OVERNIGHT TECH: Senate standoff over Patriot Act

THE LEDE: The Senate has a lot of work to do if it wants to reauthorize expiring portions of the Patriot Act by the end of the month.

Not only do Democratic and Republican leaders disagree on how to proceed, they can’t even seem to settle on the timeframe for when to move forward. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on Tuesday that surveillance legislation should come after Monday evening’s vote on the budget as well as looming fights over nuclear negotiations with Iran and “fast-track” trade authority. But Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the minority leader, has told McConnell to put reform of the Patriot Act and highway funding before the trade effort.

{mosads}On Tuesday, it became clear that the two leaders were farther apart than ever. McConnell said that his “clean” reauthorization of the three expiring Patriot Act provisions would likely become the baseline legislation for the chamber, though he appeared to want to open it up for amendments. At the same time, however, Republican leaders left open the possibility of a short-term bill to get the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) legislation beyond the June 1 expiration date.

Reid, meanwhile, rejected that plan and urged the Senate to take up the USA Freedom Act, which is expected to easily move through the House next week. “I think it would get significant votes in the Democratic and Republican caucuses in the Senate,” Reid told reporters during an afternoon press conference.

FCC LETS PANDORA GET IN ON THE FM RADIO GAME: Regulators this week approved Pandora’s request for an exemption from its media ownership rules, paving the way for it to buy Rapid City, S.D., radio station KXMZ-FM. The deal gives the online radio company a leg into the terrestrial radio space, which it has said will be key to paying out cheaper royalties for songwriters. Pandora had struck a deal to buy the station back in 2013, but was opposed by ASCAP, the music licensing group. In its Monday notice, however, the FCC declared that Pandora’s plan “is not contrary to the public interest.”

Music publishers were quick to lambast the move. In a statement on Tuesday, the president of the National Music Publishers’ Association said Pandora’s move “ranks as the most cynical and shameless” display in the battle over music licensing. “Sadly this small station in South Dakota has become a pawn in Pandora’s game to pay the creators on which it built its business even less,” David Israelite added. “Now, there can be no doubt that Pandora has declared war on songwriters.”

AS SCOTUS PROHIBITS RECORDING, UK COURT EXPANDS: The U.K. Supreme Court will start making video recordings of past cases available on its website. The court already provides live streams of arguments, but until now had not set up a way for the public to watch old hearings. Member of Congress in the United States and other advocates have called for the U.S. Supreme Court to open itself up to cameras as well but so far it has only provided delayed audio recordings of past cases.

PRESS SHAKEUP FOR THUNE: Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), who chairs the Commerce Committee and holds a position in leadership, is shaking up his communications team. His press shop for the Commerce Committee will remain unchanged, but Thune’s communications director for his personal office — Rachel Millard — is leaving after six years. His national press secretary Ryan Wrasse will take the position. Chandler Smith, a former aide to Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.), will take over as communications director for his leadership office. In February, Thune’s senior communications director, AshLee Strong, left to join Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) political action committee.

EEF WANTS SUPPORTS TO PUSH PATENT BILL: The Electronic Frontier Foundation urged supporters to contact their lawmakers to support the Senate’s patent reform bill. The group called it a “welcome step in the right direction” despite failing to go as far as the House’s Innovation Act. The group did point to reservations about provisions in the bill that address discovery limits and fee shifting that could provide potential loopholes to abuse.

US TECH HITS TROUBLE IN EUROPE: The tech industry is preparing to be livid over a European proposal due out on Wednesday to create a “digital single market.” For much of Silicon Valley, that sounds like the beginning of new hurdles to their growth across the Atlantic. “Imposing regulator barriers would be a grave mistake for Europe, and would have harmful effects on transatlantic trade and investment,” Information Technology Industry Council head Dean Garfield warned in a op-ed at EurActiv.com.

MUSIC LICENSING COALITION TURNS TO RJ HUDSON: A coalition of hospitality and bar associations has hired the R.J. Hudson Associates to help it out on copyright reform issues. The Fairness in Music Licensing Coalition hired the firm to help it “simplify, modernize and clarify the Copyright Act with regards to business rights, the Small Business Exemption and transparency while maintaining the copyright interest of writers and composers,” it said in a disclosure document.

COMCAST WANTS TO REBRAND ITS CUSTOMER SERVICE: Comcast is hiring 5,500 employees over the next few years to address concerns about its customer service. It will also begin crediting customers’ accounts if a Comcast technician does not show up on time for an appointment, which will beginning later this year. As part of what the company is calling an “aggressive” attempt to reinvent its sometimes maligned service, it is also redesigning its stores and increasing the use of technology and training.

ON TAP:

District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser will make an announcement about a new initiative to help out students in the nation’s capital at startup incubator 1776 at 10:30 a.m.

At 1:15 p.m., Just Security is hosting a Capitol Hill briefing on the Patriot Act featuring voices from the ACLU, Cato Institute, Access, Brennan Center for Justice and the Georgetown University Law Center.

At 6:30 p.m., the first ever U.S. chief technology officer — Aneesh Chopra — will talk about how technology and innovation can affect public policy at the Council on Foreign Relations.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

The next U.S. president needs a fundamental understanding of technology and a vision to use it, GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina said Tuesday.

The Senate isn’t getting any closer to reforming the nation’s spying laws or reauthorizing expiring portions of the Patriot Act with fewer than three legislative weeks left for lawmakers to do so.

Netflix is urging federal regulators to deny the $48 billion merger of AT&T and DIRECTV unless changes are made to the proposal.

NASA’s plan to rope in and study an asteroid could pave the way for a Hollywood-style mission to save the planet.

The NSA has for years used sophisticated technology that can turn audio content from phone calls or news broadcasts into rough transcripts that can be easily searched and stored.

Please send tips and comments to Julian Hattem, jhattem@digital-staging.thehill.comand Mario Trujillo, mtrujillo@digital-staging.thehill.com

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