Items tagged with Senate
It's no secret that the United States has lost its dominant position as a hotbed for semiconductor production. The U.S. long ceded the crown to other countries like Taiwan, home to [contract] chip manufacturing giant TSMC. However, U.S. lawmakers finally realize that providing a competitive environment for domestic chip production is not only good for national security reasons but could also add high-paying jobs. A group of bi-partisan Senators has announced the aptly named Facilitating American-Built Semiconductors or FABS Act to return the U.S. to a dominant position in the semiconductor realm. The FABS Act is in addition to the $52 billion plan approved by the U.S. Senate last week to boost...
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Supporters of net neutrality will be thrilled to hear that the U.S. Senate has voted to restore the net neutrality rules that the FCC announced that it would kill off back in April. A Senate vote was held today, and the Senators came down 52-47 to restore the net neutrality rules. The Senate vote was very close with all 49 Democrats voting to restore net neutrality rules along with three Republicans senators -- Susan Collins (ME), Lisa Murkowski (AK) and John Kennedy (LA) . Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana said that his vote came down to whether he and others should trust the local cable company where most Americans get their web access. "If you trust your cable company, you're...
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Net neutrality was officially killed last month, but there are still people looking to bring it back from the dead. In the U.S. Senate, 50 senators have endorsed a new piece of legislation that could override the FCC and reinstate Net Neutrality. The final numbers on the bill have left Senate Democrats one vote short of the 51 needed to pass a Senate resolution of disapproval. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Net neutrality was a set of rules that banned ISPs from blocking or slowing websites. Those rules were eliminated in December, with those against net neutrality arguing that the rules were too restrictive for the industry. While the Republicans were largely against net neutrality, the Democrats...
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This past Wednesday, several Republican senators argued before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the topic of Net Neutrality and the Federal Communications Commission. While a large amount of companies are asking that the FCC classify the internet as a utility, Republicans are arguing such a move would give the FCC too much power which would stifle innovation and have said that the FCC shouldn’t get involved at all. To that end, Senator Ted Cruz (Republican, Texas) said, “The FCC's latest adventure in net neutrality in my view would only serve to stifle innovation and would potentially subject the internet to nanny state regulation from Washington.” Cruz then said that net neutrality...
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Senate democrats introduced new legislation called the Smartphone Theft Prevention Act (senate bill 2032), which would mandate a killswitch option on all smartphones. The big four wireless carriers as well as the CTIA are all on record as being against such measures, but if the bill passes, they won’t have much of a choice in the matter. Headed by Minnesota democrat Amy Klobuchar and co-signed by Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI), the act would require carriers to provide the technology that would allow users to remotely wipe their phones of identifying information and brick the devices, as well. (Source: Ed Yourdon via Flickr) Klobuchar cites FCC...
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Apple has just updated its App Store Reviewal Guidelines, not surprising since the company just launched the iOS 5 beta to developers. Some might not "drink to" at least one of the changes: DUI checkpoint apps are now banned from the App Store. The change possibly came as a result of a request from U.S. Senators Harry Reid (D-NV), Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), and Tom Udall (D-NM) who sent a letter to Apple, Google, and RIM in March. In it, they asked those three companies to remove any apps from their respective marketplaces that allow users get around DUI checkpoints. Apple is the only one to comply with the request so far. And it only applies to DUI checkpoints. Apps...
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What do providing secret service protection for former vice presidents and going after cyber criminals have in common? (And no, Al Gore did not have his identity stolen--at least not as far as we know). They are both part of the same bill that was just passed by the Senate. Current legislation lacks the necessary breadth to go after and punish how cyber criminals do their dirty work these days. A cyber-crime bill, the Identity Theft Enforcement and Restitution Act, was introduced by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) last October and it was unanimously passed by the Senate in November. However, it "has been stalled in the House [of Representatives ]" ever since. So as politicians...
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