October 11, 2010 (21st Century Communication and Video Accessibility Act)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2010 (Happy Columbus Day)
Find Headline online http://benton.org/headlines
ACCESSIBILITY
Obama Signs Bill That Modernizes Disability Accessibility Requirements
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Sorry AT&T, Title II Would Not "Require" Paid Prioritization
Obama Administration pushing telework as bill is set for House
Stimulus winner NebraskaLink enthusiastic about middle mile approach
POLICYMAKERS
Former FCC Chairs Martin, Powell to Genachowski: Be consistent and act
The Internet Policy Fantasy League
DC crowd's path to Silicon Valley
Locke Meets With Silicon Valley CEOs
Expanding access in a wireless world
WIRELESS
State Department supports boosting women's cell phone access in developing nations
Forbidding cellphone calls on airplanes might protect sanity more than safety
First Responders Looking Forward to New 4G Network
South Bay officials suggest conflicts of interest in regional communications project
Growth of a meme: how a mobile lawsuits visualisation evolved
BROADCASTING
Los Angeles PBS affiliate KCET exits network fold to go independent
Television Blackouts in U.S. Reach Decade-High Over Fee Fights
PRIVACY
New Web Code Draws Concern Over Risks to Privacy
'Persistence' is the theory behind Do-Not-Track shout-out in Rush bill
Comcast: We Don't Sell Info Collected On Comcast.net
New Resources to Promote Online Child Safety
ED TECH
In Higher Education, a Focus on Technology
Students dependent on technology -- for better or worse
CYBERSECURITY
Survey: Enthusiasm for Cyber-Security High, Preparation Lacking
HEALTH
HIT Standards Committee Schedule for the Assessment of HIT Policy Committee Recommendations
Why cell phones may be more dangerous than we think
Only 1 in 15 docs e-mails with patients
MEDIA AND ELECTIONS
Just What Exactly Is Fox?
Talk radio station charging Massachusetts politicians for interviews
Cable chatter narrows electoral landscape
MORE ONLINE
Service From Start-Up Lets Users Set Aside Web Promotions With 'Keeper' Button
Bloomberg Plans a Data Service on the Business of Government
Recent Comments:
Why laptops in class are distracting America's future workforce
ACCESSIBILITY
21ST CENTURY COMMUNICATIONS AND VIDEO ACCESSIBILITY ACT
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Juliana Gruenwald]
On October 8, President Barack Obama signed the 21st Century Communication and Video Accessibility Act into law. The legislation modernizes disability accessibility requirements in the Communications Act, updating existing mandates as TV and phone services connect via the Internet and use new digital and broadband technologies. The Senate passed the bill in early August and the House followed suit last week. "The bill I'm signing into law today will make it easier for people who are deaf, blind, or live with visual impairments to do what many of us take for granted," President Obama said. "I'm proud to sign this bill."
benton.org/node/43367 | CongressDaily | President Obama | FCC Chairman Genachowski | FCC Commissioner Clyburn
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
TITTLE II WOULD NOT REQUIRE PRIORITIZATION
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Harold Feld]
AT&T has raised a bit of buzz recently with claims from their policy folks that under Title II, AT&T could still do paid prioritization (aka "fast lanes," "toll lanes," or, as I like to call it in honor of the man who so clearly laid out the concept "Whitacre Tiering" -- but that one sadly never caught on). The implication of these recent statements apparently being that (a) Title II is therefore sooooooo not worth it; and, (b) the demand by whacky-crazy-socialist-radicals to prohibit paid prioritization is just more whacky-crazy-radical-socialist stuff, so pay it no mind. Instead, let's play stupid fun lawyer games and try some legal analysis. My short answer is that while Title II would allow the FCC to permit paid prioritization, in a non-discriminatory manner, it does not compel the FCC to permit paid prioritization. Further, while Title II would not require the FCC to prohibit paid prioritization, it would give the FCC authority to prohibit paid prioritization. Indeed, I first addressed this back when FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announced his "3rd Way" proposal. At this point, the more results oriented can skip directly to the comments to tell me how socialist stupid I am, or describe how evil AT&T is (depending on your preference).
