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Hot Bills: Senate
S. 34, Sales Tax Fairness and Simplification ActSponsor: Sen. Michael Enzi, R-Wyo.
Introduced: May 22, 2007
Description: The bill would set up the administrative mechanisms to collect and distribute sales tax payments for purchases made over the Internet to the states. Under the legislation, a multi-state registration system would be established so that a seller could elect to use it to register with the member states of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement. The system would include privacy and confidentiality controls so that it may not be used for any purpose other than the administration of sales and use taxes. Enzi testified in May at a hearing on the issue. A House companion bill, H.R. 3396, was introduced in August.
S. 35, Western Hemisphere Traveler Improvement Act of 2007Sponsor: Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn.
Introduced: May 22, 2007
Description: The bill would prevent new border security requirements under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative from going into place until the Homeland Security Department evaluates ways to make implementation easier for U.S. citizens traveling to and from Canada. The legislation would require the Homeland Security Department to evaluate a test program in Washington state to determine if enhanced drivers' licenses could be used to meet the new border security requirements -- as opposed to requiring U.S. citizens to apply for and pay for new passports or other identification documents. The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative requires U.S. citizens and foreign travelers to have a secure, government-approved identification document to enter the United States when traveling from any part of the Western Hemisphere. The law was originally set to go into effect for all travelers entering the country by land and sea ports in January 2008, but concerns over trade and tourism led Congress to extend the deadline for air and sea travelers until June 2009.
S. 41, Research Competitiveness Act of 2007Sponsor: Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.
Introduced: Jan. 4, 2007
Description: The bill would expand the newer of two main formulas to determine a tax credit for corporate research and development. It also would eliminate the other formula altogether, a move which is reportedly opposed by Nortel Networks, Electronic Data Systems and Panasonic. The R&D Credit Coalition, meanwhile, backs the proposal so long as firms that previously used the old method see no benefit reduction under the new formula. A Baucus aid said the bill is also aimed at streamlining and simplifying the tax credit. Critics argue that the tax break subsidizes research that companies would perform regardless of the tax credit's existence. A House companion measure, H.R. 1712, also was introduced.
S.156, Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act of 2007Sponsor: Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.
Introduced: Jan. 4, 2007
S. 1453, Internet Tax Freedom ActSponsor: Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del.
Introduced: May 23, 2007
Description: S.156 would make permanent the ban on state taxes on Internet access. Former Sen. George Allen, R-Va., tried to extend the Internet tax ban in the 109th Congress by attaching language to a more comprehensive telecommunications bill, but that bill died before it ever reached the Senate floor. Wyden, one of the original backers of the Internet tax moratorium, said the moratorium, first imposed in 1998, was never about giving the Internet a "free ride" but about keeping the Internet free of multiple and discriminatory taxes. Two similar bills, H.R. 743 and H.R. 1077 were introduced in the House.
S. 1453 would extend the moratorium on Internet access taxes while also closing a loophole in the original 1998 moratorium that could allow an Internet service provider to bundle access with other services and make them all tax free by changing the definition of Internet access. Some lawmakers say the loophole is harmful to state and local tax revenues. The legislation would extend the ban on taxing Internet access for another four years. The current moratorium is set to expire Nov. 1.
S. 223, Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity ActSponsor: Rep. Russell Feingold, D-Wis.
Introduced: Jan. 9, 2007
Description: The bill would require the reports to the Federal Election Commission to be filed electronically beginning Jan. 1. The reports are currently handwritten on paper, then turned over to a private firm that transcribes them and puts then into electronic form at a cost of $250,000 annually. The Senate Rules and Administration Committee approved the legislation on March 28.
S. 239, Notification of Risk to Personal Data Act of 2007Sponsor: Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
Introduced: Jan. 10, 2007
Description: The bill would require businesses and federal agencies that collect personal information to notify clients or consumers of any breaches in security. Failure to divulge this information "without unreasonable delay" could incur penalties of up to $1 million. It permits notification via media outlets if more than 5,000 people have been affected, otherwise notification must be made in writing, by telephone or e-mail if permission is given in advance. The bill, which was approved in March by the Senate Judiciary Committee by a voice vote, is a companion bill to a more sweeping bill, S. 495, which seeks to place similar controls over data brokers collecting personal information.
