Government Executive - Authors - Teri Rucker

Budget cuts curtail NIST cybersecurity work, other programs

Teri Rucker — Fri, 13 Feb 2004 00:00:00 -0500

"Labs are really impacted by the most recent appropriation," NIST's Mat Heyman said.

The list of cuts is long, but cybersecurity efforts will be reduced "substantially," he said, noting that NIST researchers do a lot of work to ensure that control systems that manage power plants, water-supply systems and utilities are safe from cyber attack.

"You would think that would be something we wouldn't want to cut back," Heyman said.

The $22 million shortfall also took a toll on NIST's other information technology work, such as helping other agencies with their IT issues. And it will cause the agency to issue fewer grants to universities and nonprofit groups that do research on microelectronics, material science and fire protection, among other things, he noted.

"We have terminated all our activities under the Help America Vote Act for lack of funding," Heyman said. Under that law, NIST had a prominent role in helping state and local election officials implement new voting systems. The law was implemented to improve the voting system after the recount confusion in the 2000 presidential election.

Changes also will have to be made to the way the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) is run, he said. Congress allocated less than $39 million for the program in fiscal 2004, down from the nearly $107 million it received in fiscal 2003.

To compensate for that two-thirds cut, the MEP headquarters staff will be cut in half and cease to produce new materials and tools to help manufacturers, Heyman said. The MEP centers around the country, which receive one-third of their funding from NIST, also will be put on month-to-month renewals rather than annual renewals.

The Commerce Department proposed reopening the contracts for the manufacturing centers to competition, a function that will have to be performed by the reduced headquarters staff.

The House Science Committee is concerned about the cuts and is looking for ways to mitigate them.

"We have to reverse the bad decisions on NIST that this Congress ratified in the omnibus spending bill and move forward," committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y., said at a hearing on the budget this week. "I'd like to see the Advanced Technology Program [ATP] and the Manufacturing Extension Program ... be part of that moving forward."

There is some good news in the $422 million budget request for NIST, which would be $85 million more than the fiscal 2004 allocation, but Rep. Vernon Ehlers, R-Mich., noted that the amount should be considered a bare minimum.

And that proposed budget increases might not be all it seems, one House source said. No money would be allocated to close ATP, a cost estimated at $35 million.

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Lawmakers want full assessment of terrorism risks

Teri Rucker — Thu, 12 Feb 2004 00:00:00 -0500

At a hearing Thursday, Committee Chairman Christopher Cox, R-Calif., said a complete risk assessment is needed to establish "more concrete goals to make the country safer" and to "deter irresponsible binge spending."

Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., agreed, complaining that she has been waiting for more than a year for the department to complete such an assessment. She demanded a timeline for completion, and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said he expects an assessment to be completed in the next 60 to 90 days.

But Christopher Shays, R-Conn., noted that it is not always easy to make the proper determinations about risk when the federal government relies on information from the states and states often "are just giving you a wish list" that is not based on need.

"We need to pare the wish lists down to needs," Ridge agreed, adding that perhaps a more rigorous set of criteria needs to be established for states to conduct the assessments.

Sanchez also voiced concern that "first responders" to emergencies are not getting the money promised by the states, and Jane Harman, D-Calif., complained that the Bush administration has recommended cutting all fiscal 2005 funding that would go toward making the technology systems of first responders able to communicate with each other. "I find this disturbing given the importance" of emergency personnel, Harman said.

Ridge said the federal government is "ready to cut the checks" to states, but the problem is that there are too many differing ways to distribute the money. Funding has been delayed as officials try to determine how to disburse the federal aid, he said.

At a recent conference, a Homeland Security official said last week that billions of federal dollars for "first responders" to emergencies in the states should be available by March 1. "We're moving very quickly," said Mark Dozier, a branch chief in Homeland Security's office for domestic preparedness. States "should see the money by March 1." Some $2.2 billion will be distributed among 56 states and territories, and he said there is sufficient money available to address the objectives that states are trying to accomplish.

Ridge also stressed that there is a role for the private sector to invest in security. He urged policymakers to explore whether the private sector should pay to use ports, airports and other sensitive areas that are expensive to protect.

Upon questioning from Curt Weldon, R-Pa., Ridge said he supports efforts to make the temporary House committee permanent and to consolidate congressional oversight of his department. He noted that department officials testified before Congress 120 times last year, that the agency has 420 General Accounting Office requests and that a "couple thousand" letters from Congress to answer.

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Across the Spectrum

Teri Rucker — Tue, 20 Jan 2004 00:00:00 -0500

"It is an honor to be doing this job," says Michael Gallagher, acting assistant secretary of Commerce for communications and information. In October, President Bush appointed Gallagher to head the National Telecommunications and Information Administration after Nancy Victory left the post over the summer. (Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., has put a hold on Gallagher's nomination over an unrelated fisheries issue.)

Gallagher was Victory's deputy in charge of spectrum issues, before being tapped by Commerce Secretary Donald Evans to be his chief of staff for policy. "This is the industry that I love," Gallagher said, "the industry that caused me to move my family to Washington, D.C., right after September 11."

"Digital," "plasma," "wireless," and "high definition" are the buzzwords that Gallagher brought home from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this month. The latest gadgets marry high-definition digital entertainment with wireless services. An example: a wireless video baby monitor that allows parents to view their child over a secure Internet connection. It's that kind of thing that makes Gallagher "energized about our role as policy makers."

Not that maintaining the excitement has been easy. When the technology bubble burst, bringing the fortunes of the telecom industry down with it, enthusiasm for the industry plummeted. Gallagher said that his belief in technology "has been tested because of the misfires of technology. The fraud that was pervasive throughout the tech and telecom industries made it hard to dig in and get policy support for the sectors." The tech and telecom sectors now seem to be mending, and Gallagher is optimistic about the industry's future -- and especially about crafting policy that will make better use of the nation's airwaves, or spectrum space.

Gallagher's focus on spectrum wins praise from his Clinton administration predecessor, Greg Rhode. "Spectrum management is critically important for the U.S. and for our future from a commercial standpoint and a national security standpoint," Rhode said. Gallagher, he said, understands that fact. Rhode is the founder and president of the consulting company e-Copernicus.

NTIA oversees the government's use of spectrum space, and Gallagher is charged with protecting the interests of the Defense Department, the Federal Aviation Administration, and other agencies that rely on spectrum to provide public services. He must also protect government needs while encouraging the use of new technologies and working with the Federal Communications Commission, which oversees commercial spectrum use.

In reality, Gallagher's role is limited because his job focuses on government-held spectrum. "The scope of NTIA is over federal government spectrum and as the communications policy voice for the administration," said one government source. Most of the rule-setting that governs the telecommunications industry is done at the FCC, the source added.

For example, the FCC launched a proceeding looking at whether high-speed Internet service offered over power lines is a viable broadband alternative, and what rules might apply to it. NTIA is testing whether the power-line service produces interference with other devices operating in that spectrum, such as amateur radio.

Gallagher, however, can still wield influence because he is the chief telecommunications advocate within the Bush administration responsible for touting the administration's policy positions. Gallagher thus has a bully pulpit and can lead government-industry negotiations.

"Mike is an excellent partner in advancing the telecom agenda for the country and in advancing the administration's agenda," said Bryan Tramont, chief of staff to FCC Chairman Michael Powell. He noted, "We two are committed to focusing on advancing prosperity and security."

