Intellectual Property
Patent Overhaul Is On House Agenda This Week
     Lawmakers who want to overhaul the patent system had a busy week after their month-long August recess ended. The House Rules Committee on Thursday considered a bill approved by the Judiciary Committee in July, and the full House could vote as early as Friday. Judiciary leaders last week sent a letter touting the measure to House members. The Aug. 31 letter said the legislation tackles a trio of issues facing the patent regime, including: a glut of questionable patents; no viable alternatives to challenging patents other than lengthy and expensive court proceedings; and insufficient guidance to ensure that judges and juries provide for just compensation when patents are infringed. The Coalition for Patent Fairness, which is backed by Cisco Systems, Intel, Microsoft, Time Warner and other technology and media players, is eager to get a vote on the bill, which gained new supporters this week.

Security
Surveillance Law Faces Renewed Scrutiny In Congress
     Lawmakers are scrutinizing revisions to U.S. foreign intelligence law that they hurriedly passed before the month-long August congressional recess. That examination began Wednesday with a House Judiciary Committee hearing at which several members and witnesses slammed the changes. The mandate, which is set to expire in six months, lets the director of national intelligence and the attorney general authorize the spying without first getting warrants from a secret court. Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., outlined three "tests" that ought to be met as future legislative action is considered. "We must be able to conduct real, meaningful oversight; must provide courts with a meaningful role in reviewing surveillance that applies to American citizens; and must consider the role of telecommunications carriers." The Bush administration wants retroactive immunity for U.S. telecom providers suspected of aiding government surveillance. Conyers wants to know "what role they played [and] why they volunteered in the first place."

Privacy
Privacy Advocates Urge Delay Of Spying Program
     Privacy experts urged the Bush administration to postpone a domestic spy satellite program until Congress gets answers to key questions about the Homeland Security Department initiative. The agency plans to establish an office to conduct various types of surveillance, much of which was already being done on an ad hoc basis, officials told the House Homeland Security Committee. Barry Steinhardt of the American Civil Liberties Union said the proposal "represents a potential monster in the making" that could trample privacy rights. Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., complained that Homeland Security's privacy and civil liberties officers were not brought into the applications office development process until this spring -- more than a year after planning began. Ranking committee Republican Peter King of New York expressed frustration about first hearing of the program through media reports, but he does not see "constitutional issues" with the office as described.

Telecom
Bill Targets 'Deception' In Mobile Fees, Dead Spots
     Do you think the fees on your mobile telephone bill are too confusing? Are you irked about the cost of canceling your cellular contract? Two Democratic senators have you in mind with planned legislation to eliminate what they see as exorbitant fees and to arm consumers with more information about wireless coverage. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and John (Jay) Rockefeller of West Virginia plan to offer the measure in the next few days. They are particularly concerned about penalties assessed for ending cell contracts prematurely. "Early-termination fees are budget busters to American families," Klobuchar said. The measure would cut the penalties at least in half, pro-rate them and give consumers a 30-day window to easily exit new contracts. "We're dealing here with a lot of deception" and misleading information, Rockefeller said. But a spokesman for the wireless industry said the bill is unnecessary and could lead to higher costs.

Budget
Report: Research Earmarks Make Transparent Return
     Spending earmarks are back in research and development budgets for fiscal 2008, according to a new report, but they are not as big as in previous years. Earmarks refer to the sometimes controversial practice of reserving funds for specific projects in lawmakers' states and districts, rather than just appropriating money and letting departments and agencies decide which projects are worth funding. The new American Association for the Advancement of Science report says Congress has returned to earmarking after a one-year moratorium, but the earmarks are smaller and more transparent. The AAAS study found $624 million in R&D earmarks in Senate appropriation bills and $529 million in the House measures. They account for less than 10 percent of total R&D funding, and non-defense-related earmarks would be just 1 percent of R&D appropriations.

Budget
IRS May Benefit From 'Better Focus' On IT Upgrades
     After years of criticism and recommendations in government watchdog report, the Internal Revenue Service would get a big boost to replace aging technology systems under a House-passed spending bill. The legislation would provide $282 million in fiscal 2008 for the IRS' modernization program, up $69.7 million from fiscal 2007. The program was funded at $242 million in fiscal 2006 but faced steep cuts this year. In its report on next year's spending bill, the House committee also noted frustration with "cost overruns and delays associated with [the IRS'] multiyear effort to modernize its computer systems." But in proposing the spending increase for next year, the committee said the modernization effort now appears to be "much better focused than it has been in the past." Another spending bill includes money for "intelligent transportation systems," highway technologies that could help people trim their commuting times.

E-Government
Lawmaker Helps Publicize Congressional Research Work
     The movement to mandate that taxpayer-funded research provided to Congress be made directly available to the public received a boost last month when an anonymous lawmaker agreed to give new reports to an open-government organization. The Congressional Research Service currently analyzes all manner of policy issues. Lawmakers and committees can release the reports at their discretion, if constituents request the materials. But before the mystery legislator came forward, there was no way for the public to know what reports had even been published. The lawmaker is helping the Center for Democracy and Technology keep its online database, OpenCRS, up to date by telling OpenCRS volunteers which specific reports to request. As a result, CDT has published a catalog of "fugitive" reports to the database in recent weeks. House legislation to mandate that CRS reports be put online has stalled.