congress

Classified documents and testimony about the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program show that it's not necessary to grant retroactive immunity to telephone companies accused of unlawfully opening their networks to government spies, key congressional Democrats said on Wednesday.

In a five-page statement (PDF), U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers and 18 Democrats on that panel contended the Bush administration has "not established a valid and credible case justifying the extraordinary action of Congress enacting blanket retroactive immunity."

Skepticism about the Bush administration's once-secret eavesdropping program is nothing new for the … Read more

WASHINGTON--For the second year in a row, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates ventured to Capitol Hill and urged Congress to let more foreign-born engineers work in the United States and to direct larger numbers of tax dollars to research and education.

Just as he did around the same time last year before a U.S. Senate committee, Gates on Wednesday contended America's competitiveness in the global economy is "at risk." He said Congress, the administration, and the next president must commit to overhauling immigration policy and encouraging both public and private research investment.

"It makes no sense … Read more

Congressional Democrats on Tuesday dug in on their refusal to pass a revamped surveillance law that could wipe out some 40 lawsuits accusing telephone companies of illegal cooperation with government spies.

According to summary documents provided by U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's office, Democratic leaders are preparing to debate yet another new bill that would not offer so-called "retroactive immunity" to companies that allegedly opened up their networks to the National Security Agency without a court order. At least in theory, that means cases like the one the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed against AT&T … Read more

WASHINGTON--An influential congressional committee is once again showing support for using U.S. antitrust laws to force broadband providers to treat network traffic in a nondiscriminatory manner.

Under Republican control in 2006, a U.S. House of Representatives panel threw its support behind a bill rewriting antitrust law in a way that would have embedded "Net neutrality" obligations. That proposal, however, never ultimately went any further toward becoming law, and has not been reintroduced.

At a Tuesday afternoon hearing, a House antitrust task force composed of many of the same members indicated the Democratic-controlled chamber may try to … Read more

Opponents of increased H-1B temporary worker visas have long argued that raising the annual cap will cause Americans to lose out on jobs to foreigners--or see their wages depressed.

A new study (PDF) released Monday by a free market-leaning nonprofit group tries to argue that's not the case--and that insufficient quantities of visas are actually sending would-be U.S. job openings offshore.

That group, called the National Foundation for American Policy, argues that for each H-1B visa requested by a corporation, its overall hires climbed by, on average, fivefold. In smaller companies, the group estimated seven new employees were … Read more

WASHINGTON--Let's face it: Most members of Congress don't have the best reputation when it comes to creating a winning online presence.

Recall, for example, that the primary Web site for House of Representatives Democrats was down for at least a week, reportedly for "revamping," when the gavel changed hands last winter. And, as CNET News.com found before the last congressional election, many political campaign sites don't meet basic litmus tests for good Web design.

Still, Karina Newton, who serves as director of new media for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, sought on Wednesday to debunk … Read more

WASHINGTON--As Congress debates whether to wipe out lawsuits accusing telephone companies of allegedly illegal wiretaps, the Bush administration has argued such cooperation is key to keeping Americans safe from terrorists.

FBI Director Robert Mueller continued that push on Wednesday, but he wouldn't go so far as to say those "private partners" would stop installing requested wiretaps unless certain legal protection is granted.

To some extent, Mueller is stating the obvious: Federal law requires telephone and Internet companies to comply with lawful wiretap court orders or lawful certifications from the attorney general, with stiff penalties for noncompliance. But … Read more

WASHINGTON--The FBI's abuse of secret requests for telephone and e-mail logs was not limited to a three-year period described in an earlier report, the bureau's director acknowledged to a Senate committee on Wednesday.

Last spring, the U.S. Department of Justice's inspector general released a report that the FBI overstepped its authority and may have broken the law from 2003 to 2005 in its use of that covert investigative tool known as a national security letter--an admission that drew rebuke from congressional Democrats and Republicans alike. The Patriot Act dramatically expanded the FBI's authority to … Read more

An ongoing political tussle over a controversial expansion of electronic surveillance law may be put to rest sometime this week.

Under pressure from the Bush administration, the U.S. House of Representatives may hold an up-or-down vote on whether to shield companies like AT&T and Verizon from lawsuits alleging illegal cooperation with government spy agencies.

The debate, of course, surrounds attempts to "modernize" the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, which requires a warrant when foreign intelligence is being collected and at least one end of the communications is located in the United States.

There'… Read more