Technology

Today, President Bush has signed into law the Security and Accountability for Every Port (SAFE Port) Act Conference Report. Included in the bill was language to extend the prohibition on gambling using wire communication facilities to include Internet technologies, effectively curbing Internet gambling in the U.S.

The bill includes provisions guaranteeing that states - like Utah - which have banned all forms of gambling within their borders will not have their laws trumped by federal legislation. Previous incarnations of the bill did not offer this protection.

By signing this bill into law, President Bush helped secure our ports and struck a decisive blow to Internet gambling. Gambling is a vice, and Internet gambling is especially insidious. Internet gambling sites lack the necessary tools to protect children, and can cross state borders with the click of a mouse.

This Administration has to hold our trading partners' feet to the fire and enforce the rules of trade. Goods and services produced by American workers, farmers and businesses that have high intellectual property content are critical to restoring broad-based economic growth and job creation, yet they are widely pirated, stolen and copied. No country in the world has done more to undermine American intellectual property than China. Accordingly, as a first step, we call on the Administration immediately to file a broad-based challenge in the World Trade Organization (WTO). The United States should use the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) to challenge China's flagrant abuse of international rules governing intellectual property rights. If we're going to convince American workers that trade can work for them, they need to know that Congress and the Administration will crack down on violations to give them the advantage they deserve.

During today's hearing, one thing was reinforced.  The electoral process is not perfect.  Improvements to the electoral process itself still need to be made.  Fortunately, the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) is a solid foundation upon which we can institute further electoral improvements.  HAVA made it easier for voters to cast a ballot and harder for people to knowingly commit fraud, which is why we need to appropriate the remaining $800 million dollar balance, which was authorized in Title II of HAVA, to fully fund the states, and give HAVA a chance to work.

As I have stated in the past, it is guaranteed that your vote will be lost if you don't cast a ballot.  I would encourage every eligible voter to cast a ballot, no matter how harsh the rhetoric about the November elections, and no matter how that ballot is cast - by DRE machine, absentee ballot, provisional ballot or otherwise.  Americans need to get out and vote in November with the confidence that their votes will be counted correctly.

Be it a "wardrobe malfunction" or a fake news report, the American people lose when programming and editorial decisions are moved out of our communities and into corporate boardrooms. The health of our democracy depends on media outlets that are responsive to local needs, receptive to diverse views, and responsible stewards of the public airwaves.

By now, it should be clear as day that the FCC's attempts to loosen U.S. media ownership rules threaten these values. In 2003, when the Commission tried to railroad through major rules changes with minimal public input, it was met with ardent opposition by millions of Americans from across the political spectrum, Members of Congress from both parties, and groups ranging from the National Rifle Association to MoveOn.org. In 2004, a U.S. Circuit Court echoed this outcry, calling portions of the rules "irrational" and "patently unreasonable" and sending the FCC back to the drawing board.

If further proof was needed, we received it last week in the form of revelations that the FCC may have suppressed two taxpayer-funded studies on the impact of media consolidation. The first study concluded that local TV stations air more local news than stations owned by networks or media conglomerates, directly contradicting arguments made by the FCC during the 2003 debate. The second found that the number of radio station owners fell by 35 percent between 1996 and 2003, offering further evidence of consolidation in that industry.

I recently authored a letter, cosigned by 33 colleagues, urging the FCC Inspector General to investigate this matter. If the FCC can't be trusted to present the results of its own studies to the American public, how can it be trusted to act in the public's interest when it comes to ownership of our airwaves?

My bill requires timely notice to individuals whose sensitive personal information could be compromised by a breach of data security at federal agencies. Until now, there has been no requirement that people be notified if their information is compromised. Under this legislation, the Administration must establish procedures for agencies to follow if sensitive personal information is lost or stolen and there is a reasonable risk of harm to an individual. And we provide a clear definition of the type of sensitive information we're trying to protect.

Next, we give the agency Chief Information Officers the authority to ensure, when appropriate, that agency personnel comply with the information security laws already on the books.

Finally, we ensure that costly equipment containing potentially sensitive information is accounted for and secure. Half of the lost Census Bureau computers simply were not returned by departing or terminated employees. The agency did not track computer equipment, nor were employees held accountable for failing to return it. This is taxpayer funded equipment, containing sensitive information, and we need to know what we have and who has it at all times.

This bill is a first step, and I'm glad it's going to be attached to Chairman Buyer's VA legislation today. But if new policies and procedures are not forthcoming quickly, or if they lack the teeth to get the job done, I will revisit this matter with additional legislation.

It should not have taken a request from Congress for this information to reach the light of day.