That policy focus is not much different from the Clinton administration's. But Rhode noted that President Clinton traveled around the country stressing the importance of making sure that all Americans -- especially rural residents and low-income workers -- have access to the latest technology. Focus on such issues is missing in this administration, he said.

"The previous administration always asked, How do we take advantage of this growing pie and make sure all Americans can participate?" Rhode said. Technology, such as high-speed Internet service and the wealth of information and commercial opportunities it provides, is critical to education and economic development, he said. Companies, however, are slow to build infrastructure in rural and poor areas, because it can be very costly and hard to earn returns on that investment.

One way the Clinton administration backed its policies, Rhode said, was by creating the Technology Opportunities Program, which provides matching funds for projects seeking new ways to apply information-technology advancements. The Bush administration wants to phase out the program. "My hope is the administration would see value in this program," Rhode said.

Gallagher declined to comment on the opportunities program, but he said that the private sector is taking care of the digital-divide problem: Broadband is being adopted faster than any other new service, and new technologies will help companies to offer the latest advancements to rural areas and earn a profit. "Market forces," he said, are bringing those advancements, and "it is our job to remove the obstacles for deployment."

In 2003, the White House issued a memorandum asking NTIA and the FCC to develop a spectrum-policy agenda. Gallagher sees the charge as "a wonderful opportunity to develop a policy agenda that improves spectrum use." And he has plenty else to keep him busy this year. "We are still finalizing our agenda with the White House" for 2004, Gallagher said. He keeps handy a long list of issues that he expects will pop up in the year ahead.

The technology to watch, he said, is something called 802.16, or WiMAX, which "is not in the consciousness of regulators or consumers but has a capability that will present a very robust challenge to policy makers" when it becomes commercially viable. The technology enables 70-megabit-per-second wireless Internet connections over a 20-mile radius. WiMAX could thus solve the problem of bringing broadband to rural America.

"It could represent a significant paradigm shift in the policy debate because the technology could change everything," Gallagher said. The emergence of voice-over Internet protocols, or VoIP, as a viable telephone service will also top the policy discussion this year, he said.

The move toward applications such as VoIP is "like gravity. It just is," Gallagher said. "Congress and the administration cannot turn back the force of gravity; we need to adapt to it, and that is the call" of 2004, he said.

The FCC plans to study whether VoIP service should be regulated. Chairman Powell has publicly stressed that he is unwilling to burden the nascent service with regulation, but he has also said that it should not be exempt from public-service obligations, such as location-detection capability for 911 calls.

Gallagher is also optimistic that the Senate will approve legislation creating a spectrum reallocation fund to reimburse government spectrum users when they are moved to make way for commercial services. Proceeds from the commercial auction of spectrum will finance the fund. That bill has been hung up by an amendment that will let one company, Northpoint Technology, gain access to spectrum without going through the FCC auction process. Powell and the Bush administration oppose the amendment.

Gallagher is credited with working with Powell to bridge differences between the Defense Department and the technology industry to reach an agreement that doubled the amount of spectrum in the 5 gigahertz band available for wireless, high-speed connections known as Wi-Fi. The agreement will allow Wi-Fi services to coexist with military radar systems in the 5 gigahertz spectrum band. It will also lead to a global agreement this summer at the World Radiocommunication Conference specifying that the band will be used for such wireless Internet services.

NTIA helped forge a compromise between industry and government that freed up 90 megahertz of spectrum for commercial use. Government users will be moved to make way for third-generation wireless services, such as wireless data transmissions. The industry had said it needed 120 megahertz.

"Gallagher has helped in a number of areas to forge compromises between government spectrum users and commercial spectrum users where people thought compromise was not possible," said Scott Harris, who specializes in telecommunications policy at the law firm Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis. Gallagher's task is demanding: The NTIA director must contend with well-heeled industries that have big lobbying and campaign budgets and pit themselves against powerful Pentagon officials who use their swath of spectrum to protect the nation.

Gallagher sorts through it all, he says, by relying on science. As former vice president for state public policy at Verizon Wireless in Bellevue, Wash., he knows how the game is played. Gallagher says he wades through the rhetoric and uses science to find the threads of truth that lead to public policy that encourages innovation.

Gallagher will spend time persuading lawmakers to take up legislation that would roll NTIA into the Commerce Department's Technology Administration. When the Bush administration submitted model legislation to reorganize the department's technology functions, it was met with a lukewarm, if not chilly, reception in Congress. Neither Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., nor House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin, R-La., showed any interest in pursuing the proposal.

Some analysts believe that such a move would diminish NTIA's role and put much of the power in the hands of Commerce's undersecretary for technology, a position now held by Phil Bond.

But Gallagher remains enthusiastic. The Bush administration needs to do a better job of explaining its decision, he said. "It is inevitable the convergence we see in the private sector in telecommunications, computing, and wireless will be reflected in the structure of government," he said. "It will be required for us to serve the American people most efficiently and effectively."

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User-fee structure may jeopardize Patent Office improvements

Teri Rucker — Mon, 08 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0500

Thanks to spending cuts, PTO hired 300 new examiners for patent applications this year, is ahead of schedule on implementing an electronic filing system, and improved oversight and evaluation of its processes, PTO Deputy Director Jonathan Dudas said at the Intellectual Property Owners Association's "PTO Day."

But he added that the improvements are "all in jeopardy" if Congress does not approve a bill that would let the agency raise its fees and assure that the money goes directly to the PTO rather than being diverted by the administration to other agencies. To make improvements, Dudas said, PTO "had to make cuts that absolutely can't be sustained," such as not buying new computers, dramatically curtailing travel and cutting training.

The legislation he mentioned is stuck in the political process, and the level of funding set to be provided through the appropriations process in fiscal 2004 is not anywhere near enough to make the necessary changes to the office, he said.

One of the big policy concerns has been the diversion of PTO fees to fill budget gaps throughout the government, but currently the appropriations process just meets the budgetary needs of the agency, so fees are not being diverted, Dudas said.

Unless the agency gets the money to hire more examiners and make other changes, the number of patents awaiting approval could jump to more than 1 million by 2008, he said. The average wait for patent decisions also will increase. The goal was to hire 750 examiners this year instead of just 300, he said.

The "most critically important" step is getting Congress to approve the fee increases outlined in legislation offered by Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, Dudas said.

There were rumors that the bill might be added to the must-pass omnibus spending bill for fiscal 2004, but that did not happen. Dudas said he is unsure if there will be an opportunity to add the PTO language to that bill.

However, Dudas said having PTO funding being discussed alongside issues like Medicare at the end of the session gives him hope that lawmakers understand the importance of PTO reform and will debate the legislation.

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Science agency set for budget boost

Teri Rucker — Thu, 04 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0500

The House is expected to vote on the spending bill early next week, but it is doubtful that the Senate will act before January because of Democratic opposition to quick action. The measure combines the text of the seven remaining annual spending bills for the year, which cover spending for 11 federal departments, foreign aid and the District of Columbia.

The conference report for the bill, H.R. 2673, would allocate $5.6 billion for the NSF in fiscal 2004, about $130 million more than the Bush administration requested and a boost of nearly $300 million over fiscal 2003.

Lawmakers retained the House request of $4.3 billion for research, compared with the Senate's request of $4.2 billion for research and related activities. The bill maintained the Senate's allocation of $3.9 million for the National Science Board, the governing body of NSF.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration would receive $15.5 billion, a boost of $80 million over the fiscal 2003 level.

The Senate bill sought $15 million to help public housing residents develop the technology skills needed in today's workforce, but the compromise makes no mention of such an earmark.

