The House Science Committee did not complete its markup Thursday of the NASA Authorization Act of 2013. Members, mostly from the Democratic minority, offered 34 amendments. A manager’s amendment introduced by Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, passed, and votes on many other amendments had not been tallied by our deadline. Republicans and Democrats were divided on raising funding levels for NASA programs higher than what is proposed in the bill.

An FCC rulemaking on potential changes to the federal E-rate program has touched a political nerve in a Washington, where the debate takes place against the backdrop of a bigger fight between Republicans and Democrats over entitlement reform. The NPRM, teed up for a vote Friday, builds on a June speech by President Barack Obama urging the commission to make high-speed Internet available to enough schools and libraries to connect 99 percent of American students (WID June 7 p4).

An FCC rulemaking on potential changes to the federal E-rate program has touched a political nerve in a Washington, where the debate takes place against the backdrop of a bigger fight between Republicans and Democrats over entitlement reform. The NPRM, teed up for a vote Friday, builds on a June speech by President Barack Obama urging the commission to make high-speed Internet available to enough schools and libraries to connect 99 percent of American students (CD June 7 p7).

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers reintroduced legislation Thursday to require the FCC to pair for commercial auction the 1755-1780 MHz band with the 2155-2180 MHz band, as was expected (CD July 18 p13). The Efficient Use of Government Spectrum Act was co-sponsored by Reps. Doris Matsui, D-Calif.; Brett Guthrie, R-Ky.; Adam Smith, D-Wash.; and Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., and mirrored legislation which failed to pass in the 112th Congress (CD April 12/12 p1). Pairing 1755-1780 MHz band, which has long been a top target of carriers, with the 2155-2180 MHz band would allow the spectrum to be auctioned and licensed by February 2015.

Nineteen groups coordinated by the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in San Francisco Tuesday seeking to stop the National Security Agency’s collection of metadata on phone calls made by Americans. The case, First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles v. NSA (http://bit.ly/1aqheuE), seeks to halt the collection of data and force the government to return the records now in its possession. “The First Amendment protects the freedom to associate and express political views as a group, but the NSA’s mass, untargeted collection of Americans’ phone records violates that right by giving the government a dramatically detailed picture into our associational ties,” said EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn.

Nineteen groups coordinated by the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in San Francisco Tuesday seeking to stop the National Security Agency’s collection of metadata on phone calls made by Americans. The case, First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles v. NSA (http://bit.ly/1aqheuE), seeks to halt the collection of data and force the government to return the records now in its possession. “The First Amendment protects the freedom to associate and express political views as a group, but the NSA’s mass, untargeted collection of Americans’ phone records violates that right by giving the government a dramatically detailed picture into our associational ties,” said EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn in a statement.

Acting FCC Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn circulated a rulemaking notice seeking broad comment on the future use of the 1695-1710, 1755-1780 and 2155-2180 MHz bands. The NPRM circulated before the July 4 break, but just popped up on the commission’s public circulation list, agency officials said Monday. The notice is light on “tentative conclusions” and largely follows up on last year’s spectrum law, officials said. It also mentions a CTIA request that the FCC identify spectrum for distributed antenna systems.

Data privacy has captured the attention of states, officials and stakeholders told us. Maine enacted a law requiring warrants for location tracking of cellphone and other electronic devices last week, overriding a veto from Gov. Paul LePage (R). Montana enacted a similar law in late June, the first of its type in the nation. It also covers social networking check-ins. The Texas Legislature considered a similar provision earlier this year. With more attention to surveillance and the world of smartphones and data, states need to act, stakeholders said, describing efforts to create model bill text for other states.

Data privacy has captured the attention of states, officials and stakeholders told us. Maine enacted a law requiring warrants for location tracking of cellphone and other electronic devices last week, overriding a veto from Gov. Paul LePage (R). Montana enacted a similar law in late June, the first of its type in the nation. It also covers social networking check-ins. The Texas Legislature considered a similar provision earlier this year. With more attention to surveillance and the world of smartphones and data, states need to act, stakeholders said, describing efforts to create model bill text for other states.

The three-judge panel selected to hear Verizon’s appeal of the 2010 FCC net neutrality order could be a good panel from the agency’s perspective, but there are few certainties in appellate law, said attorneys following the case closely. While Republican-appointed judges outnumber by 9-5 those appointed by Democrats at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, two Democratic appointees, David Tatel and Judith Rogers, were selected for the panel, as was Laurence Silberman, widely viewed as the intellectual leader of the conservative appellant movement.