The American people deserve better from their government.  If we're going to ask and sometimes demand information from the public, we owe them a better way of knowing when that information goes missing.  And a far better way of securing that information in the first place.

The sad reality is, we are incapable of storing, moving, accessing and securing information.  We spend tens of billions of dollars a year on information technology.  You'd think we could secure information by now. But we are still an analog government in a digital economy and culture. It's time for that to change, before people lose confidence entirely in our ability to protect them.

Rep. Tom Davis is chairman of the House Government Reform Committee.

As we search for lasting ways to meet our nation’s energy needs, we must make every possible effort to encourage the use of renewable biofuels, and the manufacture of fuel-efficient vehicles.

My tax credit proposal for flexible fuel hybrid vehicles (FFHVs) does both. On the road today, you have flexible fuel cars that can run on E85, regular gasoline, or any combination of the two; and you have hybrid vehicles that use electricity to cut down on gas use. In January, Ford Motor Company unveiled the world’s first vehicle combining the flex fuel and the hybrid technologies. The company is currently researching the marriage of these two systems, and the vehicle is expected to be market-ready soon. While Ford is currently the only car maker that is marketing flex fuel hybrid vehicles, others are expected to follow.

It is important we provide incentives for people to buy these cars. Ford estimates that if 5% of the vehicles on the road in the U.S. were flex fuel hybrids, we would eliminate the need for 140 million barrels of imported oil a year. If we make it easier for consumers to purchase FFHVs, we make it more attractive for companies like Ford (a U.S. company, I might add) to make them.

That’s what my tax credit proposal is all about. Its basic structure is like that of the hybrid credit in the EP Act of 2005: the more fuel efficient the car, the higher the credit, up to $3,500.

If we are serious about weaning this country off of imported oil, passing measures like this is a common sense start.

I was proud to attend the bill signing ceremony for the Adam
Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. This comprehensive legislation is unprecedented in its aim to protect children from predators in the classroom, reduce and prevent gang violence and to protect those public officials and their families who often find themselves exposed to the most ruthless criminals in the United States. As part of our Suburban Agenda, the School Safety Acquiring Faculty Excellence Act is included in the enacted law. The provision will give schools access to federal databases to help keep pedophiles and violent criminals out of our classrooms. This legislation is a major victory for America's most valuable citizens - our children. ". This comprehensive legislation is unprecedented in its aim to protect children from predators in the classroom, reduce and prevent gang violence and to protect those public officials and their families who often find themselves exposed to the most ruthless criminals in the United States. As part of our Suburban Agenda, the School Safety Acquiring Faculty Excellence Act is included in the enacted law. The provision will give schools access to federal databases to help keep pedophiles and violent criminals out of our classrooms. This legislation
is a major victory for America's most valuable citizens - our children.

Last week a hard-fought political struggle ended for me when President Bush signed my sex offender registration bill into law. This act strengthens penalties against sex offenders and authorizes better tools for tracking the monsters who stalk our children.

The ceremony came on a day of very mixed emotions. In my home state of Utah, police had just discovered the murdered body of 5-year-old Destiny Norton in her neighbor's basement. Her death is a dark reminder that we need to do more to protect our children.

With this new law, we will. We sent a message that we will not forgive unforgivable crimes.

Child abuse is certainly not new, but new technology has expanded the way predators can reach their victims. This law, named The Adam Walsh Act, after the murdered son of "America's Most Wanted" host John Walsh, will address the horror of child exploitation on the Internet. The act dramatically increases penalties for those who download child pornography.

Some have compared the Internet to an "open game preserve" where sex offenders can prey on vulnerable children, meeting them in chat rooms and luring them into horrible situations.

Pedophiles use the web to hunt our children. After working for years with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and others, my House colleagues - notably Rep. Mark Foley - and I introduced a bill that would use the web to hunt the predators.

The act creates a nationwide database so parents, law enforcement, and others can know if convicted offenders are in their neighborhoods. We already have sex offender websites, but such sites are frequently out of date and inaccurate. Before Adam Walsh, frankly, we tracked library books in this country better than we did sex offenders. Once we catch these guys, we can't let them get away. And those we catch, we won't go soft on. Read more...

I’m glad Japan has made a science-based decision to reopen its market to imports of beef from cattle aged 20 months or younger.  Millions of Americans consume beef everyday.  We know this product is safe.  Japanese consumers will once again be able to enjoy U.S. beef.  Our trade representative and agriculture secretary worked hard to help make this happen.  I also encourage scientists from the United States and Japan to continue working together to resolve differences that prevent beef from the United States that’s over 20 months from being shipped to Japan.  In the end, I hope today’s news is a major first step toward the full resumption of beef trade with Japan.