Disability organizations and other public interest groups can participate
in what seems like the closed door dialogue on Internet issues in
Washington by joining the congressional Internet caucus. let's not miss
this opportunity.
kelly
From: Gary Ruskin <[log in to unmask]>
-- Join the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee, and help
shape Internet policy in Washington.
According to its web page, the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory
Committee is "a diverse group of public interest, non profit and
industry groups working to educate the Congress and the public about
important Internet-related policy issues." <http://www.netcaucus.org/>
On January 21, the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee held
its first meeting for the 106th Congress, which was attended by a sea of
corporate and trade association lobbyists, but few members of the public
or public interest groups. (Other than the Congressional Accountability
Project, I saw only the Electronic Frontier Foundation, People for the
American Way, and OMB Watch represented.) This is a problem. If the
Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee is to help shape the
congressional agenda on Internet issues during the 106th Congress, then
it should not be composed nearly exclusively of corporate lobbyists.
Here's what you can do: join the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory
Committee, and participate in its activities. (If you don't have an
organization, then form one and make yourself the president. Then join
up.) At the January 21 meeting, several Hill staffers said that
membership in the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee is
open, and free.
Internet policy is too important to be left in the hands of corporate
lobbyists. Make your voice heard by Internet policy staffers and Members
of Congress.
Here's how to do it: following is a note from Lauren Frazier of Rep.
Boucher's staff about the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory
Committee. Rep. Boucher is a co-chair of the Congressional Internet
Caucus.
Subject: Letter Reminder
Date: Mon, 1 Feb 1999 15:31:53 -0500
From:"Frazier, Lauren" <[log in to unmask]>
To:[log in to unmask]
> Dear Members-to-be of the Advisory Board:
>
> This is a reminder of the letters we the co-chair staff requested from you at our meeting on Thursday, January 21. We have only received about 11 letters-of-intent to date, and we believe that there were more than 11 interested groups at the organizing meeting.
>
> Please include in the letter:
> Your intent on being an active part of the Internet Caucus Advisory Board for 106th Congress
Contact name, phone number, e-mail address
what forum topics you are interested in working on
> any other suggestions for the Caucus
>
> Send to: Lauren Frazier
> c/o Rep. Rick Boucher
> 2329 Rayburn HOB
> Washington, DC 20515
> (please do not send the letter by e-mail. We will begin communicating by e-mail once we receive the hard-copy of the letter.)
>
> We would like to receive the letters as soon as possible so we may move ahead.
>
> Thank you very much. If you have any questions regarding this letter please feel free to contact any of the Co-Chair staff. (Ben Cline w/ Rep.Goodlatte x-5-5431, Mike Rawson w/ Sen. Burns x4-8250, Ed Pagano w/ Sen.Leahy x4-7703)
>
> -Lauren and Mark
> 202-225-3861
That is, you can reach Ben Cline at (202) 225-5431, Mike Rawson at (202)
224-8250, and Ed Pagano at (202) 224-7703. You can fax your letter to
Lauren Frazier at (202) 225-0442.
These Hill staffers are asking you to suggest policy issues that the
Congressional Internet Caucus should conduct forums on. Let them know
what you think. Some obvious suggestions include, for example: how to
get Congress and the federal government to put their important documents
on the Internet; protecting privacy against commercial spammers and
other corporate predators; what the federal government should do to
counteract Microsoft's anti-competitive practices; and, pricing of
residential digital ISDN lines.
No illusion, though. In Washington, access and the cooperation of
Members of Congress is mostly bought or rented. By joining the
Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee, you probably won't
greatly change the way that Washington does Internet policy. But, it
certainly could help (and it probably can't get much worse...) So, send
your letters, and join up.
------------------------------------------------
BACKGROUND:
For more details about the computer industry's campaign contributions
that make friends and laws in Washington, see the following excellent
Money in Politics Alert, produced by the Center for Responsive Politics.
MONEY IN POLITICS ALERT
Vol. 5, #2
tel: 202-857-0044, fax: 202-857-7809
February 1, 1999
email: [log in to unmask], web: www.crp.org
A Complicated Web: Faster than the click of a
mouse, computer companies are increasing their
clout in Washington, pumping at least $8.1
million in PAC, soft money and individual
contributions to federal candidates and parties
during the 1997-98 elections -- twice what they
gave in the last mid-term elections.
