House Panel Passes Bills to Extend Public Safety Grants, Block Caller ID Spoofing, Other Measures

On Oct. 8, the House Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet approved four legislative measures that head next to the full committee for action. They are:

• H.R. 3633, a bill sponsored by Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) and co-sponsored by Rep. Anh “Joseph” Cao, (R-LA), would extend the availability of funding for NTIA’s interoperable emergency communications grant program until fiscal year 2012. The Public Safety Interoperable Communications (PSIC) grant program was established under the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 to dedicate up to $1 billion to public safety agencies to fund acquisition, deployment and training of interoperable communications networks;
• H.R. 1147, the Local Community Radio Act of 2009, introduced by Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA), along with companion legislation sponsored by Sen. Maria Cantwell, (D-WA), would remove "third-adjacent channel" restrictions, allowing more low-power stations to be licensed;
• H.R. 1084, the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act (CALM Act), sponsored by Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), would prevent commercials from being broadcast at volumes louder than the programs that they accompany; and
• H.R. 1258, the Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009, sponsored by Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), would amend the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the deceptive manipulation of caller identification information, a practice known as caller ID spoofing. Subcommittee Chairman Boucher offered a manager’s amendment to make an exception for law enforcement activities. The Judiciary Committee passed a similar bill, H.R. 1110, on Oct. 7, which also would make it a federal crime to transmit phony caller ID numbers with the intent to defraud, gain access to something of value or otherwise do harm.

In other legislative news, the House Commerce Committee approved two bills on Oct. 1. H.R. 1319, the “Informed P2P User Act,” and H.R. 2221, the “Data Accountability and Trust Act.”

• H.R. 1319, would require “clear and conspicuous notice” of risks in installing peer-to-peer applications and require informed consent.
• H.R. 2221, introduced by Rep. Bobby Rush, (D-IL), Chairman of the Consumer Protection Subcommittee, would require data holders to issue nationwide notices in the event of a security breach and would preempt similar state laws or regulations.

The committee approved both bills favorably.