Within Commerce, the Technology Administration would receive $6.4 million in fiscal 2004 despite efforts by the Senate Appropriations Committee to eliminate funding for the agency. The administration had sought $8 million.

Lawmakers also agreed to provide $14.6 million for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration within Commerce. And $22 million would be allocated for grants to fund public telecom facilities, planning and construction, and $15 million would be for information infrastructure grants.

The omnibus bill also contains $39.6 million for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership housed at the National Institute for Standards and Technology and $179.1 million for the Advanced Technology Program, dictating that $60.7 million would have to be spent by the end of fiscal 2004. The Bush administration had targeted both programs for cuts.

Congress also earmarked $1.8 million for the Social Security Advisory Board, noting that funds unused by the end of fiscal 2004 would remain available for the Social Security Administration to invest in information technology and telecom equipment.

Appropriators are calling for the funding of technology investments for drug enforcement efforts. For example, the bill would offer the Drug Enforcement Administration $6.8 million "to enhance the Internet Online Investigations Project" and to develop a system that would enable online transfers of prescriptions from doctors to pharmacies.

Other tech-related items include a $1 million allocation for the Broadcasting Board of Governors to oversee a pilot program that would use Internet technologies to thwart jamming of broadcasts to China.

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Think tank debate focuses on counterterrorism tools

Teri Rucker — Tue, 21 Oct 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Information technology can be used to help fight terrorism because it places huge amounts of searching information at the fingertips of law enforcement, but the creation of the Terrorist Threat Integration Center (TTIC) and a Sept. 16 presidential directive has some people concerned about the impact that such initiatives may have on civil rights.

The September directive on the integration and use of screening information worries Dan Gallington, a senior research fellow at the Potomac Institute, because "it may be the first step in the creation of a terror watch list that would be U.S.-person centric," he said. The directive tells the attorney general to establish an organization to consolidate the government's approach on terrorism screening and requires agency heads to provide data to the TTIC.

Other surveillance measures have been foreign-citizen centered, with special protections afforded to U.S. citizens, Gallington noted, and "that is a huge distinction." The lack of congressional oversight also is troubling, he said.

While acknowledging that the government must have access to information and be able to connect dots to identify potential terrorist threats, "the executive branch is not making the task any easier" with some of its decisions, said Jim Dempsey, executive director of the Center for Democracy and Technology.

"Creating TTIC was a mistake," he said, because it repeated functions delegated to the Homeland Security Department, which is subject to congressional oversight. TTIC is not subject to oversight, and that raises red flags for civil libertarians, he added.

The now-defunct Terrorism Information Awareness program for mining data to try to identify potential terrorists also raised concerns that the administration could use it to create dossiers on U.S. citizens and prompted Congress to yank the funding.

Dempsey said it was a shame that funding was cut because the program was worth studying. He noted that the capabilities of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) project did not meet expectations but that the hype created by DARPA probably killed the idea.

Brandon Milhorn, a counsel for the Senate Intelligence Committee, bemoaned the demise of the project, saying that it is like asking the intelligence community to fight terrorism "with pen and paper and a phone." He dismissed the complaints that the data mining planned as part of the project could have been used against U.S. citizens, saying that the intelligence community "has enough work as it is to track terrorists, let alone to track normal people."

Jay Stanley, legislative counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union, said officials never offered sufficient assurances that the program could not be abused. Oversight and safeguards are necessary to ensure against investigations of law-abiding citizens, he said.

But Robert Popp, special assistant to the director of strategic matters at DARPA and someone who worked on TIA, still believes in the use of technology to efficiently investigate concerns.

Dempsey argued that no one wants to deprive the government of terror-fighting tools but that the government has many tools already, including the criminal code.

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Officials voice concern about threats to key facilities

Teri Rucker — Thu, 04 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Last month's blackout in parts of the United States and Canada proved that the nation's critical infrastructures are interdependent, but just how connected they are and what ripple effects could occur after wide-scale damage to any one of them is uncertain, panelists told a House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Thursday.

"Understanding that the number of critical infrastructure targets is so vast and facilities spread so widely that no system can be perfect, the structure of private and government entities acting in coordination will also provide an effective response in the unfortunate event an attack occurs," FBI Executive Assistant Director Larry Mefford told the Cybersecurity, Science, and Research and Development Subcommittee.

But other panelists said the information that the government needs to achieve such coordination is not available.

Neither Mefford nor Cofer Black, the counter-terrorism coordinator at the State Department, could identify how great the threat is for remote computer attacks against the power grid, water-treatment plants or nuclear facilities. Committee Chairman Christopher Cox, R-Calif., asked whether upgraded systems are more vulnerable because their computer codes are more easily hacked than past systems, but neither official knew the answer.

Paul Gilbert, former chairman of a National Research Council panel that studied the safety of energy systems, is concerned about upgraded systems in the energy sector. To reduce operating costs and create efficiency, many companies have installed cyber controllers to do jobs previously done by people, he said.

"These open-architecture cyber units are an invitation for those who would seek to use computer technology to attack the grid," Gilbert said.

While studies of the electrical grid have been done, much less is known about other critical infrastructures, such as telecommunications, panelists said, and that is one of the most critical.

All sectors of the economy put telecommunications as first or second on the list of sectors upon which they depend most, said Kenneth Watson, president and chairman of the Partnership for Critical Infrastructure Security. But the necessary modeling and simulation work to assess vulnerabilities and how to address problems simply has not been done, he said, and it will take years and billions of dollars to do so.

For example, it would cost $270 million to $360 million and up to two years to model the telecommunications sector alone, he said. "Multiply that by 12 sectors, and then you can start on the cross-sector interdependency modeling," Gilbert added.

Strong coordination among industry, national laboratories and government agencies is necessary to understand the problem, Gilbert said, but much of the information needed to create the models may be proprietary and that problem also must be addressed, he added.

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Commerce issues plan to reorganize technology agencies

Teri Rucker — Thu, 17 Jul 2003 00:00:00 -0400

The proposal would consolidate the Technology Administration, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, National Institute of Standards and Technology and the e-commerce policy functions of the International Trade Administration. The plan requests slightly more than $8 million for the new agency.

"This bill modifies and modernizes the organizational structure of the Department of Commerce to enhance the formulation of technology, electronic commerce and telecommunications policy issues," Commerce Secretary Donald Evans said in a letter accompanying the draft.

He sent the proposal to Vice President Richard Cheney, Republican and Democratic leaders in the House and Senate, and the chairmen and ranking Democrats of the Senate Commerce and House Energy and Commerce committees.

Under the proposal, the new agency would be called the Technology and Telecommunications Administration, and it would be headed by an undersecretary chosen by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The current undersecretary for technology policy, Phil Bond, would serve as undersecretary for the new agency until the president appoints a successor.

The undersecretary's responsibilities would be to advocate technology and telecom policy at the federal, state and local levels as a way to promote economic growth, job creation, national security and safety, the draft says. "We need to adjust our thinking and adjust our structure to keep pace with the world, our economy and innovation," Evans said in a statement.

House lawmakers on Energy and Commerce, which would have jurisdiction over a bill to implement the plan, are still studying the proposal. "We are going to look at it very carefully and keep an open mind, but Chairman Tauzin is not making any other commitments at this time," panel spokesman Ken Johnson said of W.J. (Billy) Tauzin, R-La.

Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., also is reviewing the legislation but remains undecided about the issue, Upton's spokesman said.

