White House to push for tech policy action in 2011

News: Page (1) of 1 - 11/18/10

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration on will push Congress next year to move ahead on critical technology policies, the White House's technology chief said on Thursday.

The White House will work with Congress on bills dealing with on patent reform, privacy and corporate taxation, said Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra at a technology forum hosted by the Politico news service.

The administration needs Congress to help it reach its policy goals, he said.

"Much of the policy work is really contingent on congressional action or budgetary action, so you're by default waiting for some bigger stakeholders to participate," he said.

Chopra said he wants to find a balance between long-term policy goals, such as expanding high-speed Internet access and increasing government transparency and results that he can get in 90-day timeframes.

Republicans will take the House of Representatives in January, while Democrats will remain in control of the Senate. The divided Congress has led many political watchers to predict two years of legislative gridlock.

Lawmakers at the Politico forum echoed Chopra's hope for movement on technology legislation.

"Spectrum, (universal service fund) reform, privacy issues -- those kinds of things we need to work on and we can work on in a bipartisan fashion," Republican Senator John Ensign said at the forum.

Online privacy, which Congress has debated in one form or another for more than a decade, is being hailed as a consumer protection issue as more companies collect personal data and use it in advertising or sell it to third parties without telling people that they are doing it.

Patent reform, another recurring theme, has the backing of technology investors who say the system is not keeping up with the fast pace of software development and other innovations.

Ensign, ranking member of the Commerce subcommittee on communications, technology and the Internet, was less optimistic about prospects for Net neutrality legislation.

The underlying idea is that high-speed and mobile Internet providers should not give preferential treatment to content providers that pay for faster transmission.

Companies like Verizon Communications Inc, AT&T Inc and Comcast Corp have lobbied against this because they say it would hurt their profits.

At stake is how quickly handheld devices, like Research in Motion Ltd's BlackBerry and Apple Inc's iPhone, can receive and download videos and other content.

"Parties are not going to agree on Net neutrality," Ensign said, adding that there is no need for it.

Democrat Anna Eshoo, a candidate for ranking member of the House communications subcommittee next year, disagreed.

"I'm very concerned about what the Internet is going to look like," she said at the forum. "Is it only going to be the realm for those that are giants in the industry? Is it going to remain open and unfettered?"

Still, she said, Congress likely will avoid the issue because of a lack of consensus.

(Reporting by Jasmin Melvin. Editing by Robert MacMillan)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. Check for restrictions at: http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp

View the original article here

House GOP blocks bill to extend jobless benefits, tries to cut NPR funding

WASHINGTON — House Republicans voted Thursday to deny an extension of unemployment benefits for jobless Americans and tried to cut off public funding for National Public Radio, moves that reinforced the GOP's direction as their influence expands in Washington after midterm election gains.

The votes were not necessarily new tactics, as Republicans generally have opposed extending unemployment insurance unless it is paid for with federal spending cuts, and have vowed to take weekly votes to cut federal spending. But the two House votes, within hours of each other as lawmakers prepared to recess for a Thanksgiving break, provided an example of the agenda to come when the GOP takes control of the chamber in January.

"This couldn't come at a worse time," said Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, in making the case to extend unemployment benefits, which average $310 a week nationwide. "Although our economy has shown some signs of improving, far, far too many people are still unable to find a job."

Unemployment insurance expires Nov. 30 for 2 million jobless Americans. Democrats sought to extend coverage through February, when an additional 2 million would be without benefits.

Republicans opposed using emergency funds for the $12.5 billion cost of the jobless aid. Instead, they wanted the aid paid for by shifting federal funds from economic-stimulus accounts or from other programs.

Lawmakers voted 258-154 to extend the jobless benefits, but fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass the measure under a fast-track process. Eleven Democrats and 143 Republicans voted no.

Restricting federal funding for National Public Radio is part of the GOP's "YouCut" campaign, in which various federal programs are suggested for cuts. Visitors to a GOP website can vote for their favorites.

NPR long has been in the GOP's crosshairs for its perceived liberal bias. But the organization's firing of analyst Juan Williams after comments made on Fox News about Muslims flying on airplanes reignited the debate.

"NPR's recent firing of longtime news analyst Juan Williams was a wake-up call," said Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., the bill's sponsor. "It is not so much the liberal bias that offends me, but the fact that our tax dollars are funding it."

Most of NPR's funding comes from listener contributions and corporate sponsors, with a fraction coming from federal sources. The effort to curtail the funds died on a procedural vote.

View the original article here