benton.org/node/43384 | Public Knowledge
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ENCOURAGING TELEWORK
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ed O'Keefe]
The Obama administration is such a strong supporter of allowing federal employees to work from home that it even allowed a government official to be sworn in via telephone. Massive snowstorms even inspired President Obama to issue stern orders to John Berry, director of the Office of Personnel Management. "The president made it clear to me that he doesn't want snow, nature, or any other cause to be able to stop our government," Berry told the conference. "Since OPM doesn't control the weather or the plows, telework is the only way to achieve the goal that the president very clearly set," Berry said. The wider use and acceptance of telework is very much on the verge of reality. The Senate unanimously passed telework legislation last month and the House could do so during the lame-duck session. The bill would require federal agencies to appoint telework managers and incorporate the option into contingency operations. Once it's passed, Berry and others plan to make the option automatic for all federal employees who could do their jobs away from the office.
benton.org/node/43345 | Washington Post
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POLICYMAKERS
FORMER CHAIRMEN TO GENACHOWSKI: ACT
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
Appearing on this week's "The Communicators" on C-SPAN, former Federal Communications Commission Chairmen Kevin Martin (2005-09), Michael Powell (2001-2005) and Reed Hundt (1993-1997) talk about the current state of communications policy. "Some of the most important advice I got as chairman was that you have to be deliberate in thinking and decision making but you have to make sure you move forward with what you thought was the right thing," Kevin Martin said. "You have to telegraph what your core principles are, what you are going to stand for and that you have to act consistent with them in a predicable way," said Michael Powell. He advised Chairman Genachowski to use his bully pulpit to influence the industry rather than implementing new regulations. And he talked about how an outdated 1996 Communications Act has in part contributed to problems currently facing Chairman Julius Genachowski. Cable, telephone, wireless and other communications mediums have been "balkanized into buckets" that predate the Internet, said Powell. Some rules fall into some of those buckets and some don't, which he said needs to be addressed by a broad re-examination of the Communications Act by Congress. That's what Genachowski has partly blamed for his own problems with a federal court's recent interpretation that the agency overstepped its authority by sanctioning Comcast for allegedly blocking Internet traffic. In his defense, Hundt said Genachowski has succeeded in helping the nation rethink broadband policy, even amid an economic downturn.
benton.org/node/43383 | Washington Post | Broadcasting&Cable
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THE INTERNET POLICY FANTASY LEAGUE
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Art Brodsky]
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) published a cute little guide with their take on who's who in Internet politics. The group names and descriptions were somewhat arbitrary and a bit silly in some cases, but that's beside the point for the moment. ITIF identifies eight teams. The winner according to Brodsky? Team B: A large array of groups and individuals, including the Benton Foundation [hey, that's us!], Center for Democracy and Technology, Center for Digital Democracy, Civil Rights Forum on Communication Policy, Consumer Project on Technology, Electronic Privacy Information Center, Free Press, Media Access Project, and Public Knowledge, and scholars such as Columbia's Tim Wu, MIT Media Laboratory's David Reed, and most of those hanging their hats at Harvard's Berkman Center (among them Larry Lessig and Yochai Benkler). On intellectual firepower and moral dedication alone, Team B claims several advantages over the rest of the league. Furthermore, PK is proud to be included with this team. We couldn't have drafted any better. We couldn't be with a nicer, more dedicated and more astute bunch of people, all of whom are working to bring more people online, to make life online better and to make the online environment safer for everyone. Thanks, ITIF.
benton.org/node/43382 | Public Knowledge
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THE TREK TO SILICON VALLEY
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Tony Romm]
A trek to Silicon Valley has become a must-do for DC lawmakers seeking to stress their business and tech bona fides while developing relationships that could lead to big campaign donations down the road. Just last week, six Democratic senators -- Mark Begich of Alaska, Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, Tom Carper of Delaware, Maria Cantwell of Washington, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Mark Warner of Virginia -- joined the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee for a fundraiser and an event on innovation featuring Google and Facebook. A frequent visitor to the valley is Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), chairman of the GOP's High-Tech Working Group and co-chairman of the Congressional Internet Caucus. Goodlatte, whose son works at Facebook, met in April with Google, Facebook, Intel, McKesson Corp. and Adura, according to a spokeswoman. Two of those companies, Google and Intel, are recent donors to Goodlatte. Also in 2010, Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee, led by ranking member Dave Camp of Michigan, headed to the valley as part of a tour organized by The Ripon Society. That delegation — which included fellow GOP committee members Kevin Brady of Texas, Wally Herger of California and Devin Nunes of California — met with staffers from Google, Cisco, Microsoft and other firms to talk taxes and trade.
