Revelations about government surveillance compelled transparency, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said Tuesday during a keynote at the GEOINT symposium in Tampa, where U.S. Central Command is based (http://bit.ly/1j25f8L). That need for transparency is the “major takeaway” from all the debate, Clapper said, describing the declassification of many intelligence documents about phone and Internet surveillance from recent months. That decision came with a cost but was necessary, he said. “It hurts our capabilities because our adversaries go to school on that very transparency,” Clapper said. “We made the painful choice to declassify critical documents in the interest of being more transparent.” Clapper rebuffed the idea of leaving his job anytime soon and said he plans “to stick around” in his position as long as he can.

The Hate Crime Reporting Act (S-2219) was introduced by Senate Commerce Committee member Ed Markey, D-Mass., said a Wednesday news release (http://1.usa.gov/1eAr1UZ) from his office. The House version of the bill (HR-3878) was introduced in January (CD Jan 17 p14) by House Judiciary Internet subcommittee member Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said the release. The bill “would create an updated comprehensive report examining the role of the Internet and other telecommunications in encouraging hate crimes based on gender, race, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation and create recommendations to address such crimes,” said the release. The National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) “has long-recognized that an update” to NTIA’s 1993 report, ‘The Role of Telecommunications in Hate Crimes’, is long overdue and desperately needed,” said NHMC CEO Alex Nogales, in the release. The bill, introduced by Markey last week would require NTIA to “update” a 1993 report “on the role of telecommunications, including the Internet, in the commission of hate crimes” (http://1.usa.gov/1kr6rck) (CD April 10 p34).

CTIA spent more on lobbying Capitol Hill in Q1 of 2014 than in it did in Q1 of 2013 -- $3.08 million this year compared to $2.95 million before, not counting outside firms it hired. This spending is substantially down from 2013’s Q4, however, when the association spent $3.57 million. CTIA lobbed widely this quarter, on issues from spectrum reallocation to data security, net neutrality to government surveillance. Quarterly lobbying disclosure reports are due April 21, but several lobbying firms, companies and associations have already begun filing theirs. Spending dipped for CEA, which spent $570,000 in the latest quarter lobbying on Internet regulation and provisions that would have killed the set-top box integration ban, and $660,000 the same time the year before -- and steeply below the $940,000 CEA spent in 2013’s Q4. The Computer & Communications Industry Association spent $200,000 in 2014’s Q1, up from $70,000 during the same period the year before. CCIA reported lobbying on several topics, from FCC spectrum auction rules to NSA surveillance to wireless competition issues. The Independent Telephone and Telecommunications Alliance spent $35,200. Even when companies and associations have not filed, the reports by firms they hired have begun showing up. Comptel paid Capitol Resources $27,500 and the Cormac Group $30,000 in Q1. The latter’s report showed lobbying priorities included IP-to-IP interconnection, USF overhaul and net neutrality. Reports from several of Comcast’s many lobbying firms have appeared, many citing lobbying on the Comcast/Time Warner Cable proposed deal (CD April 14 p3). Aereo paid Bingham McCutchen $110,000 to lobby on issues “pertaining to antennas and broadcast television,” one form said. More reports will be filed in the days ahead.

The Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA) and a “permanent” version of the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) should be passed by Congress, said Information Technology and Innovation Foundation President Robert Atkinson in a press release (http://bit.ly/1m8aYxL) Tuesday. The IFTA’s “moratorium” on the “taxation of Internet access, multiple taxes on Internet transactions, and discriminatory taxes on online transactions” has promoted the “expansion of e-commerce” and ensured a “level playing field for Internet businesses,” he said. The MFA “would authorize states to require collection of sales and use taxes on goods sold online,” thereby avoiding an “unfair advantage” for “out-of-state online retailers” over “brick-and-mortar retailers,” he said. E-commerce tax law “should reflect what is sold and not how it is sold,” he said. The Permanent ITFA (HR-3086) was introduced last year by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and has been referred to the House Judiciary Regulatory Reform Subcommittee, according to Congress.gov (http://1.usa.gov/1hIpkFR). The bill has 183 co-sponsors, according to the site. The Internet Tax Forever Freedom Act (S-1431) was introduced last summer by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., now chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and has been referred to that committee, according to the site (http://1.usa.gov/P3ub7M). Wyden’s bill has 37 co-sponsors, it said. The Senate approved a budget amendment based on the MFA (S-743) (CD March 26/13 p7), introduced by Senate Finance member Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., and has been referred to the House Judiciary Regulatory Reform Subcommittee, said the site (http://1.usa.gov/1l3qARM). The House version of the MFA (HR-684) has been referred to the House Judiciary Regulatory Reform Subcommittee and has 66 co-sponsors, said the site (http://1.usa.gov/1jIn9Ao).