Republicans, according to filings, captured 57
percent of contributions the 1997-98 cycle,
most of which was given through soft money and
individual donations.
Top contributors included many of the
industry's usual political players, such as
Microsoft, which ranked No.1 among computer
companies with $1.2 million in donations, 63
percent to Republicans. But analysis shows that
another growing political force in the industry
is Internet access giant America Online, which
gave $137,250 in hard and soft money donations
in 1997-98, 71 percent to Democrats. AOL ranked
ninth in computer industry political donations,
while its soon-to-be partner, Netscape
Communications, ranked seventh, giving nearly
$224,000 in the last elections, 66 percent to
Republicans. In contrast, AOL ranked 48th
during the 1995-96 elections, contributing
$32,500, and 185th in 1993-94, when the company
gave only $2,200. Netscape ranked 46th in 1995-
96 and donated $34,499; however, in 1993-94,
the company made no contributions.
In the preceding months before AOL and
Netscape announced merger plans in November
1998, officials from both companies gave
sizable soft money donations to both political
parties. Netscape president and CEO James
Barksdale contributed $100,000 to the
Republican National Committee and $25,000 to
the Democratic Congressional Campaign
Committee. The donations were Netscape's first
ever soft money donations. James Kimsey,
founder and president of AOL, gave $17,000 to
the National Republican Senatorial Committee
and $50,000 to the Democratic National
Committee. The $4.2 billion merger must be
approved by federal officials
Around the same time, AOL began lobbying
members of Congress and the Federal
Communications Commission to force cable
companies to open access to their high-speed,
broadband connection lines, which allows
cybersurfers to access the Internet 100 times
faster than dialing up via phone line. The FCC
last week deferred the decision to Congress,
which is currently investigating a lack of
competition in the cable industry.
Meanwhile, AOL, according to the Wall
Street Journal, is preparing to wage an
extensive lobbying war for access to the cable
lines. The online giant is reportedly
recruiting consumer groups and companies that
do business over the Internet to become
involved with "Open Net," an AOL-founded
coalition that will urge federal officials to
open the cable networks to all competitors who
want to provide high-speed Internet service.
AOL has tapped Greg Simon, a longtime
Washington lobbyist and former advisor to Vice
President Al Gore, and Rich Bond, former
chairman of the RNC, to lead the effort.
AOL's push for open access pits the
company against AT&T, which will gain access to
millions of potential high-speed Internet
customers under a proposed merger with cable
company Tele-Communications Inc. AT&T has
donated $1.5 million so far in the 1997-98
election cycle.
Top Ten Computer Industry PAC, Soft Money and
Individual Campaign Contributors, 1997-98
Election Cycle*
Company Amount Dems Repubs
Microsoft $1,154,911 $418,743 $732,668
Gateway 2000 $490,954 $149,500 $341,454
EDS $355,246 $146,618 $207,628
Oracle Corp $324,663 $231,413 $93,250
Cisco Systems $234,750 $106,750 $125,750
Netscape $223,999 $75,250 $148,499
IDX Systems $147,750 $131,250 $16,000
JD Edwards & Co $139,250 $12,750 $126,500
America Online $137,250 $98,000 $39,250
Telxon $126,250 $0 $126,250
*Based on data downloaded from the FEC on
1/1/99
Prepared by Holly Bailey
---------------------------------------------------
BACKGROUND:
Following is another recent e-mail from the Congressional Internet
Caucus.
Subject: Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 12:05:11 -0500
From: "Cline, Benjamin" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
January 14, 1999
Advisory Committee Members
Congressional Internet Caucus
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Advisory Committee Members:
As the co-chairs of the Congressional Internet Caucus, we want to
express our thanks to those Members of the CIC Advisory Committee who
were actively involved in the Caucus during the 105th Congress, and we
also want to welcome those who have expressed an interest in becoming
new Advisory Committee Members for the 106th Congress.
With the help of the Advisory Committee, the CIC was successful during
the 105th Congress in raising the awareness and understanding of Members
of Congress concerning significant emerging policy matters affecting the
Internet's future. Several bills to promote the growth of the Internet
were signed into law during the 105th Congress, including Internet tax
moratorium
legislation, securities litigation reform, WIPO implementation/OSP
liability legislation, and Y2K information disclosure legislation. The
successful passage of these and other bills was due in no small part to
the education of Members of Congress by the Internet Caucus.
