 | |
| |
TechnologyDaily Mobile
Retired General Soldiers For Data Firm
by Bara Vaida, Teri Rucker and Maureen Sirhal
Retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, a rumored Democratic presidential candidate, may be spending most of his current time analyzing the conflict in Iraq for CNN, but over the past year he lobbied for Acxiom, one of the nation's largest collectors of consumer information. That work has raised the eyebrows of some privacy and civil liberties advocates.
"If [he is] lobbying on behalf of Acxiom -- a company that established profiling in a lot of contexts -- you have to question [his] commitment to civil liberties," Chris Hoofnagle, deputy counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said when asked about Clark's lobbying.
Last year, Clark was paid $150,000 to put Acxiom officials in touch with officials at the Commerce, Defense, Justice, Transportation, Treasury and State departments, the CIA and the White House, according to lobbying documents filed with Congress. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the local newspaper in Acxiom's home base, also reported last summer that company officials reworked their technology to bid for a contract with the Transportation Security Administration to help build a controversial system for screening airline passengers.
Clark terminated his lobbying with Acxiom at the end of 2002, according to the records, but he remains on the board of Acxiom. Acxiom officials declined to comment to on the company's current lobbying efforts, and when asked why the firm chose Clark to join its board, a spokesman referred to a press release published at the end of 2001. "General Clark offers tremendous global perspective, technology expertise, public policy insight and proven leadership," company leader Charles Morgan said in the release.
A spokeswoman for Clark said he could not be reached to comment on his work for Acxiom.
The Perils Of Political Celebrity
There are ups and downs to being a congressman from rural Virginia, especially when your constituents recognize you only part of the time, Rep. Bob Goodlatte told the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association last week.
During a nursing home visit, the Virginia Republican said he asked a resident whether she knew who he was. Although she did not, someone suggested that the receptionist at the home surely would. The day seemed to improve, Goodlatte said, when a lady walked up and said, "Did you know you look almost exactly like Congressman Goodlatte?"
Feeling heartened that at least the woman recognized him, Goodlatte acknowledged the resemblance. But then the woman asked, "Doesn't that make you so mad?"
Who's In Charge Of Senate Tech Policy?
Nevada Republican John Ensign became the chairman of the Senate Republican High-Tech Task Force in November, but you would never know it by looking at the task force's Web site. It still lists George Allen, R-Va., as the chairman -- a job Allen relinquished when chosen to head the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
The task force's motto is "to be THE voice of the high-technology industry on Capitol Hill," but that voice has not been heard online for months. Under the heading "What's New," the site refers to a news conference that featured Allen and "Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill" calling for Senate action on presidential trade-negotiating authority. The event occurred nearly a year ago -- long before John Snow replaced O'Neill and before President Bush signed the trade-negotiating bill into law. The last press release posted to the site is dated Sept. 19.
The task force's Internet home is part of the site run by the Senate Republican Policy Committee, but a link on the "technology" Web page for Ensign's Senate office leads visitors to the outdated task force site. An Ensign spokesman did not return a call for comment on the status of the site.
Leaders Of Security Subcommittees Chosen
The House Homeland Security Committee's leaders have named the chairman and ranking Democrats for the panels subcommittees.
Dave Camp, R-Mich., is the chairman of the Infrastructure and Border Security Subcommittee and Loretta Sanchez of California is the panel's ranking Democrat. John Shadegg, R-Ariz., is chairman of the Emergency Preparedness and Response Subcommittee and Bennie Thompson of Mississippi is its ranking Democrat. And James Gibbons, R-Nev., is heading the Intelligence and Counter Terrorism Subcommittee, and James Langevin of Rhode Island is its ranking Democrat.
Staff Changes On Capitol Hill ...
After six years handling media affairs for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., at the Senate Commerce Committee, Pia Pialorsi has left to follow her husband to London. Rebecca Hanks, who has been handling press for McCain in his personal office since the end of 2000, replaced Pialorsi.
Elsewhere on Capitol Hill, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., has hired a new chief of staff. Lee Rawls replaces Mitch Bainwol, who is leaving to start his own consulting firm. Rawls is currently chief of staff to FBI Director Robert Mueller. From 1996 to 2000, Rawls was administrative assistant in Frist's personal office. In the first Bush administration, Rawls was the Justice Department's assistant attorney general for legislative affairs from 1990 to 1992.
Rep. Calvin Dooley, D-Calif., has hired Jane Nuzum as a senior policy adviser. Nuzum served as a commissioner and vice chairwoman of the U.S. International Trade Commission between 1991 and 1997, and from 1997 to 2002, she was vice president and general counsel for the International Dairy Foods Association. Nuzum replaces Jim Travis in Dooley's office. Travis is leaving after four years to join Monsanto as director of federal government affairs.
... And In The Trade Groups
Shannon Kellogg is joining the Business Software Alliance (BSA) as director of security policy. Currently, he is vice president for information security at the Information Technology Association of America. Kellogg previously was the executive director of the Global Internet Project and before that was a program officer at the International Republican Institute, where he worked in the United States, the Middle East and East Asia.
Mario Correa, currently BSA's director of Internet and network security policy, will become director of software policy. Correa's position will focus on global software issues, such as policy on "open source" software whose underlying code is open to inspection and alteration.
Troy Dow, meanwhile, is leaving his job as vice president and technology counsel for the Motion Picture Association of America to join Walt Disney Co. as vice president of government relations. He is expected to work closely with Preston Padden, Disney's vice president of worldwide government relations.
In other association news, the Electronic Frontier Foundation this week is scheduled to honor a trio of people with its 12th annual pioneer awards. The recipients will be: Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now; Eben Moglen, general counsel of the Free Software Foundation; and David Sobel, general counsel of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. The awards recognize people for working to ensure freedom and innovation in the information technology sector.
Bush Moves To Fill Trade Slot
President Bush has nominated Josette Sheeran Shiner to be deputy U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), a step up from her current job as associate USTR for policy and communications.
Before joining USTR, she served as managing director of Starpoint Solutions, a Wall Street technology firm. Earlier in her career, she served as president and CEO of Empower America and as managing editor of The Washington Times.
NEW FEATURE
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
