Tech Policy and Security E-letter: Tech Bills Make Debut

Byline: Robert MacMillan

Congress is supposed to have the government's fiscal house in order -- by tomorrow.

There's little hope of that happening this October, however, as the House and Senate lag behind in the appropriations process and Democrats skirmish with the White House in a bizarre pre-game to the much-anticipated war with Iraq. Add next month's mid-term elections to the mix, and it seems like high time to introduce some technology bills.

As you'll recall from civics class, the U.S. Congress convenes for two-year sessions, making 2003 the first year of the 108th Congress. All legislation that has not been sent to the White House for signing or rejected in a vote dies, and must be reintroduced in the next session if its sponsor wants the bill to be considered.

As a result, members of Congress love to drop a bundle of bills at the end of the season for their colleagues to consider, either as a warm-up for legislative action in the next session or as an enticement to voters the coming election.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-La.) has offered a preview for action next year with a bill to accelerate the U.S.'s transition to digital television. Privacy bills from Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) and Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ernest "Fritz" Hollings (D-S.C.) may end up in this camp as well.

Here are some of the other late-breaking bills that could affect the technology sector as early as this year or be the top topics of tech talk in early 2003:

* S. 3006: This bill prohibits Internet gambling, and is sponsored by Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.). Johnson faces a tough reelection battle against his state's lone House member, Rep. John Thune . Laying down a firm statement against what many people still consider a vice usually doesn't hurt a candidate, even if the bill goes nowhere. The FBI also has linked Internet gambling to terrorist money laundering, which no legislator is likely to support.

* H.R. 5429: Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) wants to exempt satellite television and Internet services from local taxation. This is a follow-up to the Internet taxation debate. The idea behind a bill like this is that new technologies that could help jump-start a slumping economy should get a tax break to foster more consumer adoption and to nurture an ailing tech sector.

* H.R. 5469: Responding to general dissatisfaction from both Web radio broadcasters and the recording industry, House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) introduced this bill to delay the imposition of Web broadcasting royalty rates by six months.

* H.R. 5457: Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.) introduced this bill to exempt lawyers from the privacy provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act . Biggert claims that lawyers working on financial services cases might not be able to get the information they need in certain cases because of privacy clauses in the GLB law that apply to banks and other financial institutions.

* H.R. 5474: This bill also changes Gramm-Leach-Bliley, though it intends to strengthen the Act's privacy protections for customers whose identities are stolen from financial institutions. It was introduced by Rep. Gerald Kleczka (D-Wis.).

-- Robert MacMillan , washingtonpost.com Tech Policy Editor

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