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Senate Commerce Committee backs spectrum trust fund

Teri Rucker — Thu, 26 Jun 2003 00:00:00 -0400

The Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday approved legislation that would create a trust fund to reimburse government spectrum users who are reallocated to new spectrum to make way for commercial services.

The panel also approved an amendment, over the objections of President Bush and the committee chairman, that would benefit Northpoint Communications and could harm the bill's chances on the Senate floor.

The bill, H.R. 1320, would require the creation of a trust fund to pay for the costs incurred when a government spectrum user, such as the Defense Department, is moved to another swath of spectrum to make way for commercial services. The money for the fund would be derived from the proceeds when spectrum is auctioned.

The House approved the bill on a 408-10 vote earlier this month. It is based on a proposal crafted by the Bush administration.

Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, said he intends to offer an amendment during floor debate that would require the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to submit to the Senate and House Appropriations and Commerce committees and to the comptroller general a copy of the cost estimates and timelines for reallocating spectrum. Congress and the comptroller would have the ability to approve or reject the proposal.

Stevens offered the amendment in committee but withdrew it over concerns voiced by Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va. Stevens noted that he would work with Byrd to resolve the issues.

The panel approved on a 13-8 vote an amendment offered that would reserve the band of spectrum from 12.2 gigahertz to 12.7 GHz for fixed-terrestrial communications services. The amendment stipulates that the spectrum could not be used for mobile telephone services.

That band of spectrum and the terrestrial services are well-suited to help rural areas receive high-speed Internet services and broadcast signals, said New Hampshire Republican John Sununu, who offered the language with Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.

He garnered support from many lawmakers who represent rural areas. Backers of the amendment included: John Breaux, D-La.; Conrad Burns, R-Mont.; Byron Dorgan, D-N.D.; Trent Lott, R-Miss.; and Stevens.

"I strongly oppose this amendment," said committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., noting that the Bush administration, the wireless telephone industry and others also oppose it. Committee ranking Democrat Ernest (Fritz) Hollings of South Carolina also objected, asking that if spectrum is given to one company, "do we have to give everybody free spectrum?"

Stevens noted that fixed-terrestrial services are the only way that many rural areas will receive the same services as urban areas, but he acknowledged that the proposal was the result of pleas from one company. "We know what it is; it's Northpoint," Stevens said.

Northpoint Communications brought its proposal to the FCC seeking access to the spectrum without success and then turned its sights on Congress. After the markup, industry sources noted that the amendment could hurt the bill's prospects on the floor.

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Industry wary of spectrum reform

Teri Rucker — Fri, 20 Jun 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Current policy assigns certain bands of spectrum to specific types of devices. But the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has been working on technology that would allow devices to coexist within the airwaves, hopping from one band to another to make way for other users, said Preston Marshall, the program manager of DARPA's Next-Generation Communications Program, which is called XG.

Commercial spectrum users often complain that all of the good "beachfront property" within the airwaves is reserved for services that use it inefficiently, such as television broadcasting. There is "a ton of open spectrum out there that can be used" if those restrictions are lifted, said Mark McHenry, the president of Shared Spectrum.

McHenry's company recently studied the amount of spectrum used in downtown Washington, D.C., and found that depending on how you calculate it, only an average of 20 percent to 38 percent of the spectrum for that area is in use-much of it in the band used by broadcasters.

That opens an opportunity for projects like DARPA's XG and experiments with software-defined radios and other smart technologies that are designed to make better use of the spectrum.

To do that, users need a set of rules on how to behave once these technologies become viable commercially, so Kalle Kontson, a member of the FCC's technology advisory committee, helped craft a "bill of rights" on spectrum use.

The document stipulates that "intelligent" wireless devices may access any available spectrum, but each device "must be ordained to be mentally competent to detect if it is interfering with someone else trying to use the spectrum," Kontson said. The bill of rights also says that spectrum users have the right not to face interference, "but you can't be unduly sensitive," he said.

The FCC embraced many of the concepts in a report issued late last year that recommends how to reform spectrum policy. The agency favors minimal regulation and flexible spectrum use. "We are not going to pick technology," said Ed Thomas, chief of the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology, but "we are going to enable a playing field."

"It wasn't too long ago that the FCC would have looked at Preston and Kalle and said at best they were drinking and at worst they were agents of the devil," Homas, said after the comments by Marshall and Kontson.

Now the agency has embraced the ideas they raised, Thomas said, but the industry has reservations. While industry officials have embraced the concepts in the report fully, Thomas noted that they think the ideas are "great, but try it in the other guy's band" of spectrum.

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Panel plans to tweak Homeland Security Department Act

Teri Rucker — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 00:00:00 -0500

The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee plans to move quickly on legislation he introduced Tuesday that would make changes to the act creating the Homeland Security Department, saying at a hearing on Friday that the bill consists of "a series of technical amendments that are non-controversial."

Chairman Christopher Cox, R-Calif., scheduled a Monday afternoon committee vote on the bill, H.R. 1416. "This is, in fact, a very straightforward and technical amendment to the act," he said.

Michael Dorsey, director of administration at the department, essentially agreed but told the committee that because the Bush administration "only recently received" the bill, it will have no position on it until after conducting a more thorough review.

Rep. Jim Turner, D-Texas, expressed concern about the "erosion" of the Freedom of Information Act under Section II of the legislation, which would prohibit information that private companies disclose about their critical infrastructure and security issues from being publicly released.

"I want to be sure Congress in no way expands" or creates room for the provision to be interpreted any more broadly, Turner said, noting that lawmakers must "ensure companies do not utilize this provision to keep from the public information that should be available to them under the guise of security concerns."

Dorsey noted that he believes the changes are "just trying to correct the grammar" and not change the meaning of "critical infrastructure" or the intent of the original language.

Most sections of the legislation correct typographical errors, Dorsey noted, but the administration likely will seek changes on the section that deals with immigration-related powers and the department's duties regarding border and transportation security.

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., queried how that section of the bill would affect the Bureau of Citizenship and other immigration issues.

"That is the area where we have some concerns," Dorsey said.

But Cox explained that the legislation seeks to ensure the smooth transition of immigration services from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to the Homeland Security Department. Cox noted that that section of the bill has more substantive than purely technical changes because the structure of the new department "does not mimic the structure at INS."

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Homeland nominee praised at confirmation hearing

Teri Rucker — Fri, 24 Jan 2003 00:00:00 -0500

Gordon England, nominated to be deputy secretary of the new Homeland Security Department, got strong reviews during a Senate Governmental Affairs Committee hearing Friday with all lawmakers in attendance expressing confidence in his selection.

Senators were equally enthusiastic in urging England to ensure a balance between civil rights and privacy concerns and national security efforts. "I believe that you and Secretary Ridge have the experience and background, the conviction and character, to steer this new department on a successful course," Governmental Affairs Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, told England. Collins predicted committee consideration next week of England's nomination and quick Senate approval.

Meanwhile, at a White House ceremony Friday afternoon, Tom Ridge was sworn in as the first Homeland Security sectretary.

On Capitol Hill, England told the committee that the nation is safer than it was prior to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and "it will be better as we develop new policies" to assess vulnerabilities and threats and to develop a response plan.

Collins and Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., raised concerns about invasions of privacy as the government builds databases to track information in an effort to prevent an attack. Levin hailed the passage Thursday of an amendment by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., to limit spending on the Defense Department's proposed Total Information Awareness program until Congress can review privacy and civil liberties issues related to the plan.

