The Commerce Department announces that Secretary Locke recently honored 27 companies and organizations that are recipients of the 2011 President’s “E” Award, which is the highest U.S. government recognition any U.S. entity may receive for supporting export activity. The “E” Award recipients are contributors to the President’s National Export Initiative (NEI) goal of doubling U.S. exports by 2015. The recipients are:
The White House has announced that it is extending for another year the national emergency declared on May 20, 1997 with respect to Burma because the actions and policies of the government continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the U.S. Therefore, the national emergency and the measures adopted to deal with that emergency in Executive Orders 13047 of May 20, 1997, 13310 of July 28, 2003, 13348 of October 18, 2007, and 13464 of April 30, 2008, must continue in effect beyond May 20, 2011.
Interoperability of traditional radio systems must remain a top priority even as public safety pushes forward on a national broadband network, two Department of Homeland Security officials said Monday at the National Public Safety Telecom Council’s Cross Border Interoperability Forum. Philip Verveer, deputy assistant secretary of State, said that, despite years of trying, public safety communications still isn’t interoperable enough.
The Senate is moving faster than the House to finish legislation to build a nationwide interoperable public safety network. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and Ranking Member Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, late Friday circulated a bipartisan draft bill. Committee aides told the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officers Summit Monday that they're pushing hard to pass a bill before the 10th anniversary of 9/11. But a GOP aide for the House Commerce Committee said it will be difficult to pass a bill in that timeframe.
The FCC advocated better cybersecurity measures among small American businesses, half of which lack a defined cyberplan, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said Monday during an industry panel at the FCC’s headquarters. “It’s vital that small businesses be part of the cybersecurity equation,” the chairman said after issuing a 10-step cybersecurity tip sheet for small companies. The panel occurred on the same day that the White House launched its international strategy for cyberspace (see separate article).
The FCC advocated better cybersecurity measures among small American businesses, half of which lack a defined cyberplan, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said Monday during an industry panel at the FCC’s headquarters. “It’s vital that small businesses be part of the cybersecurity equation,” the chairman said after issuing a 10-step cybersecurity tip sheet for small companies. The panel occurred on the same day that the White House launched its international strategy for cyberspace (see separate article). The estimate for small-business cybersecurity plans came from Symantec’s 2010 survey of information protection for small and medium-sized businesses.
"When a disaster strikes, it’s too late to prepare. The best time for Floridians to prepare is now, before storm season,” said Florida Public Service Commissioner Ronald Brisé during a town hall forum on disaster preparedness Thursday night. Planning for loss of basic services like phone is important for every family, he said, urging Floridians to ask for preparedness information from utilities and the PSC. Other groups represented at the forum included the National Weather Service, Miami, Siegel TLC Animal Clinic, Miami-Dade Department of Emergency Management, and Tanenbaum Harber Insurance.
Approving the AT&T/T-Mobile deal would be a “historic mistake,” Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., told FCC commissioners at a House Communications Subcommittee hearing Friday on commission process reform. Other subcommittee members touched only lightly on AT&T’s plan to buy T-Mobile. Many debated more generally whether FCC conditions on transactions should be specific to the given deal.
The following are trade-related highlights of the Executive Communications sent to Congress on May 6-12, 2011:
The White House released its cybersecurity plan Thursday, and urged lawmakers to fortify the nation’s cybersecurity, critical infrastructure and federal networks. Notably absent from the proposal was any “kill switch” authority for the president to shut down Internet traffic during a cyberattack. Lawmakers applauded the White House move, but some said it was long overdue and made clear they wanted changes or provisions added from their own legislation. The plan was more than two years in development.