"Only Congress can modernize our underlying laws and give us the full range of tools our cybersecurity professionals need to more effectively deal with this growing and increasingly sophisticated threat, including risk-based performance standards to ensure the nation’s most vital of critical infrastructure systems meet a baseline level of security," National Security Council spokesman Caitlin Hayden said. "As the president emphasized in the State of the Union, we need Congress to act swiftly to provide the authorities we need to protect the nation’s critical infrastructure from the growing danger of cyberthreats."
Lawmakers Push for Online Privacy Act: Reps. Edward Markey, D-Mass., and Joe Barton, R-Texas, joined actor and comedian Nick Cannon to stump for The Do Not Track Kids Act of 2011 (HR 1895) on Wednesday. The lawmakers hosted a briefing featuring Cannon and privacy expert Dr. Kathryn Montgomery, where they discussed how to safeguard children and teens online. Extra protections for minors have been a key part of the current debate over consumer privacy online, with many lawmakers saying that users under the age of 18 deserve extra protection. The bill would prohibit web firms from sending targeted ads to minors or collecting personal information about them without their parents' consent. It would also require website owners to have an "eraser button" that would delete information about minors. Web firms note the primary difficulty with introducing new age protections is accurately verifying a user's age online. Report: DOJ Warns Apple, Publishers About Collusion: The Department of Justice has warned Apple and five of the biggest U.S. publishers that it plans to sue them for allegedly colluding to raise the price of e-books, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. Several of the parties are reportedly in talks to settle the antitrust case, hoping to prevent a prolonged court battle. According to the report, Apple demanded 30 percent of the price of books sold for the iPad, then stipulated that publishers couldn't let rivals sell the same book at lower prices. DOJ says Apple and the publishers worked together to raise prices across the board, a claim denied by the publishers. NASA Chief Defends Funds for Commercial Space Flight: CQ's Anne Kim reports that NASA Administrator Charles Bolden Jr. was forced Wednesday to defend his agency's budget request for more than double the funding for commercial spaceflight development in fiscal 2013 during hearings before the House Science, Space and Technology Committee and Senate Commerce Committee. NASA is seeking $830 million to develop commercial spaceflight capabilities, compared with $406 million appropriated in fiscal 2012. The agency's overall budget request is $17.7 billion, a 0.3 percent decrease from current levels. Both Democrats and Republicans criticized NASA for boosting commercial space funding at the expense of current projects such as its heavy-lift rocket or the James Webb Space Telescope. Bolden said that reduced funding would delay the ability to transport Americans to the International Space Station. Grassley Wants Access to FCC Staff Over LightSquared: Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, released a statement Wednesday blasting the Federal Communications Commission for not giving him access to key staff members involved in the agency's decisions in the LightSquared matter. The agency issued LightSquared a conditional waiver last year to establish a wireless network on spectrum bought at auction, but tests showed the planned 4G network would interfere with GPS devices, prompting the FCC to pull its waiver and move to block the network. Grassley has consistently questioned why the agency first issued the waiver, and other GOP lawmakers such as Rep. Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota have accused the Obama administration of "crony capitalism" over the deal.Grassley has already placed a hold on the nominations of Ajit Pai and Jessica Rosenworcel to become FCC commissioners and vowed not to lift it until the agency hands over all documents related to the company. His latest statement accuses FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski of failing to live up to his promise to make FCC staff available to discuss the issue. Grassley notes the FCC has failed to make either former staff member Paul de Sa or current staffer Josh Gottheimer available to meet with him about the issue. Gottheimer, who serves as Genachowski's strategic adviser, was also named Wednesday to direct a new public-private initiative involving the agency's broadband agenda, cybersecurity and other issues.
Quotable: “The FCC chairman wrote to me last October that he would ‘continue to make staff available to discuss this matter further’ with me or my staff at our ‘convenience.’ That turned out to be an empty offer. The FCC has refused to allow access to two staff members who likely would be able to shed some light on the FCC’s questionable decision to give the green light to the LightSquared project. It’s unfortunate that this agency operates as a closed shop when the public’s business ought to be public. It adds insult to injury to promise openness and fail to fulfill the offer. The good news is a key House committee is trying to shed light on the FCC’s thinking on LightSquared. Some transparency might be required of the agency after all.” -- Grassley statement