We are optimistic that legislation promoting Internet growth will be
equally successful the 106th Congress, and we have set an ambitious
agenda that involves increased participation by Caucus participants and
a higher profile for Caucus events. We will once again be holding
several forums in 1999 to educate Members about various Internet-related
topics, including privacy,
access, content, and security.
Staff for the Internet Caucus co-chairs will hold an organizational
meeting with Advisory Committee members at 1:00 PM on January 21 in room
2105 of the Rayburn House Office Building to discuss the Caucus agenda
and events for the 106th Congress. Enclosed is a memo outlining the
Caucus agenda. Please contact Ben Cline with Congressman Goodlatte
(5-5431) or Lauren Frazier with Congressman Boucher (5-3861) with any
questions.
Looking forward to a successful year,
Congressman Bob Goodlatte Congressman Rick
Boucher
Senator Conrad Burns
Senator Patrick Leahy
Congressional Internet Caucus--Agenda for the 106th Congress
In the 106th Congress the Congressional Internet Caucus will
continue to build upon its established mission of educating Members of
the House and Senate about the promise and potential of the Internet.
In achieving this goal, the Caucus will work closely with the
Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee on a series of
educational events which focus on major Internet technology and policy
matters. As detailed below, each forum in 1999 will be structured with
significant Member, senior official and senior public interest and
private sector participation to
raise the profile and effectiveness of the forums as a channel for
discussion of emerging Internet policy matters. The success of these
forums will depend upon robust Member participation in them and solid
commitment to their planning and execution by Advisory Committee
representatives.
Policy Forums
The Caucus plans to hold four or five educational forums during
1999, with the first forum targeted for March. One or two Caucus
co-chairs will be assigned to chair each forum and will lead panel
discussions, assisted by other Members of the Caucus that have an
interest in the forum topic and have committed to participate in and
attend the event. The Member
chair(s) of the forum and staffs will be responsible for overseeing the
organization and implementation of the event with the assistance of
members of the Advisory Committee.
Priority Topics for 1999
Privacy
Encryption
Content (Spamming/Decency/Filtering/Internet Gambling)
Access (Bandwidth/E-Rate/General Telecom Act)
Digital Signatures
Advisory Committee Membership Responsibilities
The Caucus will continue to work closely with an Advisory
Committee comprised of a diverse group of public interest, nonprofit and
industry representatives. In order to maximize the effectiveness and
efficiency of the Caucus, in 1999, the Caucus will establish criteria
for membership on the Advisory Committee which will based on specified
requirements -- including regular attendance at Advisory Committee
meetings and participation commitments in Caucus events, including
policy forums.
For example, Advisory Committee members working on a specific policy
forum will be responsible for defined tasks, including working with the
Member co-chair(s) and staff to formulate the event's agenda, to
identify and confirm high level speakers, and to implement other
logistics, including forum cybercasting and appropriate follow up
post-event. Every member of the
Advisory Committee must identify at least one policy forum or other
Caucus event for 1999 in which the Committee member will play a
planning and participatory role. A list of these commitments must be
forwarded to and maintained by the Caucus co-chair staff.
Formulation of Caucus Member Working Groups
To facilitate greater participation by Members of the Internet
Caucus, the co-chairs of the Caucus and Advisory Committee members will
identify informal working groups of Caucus Members organized by
appropriate areas of interest. Members of these Working Groups will
participate as leaders at Caucus forums. These Working Groups may work
with the chairs of
Caucus to plan additional events, including possible regional events in
high-tech corridors of the U.S.
Caucus Website and Other Administration Functions
The Center for Democracy, with the help of the Internet
Education Foundation, has taken a significant role in the administrative
responsibilities of the Internet Caucus. IEF has maintained the Caucus
website and will work with the offices of the Congressional co-chairs to
post up-to-date information including upcoming events, and advisory
committee and Caucus member updates. Decisions as to other information
and
links will be made in cooperation with the Advisory Committee.
IEF will continue to sponsor all Caucus events and will also
have an intern designated for the Caucus. The Caucus will find ways to
continue to recognize and strengthen CDT and IEF involvement.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Gary Ruskin | Congressional Accountability Project
1611 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite #3A | Washington, DC 20009
Phone: (202) 296-2787 | Fax (202) 833-2406
http://www.essential.org/orgs/CAP/CAP.html |
mailto:[log in to unmask] |
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