The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to consider its bipartisan compromise version of Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act (S-517) at its Thursday executive session, set for 9:30 a.m. in 226 Dirksen. The committee had announced the compromise last month and initially had scheduled it for consideration then but later decided to postpone consideration.

The House Rules Committee will consider this week the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, HR-5016, in addition to HR-4718, which would amend the Internet Revenue Code to make bonus depreciation provisions permanent. The bonus depreciation provision of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 expired in December. Both items are slated for consideration Wednesday at 3 p.m. in H-313 of the Capitol. The Financial Services appropriations bill for FY 2015 includes funding for the FCC and FTC. The Rules Committee reviews items before they advance to the House floor.

At least one Senate candidate wants to overhaul the 1996 Telecom Act. Larry Pressler, a former Republican senator from South Dakota, is running for the state’s open Senate seat in the 2014 midterm elections as an independent. “I have repeatedly stated that there should be a new Telecommunications Act every few years, and once again, we are long overdue,” Pressler wrote in a Saturday Argus Leader op-ed (http://argusne.ws/1jhojX8). “I have already announced that when I get back to the Senate, I shall immediately sponsor the Telecommunications Update Act of 2015, another much-needed piece of legislation that has not been created because of the poisonous partisan deadlock in Washington, but that as your Independent U.S. senator, I would be able to work with both parties to achieve.” Pressler is proud of his role in the 1996 act, when he was a U.S. senator, he said. Pressler chaired the Commerce Committee and authored the Senate version of the act, he said on his website (http://bit.ly/1xHDUlN).

The new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) .wine and .vin shouldn’t be delegated to the domain name system, said House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., in a letter (http://bit.ly/1t1veI9) to ICANN CEO Fadi Chehade June 25. ICANN published the letter Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1s33K0x). French officials raised concerns about the delegation of the domains at the ICANN 50 conference, which they said could negatively affect the wine industry (CD July 1 p3). Eshoo said she doesn’t oppose the delegation of new gTLDs, but “each application must be carefully scrutinized and take into account the concerns of impacted stakeholders.” France wants geographic indicators for the domains to protect the regionally integrity of its wine, they said at ICANN 50. ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee failed to reach a consensus on the issue at ICANN 50, it said in its communique (http://bit.ly/1jo8xUW).

The House Republican appropriations bill for the FCC and FTC was formally introduced Wednesday. The House Appropriations Committee cleared the measure last month. But the Appropriations General Government Subcommittee Chairman Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., only this week introduced the appropriations package formally, now known as HR-5016, the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act. The bill would give the FCC $53 million less than requested -- $323 million -- and the FTC $293 million, as requested.

A draft bill that would narrow the conditions under which patent “demand letters” may be sent for alleged infringements was released by House Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee Chairman Lee Terry, R-Nev., Tuesday. Demand letters would be found to be “deceptive and unfair” under the Federal Trade Commission Act if a “civil action” for an alleged infringement has already been taken against other parties. Demand letters would have to be sent by the rightsholder of the patent, and couldn’t “preempt” state law.

Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., asked the FCC about the possibility of criminals and foreign governments intercepting phone calls. He sent FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler a letter Wednesday with several questions, requesting “complete responses” by July 15 (http://1.usa.gov/1m9mavt). Recent reports of network vulnerability are “extremely troubling” and Grayson is “disturbed” the FCC has known of such weaknesses, he said. “Does the FCC have any evidence that IMSI [international mobile subscriber identity] catchers and similar cellular interception technology have been used by private entities or foreign governments to spy on the public, companies, policy makers or members of Congress?” Grayson asked. “Do the FCC’s existing legal authority permit it to force the wireless carriers to upgrade the security of their networks in order to secure their subscribers’ conversations from criminals, private parties or foreign governments using commercially available interception technology?”

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler is “open to exploring a rulemaking” on cellphone unlocking issues if the wireless industry fails to resolve them, he told Democratic senators in a letter released this week (http://bit.ly/TPiAvH). “I agree with you that consumers benefit from mobile device resale opportunities, and I am committed to supporting business that want to engage in the legitimate resale of second-hand devices,” Wheeler said in his mid-June response. “Apparently, some providers seem to link the bulk resale of devices with theft and fraud and this may affect the ability of third-party resellers to unlock phones."

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., questioned FCC E-rate overhaul plans, sending a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler Wednesday criticizing aspects of the agency’s plans. “Small, cramped, crowded buildings often require more spending for wireless connectivity per square foot than uncrowded buildings,” Markey wrote. “A single flat rate of E-rate funding per square foot -- reportedly under consideration by the Commission -- might well not lead to adequate wireless connectivity in urban and rural buildings. Instead, the Commission should consider a wide range of factors including the number of users, connection from wireless in other buildings, architectural impediments, inside cabling, and the speed of access to the buildings.” The FCC had no comment right away.

The term of Republican FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly expired Monday. The White House nominated him to finish the term of Robert McDowell, who stepped down last year, and O'Rielly was sworn in as commissioner in November after the Senate approved the paired nominations of O'Rielly and current FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. McDowell’s term ran only up through Monday, as the White House noted when first nominating O'Rielly (http://1.usa.gov/1lA3noJ). Normally FCC commissioners are appointed for five-year terms and can serve beyond their expiration until the subsequent session of Congress expires. But an exception exists, according to the Communications Act (http://1.usa.gov/1opbbhs), saying “any person chosen to fill a vacancy shall be appointed only for the unexpired term of the commissioner whom he succeeds.” The agency had no immediate comment.