Don’t impose incentive auction bidding limits, House Democrats told the FCC. The agency must invite as many participants as possible “on equal terms” to an “open and fair” broadcast TV spectrum incentive auction, dozens of House Democrats said in a Friday letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. Such open participation would mean more revenue for funding FirstNet as well as more, necessary broadcaster participation given the higher value of the spectrum broadcasters are expected to relinquish, said 78 Democrats in the letter. The auction will have “significant impact” on the U.S. economy, they said. There has been a debate over the last year over whether the FCC should place limits on spectrum acquisition by AT&T and Verizon in the incentive auction, scheduled to take place in mid-2015. AT&T and Verizon have lobbied against limits to auction participation. Leading signatories to the letter include Homeland Security Committee ranking member Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, whose signature is first on the letter, and House Intelligence Committee ranking member Dutch Ruppersberger of Maryland. Four members of the Communications Subcommittee signed on but not subcommittee leadership -- Reps. Bruce Braley of Iowa; G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina; John Dingell of Michigan; and Jim Matheson of Utah. House Commerce Committee Democrats John Barrow of Georgia, Eliot Engel of New York and Gene Green of Texas also signed the letter.

The House Judiciary Committee “absolutely” has prime jurisdiction over any surveillance proposals, Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said during an episode of C-SPAN’s Newsmakers, which was to be telecast over the weekend. “Because of the civil liberties entailed that must be protected under the Bill of Rights, this is very clearly the jurisdiction of this committee.” Judiciary is happy to work with the Intelligence Committee and President Barack Obama regarding other proposals out there, Goodlatte said. “We have a serious problem,” he said of surveillance, lamenting “an environment of great mistrust” following last year’s leaks about the National Security Agency programs. He declined to say whether Judiciary would proceed to mark up the USA Freedom Act, legislation introduced last fall that proposes strong curbs to surveillance programs. Goodlatte is working with the bill authors in the House and Senate “to find the appropriate way to move forward within the committee,” he said. Goodlatte also said he would accept only a “strong bill” out of the Senate to curb patent litigation abuse. The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to mark up a compromise version of the Patent Transparency and Improvements Act (S-1720) after the April 14-25 recess, following a tentative agreement that the committee hopes will end weeks of negotiations on the bills’ language (CD April 11 p9). Goodlatte said he and other pro-revamp advocates in the House have told Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., that “we want a strong litigation reform bill” and hope the Senate will produce a bill that is close enough to the House-passed Innovation Act (HR-3309) that they can “work out the differences” in conference. If the Senate doesn’t produce an acceptably strong bill, “we are not interested in taking up something that is weak and does not address the problems we have in this country” related to patent abuse, Goodlatte said.

North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp wants to ensure high-speed Internet is available in her state, she said last week. Heitkamp, a member of the North Dakota Democratic-Nonpartisan League Party, met with Rural Utilities Service Administrator John Padalino, according to two tweets she sent out, one displaying a photo of herself and Padalino. She “pressed” Padalino “to continue efforts to improve/expand high-speed Internet access in ND,” she said. She noted that “16% of NDans do not have access to high-speed Internet. That jumps to 36% in rural parts of ND & 75% in Indian Country in ND.” A spokesman for Heitkamp confirmed the meeting was Thursday. In a news release, Heitkamp’s office mentioned she is a member of the Agriculture Committee and a strong backer of the Farm Bill Broadband Program. “Heitkamp also stressed that RUS must address the dearth of high-speed Internet access in Indian Country,” the news release said of the meeting (http://1.usa.gov/1esHDOS). “In North Dakota, 75 percent of individuals living on tribal lands do not have access to high-speed Internet -- one of the highest disparities in the country."

The Digital Accountability and Transparency (DATA) Act will create “a valuable new public resource that strengthens democratic accountability and spurs innovation,” said Hudson Hollister, executive director of the Data Transparency Coalition (DTC), which advocates for the creation of uniform government data standards (http://prn.to/1n9i8BN). DTC’s members include companies such as Teradata and PwC, and individuals from Accenture and Microsoft. The DATA Act (S.994), which would require all federal spending to be disclosed in a standard open data format, will now go to the House for approval, where DTC expects it to pass, DTC said.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., will work with committee members and stakeholders to craft an alternate version of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), he said in a speech Wednesday hosted by the American Apparel and Footwear Association. The proposal would strengthen provisions on enforcement and congressional oversight, he said. The new TPA proposal should strengthen provisions on data localization barriers and other issues in future trade pacts, said Wyden. The U.S. must also prioritize more enforcement of antidumping and countervailing duties and intellectual property rights protection, said Wyden. He and Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., in December introduced the Digital Trade Act (S-1788), which Thune has said would update trade laws reflecting digital trade (CD Jan 17 p10).

The Senate Commerce Committee Wednesday approved the Driver Privacy Act, which would give individuals more control over information collected by cars, said a release from co-sponsor Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D. (http://1.usa.gov/1gcMIsS). Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., also originally co-sponsored the bill, which has 23 total co-sponsors, the release said. “People understand and are concerned about the new risks to personal privacy, and they want some certainty that their Fourth Amendment rights won’t be violated,” Hoeven said in a statement. “Our bill makes clear that the data on a vehicle’s [Event Data Recorder] belongs to the owner of the vehicle except under very well-defined circumstances.” An EDR can collect dozens of types of information, including speed and seatbelt usage, the release said. Fourteen states have EDR-related laws, but there’s no overarching federal standard, according to the release. The Driver Privacy Act was introduced on Jan. 14 (http://bit.ly/1qkRkjW).