S. 428, IP-Enabled Voice Communications and Public Safety Act of 2007Sponsor: Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.
Introduced: Jan. 30, 2007
Description: The bill would require Internet phone companies to provide traditional and enhanced 911 services to its subscribers. It requires all voice-over-Internet protocol service providers to provide 911 service equal to that of mobile phone service subscribers. It also would authorize state and local governments to impose fees on VoIP companies to come into compliance with local expanded or enhanced 911 programs. The bill was backed in early August by the Senate Commerce, Science and Technology Committee, which also adopted a manager's package of 11 amendments, including one sponsored by Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. and John Sununu, R-N.H., that would guarantee technological innovation is not stifled by the requirements.
S. 495, Personal Data Privacy and Security Act of 2007Sponsor: Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.
Introduced: Feb. 6, 2007
Description: The bill aims to prevent and mitigate identity theft, to ensure privacy, to provide notice of security breaches and to enhance criminal penalties, law enforcement assistance, and other protections against security breaches, fraudulent access and misuse of personally identifiable information. The bill would require commercial data brokers, who collect personal information and sell it to third parties, to inform consumers about the information their database contains about them. If there are mistakes, the bill would require companies to fix them under terms outlined by the measure. The firms also would have to ensure that their databases are protected by security programs, and notify consumers if security breaches occur. Criminal penalties include imprisonment for up to five years for concealing data breaches and up to $1 million in fines. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the bill in May.
S. 675, Training for Real-time Writers Act of 2007Sponsor: Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa
Introduced: Feb. 16, 2007
Description: The bill would authorize $20 million annually from fiscal 2008 to 2012 for training court reporters and closed captioners to meet requirements for real-time writers under the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which requires that all television programming be captioned, and that all Spanish-language programming must be captioned by 2010. The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved the bill in April.
S.735, Terrorist Hoax Improvements Act of 2007Sponsor: Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.
Introduced: March 1, 2007
Description: The measure aims to strengthen penalties against anybody making false claims of terrorist activity. It would boost the prison sentence for giving false information about a terrorist activity from five years to 10 years, with maximum prison times for hoaxes involving bodily injury of up to 25 years, or life in prison if a death occurred as a result. Violators also could be responsible for the costs of emergency services required to answer to false reports of terrorist activity. Threats made over the Internet, such as the October 2006 bomb scare at seven NFL stadiums, could result in a significant expenditures of financial and security resources, bill supporters say. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the bill in April.
S. 924, Integrated Deepwater Program Reform ActSponsor: Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.
Introduced: March 20, 2007
Description: The bill would strengthen oversight by Congress and the Coast Guard over the agency's integrated Deepwater Program. Deepwater is a 25 year, $24 billion shipbuilding and modernization program that has encountered a number of setbacks due to design flaws and other problems. The bill would eliminate contractor self-certification of the design and soundness of the ships, planes and patrol boats being built. It requires third-party review of new Deepwater contracts, and reports by the agency back to Congress before awarding new contracts for the program. A number of rules newly put into place by the Coast Guard are codified into law through the bill. The bill was reported in the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee before being placed on the Senate calendar.
S. 966, Department of State Crisis Response Act of 2007Sponsor: Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.
Introduced: March 22, 2007
Description: The bill would give the State Department assistance in tackling the massive backlog in passport requests triggered by homeland security legislation that requires U.S. citizens to have passports to return from visits to Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean. It would allow the State Department to hire new Civil Service employees or retired Foreign Service officers to help process the passport applications. The passport requirement was imposed in 2004 anti-terrorism legislation and went into effect Jan. 23. Before that, any government-issued identification was acceptable for adult U.S. citizens returning from the neighboring nations. The Senate Foreign Affairs Committee approved the measure on June 27. It was passed on June 29 in the Senate. The House followed on July 16 by passing the measure by voice vote. The bill was signed into law on July 30.
