Good morning tech: Barton would arrange Strickling field trip to Congress, Sanders wants Comcast-NBCU stopped

Hill notes

Bachmann wants House members active on Facebook. As part of her push to join the Republican’s House leadership, Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) is touting her social media credentials and urging fellow lawmakers to increase their presence on social networks. Bachmann pointed to her rapidly growing number of followers on Facebook as evidence of her appeal and said she would like to see other GOP lawmakers reach out to the public in a similar fashion. http://bit.ly/bVvJtB

Costello cedes top spot on Science and Technology panel. Rep. Jerry Costello will not seek the top Democratic spot on the House Science and Technology Committee, the Illinois lawmaker announced Monday. Costello, a 24-year House veteran, said he wants to invest his energies instead on issues swirling around the Transportation and Infrastructure panel, where he would rank at least third among Democrats next year after Tuesday’s shocking defeat of Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.). http://bit.ly/cL6DZq

Executive notes

Broadband usage growing even as gaps persist. “The U.S. still faces a significant gap in residential broadband use that breaks down along incomes, education levels and other socio-economic factors, even as subscriptions among American households overall grew sevenfold from 2001 to 2009,” The Associated Press reports. “Those are some of the key conclusions of a new analysis of Census data released Monday by the Commerce Department.” http://wapo.st/adDcI0

The FBI’s version of eBay? The White House unveiled the finalists for the president’s second annual SAVE Award on Monday, and three out of the four suggestions for how to save taxpayer dollars involve moving government operations online. The most intriguing appears to be an idea from a Department of Homeland Security paralegal to post seized federal property for sale online. http://bit.ly/d6s1io

Technology key to closer partnership between U.S. and India. President Obama on Monday hailed India’s emergence as a world power and said the country’s economic and technological advances make its cooperation vital on issues such as cybersecurity and space exploration. Speaking to a joint session of the Indian Parliament in New Delhi, Obama hailed India’s traditional emphasis on science and innovation, predicting the relationship between the U.S. and India “will be one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century.” http://bit.ly/co2FVc

Industry notes

Comcast to draw heavily on top NBCU execs. The New York Post reports Comcast is planning to rely on the ranks of NBC Universal’s management to fill top jobs in the new post-merger pecking order. Comcast Chief Operating Officer Steve Burke has started signing contracts and is expected to unveil a final management structure around Thanksgiving. Both USA Network chief Bonnie Hammer and Lauren Zalaznick, who oversees cable channels Bravo and Oxygen, are expected to remain in their present jobs, but with some added responsibilities. http://bit.ly/d9JbT7

Company accused of firing over Facebook post. “In what labor officials and lawyers view as a ground-breaking case involving workers and social media, the National Labor Relations Board has accused a company of illegally firing an employee after she criticized her supervisor on her Facebook page,” The New York Times reports. http://nyti.ms/9yBjlY

WATERCOOLER

Harvard might consider it a point of pride that Mark Zuckerberg, the multibillionaire who founded and operates Facebook, created the social networking behemoth while he was a student there (before dropping out). But rival Ivy Leaguers at Yale are using the affiliation to mock the college, implying students at Zuckerberg’s school have a reputation for social inadequacy. http://bit.ly/dwL00m