A continuing resolution approved Tuesday by the Senate includes broadband oversight money sought by the NTIA. It also prevents a spike in Universal Service Fund contributions by extending an exemption of the USF from a Civil War-era law. The resolution keeps the government running until March 4. The drama over broadband funding and the last-minute, temporary nature of the fix raised concerns about whether the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program can work long term.

Maria Pallante, senior adviser to Librarian of Congress, named acting register of copyrights, effective Jan. 1 … Copyright Alliance board names Sandra Aistars, ex-Time Warner, executive director … Lisa Miller leaving House Commerce Committee, where she was Republican counselor and communications director, effective Jan. 3 … MPAA hires Karen Thorland, ex-Loeb & Loeb, as vice president and senior content protection counsel effective Jan. 18, replacing Lisa Stone, leaving to raise her young children … Named senior vice presidents for Turner and SI digital ad sales: Ken Shapiro, promoted, and Larry Gelfand, ex-NHL … AOptix Technologies hires Earl Charles, ex-eMeter, as chief financial officer.

Maria Pallante, senior adviser to Librarian of Congress, named acting register of copyrights, effective Jan. 1 … Copyright Alliance board names Sandra Aistars, ex-Time Warner, executive director … Lisa Miller leaving House Commerce Committee, where she was Republican counselor and communications director, effective Jan. 3 … MPAA hires Karen Thorland, ex-Loeb & Loeb, as vice president and senior content protection counsel effective Jan. 18, replacing Lisa Stone, leaving to raise her young children … Named senior vice presidents for Turner and SI digital ad sales: Ken Shapiro, promoted, and Larry Gelfand, ex-NHL.

The FCC’s proposed mobility fund is too small to help build out 3G broadband for the nation’s under-served areas, T-Mobile, the Rural Telecommunications Group and South Dakota-based Flow Mobile said in comments filed in docket 10-208 and released Friday. Verizon and Windstream disagreed, saying the fund was appropriate. Verizon, in fact, went further and said that not only is the $100-$300 million proposed mobility fund adequate, but the FCC should phase out other support for competitive eligible telecommunications providers.

The U.S. and China discussed several different agricultural topics during the 21st session of the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT), which closed on December 15, 2010.

The posting of about 3,000 pages of documents in the FCC net neutrality docket, days before a vote on an order set for Tuesday, is unusual and not a good practice for any agency, said administrative law professors and former commissioners not involved in the policy debate. The Wireline Bureau posted about 2,000 pages Dec. 10 and 1,000 more Tuesday. The documents contain information that was publicly available, but not all of it had been filed in docket 09-191.

The posting of about 3,000 pages of documents in the FCC net neutrality docket, days before a vote on an order set for Tuesday, is unusual and not a good practice for any agency, said administrative law professors and former commissioners not involved in the policy debate. The Wireline Bureau posted about 2,000 pages Dec. 10 (CD Dec 11 p1) and 1,000 more Tuesday (CD Dec 15 p8). The documents contain information that was publicly available, but not all of it had been filed in docket 09-191.

The Labor Department’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) has updated the list of goods (and countries of origin) it has reason to believe are produced by child labor and/or forced labor, in violation of international standards. This is ILAB’s first update to the list, which was first published in September 2009.

CE makers exhibiting “prospective products” at CES can’t put the Energy Star logo on devices that haven’t yet been certified, even if they expect them to qualify, the EPA said Tuesday. “The label may only be used in association with products that are qualified as Energy Star,” said Ann Bailey, chief of the Energy Star Labeling Branch. She was responding to a Nov. 24 letter from the CEA seeking clarifications and explanations of the applicability of new Energy Star testing and verification rules taking effect in January (CED Dec 16 p3).

On December 14, 2010, the Canadian Parliament passed the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA), which upon Royal Assent, will become law.