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CEA's
Washington Forum: April 2-3, 2008 The Honorable Carlos M. Gutierrez, Secretary of Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce (Wednesday, April 2nd at 10:00 a.m.)
The Honorable Rick Boucher (D-VA), Member, United States House of Representatives (Thursday, April 3rd at 10:00 a.m.)
CEA's
Digital Patriots Award Dinner
The House passed its own version of the legislation in December. House and Senate leaders are expected to reconcile the differences between the two versions during the next few weeks. Additional Links: Text of Senate Bill (as passed)Contact: J. David Grossman In a March 19th letter to House Energy & Commerce Committee leaders, CEA reiterated its commitment to DTV education through a host of different mediums including a recent satellite media tour featuring Meredith Attwell Baker, Acting Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, U.S. Department of Commerce/NTIA.Additionally, CEA recently announced a partnership with the National Association of Broadcasters to significantly expand the reach of AntennaWeb.org, an online site dedicated exclusively to the needs of over-the-air households. CEA also is promoting a 9-minute DVD entitled, "DTV 101: A Consumer's Guide to Digital Television" and circulating copies of the popular digital converter box "Quick Start Guide" in both English and Spanish. Also of note, the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on April 8th at 2:30 p.m. to discuss the DTV transition. For more information and a list of witnesses, please visit: the Senate Commerce Committee website. Contact: Julie Kearney CEA Commends Congressman Boucher's Dedication to a Successful DTV Transition During a speech before the Media Institute earlier this month, Congressman Rick Boucher (D-VA) emphasized the importance of consumer education to the nation’s successful transition to digital television (DTV). Noting that the DTV transition date of February 17, 2009, is firm and will not be moved, Congressman Boucher called on all industries to increase consumer education activities. In a statement issued by CEA, President and CEO Gary Shapiro said: “We thank Congressman Boucher for his dedication to the firm DTV transition date, and we commend his leadership in promoting consumer education. We agree with Congressman Boucher on the widespread societal benefits of DTV, and we will do our utmost to ensure a smooth and consumer-friendly DTV transition. We recognize and understand that policymakers desire to minimize any DTV-related disruptions to their constituents. We take these issues seriously and remain committed with all other involved industries to make sure no Americans lose service because they were not aware of the transition or their options." Additional Links: CEA Press Release 03/13/08 Contact: Julie Kearney  Industry Victory: Section 104 Removed from PRO-IP Act Earlier this month, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property held a markup of H.R. 4279, the PRO-IP Act of 2007. In a victory for the CE industry, the subcommittee voted to amend the legislation, which included removal of Section 104 ("Computation of Statutory Damages in Copyright Cases"). This problematic section would have increased statutory damages in digital infringement cases. Additional Links: Letter to House Judiciary Committee Contact: Michael Petricone or Veronica O'Connell
Congressional E-Waste Working
Group Releases Concept Paper on E-Waste; CEA Responds
After a series of stakeholder meetings during the past several months, the Congressional E-Waste Working Group has released a draft concept paper on e-recycling. In comments responding to the paper, CEA expressed support for the efforts of the working group, but emphasized the importance of continued discussion and exploration towards a viable federal approach. CEA is particularly concerned with the state authorization process outlined in the working group report, which would facilitate the state patchwork of divergent e-waste mandates. Additionally, the report includes arbitrary performance targets for how much manufacturers must collect and recycle based on the weight of the product sold nationally. CEA opposes these targets and believes they should be removed. The Congressional E-Waste Working Group plans to hold follow-up meetings with all stakeholders in the next several weeks to discuss the comments that have been submitted. Additional Links: CEA Comments Contact: Parker Brugge or Joanne Sonenshine Washington State Legislation Includes Exemption for Consumer Electronics Across the country, state legislatures are introducing legislation to ban lead in children's toys. CEA's efforts this month helped ensure that Washington state included a exemption for consumer electronics products. Over the coming months, CEA will be working with industry leaders to develop model language to ensure consumer electronics are not impacted by these bills.  The FCC's 700 MHz auction ended this month with 1,090 winning bids totaling $19.5 billion for the U.S. Treasury. The spectrum will be available to the winning bidders next year upon the completion of the digital television transition. Additional Links: Summary of FCC Auction 73 Contact: Julie Kearney CEA's Government Affairs Council to Meet at Washington Forum On Wednesday, April 2nd at 8:30 a.m., CEA's Government Affairs Council will meet at the JW Marriott Hotel in Washington, DC. Amy Levine, Senior Counsel to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce will be the featured guest speaker. The meeting is being held in conjunction with CEA's Washington Forum. All CEA members are welcome to attend. Questions? Please contact J. David Grossman CEA Member? Visit CEA's Member-Only website
for the latest Government Affairs news, contact information and
documents. Interested in Joining CEA's
Government Affairs Council (GAC)? CEA
Government Affairs Staff
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