On The Hill
Lobbyists Push For Technology Items In Energy Bill
     The Senate this week passed an energy bill but not before it dropped some provisions supported by the technology industry. The House passed the bill last week, and industry representatives lobbied in advance of the Senate debate. Techies supported the two most controversial provisions, both to reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil and spur competition in environmentally friendly "green tech" innovations." We've been much more engaged in the energy debate as a whole than we have been in the past as an industry," said Brian Peters of the Information Technology Industry Council. "As an industry, we believe we can innovate our way through America's energy challenges so we're very confident this can do good things." ITI also backed other provisions. One would use information technology to modernize the nation's energy grid and improve energy efficiency, and another calls for an industry-led efficiency program for data centers.

Privacy
Panel Rejects Compromise On Telecom Immunity
     The Senate Judiciary Committee defeated a proposal that would have shielded telecommunications companies from lawsuits for helping the Bush administration spy on U.S. citizens without warrants. The 5-13 vote leaves the issue to be fought on the Senate floor. Committee members rejected a bill that would have substituted the government as the defendant in lawsuits against the telecom carriers. The carriers face about 40 civil lawsuits for aiding anti-terrorism surveillance from 2001 until last January, when the program was put under the supervision of the secret FISA court. The language was offered as a compromise on legislation to overhaul the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The panel also approved other technology-related bills by voice vote.

Campaigns
Rep. Holt To Offer New Election Reform Proposal
     The House Democrat behind a stalled election overhaul bill is drafting an alternative proposal aimed at preventing chaos from occurring at the polls next year. Rush Holt of New Jersey is prepared to offer an "opt in" measure to give states an opportunity to upgrade their e-voting systems in time for the presidential election. He is the author of a bill that would mandate the nationwide adoption of e-voting machines that produce paper trails. The House Administration Committee approved it in the spring, but the bill has been stalled over disputes about funding and accessibility to the machines by disabled voters. Holt's new proposal would authorize federal reimbursement for states that decide they want to offer paper-based options to voters next fall. According to Holt, there is still enough time for states to have new, secure systems in place before next November.

Intellectual Property
Judiciary Leaders Offer To Work With IP Bill's Critics
     House Judiciary Committee leaders said they are eager to work with critics of a new measure designed to bolster U.S. intellectual property enforcement. The loudest opposition pertains to a section of the bill, H.R. 4279, that would boost statutory damages in copyright cases. Existing law provides for penalties of up to $30,000 for each non-willful violation and up to $150,000 for willful violations. At a subcommittee hearing, full committee Chairman John Conyers said he recognizes concerns that the language could lead to "opportunistic lawsuits to drive some smaller companies out of business." The Michigan Democrat said he is "committed to working further on this issue." Subcommittee ranking Republican Howard Coble of North Carolina, who has not yet signed on as a co-sponsor, said he supports "an overwhelming majority" of the measure but said more talks are needed to grapple with the potential impact of the damages language.

Antitrust
Senators Urge FCC To Delay Media-Ownership Vote
     Senators in both parties made a last-ditch effort to urge FCC Chairman Kevin Martin to postpone a vote on the most significant change to media-ownership rules in four years. At a highly anticipated hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee, Martin faced harsh criticism, with no members defending him. Senators also accused him of rushing to weaken the federal ban on co-owning a newspaper and a broadcast outlet in the same market while dragging his feet on more urgent matters, such as the nation's looming transition to digital television. The five-member agency will vote Tuesday to relax the so-called cross-ownership rule, said the chairman, who has the support of his two GOP colleagues at the FCC while being opposed by two Democratic regulators. House lawmakers in both parties, meanwhile, are increasing pressure on the FCC to permit technology companies such as Dell, Google, Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft to harness vacant broadcast spectrum known as "white spaces."

E-Government
Congress Wants To Allow New Web Tools
     Congress is slowly moving ahead with rules changes that would allow lawmakers to enhance their Web sites with links and content from commercial sites, like social networks and video-sharing services. Creating reasonable and effective guidelines for emerging Web technologies is "a significant priority" for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., according to Kyle Anderson, the House Administration Committee's spokesman. He said the committee "has responded to her request to make this issue a priority." The committee anticipates implementing a series of policies within the next six months. Options under consideration include permitting members to use video-streaming sites if the sites are ad-free and protect the uploaded material from tampering. Internet technology experts, meanwhile told a Senate panel that the design of federal Web sites is not friendly to commercial search engines and makes public access to agency information difficult.

Security
Better Cyber Security Is Among Chertoff's Priorities
     Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the major priorities for his department in 2008 will include improving cyber security. Other top items include immigration enforcement and border security, verifying the identities of travelers, and institutionalizing counterterrorism programs. In what has become an annual year-end speech, Chertoff said at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars that the department is working with Congress on a national cyber-security strategy. He also emphasized the desire to change immigration laws. Chertoff said the battles over immigration reform and border security have been among the most profound and emotional experiences of his lifetime, second only to the civil rights movement of the 1960s. He lamented that Congress has failed to pass comprehensive immigration legislation and said he is "not prepared to give up" on some form of it in 2008, or at least on making some progress.

Privacy
Social Security Numbers Used Too Freely, Observers Say
     Consumers Union analyst Jeannine Kenney pushed for companies that collect personally identifiable data and sensitive financial information to adopt more stringent authentication methods. She told an FTC summit that she was shocked by how easily she was able to recently replace a credit card with a major issuer. She called the company from a telephone number unassociated with the account and asked that the card be sent to an address not on file. The only identifier required was the last four digits of her Social Security number, Kenney said. "If all the red flags going up on that call weren't enough to trigger stronger authentication, I don't know what would," she said. Stuart Pratt, who heads the Consumer Data Industry Association, said entities should be urged to stop the "silly practice" of using Social Security numbers as a means of accessing consumers' accounts.