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The Magnetism Of Capitol Hill
by Ted Leventhal
Jason Mahler, currently the general counsel with the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), is leaving the private sector to return to Capitol Hill. Starting Nov. 10, Mahler will become chief of staff to Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., to focus on telecommunications issues before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
"It was an opportunity I didn't feel I could turn down," he said. "She's someone I think is a leader on technology issues and has long been interested in these issues," he said, adding that the job will be "a great move for me."
Before spending four years with CCIA, Mahler was legislative counsel to Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., and responsible for Judiciary Committee issues. Earlier, he was a fellow and legislative assistant to Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., during Lautenberg's first Senate stint.
Elsewhere on Capitol Hill, Monday was the first day of work at Honeywell's government affairs division for Brian Griffin, former senior counsel to Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-S.D.
At the House Science Committee, Michael Bloomquist has been promoted from associate general counsel to chief counsel, replacing Barry Beringer, who passed away Sept. 29 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Bloomquist spent four years at the Washington law firm Patton Boggs before joining the Science Committee in March.
The committee also hired Tim Hughes as majority counsel. He is assigned to the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee. Previously, Hughes practiced communications law at Drinker, Biddle & Reath.
Dan Beyers has been named Research Subcommittee staff director, and David Finger will replace him as the professional staff designee to Chairman Nick Smith, R-Mich. And Kathryn Clay joins the Energy Subcommittee as professional staff designee to Chairwoman Judy Biggert, R-Ill.
321 Studios Expands Washington Team
The embattled software vendor 321 Studios, whose products are designed to provide backup and other personal-use copies of digital videodiscs, has been expanding its Washington team.
The movie industry sued the firm for allegedly violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), and 321 has been represented by noted copyright attorney Arnold Lutzger of Washington's Lutzger & Lutzger. Earlier this month, 321 retained Lutzger to lobby Congress on legislation that would amend the DMCA.
The company also has retained former U.S. Ambassador Gregory Newell as a consultant on international expansion strategy. Newell held senior State Department posts during the Reagan administration, serving as assistant secretary of State from 1982 to 1985 and ambassador to Sweden from 1985 to 1989. He then left government to work for Dow, Lohnes & Albertson International of Washington. In 1992, he joined the strategic consulting firm International Commerce Development of Provo, Utah.
Newell's previous clients have included the Marriott hotel chain and the aviation and technology company Pratt & Whitney. 321 Studios is his only software client at the moment.
"We're helping them determine where the most productive markets are, from a cultural and regulatory perspective," Newell said. Britain, France, Germany and Italy are likely European markets, as are Japan, Korea and Taiwan in Asia.
"321 enhances copyright protections, if you have 'fair use' copyright provisions and disciplined use of the product," he said.
MCI Adds Rudman To Its Ranks
Meanwhile, telecom firm MCI has retained former Sen. Warren Rudman, R-N.H., as a senior adviser on corporate governance and ethics issues. Rudman will advise MCI Chairman and CEO Michael Capellas and the board of directors as it completes and expands corporate governance initiatives. In a statement, Capellas credited Rudman's "outstanding legacy of fairness, honesty and bipartisanship" during his two Senate terms. "His insight and commitment to ethical business practices will be extremely beneficial to MCI as we strive to create and execute a world-class corporate governance plan," Capellas added.
Microsoft Opens Campaign Spigot
Microsoft sharply raised its campaign contributions in September, disbursing $89,500 to presidential and congressional candidates and leadership political action committees, according to federal reports compiled by PoliticalMoneyLine.
Microsoft's top congressional recipient was Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., who received $5,000. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., received $4,000. Reps. Ronald Kind, D-Wis., and Richard Larsen, D-Wash., each received $3,000; and House Government Reform Technology Subcommittee Chairman Adam Putnam, R-Fla., and Rep. Harold Rodgers, R-Ky., each received $2,500.
The communication and technology industries are McCain's top contributors, donating more than $95,000 in this election cycle. Cablevision Systems, Microsoft, Verizon Communications and Viacom International each have donated $10,000 to him.
Tech, Science Experts Lauded For Work
The Bush administration last week announced the 2002 recipients of the National Medals of Technology and National Medals of Science.
The technology laureates include: Calvin Carter of Cree Inc. in Durham, N.C., for developing silicon carbide semiconductor materials; Carver Mead of the California Institute of Technology for developing tools and techniques for modern integrated-circuit design; and Nick Holonyak, M. George Crawford and Russell Dean Dupuis "for contributions to the development and commercialization of light-emitting diode (LED) technology," which the administration called "the most efficient light source being mass produced today."
The Medal of Science laureate for engineering is Leo Beranek, a founder of the telecom company BBN Technologies. And the physical sciences laureates include Richard Garwin of the Council on Foreign Relations, whose research is considered key to super-conducting electronic circuitry. He also has championed the use of non-lethal weapons and nuclear arms control.
Silicon Valley Group To Celebrate Silver Anniversary
The Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group turns 25 this year and will celebrate its anniversary at an Oct. 31 luncheon in San Jose, Calif. The group, launched by Hewlett-Packard co-founder David Packard, is known in the San Francisco Bay area as much for its social conscience as its business clout, a legacy attributed to Packard.
"Packard was one of a kind," Peter Giles, the group's former president, told the San Jose Mercury News. "His prestige and his wisdom were magnetizing."
The group's civic accomplishments include raising $20.3 million for affordable housing programs in Santa Clara County, recruiting and training teachers, encouraging companies to cut toxic emissions, and helping to pass four sales-tax measures for highway and transit improvements.
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