With most of the policy activity in Washington quieting down during the August congressional recess, we thought it would be a good time to look forward and provide an update of the activity we anticipate on many of the key policy issues affecting the software and information industries. As we’ve reported in the past, we expect a flurry of activity on several issues, from patent reform to data security.
Intellectual Property
Patent reform sits atop the agenda when the Senate returns in September. Prior to adjourning for August recess, Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) filed cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 1249, the Patent Reform bill passed by the House of Representatives in June. The Senate will consider the cloture motion on Tuesday Sept. 6, and the legislation is expected to be voted on later that week. Indications are that several amendments could be considered, including a likely attempt to revisit the funding allocations provided in the House bill. This looks to be yet another significant step towards enactment of patent reform, but any changes to the legislation would require it to go back to the House again.
September also looks like it could be a big month for rogue website legislation (aka PROTECT IP Act). SIIA and supporters will continue to push throughout the recess for a Senate vote on the legislation in the near future. While in the House, we anticipate the House IP Subcommittee rogue website legislation to be introduced and considered in the first few weeks of September. The House bill is likely to be somewhat broader in scope than its Senate counterpart.
Cybersecurity
Despite the heavy focus on cybersecurity in the first half of this year, there are still many outstanding issues and a general lack of bipartisan consensus on the path forward. And while there is no shortage of legislative proposals, including major comprehensive proposals from the White House and two major Senate committees, there many key issues remain unresolved. That said, it’s likely that progress will continue. The House Republican Cybersecurity Task Force is scheduled to make a recommendation in the fall, and the Commerce Department is hoping to finalize a white paper reflecting revisions to their recent Green Paper on the “Internet, Information and Innovation Sector (I3S)”. But it’s still unclear how the Senate will proceed, and whether the effort led by Majority Leader Reid to draft comprehensive legislation will be introduced by the end of the year.
But what is clear is the desire to by some to advance legislation establishing a national framework for data security and data breach notification. The House Commerce Committee is hoping to consider the SAFE Data Act in early September, what will be a modified version of the legislation that passed out of the Commerce Sbcmte. in July. Given the strong bipartisan support federal legislation on this issue, it’s one of the areas where the opportunity for advancement is greatest. That said, there are still fundamental disagreements over such key issues as the definition of personal information, and the details of notification requirements, among others.
Cloud Computing
All eyes remain on the EU, as the cloud consultation is ongoing and comments are being collected until the end of August. The Administration is the other key center of focus, with cloud champion Vivek Kundra stepping down and Steven VanRoekel taking the helm. The ongoing efforts led by NIST to develop a Federal Cloud Computing Roadmap and accelerate the adoption of key standards are still on track for release this fall. And indications are that FedRAMP is moving forward and further details will be made available in early September, with the Program launched in later this year. While all this adds up to continued progress within the Administration to implement the Cloud First Initiative, the incredibly tight fiscal environment will also be a factor, quite possibly in providing a greater incentive to look to the cloud for cost savings. As for the lack of cloud computing legislation being introduced yet, it seems that our efforts in warning policymakers about the potential harm of this approach have been effective thus far.
Education Technology
Reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, now nearly a decade old remains at the top of the education policy agenda. While the House Ed & Labor Cmte. has approved 3 related bills, none have yet to go before the full House; and the Senate bipartisan working group has yet to yield agreement. In terms of crystal ball gazing, amendments to the law seem unlikely before the election. As a result, the Obama Administration has just announced its plans to provide state waivers, with rules expected to be issued in September. Meanwhile, on the appropriations front, the outlook is for cuts across the board due to the debt reduction efforts. On both fronts, SIIA continues to advocate for programs, uses of funds, regulations and funding to support learning technologies and related training.
Privacy
An issue that dominated the high-tech policy headlines for much of the first half of the year, the days leading up to the recess were quiet on the privacy front – relatively speaking. More than a dozen bills have been introduced and many are awaiting action, and two key papers are expected to be released by the Administration this fall, the Commerce-led white paper, and one from the FTC. Additionally, issues associated with mobile privacy, so called “location tracking,” gained a lot of attention by policymakers over the last several months, and this issue further complicates an already challenged agenda to increase regulations in this area. Overall, while the likelihood of any new laws or regulations on the privacy front are not terribly high, the policy focus on privacy should be heavy again through the end of the year, and much of the debate will set the stage for 2012.
So those are the highlights of what you can expect for the remaining four months of 2011; it looks pretty busy!
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