benton.org/node/43339 | Politico
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KELLEY DUNNE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Vanessa Mizell]
A brief profile of Kelley Dunne, the Chief executive of One Economy, a DC-based global nonprofit that delivers technology and information to low-income people.
Washington Post
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WIRELESS
CELL PHONES FOR WOMEN
[SOURCE: nextgov, AUTHOR: Brian Kalish]
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton launched a program on Oct 7 that aims to convince more women in developing nations to use mobile phones, a practice that directly affects economic success and increases social interactions. Worldwide, women are 21 percent less likely than men to own a mobile phone, according to a report released by Global System for Mobile Communications Association, a London-based group that represents worldwide mobile communications companies, and the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, which promotes entrepreneurship among women in developing countries. Women without mobile phones do not have the economic and social benefits, such as finding markets for their goods and ensuring their personal safety, that typically are associated with cell phone ownership. Cell phones also have helped illiterate woman learn numbers and letters.
benton.org/node/43375 | nextgov
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CELL PHONES ON AIRPLANES
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Hugo Martín]
Although a handful of airlines in the Middle East and Europe allow cellphone calls during flights, federal regulators in the U.S. prohibit the practice, saying the calls may interfere with an aircraft's navigation systems. But the problem may not be the technology. After all, Emirates airline has allowed cellphone calls since 2008. Cathay Pacific announced plans in July to let use their cellphones in the plane by 2012. A bigger issue may be that passengers and airline crews hate the idea of turning a crowded, airborne cabin into a flying phone booth. The Federal Communication Commission considered lifting the ban in 2004, but it stopped looking into the idea after being inundated with letters, e-mails and calls in opposition. The pending reauthorization bill for the Federal Aviation Administration includes a proposal to ban all cellphone calls on U.S. commercial planes — except by airline crews and law enforcement.
benton.org/node/43388 | Los Angeles Times
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BROADCASTING
KCET QUITS PBS
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Scott Collins]
KCET, the Los Angeles PBS member station, has decided to break away from the public broadcasting network and become an independent station. Starting in January, station officials intend to replace such iconic PBS fare as "Charlie Rose," "NewsHour," "Sesame Street" and "Masterpiece" with news and documentaries from Japan, Canada and elsewhere, along with old feature films. Without recognizable series to promote, KCET will likely find it difficult to gain traction with viewers. Moreover, the station will find it tough to produce or buy shows that generate strong ratings as program costs keep escalating. A pullout isn't good news for PBS, either, as it signals "to other PBS members that affiliation isn't that important anymore," according to Jeffrey McCall, a media expert at DePauw University. It also increases doubts about the long-term future of public broadcasting. "PBS certainly does not play the essential role it once did in the nation's media landscape," McCall said. "For years, PBS provided things that couldn't be had from the traditional networks," including public affairs and educational programs. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting noted that KCET will operate as an educational television station, providing noncommercial, general interest programming and so will still be eligible for CPB support.
benton.org/node/43381 | Los Angeles Times | CPB
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TV BLACKOUTS
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Kelly Riddell]
TV blackouts in the U.S. have reached the highest level in a decade and may climb as pay-TV operators fight higher fees sought by content providers. Disputes over fees have caused five blackouts this year, the most since 2000. They have affected about 19 million pay-TV subscribers, leaving some viewers without access to the Oscars and New York Knicks games. Dish Network Corp., Cablevision Systems Corp. and AT&T Inc. all lost programming while haggling over costs. Feuds will escalate as pay-TV companies resist the increased fees they typically try to pass on to subscribers in the form of higher cable bills, said Rich Greenfield, an analyst at BTIG LLC in New York. "There is increasing pressure for distributors to push back on rate hikes in a tough economy where the consumer is struggling," Greenfield said in an interview. "As programming costs continue to rise, these battles are becoming bigger and higher profile." Content expenses, which total about half of pay-TV companies' operating costs, have increased about 10 percent in the past year, putting pressure on profit margins. Cable bills climbed about 8 percent on average for the year ended in June, according to researcher SNL Kagan.