"The ability to violate privacy is huge," Levin said, noting that he wants law enforcement "to go after terrorists in a way that does not undermine the rights of citizens." England told the committee that he shared their concerns and recommended that a privacy officer be involved at the beginning of any project to consider any privacy considerations. Congress and the American people should be informed of those policy choices and given an opportunity to review them, England said.

Collins, noting that federal agencies do not share information with state and local law enforcement officials who will do much of the work, asked England how he planned to fix that problem. England said he would create a "collaborative environment" and put processes in place that ensure federal officials share necessary information with state and local officials. Levin also urged England to ensure that GAO has access to records and information at the new agency. "They are a watchdog and you folks are going to need a watchdog," he said.

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Bush science advisers contemplate technology transfer

Teri Rucker — Thu, 12 Dec 2002 00:00:00 -0500

Determining just how effective the federal government is in translating its new discoveries into private-sector successes can be difficult because it is so hard to measure, but the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) wants to sort it out so it can craft a list of "best practices" that federal labs and universities can follow.

"It is hard to come to a consensus on how technology transfer is doing," Mark Wang, associate director of RAND's Science and Technology Policy Institute, said on Thursday at a RAND forum. It is difficult if not impossible to put a dollar value on some research because it can be decades before the benefits are realized in the marketplace, he said.

That means policymakers should develop more meaningful metrics, with the understanding that "one size does not fit all," said Bruce Mehlman, assistant secretary for technology policy at the Commerce Department. "We've got to measure what we value and not value what we measure," Mehlman said, cautioning that policymakers should be careful not to skew the research toward short-term efforts because they are easier to quantify.

Mehlman also outlined recommendations that he said PCAST should consider during its review of technology transfer policies. Research labs should focus on making the transfer of government research to the private sector a priority and a part of the culture, he said.

Policymakers also need to understand the effect the Bayh-Dole Act, which outlines the process for technology transfer, has on getting new technologies from federal labs into the hands of consumers.

Some comments filed with PCAST were defensive of the law, Mehlman said. He urged the research community to be honest in its assessment of the statute. The administration wants "to strengthen technology transfer, not bury it," he said.

Lita Nelson, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's technology-transfer office, urged policymakers to leave the Bayh-Dole Act alone. "Don't twiddle with it like the tax code," she said, because it has taken universities about a dozen years to tweak the process and get it right.

Nelson noted that the trend in technology transfer has been small, startup companies jumping on the latest technologies, developing the applications and then forging partnerships with large companies. "Large companies have been reluctant to take great risk" because the volatile stock market demands a quick return on investment," Nelson said.

She also urged policymakers to leave patent law alone, noting that it has withstood "all sorts of new technology without changing definitions."

However, lawmakers are going to have to determine how to handle technology transfer from the new Homeland Security Department, said David Beier, partner at the Hogan and Hartson law firm. Beier said the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy should coordinate the effort to find ways to transition research to combat bioterrorism and other issues into products that will benefit the public.

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Officials worried about ability to inform public of terrorism

Teri Rucker — Wed, 06 Nov 2002 00:00:00 -0500

The preparation for another terrorist attack or other wide-scale disaster should include having a plan to ensure that the public has the information it needs to make life-and-death decisions and that the information is disseminated should networks go down, members of an FCC panel said Wednesday, but thus far the plans are in the nascent stages.

Virtually everyone on the agency's Media Security and Reliability Council, including those from the White House Office of Homeland Security, agreed that the United States will be hit by another terrorist attack. But most of the council's working groups will not submit final proposals on protecting the nation's broadcast and multichannel video-program distribution systems for a year.

"Time is not on our side," said William Baker, president of Thirteen/WNET in New York. He urged the council to create a list of interim steps and best practices that will help people get access to the information they will need.

Marianne Burtnett, staff director for the Homeland Security Office, said the office is preparing to launch a Web site that will be a single repository of safety- and emergency-related information. That site should launch in the next couple of months, she said.

However, Burtnett noted, "There is a huge 'digital divide,' so not everyone is going to have access to that information." In tandem with the site, she said the government should sponsor public education projects, particularly in schools, to ensure that people know how to respond to various emergencies.

Media industries such as television, radio, satellite and multichannel distribution are working together to assess the risks and vulnerabilities to each industry. The goal is for the outlets to share information and collaborate to ensure public access to the most reliable information, said Bruce Allan, vice president of Harris Broadcast Communication's broadcast division.

However, industry players have to determine how to overcome issues that prevent media outlets from collaborating, said John Eck, president of broadcast and network operations at NBC. Those issues include the desire for competition between companies, concerns about copyright infringement, and technological, legal and financial barriers.

Another problem the broadcasting industries must overcome is the transition to digital transmissions by television and radio broadcasters. For that reason, the council created the Future Technologies and Digital Solutions task force to determine exactly when the digital transition will be complete and what potential security benefits risks that will pose, Allan said.

For example, multicasting content simultaneously to a group of recipients is possible with digital signals and provides a built-in redundancy for networks, but digital transmissions will have vulnerabilities different from systems based on analog signals.

FCC Chairman Michael Powell told members of the council that the thought of a "horrible nightmare" scenario that could have been prevented should be the motivation to complete their plans as soon as possible.

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Union, activists urge GSA to suspend WorldCom

Teri Rucker — Wed, 30 Oct 2002 00:00:00 -0500

A group of union representatives and other activist groups took a stand Wednesday that WorldCom "should no longer benefit from the privilege of contracting with the federal government" because of the accounting problems that led to misstated earnings and the telecommunications company's bankruptcy.

The groups, called on the General Services Administration (GSA), the federal agency that oversees government contracting, to suspend the firm from bidding on contracts.

WorldCom should be made an example, and the GSA should use its "hundreds of billions of dollars of government purchasing power to deter" corporate misdeeds, Will Thomas, director of the corporate accountability project at the Gray Panthers activist group said at a press conference.

The groups also sent a letter to GSA on Wednesday, arguing that the agency has suspended the bankrupt Enron energy firm and its auditor, Arthur Andersen, from bidding on federal contracts because of similar accounting misdeeds and that WorldCom should meet the same fate. GSA may suspend a firm if "adequate evidence exists that it committed fraud, made false statements to federal securities regulators, or committed 'any other offense indicating a lack of business integrity or business honesty,'" the letter said.

In 2001, WorldCom won $425 million worth of federal contracts. Michael Salsbury, WorldCom general counsel, noted that none of the company's problems have affected WorldCom's ability to serve its customers, whether they are the federal government, businesses or consumers.

Morton Bahr, president of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), called for WorldCom to be split and its parts be allowed to operate separately or be sold to other firms. "The last thing we need today is for WorldCom to re-emerge debt free and wreak further havoc" in the telecommunications industry, he said, adding that the best way to protect the jobs of WorldCom employees is to divide the firm.

Bahr also complained that company employees were precluded from joining a union under its former executive, Bernard Ebbers, whom he described as "viciously anti-union." The workers at companies that Bahr recommended as purchasers of WorldCom's business units, such as Verizon Communications, are unionized by CWA.

Salsbury attacked the notion that punishing WorldCom would protect jobs. "If this effort by CWA were successful, the only winners would be the companies seeking to retain 100 years of monopoly control," he said. "The losers would be innocent WorldCom workers and the millions of consumers who are finally enjoying a competitive alternative."

