OCTOBER 12, HOUSE AND SENATE PASS THIRD CONTINUING RESOLUTION - On October 12, the Senate passed, by vote of 90 yeas to 1 nay and the House passed, by vote of 407 yeas to 2 nays, H.J.Res. 111, A Resolution Making Continuing Appropriations for Fiscal 2001, a bill providing for temporary funding authority at current levels for Federal Departments, Agencies and programs until October 20.  The measure has been sent to President Clinton for his action.

OCTOBER 5, SENATE PASSES TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER COMMERCIALIZATION BILL - The Senate passed, by unanimous consent, H.R. 209, the Technology Transfer Commercialization Act of 1999, as amended.  The bill aims to simplify some of the Federal requirements that tend to slow the pace of the licensing process and make collaborations between the Federal government and corporate America difficult.  The measure would provide agencies with new tools by which to commercialize technologies arising from research in Federally owned or operated laboratories and would enable both inventors and labs to reap economic benefits from their inventions.  The bill would give lab officials the option of licensing inventions by themselves under an existing regulatory framework or including them in cooperative research and development agreements with business.  The House passed H.R. 209, by voice vote, May 11, 1999.

OCTOBER 5, INTERNET INTEGRITY AND CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION BILL REPORTED - The Senate Judiciary Committee (Chairman Hatch (R-UT)) reported favorably S. 2448, Internet Integrity and Critical Infrastructure Protection Act of 2000.  A Hatch (R-UT) amendment, adopted by voice vote. would remove controversial sections of the bill including online privacy provisions and would retain the provision that would establish a Deputy Attorney General to oversee the Justice Department's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and coordinate the prevention, investigation and prosecution of computer and intellectual property crimes. The bill would require operators of Internet sites to give consumers a chance to opt out of databases the sites compile with other companies.  The bill would create penalties for those who willingly breach Internet security and privacy protections and for hackers who jeopardize the integrity of the infrastructure.  In addition, the measure would promote enhanced coordination of Federal agencies to protect computer systems.  The bill would also authorize a campaign to educate consumers on the truths and myths concerning online privacy and security rights and would enhance penalties to deter violations of Federal computer crime laws.

OCTOBER 10, HOUSE PASSES DISASTER MITIGATION AND COST REDUCTION BILL - The House passed, by voice vote, H.R. 707, Disaster Mitigation and Cost Reduction Act of 2000, as amended.  The bill would authorize funding for programs that prepare communities for natural disasters and would streamline Federal responses to better assist the victims.  The measure has been cleared for the White House.

OCTOBER 10, HOUSE PASSES A BILL TO ESTABLISH A STANDARD TIME ZONE FOR GUAM AND THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS - The House passed, by voice vote, H.R. 3756, a bill to establish a standard time zone for Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marian Islands.

OCTOBER 11, HEARING ON PRIVACY PROTECTIONS FOR CONSUMERS - The House Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade and Consumer Protection (Chairman Tauzn (R-LA)) held a hearing on recent developments in privacy protections for consumers.  Witnesses included: Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-VA); Representative E. Clay Shaw Jr. (R-FL); Sally Katzen, Office of Management and Budget; Linda Koontz, U.S. General Accounting Office; Roger Baker, U.S. Department of Commerce; Robert Pitofsky, Federal Trade Commission; Larry Chiang, MoneyForMail.com; Glee Harrah Cady, Privada; Parry Aftab, Darby and Darby, P.C ; Mike Griffiths, Match Logic, Inc.; Andrew Shen, Electronic Privacy Information Center.  View witness statements.

OCTOBER 11 AND 12, HOUSE AND SENATE PASS DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION BILL - On October 11, the House passed, by vote of 382 yeas to 31 nays and on October 12, the Senate passed, by vote of 90 yeas to 3 nays, the Conference Report to accompany H.R. 4205, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001.   The bill includes a 3.7 percent military pay increase, a $60B program to expand health care coverage to military retirees and a program to compensate Federal workers exposed to radiation as part of their job.  Section 1061 of the Conference Report, Coordination of Federal Information Policy, directs heads of agencies to oversee the development and implementation of standards and guidelines relating to security controls for Federal computer systems by the Secretary of Commerce through NIST.  NIST, with technical assistance from the National Security Agency, would be required to develop standards and guidance for the security of Federal information systems, including development of techniques for security systems and validation programs; develop guidelines for training in computer security awareness and accepted computer security practices, with assistance from OPM; provide agencies with guidance for security planning; provide guidance and assistance to agencies concerning cost-effective controls when interconnecting with other systems; and evaluate information technologies to assess vulnerabilities.  The measure has been cleared for he President's action.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PLEASE CALL RELDA NACOS AT 301-975-3080.