benton.org/node/43386 | Bloomberg
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PRIVACY
WEB PRIVACY
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Tanzina Vega]
Worries over Internet privacy have spurred lawsuits, conspiracy theories and consumer anxiety as marketers and others invent new ways to track computer users on the Internet. But the alarmists have not seen anything yet. In the next few years, a powerful new suite of capabilities will become available to Web developers that could give marketers and advertisers access to many more details about computer users' online activities. Nearly everyone who uses the Internet will face the privacy risks that come with those capabilities, which are an integral part of the Web language that will soon power the Internet: HTML 5. The new Web code, the fifth version of Hypertext Markup Language used to create Web pages, is already in limited use, and it promises to usher in a new era of Internet browsing within the next few years. It will make it easier for users to view multimedia content without downloading extra software; check e-mail offline; or find a favorite restaurant or shop on a smartphone. The new Web language and its additional features present more tracking opportunities because the technology uses a process in which large amounts of data can be collected and stored on the user's hard drive while online. Because of that process, advertisers and others could, experts say, see weeks or even months of personal data. That could include a user's location, time zone, photographs, text from blogs, shopping cart contents, e-mails and a history of the Web pages visited.
benton.org/node/43394 | New York Times
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RUSH PRIVACY BILL
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Sara Jerome]
"Persistence" was the word when House Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Bobby Rush (Ill.) crafted a bill that would rein in how companies track consumer data online. The idea is that Web users should not have to be extraordinarily "persistent" to keep companies from following them online, according to Timothy Robinson, Rush's counsel on the subcommittee. When they opt out, it should stick. "You make the choice, and then not too far in the future, after you've made that expression of choice, you should not have to make it again," Robinson said. A lack of "persistence" in opt-out technologies "just like inattention to privacy generally, can end up disempowering consumers and may even further erode consumer trust." That could even discourage consumers from certain online activities, according to Robinson. "Persistence is a really big issue," Robinson said.
benton.org/node/43380 | Hill, The
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COMCAST ON PRIVACY
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Comcast says it clearly explains its online data collection to users of Comcast.net, that those practices comply with "all applicable laws," and adds that it does not sell user data collected on the site. That was in response to questions from Reps. Joe Barton (R-Tex.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) released Friday. The legislators are co-chairs of the Bi-Partisan Privacy Caucus, who had asked for info from companies on their online tracking technologies. The letters bore August dates but were just made public Oct 8. Comcast said that it gave users "choice and control over when and how their personal information may be used," which it said was a mix of opt-in and opt-out techniques. It also said it only shared information with third parties that provide services on Comcast.net. The site provides a variety of "causal services" like gaming and online dating, as well as search, news and entertainment content, e-mail and voicemail. Comcast also said it limits that sharing to only information necessary to provide those services. The company said it discloses which third parties it uses for advertising services and links to the relevant policies and opt-out pages for those parties.
benton.org/node/43379 | Broadcasting&Cable
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NEW RESOURCES FOR CHILD SAFETY
[SOURCE: Federal Trade Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Federal Trade Commission unveiled a community outreach kit with new resources to help parents and communities keep kids safe online and on their mobile phones. With more than five million copies of the Net Cetera: Chatting with Kids About Being Online guide already in the hands of families across the country, FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz announced the expanded campaign. "We're thrilled that the Net Cetera booklet has been embraced by families and schools nationwide," said Chairman Leibowitz. "The free Net Cetera toolkit will help more parents, educators, law enforcement officials, and community leaders start conversations with kids about being safe online." Chairman Leibowitz made his remarks at an online privacy event in Washington, D.C. sponsored by Common Sense Media. Also in attendance were representatives of several agencies that are partners in the OnGuardOnline.gov campaign: Julius Genachowski, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, and Anthony Wilder Miller, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. Besides the Net Cetera booklet, the Community Outreach Kit includes Heads Up, a new booklet for kids; a short video for parents; four short videos for kids; slides and discussion guides to use in a presentation; and a booklet on planning and hosting an online safety presentation. All of the materials, available in English and Spanish, may be downloaded. The kit, which includes a CD, a DVD, and printed materials, can be ordered for free.