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Government not at odds with entrepreneurs, report says

Teri Rucker — Thu, 03 Oct 2002 00:00:00 -0400

Conventional wisdom often says the business community will thrive absent government intervention, but a report released Thursday tries to debunk that wisdom. The National Commission on Entrepreneurship (NCOE) analysis finds a direct link between economic growth and public policy.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., praised the report, saying that he hopes it will foster a new way of thinking about the relationship between business and government. The notion that government is at odds with industry "creates a huge amount of resistance" to policies that could stimulate the economy and investment," he said, and perhaps the report will help change that attitude.

Growth in the American economy can be attributed to "a complex mixture of public policies that, intentionally or not, contributed basic ingredients for developing the American formula for growth through entrepreneurship," the report says.

The report identified five key ingredients that helped spark growth: allowing universities and federal labs to license new technologies for commercial use; creating financial markets; establishing dependable infrastructure, such as transportation and communications, that enables commerce; investing in technically talented people by funding university research and student aid; and adopting favorable tax policies for things like employee stock-ownership plans.

The report also cites the creation of strong accounting standards and oversight bodies, such as the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the tech-heavy Nasdaq stock market, as conducive to investment. For example, under New York Stock Exchange rules, companies like Intel, Sun Microsystems and America Online would not have been able to go public, the report says; the creation of Nasdaq made those public launches possible.

The favorable policies were the result of lawmakers addressing other priorities, but they had the unwitting effect of sparking entrepreneurship, NCOE Executive Director Patrick von Bargen said. Now, he said, the goal is to get policymakers to examine how policies unrelated to entrepreneurship still could stimulate economic growth.

NCOE has set an "action agenda" and will push lawmakers to institutionalize structures in the executive and legislative branches to monitor economic progress and track the effect of legislation on entrepreneurs. The commission also wants the government to collect data that accurately reflects entrepreneurial activity.

The report also calls for the government to take "bold steps required to build out the next phase of critical physical infrastructure: broadband deployment." In addition, NCOE is seeking increased research and development in the physical sciences, incentives for universities to transfer new technologies they have researched to found companies, and incentives for colleges to train technologically and scientifically savvy students.

Kerry called on small-business leaders to push the government to make the right decisions that will spark investment and economic recovery. Small business has the potential "to make revolutions in the economy," he said.

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Spending bills include multiple tech provisions

William New and Teri Rucker — Fri, 20 Sep 2002 00:00:00 -0400

The federal government's emphasis on homeland security has prompted appropriators to write numerous security-related provisions into the proposed fiscal 2003 spending bills, and some of the funding proposals involve technology. The fate of those ideas, however, remains unclear, as the start of the new fiscal year approaches and the appropriations process appears stagnant.

With less than two weeks remaining in the fiscal year, no appropriations bills have been sent to President Bush. A feud between moderates and conservatives over the Labor-Health and Human Services spending bill has delayed House action. The Senate has spent two weeks debating its fiscal 2003 Interior spending bill, which has been slowed by a still-unresolved debate over forest fire policy and the passage of $6 billion in drought aid for farm states.

Although some of the annual measures may not move separately because of legislative time constraints, homeland security funding seems likely to be a core component of any spending bill this year. And the unfinished bills offer a glimpse of the cash that is likely to come.

The Senate version of the Transportation appropriations bill touches on one of the more controversial issues: explosive detection systems for airports. The measure would put $124 million toward investments in such systems, with the money available until Sept. 30, 2004. Also within that bill, $5 billion would go to the Transportation Security Administration.

The Senate's Commerce-Justice-State bill includes one of the larger chunks of technology-related security money. It would allocate up to $65 million for automated data processing, as well as telecommunications and technical investigative equipment. The bill also would provide $475.3 million for counterterrorism investigations, foreign counterintelligence and other national security activities.

The proposed $4.2 billion for the FBI, which has shifted its focus to anti-terrorism efforts, would include $21 million for the National Infrastructure Protection and Computer Intrusion Program and $50 million for investigative data warehousing. The Immigration and Naturalization Service, meanwhile, would receive $362 million for an entry-exit system to track immigrants and $83.4 million to make its "Chimera" computer network interoperable, among other things.

State and local officials also stand to benefit through grant programs like those run through the Justice Department's Office of Domestic Preparedness and Community Oriented Policing Services program. ODP would receive slightly more than $2 billion, including money for state equipment grants. COPS funding would include $100 million to help state and local "first responders" to emergencies improve their communications equipment and $118.6 million for the COPS Technology Program.

The Senate bill to fund the Veterans Affairs Department, Housing and Urban Development and other agencies includes a provision for emergency-management planning and assistance. Among other things, it would provide $1.1 billion to conduct security clearances on state and local emergency-management personnel, $180 million to help make communications equipment interoperable and $60 million for training local "first responders" to emergencies.

The Senate measure to fund programs in the District of Columbia would allow the chief technology officer there to purchase up to $500,000 without approval or review, and the city would receive $10 million for the construction of interoperable communications infrastructure. That bill also would provide $15 million for emergency preparedness to cover public-safety expenses related to security events in the District and "costs of providing support to respond to immediate and specific terrorist threats or attacks."

The House Legislative Branch spending bill contains several security-related provisions. For example, it would prohibit any federal agency from monitoring personal information on the Internet, barring the use of federal funds to do so, but Web site operators could collect information for law enforcement or security purposes.

The House Treasury-Postal appropriations bill also would provide $24.1 million for the White House Office of Homeland Security and require the office to submit a detailed budget estimate by Nov. 1. In addition, the bill would provide $249.7 million for the National Archives and the Information Security Oversight Office to archive federal records and declassify documents, among other things.

Also in the House, the Labor-HHS bill would provide $20 million for a fund to foster departmental innovation in cyber and information technology security. And the Treasury-Postal bill would allocate $3.8 million for information technology modernization and $258,000 for "unforeseen emergencies of a confidential nature."

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Politicking delays FCC nomination again

Teri Rucker — Mon, 16 Sep 2002 00:00:00 -0400

The nomination of Jonathan Adelstein to fill the open slot on the Federal Communications Commission once again has been waylaid by ire over the Democrats' defeat of a judicial nominee, making it is unlikely the FCC nominee will get a vote on the Senate floor until close to adjournment, if then, sources say.

Republican anger over the Democrats nixing President Bush's nomination of Priscilla Owen for a federal circuit court judgeship, combined with the press of homeland security, appropriations legislation and talk of a war on Iraq mean that no one is even talking about Adelstein's nomination, Senate sources say.

Adelstein's nomination could be considered amid the rush of activity at the session's end. In the desire to leave town, lawmakers often are willing to dispense with prolonged debate and vote, possibly creating a window for the nomination.

The worst-case scenario would be inaction this year, another vote by the Senate Commerce Committee next year and further delays. That could leave Adelstein barely unpacked at the commission before he would have to go through the procedural hoops again. The term he is seeking to fill expires June 30, 2003.

The addition of another Democrat to join FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, the lone Democrat and often the lone dissenter, could change the voting dynamics at the agency, but only marginally. Right now, FCC Chairman Michael Powell is assured of Kathleen Abernathy's vote and has to work a bit to get the vote of Commissioner Kevin Martin, a source familiar with FCC dynamics said.

The question remains whether Martin will side with his fellow Republicans or join forces with the two Democrats on some issues and tip the balance, the source said, noting that it usually takes more work to get that third vote with the full five members on board.

Having another Democrat also could help Copps get his message across because it is easy to become marginalized when you are the only one complaining, the source said.

The seat was left open a year ago with the departure of Gloria Tristani, who resigned to run for Congress against Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M. President Bush nominated Adelstein, the legislative assistant to Senate Majority Leader Thomas Daschle of South Dakota, in February.

