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WASHINGTON--While tech legislation languishes, both Republican and Democratic leaders will tackle homeland security issues when the lame-duck session of Congress begins Tuesday.

A pending bill would establish a new 170,000-member cabinet-level department. A privacy officer would oversee technology research and development, said Richard Diamond, a spokesman for House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas). The bill also designates online security provisions and sets stricter security standards for federal agencies. However, the measure has been criticized for not addressing more cybersecurity issues.

The House-approved bill is stuck in the Senate because Democrats say it denies federal workers some essential union rights. Democratic and Republican leaders say they are optimistic about reaching a compromise in the brief session.

But technology bills are not likely to come before the House in the post-election session, Diamond said. Besides tackling homeland security, the House may pass some appropriations bills, he added.

Antiporn Bill Possible

The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on several pending measures Thursday, said David Carle, press secretary to Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont). He said Leahy and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the committee's ranking Republican, will determine the agenda.

One prospect is a child porn bill sponsored by Hatch and Leahy that would crack down on child porn on the Internet. The Supreme Court struck down a 1996 law that banned virtual child porn, ruling the law's broad definition violated First Amendment rights.

The Hatch-Leahy proposal would narrow the definition "by requiring consideration of the artistic, literary, or educational value of the work as a whole," Leahy said.

Webcasters: All Ears

Small Webcasters are anxious for the Senate to pass a pending bill that significantly discounts the royalty rates online radio stations must pay music labels.

Webcasters and the recording industry, including the Recording Industry Association of America, reached a compromise on the rates, but the plan requires congressional approval.

The House signed on to the plan and both groups expected the Senate to approve the rates before it adjourned for the election in late October. At the last minute, however, Senator Jesse Helms (R-North Carolina) held the bill at the request of small religious broadcasters in North Carolina who said they were not represented in the negotiations.

Helms has not indicated he will seek changes to the bill, Carle said. Leahy hopes to push it through during the lame-duck session.

In the meantime, Webcasters are getting a financial break. SoundExchange, the agency that collects royalty payments, is allowing Webcasters to pay only the $500 annual minimum fee, up to a maximum of $2500.

In the Hopper

Before the election, the Senate passed a cybersecurity bill that would authorize more than $900 million over the next five years for cybersecurity research, but the House has yet to act.

The House overwhelmingly passed a similar version of the bill last February, and "we feel confident it will have same level of support," said Heidi Tringe, communications director for the House Science Committee.

Just before the House adjourned, Representatives Rick Boucher (D-Virginia) and John Doolittle (R-California) introduced a bill that would require labeling on copy-protected compact discs. The bill also would amend the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which makes it illegal to copy digital entertainment, by safeguarding consumers' fair-use rights to make legal copies.

While the bill may not be addressed this session, the 1998 law is expected to come up for review with the U.S. Copyright Office next week.

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