S. 1027, Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2007Sponsor: Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis.
Introduced: March 29, 2007
Description: The bill is aimed at curbing the sale of cigarettes over the Internet by requiring Internet sellers to register with the states in which they make sales -- a provision intended to force them to comply with state tobacco tax laws. Violations would be elevated from a misdemeanor offense to a federal crime. It also would lower the threshold required for cigarettes to be considered an illegally smuggled good from 100,000 cigarettes to 60,000 cigarettes. The bill was approved by the full Senate in 2003 but was never enacted. In the 110th Congress, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the bill in May.
S. 1145, Patent Reform Act of 2007Sponsor: Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.
Introduced: April 28, 2007
Description: The bill would add a "first-to-file" provision that give priority to the first person to send a patent application to the Patent and Trademark Office, regardless of the invention date. The United States is the lone holdout among nations that have adopted "first-to-invent" policies, which the bill said injects "needed clarity and certainty" into the process. The new legislation would preserve the rule that court-awarded damages in patent disputes cannot be less than a "reasonable royalty" for the infringed patent. It would limit the "treble damages" in patent disputes to cases where there is specific notice of infringement or where there is deliberate copying. The bill would also restrict "forum shopping" for courts thought most likely to issue favorable rulings, and it would institute a "second window" for challengers to disprove a patent's validity. In early September, S. 1145 was approved in July by the Senate Judiciary Committee after two markup sessions. A companion measure, H.R. 1908, was also introduced in the House.
S. 1202, Personal Data Protection Act of 2007Sponsor: Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.
Introduced: April 24, 2007
Description: The bill would seek to disclose security breaches of personal data if there is a significant risk of identity theft to an individual. The language of the bill is less forceful and its provisions weaker than two similar bills passed through the Senate Judiciary Committee, S. 239 and S. 495. The bill was defeated by the committee with almost no discussion, after Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. raised objections that it contained loopholes and does not hold businesses accountable enough.
S.1348, Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007Sponsor: Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.
Introduced: May 9, 2007
Description: The bill would overhaul the U.S. immigration system. It was struck down in a divided vote by the Senate on June 28, and was pulled from the floor, unlikely to return again before the next administration. The provisions of the bill were highly controversial, including a measure that would be tantamount to requiring national IDs and one that would increase the number of visas for highly skilled workers. Other tech-related measures dealt with the use of technology to secure the border, such as expanding the U.S. VISIT system, which uses biometrics to track foreigners and SBInet, a Homeland Security initiative ramping up technological protection along the U.S.-Mexico border.
S. 1353, Internet Radio Equality Act of 2007Sponsor: Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.
Introduced: May 10, 2007
Description: The bill would reverse an increase for fees paid by Internet radio services to royalty collector SoundExchange. The bill's supporters say the Copyright Royalty Board's March decision to raise royalties and apply "unfounded minimum rates" as a threat to the burgeoning webcasting industry. Web radio services do not have enough revenue to support the royalties requested by SoundExchange, said Wyden and cosponsor Sam Brownback, R-Kan. The new fees went into effect on July 15. Negotiations between SoundExchange and the webcasters are ongoing. Lawmakers also introduced a House companion measure.
S. 1492, Broadband Data Improvement ActSponsor: Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii
Introduced: May 24, 2007
Description: The bill is aimed at improving federal and state collection of data about broadband availability so the information can be used to expand the Internet to underserved areas and improve technology standards. The legislation would require the Census Bureau to include questions about computer use in its American Community Survey and require the Government Accountability Office to provide consumers with cost and quality information. It also would encourage states to develop their own affordable broadband access plans through a $40 million grant program authorized in the bill annually for fiscal 2008-2012. The legislation also would direct the FCC to reevaluate its current broadband standard and create a new "second generation broadband" standard to identify network connections that can transmit high-definition video. Broadband providers also would be required under the bill to report availability within nine-digit zip code areas. Lawmakers have challenged the current data. The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved the bill in July.