The nomination was not forwarded to the Senate until July, in part because of backlash over the failed nomination of District Judge Charles Pickering for the same U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals seat Owens later was nominated to fill.

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Lawmaker outlines priorities for homeland security legislation

Teri Rucker — Mon, 26 Aug 2002 00:00:00 -0400

ASPEN, Colo. -- There are a number of provisions, such as indemnifying firms that do business with the federal government, that Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., wants to see the Senate include in its bill to create a Homeland Security Department.

If the Senate does not address these provisions, Davis plans to fight to have them included when the House and Senate reconcile their legislation, he said last week at the Progress and Freedom Foundation's Aspen Summit.

The Senate's first order of business when it returns from the August recess is to address a bill, S. 2425, passed by the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee on July 25, which differs on key points from the bill, H.R. 5005, passed by the House on July 26.

"Our approach is to give limited indemnification to access new technologies," said Davis, who chairs the House Government Reform Technology and Procurement Policy Subcommittee. He said that the House approach is preferable to the Senate proposal to cap the amount of damages that can be collected, but Davis said he could support a combination of tort liabilities limitations and indemnification.

Davis also wants to see an expansion of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) exemptions. Currently, the legislation says it is applicable to firms that share information about security breaches to the Department of Homeland Security, but he wants it enlarged to cover other departments as well, he said.

With the FOIA exemption, "who will share information with the U.S. government" about their vulnerabilities or solutions to security problems if that information can be requested by competitors, the media or even terrorists, he said.

He predicted that the Senate would not act on the legislation by Sept. 11, but a Senate leadership source said the Senate could pass its own bill by the one-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

The same issues that plagued the House-passed bill, such as moving the Computer Security Division from the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) to the new department and workers rights issues, likely will resurface when the Senate takes up its bill, the leadership source said.

Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., supports moving the NIST division, but the tech industry opposes the shift and plans to mount opposition, sources said.

Davis also noted that biometrics will have "a huge role in homeland security." While biometrics technologies raise privacy issues, the reality is "if we play by the old rules in a free and open society, we are going to get slammed" by our enemies, Davis said.

In the next few months, the government will lift its spending freeze on information technology projects as policymakers and officials within a Homeland Security Department sort out their IT needs, Davis said.

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Democrats spar with Ashcroft over agency information sharing

Teri Rucker — Thu, 25 Jul 2002 00:00:00 -0400

America's ability to protect itself "has been undermined significantly by restrictions to limit the intelligence and law enforcement communities' access to and sharing of our most valuable resource. ... That resource is information," Attorney General John Ashcroft told the committee.

Some of that information will come through the Operation Terrorism Information and Prevention System (TIPS) that has recruited 1 million volunteers to act as informants and report any suspicious activities. The Justice Department group overseeing that program had proposed keeping the information in a database, a proposal that concerns lawmakers.

Ashcroft assured the committee that he has recommended that TIPS not create a database but instead pass information to relevant departments and agencies, which already have information-retention rules in place. He said he believes that suggestion will be followed.

However, Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., noted that in the past, such ideas that were set up to be "vigilant ended up being vigilante," and that was before law enforcement had computers with databases. "I am very, very concerned that we don't end up with a databank of innocent activity at a time of justifiable concern" that will hurt innocent citizens.

As law enforcers try to combat terrorism and implement changes to their agencies to do so, Leahy told Ashcroft he should do so with the Constitution in mind. "This country has an operation manual. It's called the United States Constitution," Leahy said, adding that any measures the Justice Department takes to gather information should fall within its limits.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, questioned Ashcroft on whether problems might arise if the FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center is transferred to the proposed Homeland Security Department. The center was created to anticipate threats and serve as the principle means of facilitating and coordinating the federal government's response to threats on any of the nation's infrastructures, including physical and cyber-based systems.

People who investigate computer crimes will remain at the FBI, Ashcroft said. Additionally, the employees who can offer guidance on protecting critical computer systems will move to the new department, Ashcroft noted, saying that employees in the two departments will remain in close contact and share information.

The ability to share information among agencies and to have the tools and the right to seek information over new technology, whether by tapping mobile phones or accessing information through the Internet, is integral to preventing future attacks, Ashcroft said.

Leahy and other committee members criticized the Justice Department for not providing lawmakers with information they have requested. "We really do want answers to our requests," Leahy said, noting 23 outstanding requests by senators, some of which date back a year. The senator also noted that House lawmakers face the same problem.

Ashcroft told Leahy he would investigate the matter and get the answers for Congress.

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Pentagon gives up part of airwaves for wireless industry

Teri Rucker — Tue, 23 Jul 2002 00:00:00 -0400

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the FCC completed a viability assessment that found 45 MHz of spectrum each in the 1710 to 1770 MHz bands and the 2110 to 2170 MHz bands without disrupting communications systems critical to national security.

The industry has been lobbying Congress and the administration to make spectrum in those bands available but found formidable opposition within the Defense Department. The Pentagon insisted that comparable spectrum be found for reallocation, that the costs to move be covered and that security operations not be interrupted.

Steven Price, deputy assistant Defense secretary, praised the proposal, noting that "military capabilities will not be degraded because [Defense] is gaining access to comparable spectrum where needed, receiving cost reimbursement and being afforded time to adjust to our operations."

The Commerce Department, which oversees NTIA, sent draft legislation that would create a trust fund for reimbursing incumbent government users for the cost of moving to different spectrum.

NTIA Director Nancy Victory said she is optimistic that Congress will pass the legislation before it adjourns for the year, noting that there is bipartisan support for the proposal, although sponsors have not yet been found.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ernest (Fritz) Hollings, D-S.C., and Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, issued a joint statement lauding the resolution to the spectrum question. The lawmakers said they soon would introduce legislation that addresses "a number of spectrum-management issues, including the reimbursement of government users when they are required to relocate." A spokesman for Hollings noted that Hollings would craft his own bill.

While Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., supports allocating additional spectrum for the industry, "it is a tall order to expect Congress to legislate on this before adjournment," said Colin Crowell, an adviser to Markey.

"There is a general consensus that more spectrum is better than less spectrum, but the details need airing," Crowell said, noting that Markey would push for inclusion of his legislation that would create grants out of spectrum-auction proceeds to fund educational and other programs, and to digitize library and museum content.

"This is a package deal," Price said. All agencies must meet their obligations, from assessing the cost to vacate spectrum to the FCC promulgating rules for spectrum allocation and auctioning it, to Congress approving the trust fund. "If they don't do it," he said, "we don't move."

Officials expect the FCC to be able to auction the spectrum by 2004 or 2005-it must be cleared by 2008-but it could happen earlier, depending on how quickly the process moves, they said.

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Officials see procurement reform as boon to security

Teri Rucker — Thu, 20 Jun 2002 00:00:00 -0400

"We have a chance to get it right," said Richard Clarke, the Bush administration's cybersecurity adviser. Outsourcing is a key component of security and more effective than having every agency create its own information technology system, Clarke said. He also suggested setting guidelines and letting contractors pick their own subcontractors.

Clarke advocated removing barriers that keep small businesses from selling to the government, and he recommended the creation of a funding pool to help such companies certify that their products meet security standards. The expense "makes it very difficult for small companies," he said, and government should share the cost of certification.

As Congress crafts legislation to create the new department, Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., is looking to incorporate separate legislation he sponsored. One measure, H.R. 3832, would create a federal acquisitions workforce, and the other bill, H.R. 4629, would create a single point of entry for homeland security procurement.

