The House late Thurs. passed an the Commerce-State- Justice (CJS)...

The FCC would see a $6- million increase to $280 million for FY 2005, while the FTC would receive an $18-million increase to $203 million. The House Appropriations Committee said that amount includes “full funding for the Do-Not-Call program.” The Commerce Dept. would get $186 million less than last year in the CJS bill with a mark of $5.8 billion, $301 million less than the Administration’s request. But the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, which is part of Commerce, would see a $300 million increase from last year to $1.523 billion. The House Appropriations CJS Subcommittee described that boost as building “on the subcommittee’s long record of providing generous funding levels to the PTO.” The House has passed a bill that would end the diversion of PTO fees to the U.S. Treasury and allow the agency to use the proceeds for its budget; that bill is pending in the Senate. The FBI would receive $5.22 billion, up $625 million from last year and $100 million above the administration’s request. The Subcommittee said the additional funding “provides enhanced training, information technology, and staff (1,233 new positions) to improve intelligence and counterterrorism capabilities, while continuing to fight white-collar and violent crime.” The Business Software Alliance (BSA) praised a $10-million earmark to target intellectual property theft, and said it would urge the Senate to include similar funding in the bill there.