S. 1671, Entrepreneurial Development Act of 2007Sponsor: Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.
Introduced: June 20, 2007
Description: The bill would reauthorize the Small Business Administration's entrepreneurial development programs. The Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee unanimously approved the bill on June 26. The bill reauthorizes the Service Corps of Retired Executives, a business counseling organization for fiscal 2008-2010, along with authorizing $24 million over the time period. The bill also would authorize $420 million for small business development centers. The programs are set to expire at the end of fiscal 2007.
S. 1693, Wired for Health Care Quality ActSponsor: Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.
Introduced: June 26, 2007
Description: The bill seeks to use more advanced health information technology to move U.S. health care from a paper-based system to electronic medical records. The legislation would authorize federal grants to providers in need, and help states to fund low interest loans for professionals who invest in new electronic medical records systems. It would codify into law the office of the National Coordinator for Information Technology, who coordinates federal health IT policies, and helps to establish standards for health IT through public-private partnerships. It also includes measures aimed at encouraging strong privacy protections and improving the quality of health IT professionals. The bill was approved by the Senate Health Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in June.
S. 1769, Same Number Act of 2007Sponsor: Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska
Introduced: July 11, 2007
Description: The bill is aimed at making it easier for wireless telephone customers to keep their telephone numbers when switching wireless service providers, expediting the "portability" process, which can take weeks in some instances. The measure would require the FCC to establish guidelines for different types of number portability, such as wireless and wireline; along with different services provided, such as voice and data. The bill also would require porting timelines to be established. "We have heard instances of number ports taking 10 to 30 days, and we have heard of some providers requiring more than 100 pieces of data to port a number," said the bill's sponsor, Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, the top Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee. "These are unnecessary hassles that consumers complain about, and providers are slow to correct." The Senate Commerce Committee approved the bill on July 19.
S. 1780, Protecting Children from Indecent Programming ActSponsor: Sen. John (Jay) Rockefeller, D-W.Va.
Introduced: July 12, 2007
Description: The bill would reaffirm the FCC's ability to levy fines against radio and television broadcast outlets that air obscenities even if they are fleeting references. It would include any airing of a single word or image to constitute indecency. The bill is in response to a Second Circuit Court of Appeals decision in June 2007, when the court dismissed the FCC's complaint against the FOX network because the FCC could not fine for "fleeting expletives." Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., attempted to pass similar language as an amendment to the fiscal 2008 appropriations bill in the Senate Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee, but was defeated by a voice vote. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and the Parents Television Council support the bill. The American Civil Liberties Union said that the bill would infringe on free speech rights, and that parents already have the necessary tools to prevent children from viewing indecent programming. The Senate Commerce Committee approved the bill in July. Rep. Charles (Chip) Pickering, R-Miss., is expected to introduced a companion measure in the House.
S. 2033, Cell Phone Consumer Empowerment Act of 2007Sponsor: Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.
Introduced: Sept. 7, 2007
Description: The bill is aimed at eliminating what Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., the bill's chief sponsor, and chief co-sponsor, Sen. John (Jay) Rockefeller, D-W.Va., see as exorbitant cellular telephone fees. It also is aimed at providing consumers with more information about wireless coverage. New regulations are needed, they said, because the mobile industry has more than 200 million customers, many of whom rely exclusively on wireless handsets. The senators said they are particularly concerned about penalties assessed for ending cell contracts prematurely. The measure would cut the penalties at least in half, pro-rate them and give consumers a 30-day window to easily exit new contracts. The legislation also would arm consumers with more details about gaps in wireless coverage, including the locations of dead spots. "We feel the bill is unnecessary and if enacted could lead to higher prices," said a spokesman for the wireless industry association CTIA. The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, the Consumers Union and the Consumer Federation of America support the bill.
S.RES.205, A resolution designating June 2007 as "Internet Safety Month"Sponsor: Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Ark.
Introduced: May 16, 2007
Description: Designates June 2007 as "Internet Safety Month," calling on Internet safety organizations, law enforcement, educators, community leaders, parents and volunteers to work toward increasing the public’s awareness of the need for Internet safety in the United States. The Senate approved the resolution in May.
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