Senate and House Appropriators are on a collision course over which agency should be in charge of purchasing weather satellites for use by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, CQ's Anne L. Kim reports. The Senate Appropriations Committee overwhelmingly approved a fiscal 2013 Commerce-Justice-Science spending bill on Thursday that cuts NOAA's funding by almost 30 percent and transfers that funding to NASA, which would get a $1.6 billion boost over fiscal 2012 funding levels to $19.4 billion.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., who chairs the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the bill, reiterated that NOAA has consistently experienced cost overruns with the satellites despite repeated warnings "to get it together." The House Commerce-Justice-Science Subcommittee approved a version Thursday that sets aside $51.1 billion, roughly $760 million less than the Senate bill. That measure would keep the satellite acquisitions in NOAA, resulting in less funding for NASA.
Senate Bill Includes Cybersecurity Language: One interesting tidbit from the Senate C-J-S bill: it includes policy language that would require the heads of the Commerce and Justice Departments, along with NASA and the National Science Foundation, to assess any cybersecurity risks in consultation with the FBI before acquiring information technology systems. Supply-chain security has been a growing concern for federal agencies, since the vast majority of information technology products purchased by the government are now manufactured in countries such as China and India. The provision also reflects an increasing preference for having vendors design and bake security into their products, rather than attempting to bolt it on later. Hutchison Wants Competition for Crew Vehicle: Anne L. Kim also informs us that Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, emphasized at the hearing that she wants NASA to have a "competitive" bidding process for its planned Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle. Hutchison is a strong supporter of NASA's human spaceflight program and said she hopes NASA quickly narrows the field down to two competitors so it can select one company to build the vehicle headed for the International Space Station. Her comments are in line with sentiments expressed recently by House Commerce-Justice-Science Chairman Frank Wolf, R-Va. FTC Workshop on Mobile Payments Next Thursday: The Federal Trade Commission is holding an all-day workshop on mobile payments next Thursday at the FTC Conference Center, which will feature experts and speakers from a host of private companies and academia discussing the challenges and opportunities created by the shift to mobile transactions. Panel discussions will cover areas including data security, privacy issues and the current legal landscape for mobile payment processors. Lawmakers Query FAA on UAVs: Reps. Edward Markey, D-Mass., and Joe Barton, R-Texas, wrote to the Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday regarding the potential privacy implications of increased use of non-military unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones. The letter (PDF) cites the FAA reauthorization bill passed in February, which require the agency to integrate drones into U.S. airspace by October 2015. The pair ask the FAA to outline its procedures and requirements for licensing drones, along with any information on how the agency plans to protect the public's privacy. Drones are often used to carry surveillance equipment, including video cameras, thermal imaging devices and wireless network detectors. Babbage on Twitter's New Patent Policy: The Economist's Babbage blog took note yesterday of a new policy from Twitter, under which the company promises not to fire first in a patent dispute. The idea is to encourage other tech firms to join the Innovator's Patent Agreement, in hopes of stemming the rising tide of patent lawsuits between major tech firms. The agreement spells out when firms can launch offensive suits, raising the bar significantly. But Babbage notes the IPA leaves Twitter plenty of wiggle room to retaliate should inventors take action against the micro-blogging service or its users. Small Cable Carriers Want HD Exemption: The American Cable Association wrote to the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday, arguing that analog-only cable systems deserve an exemption to rules that require they carry broadcast signals in high definition (HD). The letter (PDF) cites earlier exemptions for small systems with fewer than 2,501 subscribers and lower capacity; the ACA supports extending that exemption for another three years. ACA also urged the FCC to extend the exemption permanently for analog-only systems, arguing that it will never be feasible for such carriers to provide programming in HD. The Science of Civil Conflict: This week's print edition of The Economist discusses how new computer programs are working to predict the outcomes of civil insurrections in much the same way traditional battles are currently modeled. The military has several promising projects under development in the area, including one that sifts through data on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites to predict how a public protest will evolve. Such technology has obvious military applications for the U.S., but could also be used by repressive regimes to quell dissent like the protests during the Arab Spring.