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Privacy Chief Leaves Commerce For PFF
by Sarah Lai Stirland
After two years at the Commerce Department, Dan Caprio is leaving his post as deputy assistant secretary for technology policy and chief privacy officer to join the Progress and Freedom Foundation, a market-oriented think tank.
Caprio begins his new job as executive vice president and senior fellow April 17. He leaves just after the Senate confirmed Robert Cresanti as Commerce's technology undersecretary.
The personnel shifts come as the fiscal 2007 budget request by President Bush aims to slash the Technology Administration budget by 75 percent, to $1.49 million, which would be down from $5.9 million in fiscal 2006. Bush also moved to dramatically reduce the department's budget last year, but Congress blocked his attempt.
Caprio, a fan of the vision of limited government espoused by former President Reagan, said he was drawn to the new position at PFF, not driven to leave Commerce by the prospect of belt-tightening. "The opportunity to join PFF was such a fabulous opportunity that I couldn't pass up," he said. "I think Robert will be successful as undersecretary."
Caprio, a longtime Washington policy insider, follows his former boss Orson Swindle to the think tank. Caprio was Swindle's chief of staff for six years at the FTC. He also worked for Swindle at Commerce when he was assistant secretary for economic development under Reagan. Swindle is currently a distinguished fellow at PFF and directs a project on Internet security.
"As executive vice president, Dan will work closely with PFF senior fellows on matters of policy import in the digital era while using his leadership skills in helping to guide an ever-growing foundation," PFF President Ray Gifford said in a statement.
At Commerce, Caprio chaired a working group on the tracking technology known as radio-frequency identification and co-chaired the executive branch RFID Council. The council was a cross-departmental initiative that worked to coordinate RFID issues such as spectrum use, technology standards and privacy protection. The group now has 30 members, is organized into subcommittees and meets twice a year.
Caprio was a vocal advocate against privacy legislation aimed at RFID tags. "We've been very, very active in engaging both domestically and internationally in terms of a market-oriented approach on privacy and security on the issue of standards and interoperability," he said.
Separately, Caprio liaised with members of Congress and organized Commerce's summit last December on the issue of American competitiveness. The summit included about 50 CEOs, trade associations, and various government ministers and members of Congress.
When not agonizing over tech policy, Caprio can be found coaching his children and their friends in Little League teams in Vienna, Va.
Security Official Goes To Private Sector
Another administration official also has decided to join the private sector, though his new job still will keep him focused on government work.
After 35 years at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and another four at the Transportation Security Administration, Patrick Hynes has joined the consulting firm Deloitte & Touche's as a director in its public-sector practice.
The job calls on Hynes' expertise in providing risk assessment and planning services for various sectors of government related to homeland security and the Justice Department. Hynes is barred by law from working with TSA for a year after his departure.
Hynes most recently was the federal security director for Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. "The first thing I would do when I came in would be to look at any intelligence I had for the day, and then I would begin the work of electronically screening 100 percent of all baggage and cargo, and passengers, and that electronic screening for explosives," he said of his daily routine there.
Hynes called the traffic statistics at Reagan "staggering." The airport handles 800 flights and 30,000 passengers a day.
Senate Judiciary Spokesman Heads To White House
On Capitol Hill, meanwhile, Senate Judiciary Committee spokesman Blain Rethmeier has moved into a White House job. Rethmeier started working as a spokesman on homeland security and economy issues on Tuesday.
In an e-mail sent to his acquaintances, he compared his time with Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., to being on a "roller coaster." Rethmeier stuck with the chairman through the administration's fight with Congress over renewing the 2001 anti-terrorism law known as the USA PATRIOT Act and through two Supreme Court nominations.
His departure comes as his former boss holds hearings on the nature of executive power during wartime, to be followed by a hearing on a call to censure the president over that issue.
Electoral Phone Scam Prompts Charges, Penalties
Shaun Hansen, a former co-owner of the Mylo Enterprises telemarketing firm in Idaho, appeared in court Monday to face charges of participating in a 2002 scheme to harass the New Hampshire Democratic Party and the Manchester Professional Firefighters Association on Election Day.
The Justice Department has charged Hansen with using his business to make hundreds of hang-up calls to jam the telephones of the two organizations. The department said Hansen was paid $2,500 in the scheme.
If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison for participating in the conspiracy and two more years for phone harassment. Hansen is the fourth person charged in the case.
Two have pleaded guilty: former New Hampshire Republican State Committee Executive Director Charles McGee; and Allen Raymond, former president of a Virginia communications company. In December, furthermore, a jury convicted James Tobin, the former New England regional director for the Republican National Committee, of conspiracy to commit harassment.
Ex-Lawmakers To Lead Tech Think Tank
The Information Technology Industry Council on Monday formally unveiled the leadership of its new think tank, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.
The foundation will be co-chaired by former House members Jennifer Dunn, R-Wash., and Calvin Dooley, D-Wash. Its president is Rob Atkinson, a nine-year veteran of the Technology and New Economy Project at the Progressive Policy Institute.
The new think tank will focus on innovation, productivity and digital economy issues. Several lawmakers welcomed its launch.
"We cannot assume that innovation and productivity growth will continue to just happen," Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said in a statement. "I'm heartened that Rob Atkinson is leading a think tank dedicated to these crucial issues."
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., and Reps. Fred Upton, R-Mich., and Adam Smith, D-Wash., also applauded the development. Lieberman said the foundation will be "part of the important national effort underway to assure the future economic competitiveness of America."
Rep. Wolf Recognized For Science, Tech Work
The American Association for the Advancement of Science on Tuesday will present Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., with its George E. Brown Jr. Leadership Award for contributions to science, engineering and technology.
The award is presented annually to lawmakers who the group deems to be strong advocates for federal funding of science and engineering. It is named after the late Democratic Rep. George Brown of California, who himself was such a strong advocate.
Quote Of The Week
"Using children to make politicians seem human is about as old as the country."
-- Mike Cornfield, director of the Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet, on the decision of 14-year-old Elizabeth Santorum to promote her father, Sen. Rick Santorum, in a Web video for his re-election campaign.
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