systems according to reasonable timeframes. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., a former governor, said it is imperative that Congress not impose unfunded mandates on states by requiring them to upgrade their voting systems without providing the necessary funding. George Gilbert, the elections director in Guilford County, N.C., told the panel that it would be impossible for local officials to gauge exactly how much it will cost them to make upgrades that may be mandated by Congress.

Antitrust
Satellite Radio Firms Promise A La Carte Channels
     Satellite radio providers Sirius and XM will offer subscribers programming by the channel if the rivals' proposed merger is approved by federal regulators, Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin said. The offering would "give consumers the power to choose satellite radio packages channel by channel to suit their tastes and their budgets," he said. Under one plan, subscribers could choose 50 channels for $6.99 a month -- a 46 percent price cut -- and could ad channels for as little as 25 cents each. A second option would offer 100 channels from one provider and a limited number from the other. Fixed "best of both" bundles would cost $16.99. Other offers, including discounted "family friendly" tiers, would be available. The National Association of Broadcasters, which opposes the merger said policymakers "should not be hoodwinked" by the offer because the services could individually offer a more affordable choice in limited program packages.

Courts
Judge Rebuffs Bid To See Surveillance Documents
     A federal judge halted a California high-tech watchdog group's crusade to force the release of documents that supposedly authorized domestic electronic surveillance. In a ruling from the bench, Chief Judge Thomas Hogan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia sided with the Justice Department, saying the government does not have to release materials that its lawyers claim are classified. The Electronic Frontier Foundation sued the department in February, demanding the records after its Freedom of Information Act request was ignored. The complaint demanded orders from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and any guidelines that accompanied them. EFF has not yet decided whether it will appeal the ruling.