FOR PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION IITF COMMITTEE REPORT September 12, 1994 NII Advisory Council: On September 13, the NII Advisory Council (NIIAC) will hold its fifth meeting at the New York Public Library, Celeste Bartos Forum, in New York City, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The NIIAC will be addressed by Secretary Brown and the meeting will focus on the status of the individual Mega- Project work plans. The three Mega-Projects (Vision and Goals; Access; and Privacy, Security, and Intellectual Property) will meet on September 12 at Columbia University's Shapiro Center for Engineering and Physical Science Research, New York, New York. Secretary Brown and members of the NIIAC will also visit the Bunche School on September 12 to see how students are using the NII. Applications Conference: On September 7 and 8, the Council on Competitiveness and the IITF co-sponsored an applications conference entitled "Breaking the Barriers to the National Information Infrastructure." The conference was held at the ANA Hotel in Washington, D.C., with an attendance of over 600 people. The conference explored a range of applications being developed for the NII, with a special focus on obstacles faced by both developers and end users of such products. National Information Infrastructure Symposium: On October 17-19, the President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) and the Office of Science and Technology Policy will hold a symposium at the U.S. Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island. The purpose of the symposium is to provide an opportunity for senior members of the Administration to meet with industry leaders to discuss key national security issues related to the NII. Committee on Applications and Technology The efforts of the Committee on Applications and Technology (CAT) during August focused on completion of the second set of NII Application Papers, increasing dissemination of the NII Inventories, and meetings of the working groups. During the public portion of the September 9 meeting, Jim Hake of the National Infrastructure Campaign and representatives from the Mayo Clinic provided interesting presentations on the NII awards and the health care applications in the NII. IITF approval of the second set of CAT application papers in July, prompted final production and publication of "The Information Infrastructure: Reaching Society's Goals." This second set of application papers features "quality of life" areas that include: Americans with Disabilities; Supply and Demand of Electric Power; Improving Transportation; Promoting Telecommuting; Effect on Emergency Management; Public Empowerment with Environmental Information; Arts, Humanities, and Culture; and Public Safety. The IITF Chair, Ronald Brown, released this publication at the "Breaking the Barriers" conference on September 7. CAT has also uploaded the Information Infrastructure Inventories to World-Wide Web, gopher, and ftp services, to provide wider dissemination via Internet services. These inventories include NII Application Projects and Telemedicine funding sources. Updates to the Application Projects inventory will be completed in September. The Government Information Technology Services (GITS) Working Group, chaired by Jim Flyzik, met on August 9 at the Federal Trade Commission. During August, the GITS finalized both the Vision Statement and the GITS Action Plan for release in early September. During the month, empowerment letters were issued to agencies to proceed with GITS related activities associated with private network consolidation, establishment of an international trade base, integrated government financial filings, and development of an environmental data index. As part of the GITS outreach program, GITS also obtained approval for the Telecommunications/Information resources panel charter. The Customer Service Improvement Team, U.S. Postal Service, and a cross-section of industry and academia met earlier this month to discuss improving government information and services. The Technology Policy Working Group (TPWG), chaired by Duane Adams, held a TPWG meeting on August 18, as well as numerous project group meetings during the month. Two reports were finalized: "Services and the National Information Infrastructure" report for CAT review and IITF approval, and the "Advanced Digital Video in the NII." Both are available on the IITF World-Wide Web and gopher services. The TPWG accelerated work on the NII Roadmap by engaging the National Research Council to undertake the project, Dr. Lewis Branscomb was named as Chair. Interaction with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Information Infrastructure Standards Panel (IISP) continued, and the TPWG has proposed co-sponsoring a workshop on critical NII interfaces to be held in late fall or early winter. The Health Information and Applications Working Group (HIAWG), chaired by John Silva, finalized an initial draft inventory of federally funded activities related to consumer health information. This inventory will lead to recommendations regarding the priority of federally sponsored consumer health information and applications to the improvement of the health of all Americans. In addition to this inventory, the Telemedicine subgroup completed the "Telemedicine Funding Sources" inventory which is now available on the IITF Information Server. The HIAWG Telemedicine subgroup held a working conference on "Telemedicine Policy for the NII" with the Senate/House Ad Hoc Steering Committee on Telemedicine and Health Care Informatics. Facilitated dialogues and break out sessions resulted in a conference report which will concentrate on key issues in the following areas: utility to people, regulatory issues, standards, and evaluations. The conference report will be made public in a variety of forums in September. The HIAWG has continued to collect public responses to the application paper titled "Health Care and the NII," which was a part of the CAT report "Putting the Information Infrastructure to Work." A second, broader white paper on health