Policy and Law: Federal

In a letter delivered this week, EDUCAUSE and several other groups have asked that Congress pass the Broadband Data Improvement Act and the Broadband Census of America Act before the 110th Congress ends. The groups say this legislation "would improve information-gathering about current broadband deployment and assist in targeting resources to areas in need of such services." Learn more, and access a related press release regarding EDUCAUSE’s proposed new approach to making high-speed Internet services available across the country.

EDUCAUSE President Diana G. Oblinger recently spoke in Washington, D.C., at the New America Foundation–hosted event, Broadband Revolution, about the pressing need for a national broadband policy. Read more about the event and Oblinger’s speech, and access a related press release regarding EDUCAUSE’s proposed new approach to making high-speed Internet services available across the country.

This hour and sixteen minute podcast features a panel discussion recorded at the EDUCAUSE 2008 Policy Conference. The discussion, "Do's and Don'ts of Advocacy: Helping Your Federal Relations Officer Advance the IT Agenda," includes the following participants:

EDUCAUSE joined the American Council on Education (ACE) in comments to respond to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The EDUCAUSE contribution addressed the proposed rules treatment of Social Security Numbers (SSN's), Student ID Numbers, and Student User ID's in the context of "directory information." The comments state:

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has established a Commission on Cyber Security for the 44th Presidency – the administration that will take office in January 2009.  The goal of the nonpartisan Commission is to develop recommendations for a comprehensive strategy to improve cyber security in federal systems and in critical infrastructure.

The EDUCAUSE/Internet2 Security Task Force has been invited to provide input to the Commission and welcomes your comments in the following areas:

In this 50 minute podcast we feature a keynote speech by Mark Luker, Vice President of EDUCAUSE. The speech was delivered at the EDUCAUSE 2008 Southwest Regional Conference in Houston, Texas, and is entitled, "Washington Update: We're from the Government, and We're Here to Help You!"

Privacy. Cybersecurity. Telecommunications Reform. These and other national policy issues that have an impact on higher education will be the focus of the 2008 EDUCAUSE Policy Conference, May 7–8 in Arlington, Virginia, an event that brings together CIOs, IT directors, legal counsel, librarians, federal relations officers, and other college and university leaders for discussion of important new federal laws, legislative and regulatory developments, and emerging trends. Early-bird registration is available through April 11 for this event. Register now to save money.

Leaders of the House Committee on Education and Labor have just introduced legislation to control illegal file sharing in higher education as part of the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007. The higher education community opposes a provision that requires campuses to develop new institutional plans for addressing infringement activities on their networks.

Please call (do not write or email) the offices of the House Committee on Education and Labor. Time is short. Markup is this coming Wednesday, November 14, 2007 at 9:00 AM.

For specific details please see our talking points.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

1. Coordinate your response to this challenge with your institutional executives and federal relations officers.

2. Call, do not write or email, as many of the Committee Members as possible, and express your strong opposition to this proposal. You can find a list of all the Committee members and their phone numbers.

The Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee's State of the Net Conference will be held on January 30, 2008, in Washington, D.C. The conference offers attendees unparalleled opportunities to network and dialogue on key technology and information policy issues. Attendees include a mix of academics, consumer groups, industry, and government. In 2007, over 50 percent of the attendees were policy staff from Congressional offices and governmental agencies. There is a significant registration discount for non-profit and academic organizations. For more information or to register, go to http://netcaucus.org/conference/2008/