Deidre Lee, director of procurement at the Defense Department, agreed that the new department would give the government a chance to improve procurement. "Mushing together already existing agencies is not going to get us where we need to go," she said. The department would have a great deal of money, Lee said, "and we want to get a technology return on that investment."

Davis noted that his biggest fear is wasting a substantial portion of that money on procurement processes that do not make the most of taxpayer investments.

But Martin Wagner, associate administrator at the General Services Administration, cautioned that the problem is not always with the procurement rules but often with people who do not understand how to operate within the system.

"We need to put a lot of effort into bringing in the right people," he said, noting that many government employees are set to retire and that the government will face a real challenge finding qualified replacements.

One member of the audience called upon agency officials to be more open to suggestions from Congress on companies that offer new technologies, a sentiment Davis heartily endorsed. There is a tendency for some "to look at us as a bunch of special-interest lackeys" pushing to funnel government dollars to their district, Davis said. "There is some of that, but a lot of us are receptive to new ideas [that] an entrenched bureaucracy is not."

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Senators decry spectrum policy, name defense as top priority

Teri Rucker — Wed, 12 Jun 2002 00:00:00 -0400

Senators leveled criticism at the nation's spectrum-management process during a Tuesday hearing, calling the process everything from inefficient and piecemeal to a tool used to fatten the treasury, but they agreed that any changes must meet Defense Department needs.

"We do not have a spectrum policy," Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ernest (Fritz) Hollings, D-S.C., said in calling for a review of the way the nation manages its airwaves. He noted that there is a need for wireless-based high-speed connections to the Internet "but most importantly a need for the Department of Defense."

Before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Defense estimated that its spectrum usage would grow by more than 90 percent by 2005, but that figure is probably low given the need for enhanced security now, said Steven Price, a deputy assistant secretary at the department.

"Defense must have top priority," Price said, reiterating that any attempts to reallocate airwaves currently occupied by the department to new spectrum to make room for commercial wireless services must be studied carefully to prevent any disruption in national defense.

After calling for the United States to harmonize its commercial uses of spectrum with policies in other nations and to ensure that companies can deploy innovative services, Sen. George Allen, R-Va., conceded, "I don't think any of this will ever occur if the Defense Department feels this is harming" their ability to defend the nation.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) plans to release a report later this month on the feasibility of freeing prime spectrum for advanced wireless uses, NTIA Director Nancy Victory said.

Tom Sugrue, chief of the Federal Communications Commission's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, noted that moving toward more flexible uses of spectrum, including allowing carriers to change the types of services they offer or to lease spectrum to others, would improve efficiency.

But Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., questioned whether two agencies-the FCC and NTIA-should oversee spectrum and whether the auction process is wise. "I fear the division leads to bureaucratic turf battles," Burns said, adding that the auctions "create a win-at-all-costs mentality that inflates the prices" and debt that cripples the winning bidders.

At the request of Burns, the General Accounting Office (GAO) released a study on spectrum management that found the shared oversight of the FCC and NTIA generally has worked well but is becoming more complex as technology evolves.

While both agencies have policies to determine spectrum efficiency, a lack of resources and staff have hindered the government's ability to assess its spectrum use, GAO concluded. For example, one major agency has more than 1,000 frequency assignments that have not been reviewed in 10 years, said Peter Guerrero, GAO's director of physical infrastructure issues.

The agencies also "have not gotten the support they need in the budget process to purchase the equipment" that would make spectrum use more efficient, he said.

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Homeland security effort boosts e-gov initiatives

Teri Rucker — Mon, 13 May 2002 00:00:00 -0400

"E-gov"--shorthand for the information technology-based initiative intended to make it easier for individuals to access government services, while also cutting costs--has been expanding throughout the past decade, as the Internet has reached into the homes of rank-and-file citizens. But it is receiving heightened attention since the Sept. 11 attacks.

OMB is overseeing electronic government efforts at the federal level, and Mark Forman, associate director for information technology at the Office of Management and Budget, recently told a House subcommittee that e-government plans are integral to homeland security.

"Today, the federal government has only scratched the surface of the e-government potential," Forman told the subcommittee. "Basic management principles tell us that government operating costs will go down and effectiveness will go up if we make it simpler for citizens to get service."

The Bush administration has budgeted $50 million in fiscal 2003 for 24 e-government initiatives designed to eliminate redundant, non-integrated business operations and to make agencies more responsive to U.S. citizens.

But, to implement these changes, officials first must overcome several barriers-including conflicting agency cultures, as well as a lack of both resources and a trust in existing electronic systems, according to a recent GAO study.

For e-government to be effective, Forman said, the government must ensure that citizens feel safe using the Internet. He added that agencies would provide that sense of safety by incorporating privacy and security protections, providing public training and offering e-authentication.

The administration's proposed fiscal 2003 budget also outlines many problems with e-government implementation, grading each agency on its e-government performance. None of the agencies received a passing score, nine earned a yellow mark--which means that some of the criteria have been met--and 17 agencies rated a red score, indicating at least one serious flaw in its practices.

For example, the budget document contended that management of information technology investments is the Energy Department's "weakest link," and because the agency is consolidating its IT portfolio under a chief information officer, it was "impossible to evaluate compliance with e-government standards."

The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks also put the spotlight on protecting the nation's critical infrastructure, including its information technology systems. But a spokeswoman for the Commerce Department's Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office said that budget was not divided into specific components.

However, agencies charged with overseeing the nation's energy and food supplies are given funds to combat terrorism under the Bush budget. The budget allocates $451 million to the Health and Human Services Department for this purpose; the Agriculture Department would receive $195 million, and the Energy Department, $194 million.

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Responder networks must be interoperable, experts say

Teri Rucker — Thu, 09 May 2002 00:00:00 -0400

"God help us if 9/11 ever happens again," John Speight, public safety program manager for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, said Thursday at the National Conference of State Legislatures spring meeting. "Let's not lose the momentum."

But that is easier said than done, Speight said, because state, local and federal officials must battle technology, money and spectrum-allocation issues, as well as try to coordinate thousands of law enforcement, fire and public safety entities around the nation.

There are many competing technologies and each federal agency wants the leeway to select the best system for its needs, he said, but that means they often cannot interact. "Technology is as much a burden as it is a solution," Speight said. "If the government picks a technological standard, it stifles innovation, but without a standard, interoperability won't happen."

Congested public airwaves and lack of available spectrum that would be adequate for public safety systems to interoperate also is a problem, said Juan Otero of the National League of Cities. The inability of broadcasters to complete the transition to digital television by 2006 leaves needed spectrum occupied, he said, and "in an election year, taking on broadcasters can be a little dangerous."

"The problems of public safety interoperability are not new," Otero said. "We've been dancing around these issues in Washington, but powerful interests have been putting back public safety interests."

Otero urged state lawmakers to support a bill, H.R. 3397, that would require the FCC to assign spectrum in the 700-megahertz band to public safety services and to permit their operations on those frequencies by 2007. He was not optimistic for action this year but urged lawmakers to champion similar legislation in the next Congress.

Within the discussion of the digital transition, the issue is usually attached to freeing the spectrum for advanced wireless services and "the public safety piece always gets left off the agenda," Otero said. That is not acceptable, he said, because "unfortunately, the homegrown nuts are just as dangerous as the foreign-born nuts. ... We have to use the collective energy" at the state and local level "to get Washington to solve the problem."

Money also is an issue because replacing communication systems is expensive. Speight urged state lawmakers to be sympathetic to requests for communications funding as long as the new systems would be interoperable.

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