and the NII is expected to be drafted in collaboration with the original author and representatives from the private sector. Telecommunications Policy Committee The Telecommunications Policy Committee (TPC) last met on July 14 at the Department of Commerce. TPC has been helping to plan events for the NII anniversary in September and working on the NII Progress Report. The next public TPC meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 14, from 3:45 to 5:00 p.m. in Room 1414 at the Department of Commerce. The meeting will address issues and concerns of the cable industry in the building the NII. Decker Anstrom, President of The National Cable Television Association, will lead the presentations. In order to register, please contact Tatia Williams at 202-482-1551 or twilliams@ntia.doc.gov. The Legislative Drafting Task Force continues to hold daily conference calls and meets frequently to discuss legislative policy issues and strategy. By a vote of 423-4, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3636, the bill addressing local competition issues. The House also passed H.R. 3626, modifying restrictions on the Bell Operating Companies, by a vote of 423-5. On the Senate side, the Commerce Committee reported out S. 1822, which includes long distance and local competition issues, by a vote of 18-2. Senate floor action is anticipated in September. The Universal Service Working Group last met on Monday, July 25, at the Department of Commerce. The Working Group provided comments on a draft of the Notice of Inquiry on Universal Service, which will be released in mid-September along with the summary report, "The NII Field Hearings on Universal Service and Open Access: America Speaks Out." The International Telecommunications Working Group, chaired by Carol Darr, held a public hearing entitled "The Emerging Global Information Infrastructure" on July 27 and 28. Approximately 250 people attended to listen to 29 panelists, representing service providers, users, industry associations, and equipment and software manufacturers. Panelists testified on new technologies, the status of the world's information infrastructure, the five GII principles (private investment, competition, open access, universal service, and regulatory flexibility), and how best to develop a GII. A transcript of the hearing is now available on the NTIA electronic bulletin board and in hard copy in the Department of Commerce Law Library (15th and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW). NTIA received 21 written comments in addition to the comments of those who testified orally. Both written and oral testimony are being analyzed for incorporation into the Agenda for Cooperation, the Administration's principles and goals for development of the GII. In addition, the subworking group on U.S. Aid and Telecommunications under the Working Group on International Telecommunications is working on a final version of a report on U.S. government, private sector, non-profit, and academic contributions to communications development. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the wide range of activities through which the United States supports international communications development. Information Policy Committee The Information Policy Committee (IPC) last met on June 15 to hear the progress reports from its Working Groups, to review the intellectual property rights report, and to be briefed on the NII Security Issues Forum. The IPC includes the Government Information Working Group, the Intellectual Property Rights Working Group, and the Privacy Working Group. The Government Information Working Group (GIWG), in cooperation with the Bauman Foundation and other leading foundations, and with the assistance of the President's Council on Sustainable Development, is seeking ways to use emerging electronic information dissemination technologies to support sustainable development. The Bauman Foundation is sponsoring a study of these needs. The first step is to identify specific federal information dealing with sustainable development that should be disseminated. This includes such data sources as economic, environmental, health, and education indicators. Next, the study will identify gaps in information access and dissemination, particularly among disadvantaged communities. Finally, it will examine the technical and policy needs associated with providing and using the information. The study and recommendations are expected to be completed by November. The GIWG, in coordination with the Office of Science and Technology Policy, has chartered an interagency group to consider the development of effective information dissemination management systems addressing the particular problems of scientific and technical information. The group will review the implementation of OMB Circular No. A-130 for federal scientific and technical information within federal agencies with a view towards identifying and sharing "best practices" in information dissemination management. In addition, the group may determine whether additional implementation guidance would be useful in view of rapidly emerging technology and the development of the National Information Infrastructure. The group's report and recommendations are due in March, 1995. Electronic Government and Electronic Rulemaking: In addition to electronic information dissemination, the government can make good use of electronic information collection initiatives to improve its processes. One example is an initiative on electronic rulemaking jointly sponsored by the Regulatory Working Group established by OIRA and the GIWG. Co-Chaired by White House Staff Secretary John Podesta and HHS Chief of Staff Kevin Thurm, the group seeks to develop policies and practices for improving federal regulation by instituting electronic notice and comment rulemaking. The group is examining legal and policy issues associated with electronic rulemaking, collecting specific examples of success stories, and encouraging agencies to promulgate specific procedures to govern their electronic rulemaking initiatives. Delegation of Paperwork Authority