House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., plans to bring up two cybersecurity information sharing bills -- the Protecting Cyber Networks Act (HR-1560) and the National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act (HR-1731) -- for a House vote next week, he said on the House floor Thursday. Both bills would offer liability protection to companies that share cyberthreat information with federal agencies. “These bipartisan bills will improve cyberthreat information sharing between the private sector and the government, and ensure that America can meet cyber challenges now and into the future,” McCarthy said. The House Intelligence Committee-passed HR-1560 addresses private-sector sharing with U.S. intelligence agencies, while the House Homeland Security Committee-passed HR-1731 would establish the Department of Homeland Security’s National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center as the main federal civilian hub for information sharing. House Homeland Security unanimously approved HR-1731 Tuesday (see 1504140044). The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (S-754), HR-1560's Senate equivalent, passed the Senate Intelligence Committee March 17.
CEA hosted its annual CES on the Hill exhibit Wednesday in the Rayburn cafeteria, showcasing technologies from such companies as Dish, Google, Microsoft, Qualcomm and Snapchat. The exhibit was open to the lawmakers, press and invited guests. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., a former chairman of CEA, was frequently present on the exhibition floor, in animated conversation with CEA President Gary Shapiro. Qualcomm Senior Government Affairs Analyst Ayush Soni told us of the company's Smart Cities initiative, focused on improving various municipal efficiencies through the use of the IoT. Qualcomm pays special attention to spectrum policy as a result, Soni said. Lawmakers attending the event included Reps. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah; Suzan DelBene, D-Wash.; Blake Farenthold, R-Texas; Mike Honda, D-Calif.; and Bill Shuster, R-Pa.
Congress should declare April 30 “Internet Independence Day,” a self-styled group of “tech elders” told leaders on the Commerce committees in a letter Thursday. They slammed “the dangerous and uncertain legal path” the FCC has taken in reclassifying broadband as a Communications Act Title II service. April 30 is the 20th anniversary of the decommissioning of the National Science Foundation Network. The letter’s signatory was Daniel Beringer, founder of VCXC and speaking on behalf of the tech elders. That group includes Vonage founder Jeff Pulver and MP3.com CEO Michael Robertson.
USTelecom Senior Executive Vice President Alan Roth praised the House Homeland Security Committee Tuesday for marking up the National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act (HR-1731) and advancing the cybersecurity information sharing bill toward full House consideration. The bill is one of three information sharing bills that House and Senate leaders plan to marry into a single bill in the near future (see 1504140044). “The purpose of this and related bills should be to protect American networks, critical infrastructure, intellectual property, and consumers from incoming threats and cyber-attacks -- not to encourage the second-guessing of decisions that must often be made in a split second by network engineers,” Roth said in a statement. “A public law that renders our networks less safe, or that results in little or no private sector participation for fear of attracting litigation, will ultimately be judged a failure. We hope all interested parties will bear that in mind as the amendment process unfolds on the House and Senate floors.”
A hearing on progress in expanding the benefits of telehealth nationwide, particularly in rural areas by the private sector and government entities, is set by the Senate Communications Subcommittee for April 21 at 10 a.m., a Senate Commerce Committee media advisory said. “From continuous monitoring of serious health conditions from home over the Internet to real-time consultations with medical professionals, advancements in telehealth have the potential to revolutionize the health-care industry and drastically improve access to care,” the advisory said. The global number of patients using telehealth services has been predicted to grow from 350,000 in 2013 to 7 million by 2018, it said. Federal entities that have jurisdiction over telehealth technologies include the FCC, the FTC, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services. Witnesses include Chief Telehealth and Innovation Officer at the University of Mississippi Medical Center Kristi Henderson; American Telehealth Association CEO Jonathan Linkous; and Panasonic North America Chief Technology Officer Todd Rytting. The Senate passed a resolution (S.Res. 588) last Congress that said access to hospitals and healthcare providers for patients in rural areas is “essential to the survival and success of communities in the United States,” the advisory said.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, is still plotting net neutrality legislation but lacks a time frame for introduction, his spokeswoman told us Wednesday. Lee had attempted to advance a symbolic budget amendment last month that would have prohibited the FCC’s Communications Act Title II reclassification of broadband, and his spokeswoman said he seemed interested in further legislation after his amendment failed (see 1503270039). Lee’s proposal would be “more of an extensive effort” than a Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval, but Lee would approve such a resolution, too, the spokeswoman said. Several GOP lawmakers in the House introduced a CRA resolution on Monday, but no Senate companion has emerged. Lee chairs the Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee.
MusicFIRST heralded recent endorsements of the Fair Play Fair Pay Act (HR-1733) from the AFL-CIO, Americans for Tax Reform and the Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) as proof that the bill has bipartisan support in Congress. Terrestrial and digital broadcasters, including NAB, are strongly opposing the bill (see 1504100044). The Free State Foundation endorsed HR-1733 Wednesday, with Senior Fellow Seth Cooper saying in a blog post that Congress should “give this legislation a prompt fair hearing.” The AFL-CIO endorsed the bill shortly after its introduction Monday, saying in a blog post that “a performance right is not a tax.” CFIF said in a blog post that HR-1733 “offers a corrective to years of unfairness in the industry, and it’s something that conservatives, libertarians and anyone who values property rights should support.” MusicFIRST Executive Director Ted Kalo said in a news release that “few issues have the power to unite principled observers from such different viewpoints as the twin pillars of economic fairness and free competition that lie at the core of this bill.”
Reps. Jody Hice, R-Ga., and Gary Palmer, R-Ala., now back the Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval on net neutrality (H.J.Res-42) from Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga. Collins introduced the resolution Monday (see 1504130053), touting 14 GOP backers initially and provoking opposition from Free Press and Public Knowledge. Free Press attacked the resolution in a blog post Tuesday, focusing on the “instructive” telecom and cable donations that two backers -- Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and Communications Subcommittee Vice Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio -- have received. “From 1991–2014, Goodlatte received a whopping $250,734 from AT&T, Comcast, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA), and Verizon,” Free Press said. “AT&T, which alone has given him $71,750, is his third biggest donor of all time.” Latta, from 2007 to 2014, “has received $127,100 from AT&T, the NCTA, Time Warner Cable, and the lesser-known Block Communications,” it added.
A version of the Senate’s IoT resolution, S Res-110, was introduced in the House Tuesday by Rep. Leonard Lance, R-N.J. H Res-195, which calls for the creation of “a national strategy for the Internet of Things to promote economic growth and consumer empowerment,” was referred to the House Commerce Committee.
A congressional resolution of disapproval attacking the FCC’s net neutrality order was referred to a committee where the leaders haven't embraced it. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., a member of the Judiciary Committee, introduced HJ Res-42 Monday, with the backing of Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va. (see 1504130053). But the Congressional Review Act resolution was referred to the Commerce Committee. The leaders of Commerce -- Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., and Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore. -- have outlined a goal of instead passing bipartisan net neutrality legislation. "While there are other tools at Congress’s disposal to express our displeasure with this action, I remain firmly committed to a bipartisan legislative solution,” Walden said last month at an event hosted by the American Enterprise Institute. Walden led a failed Congressional Review Act resolution against the FCC’s earlier net neutrality order in 2011. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters last month that GOP leadership is interested in moving an item that can pass both chambers and perhaps receive White House approval, cautioning against “partisan” net neutrality attacks (see 1503100045). HJ Res-42 now has 14 GOP co-sponsors. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, another member of Judiciary, is listed as a new co-sponsor. A Collins spokesman didn't comment on Collins' hopes to advance the resolution through Commerce.