Down To The Wire In Congress

Lawmakers will be closing the books on the 109th Congress this week, so advocates of a trio of technology-related bills have been working feverishly to see that their pet concerns are addressed.

At the top of the list for the tech industry is the research and development tax credit. House and Senate leaders appear to have reached agreement on that issue as part of a broader bill on business tax relief. The compromise could come up for quick votes in both chambers.

On the privacy front, advocates of a measure aimed at "pretexting," or obtaining and selling telephone records under false pretenses, are urging the Senate to clear the House-passed bill to President Bush. And Internet activists and campaign finance watchdogs are seeking passage of a bill to mandate electronic filings for future Senate candidates.

Other topics covered in this week's podcast include improper payments for disaster relief, data security and accounting law.

Techies Ponder Life With Democrats

The 109th Congress is just days from its end, and all of Washington, including the tech industry, is looking ahead to the 110th Congress.

The New Year will bring new chairmen from the newly dominant Democratic Party, but tech lobbyists are not too concerned about all of the change. They are taking comfort in the bipartisan dialogue of key lawmakers like Charles Rangel of New York, who is slated to run the House Ways and Means Committee.

Tech lobbyists expect to have to do more work to get trade deals passed with Rangel as the chairman, but they do not see him as an enemy.

In the Senate, more oversight is expected to be one of the biggest changes under new Democratic chairmen. Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said both parties likely would agree that the Republican-led Congress has not provided much oversight of Republican President Bush lately.

Rotenberg predicted that Patrick Leahy of Vermont, who is expected to head the Senate Judiciary Committee, "will be very good at that role." Techies also look forward to patent reform under Leahy's leadership.

The Supreme Court also heard arguments in two tech-related cases this week, one on patent reform and the other on price-fixing in the telecommunications sector. For that news and more from the tech policy front, listen to the podcast.