SENATE COMMERCE SEATS OPEN UP AS DEMOCRATS REGAIN POWER

摘要

The Senate Commerce Committee lost 2 senators with broad telecom experience as Sens. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) and George Allen (R-Va.) conceded defeat in close elections Thurs., turning the Senate majority over to Democrats. Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) is expected to chair the committee but hasn抰 outlined his telecom agenda, Hill staffers said. Allotment of new seats will be decided when Democrats meet this week for party caucuses; Democrats are set to meet Wed. and Republicans Fri. Allen and Burns clearly leave a gap in telecom experience, lobbyists said, but the effect will be less severe with Republicans in the minority. Allen was 揹eeply instrumental on Internet taxation,?said an industry lobbyist. Burns抯 loss is considered more significant since he worked well with Republicans and Democrats. 揌e抯 a true loss,?said a Democratic Hill staffer.nnCongress returns for business today (Mon.) but work will be brief. Lawmakers will meet for about a week before adjourning for Thanksgiving and then may return to 揷lean up loose ends?for a week in Dec., Hill sources said. The House Judiciary Crime Subcommittee is going to take up an anti-spoofing bill (HR-5304) -- a measure that would prevent people from modifying caller ID information in order to mislead recipients as to the source of the call. The ACLU plans a news conference this week to raise concern about attempts the Republican-led Congress may make to give a last-minute push for electronic surveillance legislation. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted out a handful of bills before the elections. But Democrats are united in opposing the measure that抯 backed by the White House and that Senate Judiciary Committee Chmn. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) lobbied hard to get bipartisan support for. He couldn抰 get the bill (S-2178) to the Senate floor.