to the FCC: As a result of an NPR recommendation, and under the authority of the Paperwork Reduction Act, OMB issued guidance to delegate the review of routine paperwork back to agencies. As a result, the Federal Communications Commission has requested from OMB delegation of paperwork approval authority for certain information collections. This pilot effort is the first step in empowering agencies in this area and will serve as a model for the entire Federal government. The Electronic Record FOIA Legislation Group, an interagency working group, chartered by OMB, has met weekly throughout the summer and developed a set of principles relevant to the electronic issues surrounding the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Although the FOIA already covers records maintained in electronic form, the Act should be updated to reflect the demands of the information age and current case law. The principles will soon be distributed to the agencies and available to the public and will form the basis for legislative action. The Government Information Locator Service (GILS), a major initiative to implement the information dissemination policies of recently revised OMB Circular A-130, will supplement but not replace other commercial or agency information dissemination mechanisms by identifying public information resources throughout the Federal Government, describing these resources, and providing assistance in obtaining information. A final report describing the Government Information Locator Service (GILS) has been approved by the members of the IITF, presented to the National Information Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIIAC), and is available to the public. OMB will soon issue a bulletin to the agencies setting forth timetables and procedures for implementing GILS. Technical specifications were proposed by NIST July 5, 1994, and comments are due October 5, 1994. The public will be served by GILS directly or through intermediaries such as the Government Printing Office (GPO), the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), Federal Depository Libraries, and other public libraries. On-line access to GILS will be via kiosks in malls, 800 numbers, electronic mail, bulletin boards, facsimile transmission, and through off-line media such as floppy disks, CD-ROM, and printed materials. GILS locator information will be accessible on public networks without charge to direct users. The Privacy Working Group has proposed revisions to the 1973 Code of Fair Information Practices in order to update it for the electronic era. The revisions will form the basis for actions, policies, and legislation to protect the privacy of individuals while allowing for the reasonable flow of information. These proposed revisions, in the form of a Statement of Principles for Providing and Using Personal Information, have been approved by the IITF. They have also been submitted to the NIIAC and released for public comment and review. The Intellectual Property Rights Working Group released a draft report regarding the effect of the National Information Infrastructure on intellectual property rights on July 7. The Group is holding hearings on September 14 in Chicago, September 16 in Los Angeles, and September 22 and 23 in Washington, D.C., to solicit public comment on the report and to initiate a dialogue on public education about the importance of intellectual property in the context of the NII. NII Security Issues Forum The NII Security Issues Forum coordinates security efforts-- defined as confidentiality, integrity, and availability--across the IITF. Sally Katzen, chair, held the fifth meeting of the Forum on Wednesday, August 10. The agenda included: (1) discussion of the July 15 public meeting on Security and the NII, (2) discussion of strategy for additional meetings, and (3) progress reports from other groups addressing related security issues. In coordination with the NII Advisory Council's Mega-project on Security, Intellectual Property, and Privacy, a series of follow-up meetings between government officials and representatives from the private sector has been proposed. Six key sectors have been selected as the topic of each meeting: (1) entertainment, computer software, and publishing, (2) health and education, (3) finance and insurance, (4) transportation, energy, and commerce, (5) government to citizen operations; and (6) public, commercial network systems. The first such meeting has been tentatively set for October 18, 1994, in Silicon Valley, California, where the focus will be on the intellectual property rights implications of the NII for the entertainment, software, and publishing industries. The NII Security Issues Forum is also working on a training proposal for government information systems security managers. Security of Federal Automated Information Systems: Appendix III of OMB Circular A-130, "Security of Federal Automated Information Systems," was issued in 1985. It requires Federal agencies to establish computer security programs and defines a minimum set of controls to be incorporated into those programs. Since then, newer technology requires that security controls be updated. Based on an NPR recommendation, OMB plans to issue for agency comment a revised Appendix this fall. Schedule of Upcoming Public Events September 14: Telecommunications Policy Committee Department of Commerce 3:45 p.m. - 5:00 p.m., Room 1414 October 11-13: Interchange '94 Renaissance Hotel and Washington Convention Center Washington, D.C. (Co-sponsored by the GITS Working Group, the Federation of Government Information Processing Councils, Public Technology Inc., and the State Information Policy Consortium) October 17-19: National Information Infrastructure Symposium U.S. Naval War College Newport, Rhode Island (Co-sponsored by the President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) and the Office of Science and Technology Policy) October 27: Committee on Applications and Technology National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Lecture Room B 10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.