benton.org/node/43344 | Federal Trade Commission
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ED TECH
TECH AND HIGHER ED
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Steve Lohr]
The education gap facing the nation's work force is evident in the numbers. Most new jobs will require more than a high school education, yet fewer than half of Americans under 30 have a postsecondary degree of any kind. Recent state budget cuts, education experts agree, promise to make closing that gap even more difficult. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and four nonprofit education organizations are beginning an ambitious initiative to address that challenge by accelerating the development and use of online learning tools. An initial $20 million round of money, from the Gates Foundation, will be for postsecondary online courses, particularly ones tailored for community colleges and low-income young people. Another round of grants, for high school programs, is scheduled for next year. Just how effective technology can be in improving education -- by making students more effective, more engaged learners -- is a subject of debate.
benton.org/node/43392 | New York Times
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HEALTH
HIT SCHEDULE
[SOURCE: Department of Health and Human Services, AUTHOR: Erin Poetter]
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 mandates that the Health Information Technology Standards Committee develop a schedule for the assessment of policy recommendations developed by the HIT Policy Committee. The National Coordinator will establish priority areas based in part on recommendations received from the HIT Policy Committee regarding health information technology standards, implementation specifications, and/or certification criteria. Once the HIT Standards Committee is informed of those priority areas, it will:
A) Direct the appropriate workgroup or subcommittee to develop a report for the HIT Standards Committee, to the extent possible, within 90 days, which will include among other items the following:
1) An assessment of what standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria are currently available to meet the priority area;
2) an assessment of where gaps exist (i.e., no standard is available or harmonization is required because more than one standard exists) and identify
potential organizations that have the capability to address those gaps; and
3) a timeline, which may also account for NIST testing where appropriate, and include dates when the HIT Standards Committee is expected to issue recommendation(s) to the National Coordinator.
B) Upon receipt of a subcommittee report, the HIT Standards Committee will:
(1) Accept the timeline provided by the subcommittee, and if necessary, revise it; and
(2) assign subcommittee(s) to conduct research and solicit testimony, where appropriate, and issue recommendations to the full committee, in a timely manner.
C) Advise the National Coordinator, consistent with the accepted timeline in (B)(1) and after NIST testing, where appropriate, on standards, implementation specifications, and/or certification criteria, for the National Coordinator's review and determination whether or not to endorse the recommendations, and possible adoption of the proposed recommendations by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
benton.org/node/43337 | Department of Health and Human Services
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CELL PHONES AND RADIATION
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Chris O'Brien]
[Commentary] No one knows for sure whether cell phones are a health hazard. Several players at the heart of this debate converged on San Francisco last week. CTIA-The Wireless Association had its annual trade show, which it promised would be the last in the city because of the new disclosure law. There were several protests outside the event. And noted epidemiologist Devra Davis, a visiting professor at Harvard University, arrived for several speaking engagements about her recently published book, "Disconnect: The Truth About Cell Phone Radiation, What the Industry Has Done to Hide It, and How To Protect Your Family." For many years it was believed the low levels of radiation generated by cell phones and towers had no effect on human biology. Now a small but growing number of scientists and health activists are challenging those findings.
benton.org/node/43387 | San Jose Mercury News
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MEDIA AND ELECTIONS
WHAT IS FOX
[SOURCE: Center for American Progress, AUTHOR: Eric Alterman]
[Commentary] Fox News Channel is often described as a cable news station. On occasion, the words "conservative" or "biased" are attached to that description. But few dispute the journalistic orientation of the overall enterprise. This is a mistake. Fox is something new -- something for which we do not yet have a word. It provides almost no actual journalism. Instead it gives ideological guidance to the Republican Party and millions of its supporters, attacking its opponents and keeping its supporters in line. And it does so at a hefty profit, thereby turning itself into the political equivalent of a perpetual motion machine.
