House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., is calling for legislation to clarify that consumers are allowed to make digital copies of the CDs and DVDs they buy. Issa told CQ's Ambreen Ali that he plans to make digital rights a priority in the new Congress, and suggested that clarifying language may be needed after the U.S. Copyright Office issued an opinion last month labeling such copying outside the bounds of "fair use." As a member of the Judiciary Committee and its Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Issa has emerged as a champion of Internet rights issues thanks in large part to the debate over the Stop Online Piracy Act or SOPA (HR 3261) earlier this year. Issa's comments come after the advocacy group Public Knowledge asked the Copyright Office to make it clear that personal copies are legal as long as they are not for commercial use. Issa has yet to prepare a bill on the issue, but Public Knowledge has already drafted language that would allow consumers to make digital copies even if the media is digitally locked. Cybersecurity Bill Hits The Floor This Week: As we reported last week, the Senate is poised to take another shot at passing cybersecurity legislation this week, likely right after a sportsmen bill (S 3523) offered by Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., failed in his first attempt to secure enough votes to overcome cloture and force a vote on the bill before the autumn recess. There is little indication the political calculus has changed after the election left Congress still divided and industry still staunchly against even voluntary security baselines for critical infrastructure providers. Even the bill's chief sponsor, retiring Senate Homeland Security Chairman Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., has admitted its chances of passage are slim. Should the bill fail as expected, the scrutiny will turn to the White House, which has threatened to issue an executive order that would establish voluntary security standards. FCC Announces November Agenda: The FCC released a tentative agenda for its Nov. 30th open meeting featuring just one item: an order to pave the way for the approval of more than 6,000 pending applications for FM Translator Radio Stations and implementation of the Local Community Radio Act. The goal of the legislation was to empower non-profits and other community groups to apply for low power radio licenses, in hopes of expanding the diversity of local content providers. House Loses Tech Policy Leader in Bono Mack: One election result that might have taken tech wonks by surprise: the defeat of Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif., chairwoman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Manufacturing. Mack conceded to emergency-room doctor Raul Ruiz on Friday night, ending the political career that began after the death of her first husband, Rep. Sonny Bono. Bono Mack took the lead on Internet privacy and gambling issues, holding a series of hearings in her subcommittee examining those issues. She was also a cosponsor of SOPA and spoke out against increased control of the Internet by the United Nations. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., is second in line on the panel, but some shuffling is expected and other Republicans might claim the slot. On the Move: The New America Foundation's Open Technology Institute has hired former FCC associate general counsel and chief diversity office Mark Lloyd, along with Gene Kimmelman, former chief counsel for competition policy in the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department. The pair will lead the Institute's media policy initiative. Shift Coming On Skilled Immigration? The House is expected to take up the high-tech visa issue again during the lame duck, the first test of the GOP's renewed interest in courting the growing base of Hispanic voters. Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has already indicated a willingness to compromise on immigration, and visas for high-tech workers and foreign graduates of U.S. universities are already popular with both parties. A comprehensive rewrite of immigration policy is still shaping up to be one of the biggest battles of President Obama's second term, but expanding skilled immigration for tech workers is looking like a realistic goal in the near future.