benton.org/node/43342 | Center for American Progress
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PAID ELECTION COVERAGE
[SOURCE: Wicked Local Watertown, AUTHOR: Jeremy Fox]
Governor's Council candidate Nick Iannuzzi will take his message to listeners with a paid appearance scheduled on "Saturday Morning Live," a talk radio program out of Lowell. Iannuzzi, an independent challenging incumbent Third District Councilor Marilyn Devaney, will appear on the show hosted by former Dracut Selectman Warren Shaw from 8:05 to 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 9. He will pay $490 for the 25-minute segment. Iannuzzi and the owner of station WCAP, AM 980, say there's nothing unusual about selling airtime on a weekly talk show, but media critic and Northeastern University journalism professor Dan Kennedy says it sounds unorthodox to him. "As long as there's full disclosure, I don't really see any ethical problem on the part of the candidate," Kennedy said, "but if he's paying to appear on a talk show, that strikes me as a very unusual arrangement, and I've just never heard of anything like that before.
benton.org/node/43374 | Wicked Local Watertown
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CABLE CHATTER AND ELECTIONS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Howard Kurtz, Karen Tumulty]
The increasing polarization of cable news is transforming, and in some ways shrinking, the electoral landscape. What has emerged is a form of narrowcasting, allowing candidates a welcoming platform that helps them avoid hostile press questioning and, in some cases, minimize the slog and the slip-ups of retail campaigning. "There's no question it's contributing to the splintering of the political system and the means by which people get information about that system," said Robert Thompson, who runs the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University. "If there's no standard base line of fact and reporting, where can the conversation go?" Each party's message is amplified by former officeholders and strategists who sign exclusive agreements with the cable networks as soon as they leave the public payroll. And their celebrity - magnified by their constant screen presence - gives them more influence than most members of Congress.
benton.org/node/43390 | Washington Post
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RESEARCH
EVALUATING THE COMPETES ACT
[SOURCE: Government Accountability Office, AUTHOR: Frank Rusco]
The four agencies that received funds authorized under the COMPETES Act obligated about $30 billion for new and expanded research and education programs and activities from fiscal year 2008 to fiscal year 2010; scientific research obligations totaled about $27 billion and STEM education obligations totaled about $3 billion. Three of the four agencies we reviewed--DOE, NSF, and NIST--conducted basic scientific research. However, they did not consistently set a percentage funding goal to support high-risk, high-reward research--something that Congress provided they should do. In addition, two of these three agencies did not report this information with their annual budget submissions, as the law provides. Agency officials provided us with information indicating that they faced challenges in defining such research, and as a result, each program applied the criteria in the act differently. In addition, the directors of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) jointly issued a memo in August 2009 specifying that agencies conducting science research should explain in their budget submissions how they will support such activities and cooperate with them to develop datasets on federal science and technology investments, although this memorandum did not direct agencies on how to do so or direct them to set a percentage goal. Results in Brief Because the new programs authorized and funded under the COMPETES Act have only recently received and obligated funding, and because of the difficulties we and others have reported as being inherent in measuring outcomes of research and educational programs, it is too early to assess the effectiveness of these programs. However, all four of the agencies we reviewed are taking steps to oversee the implementation of various projects and monitor their progress. For example, the agencies are collecting various types of project data to monitor progress toward cost, schedule, and program outputs. We are recommending that DOE, NSF, and NIST each set a goal for funding high-risk, high-reward research and that the agencies coordinate in doing so. We are also recommending that the agencies include information on high-risk, high-reward research with their annual budget requests, which are available to the public. In commenting on our draft report, Commerce agreed with both recommendations and NSF agreed with the recommendation to report to Congress. Additionally, OSTP, DOE, and NSF expressed concerns about aspects of our recommendation that agencies funded under the COMPETES Act identify a percentage goal for funding high-risk, high-reward research. Despite these concerns, we believe that agencies should seek to provide the information, as expressed in the sense of the Congress as provided in the act, and therefore believe this recommendation remains valid. (GAO-11-127R)
benton.org/node/43338 | Government Accountability Office
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