[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 99 (Tuesday, July 26, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 26, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                          AMENDMENTS SUBMITTED

                                 ______


     DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT

                                 ______


                       BRADLEY AMENDMENT NO. 2401

  Mr. BRADLEY proposed an amendment to the bill (H.R. 4602) making 
appropriations for the Department of Interior and related agencies for 
the fiscal year ending September 30, 1995, and for other purposes, as 
follows:

       On page 62, line 1, strike out ``$436,451,000,'' and insert 
     in lieu thereof ``$426,451,000,''.
                                 ______


                        BYRD AMENDMENT NO. 2402

  Mr. BYRD proposed an amendment to the bill, H.R. 4602, supra; as 
follows:

       At the appropriate place in the bill, insert: ``: Provided 
     further, That funds provided pursuant to this authority may 
     not exceed $10,000 per employee''
                                 ______


                WOFFORD (AND OTHERS) AMENDMENT NO. 2403

  Mr. BYRD (for Mr. Wofford for himself, Mr. Cochran, and Mr. Specter) 
proposed an amendment to the bill H.R. 4602, supra; as follows:

       On page 6, line 3, insert the following new paragraph:
       The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to utilize 
     $10,600,000 taken from the fiscal year 1995 appropriated 
     National Forest System account to provide for all costs 
     necessary to prepare, offer and administer completely timber 
     sales other than those funded by the regular fiscal year 1995 
     timber sales program in regions 2, 3, 8 and 9 with a contract 
     term not to exceed one year: Provided, That the Secretary of 
     Agriculture shall execute the contracts funded with this 
     authority so that these funds are offset fully in the same 
     fiscal year by increased receipts net of payments to states, 
     and that an amount not to exceed $10,600,000 is returned by 
     the Secretary to the account from which the funds were drawn: 
     Provided further, That any such sales shall comply with all 
     applicable laws and regulations: Provided further, That any 
     such sales shall comply with all applicable laws and 
     regulations: Provided further, That transfer of purchaser 
     credits shall not be used in payment for timber sold under 
     this initiative: Provided further, That no timber sales 
     authorized under this section shall substitute for timber 
     sales that would otherwise generate receipts contributing to 
     the Congressional Budget Office February 1994 Timber Receipt 
     Baseline for fiscal year 1995: Provided further, That funds 
     shall be returned to the account and available for spending 
     as offsetting collections only if and to the extent that 
     total National Forest Fund timber receipts of the Forest 
     Service (excluding amounts for deposit funds) in fiscal year 
     1995 exceed $420 million: Provided further, That funds 
     provided under this authority remain available to the 
     Secretary until expended.
                                 ______


                       COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1994

                                 ______


                        EXON AMENDMENT NO. 2404

  (Ordered referred to the Committee on Commerce.)
  Mr. EXON submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the 
bill (S. 1822) to foster the further development of the Nation's 
telecommunications infrastructure and protection of the public 
interest, and for other purposes; as follows:

       On page 104, below line 12, add the following:

      TITLE VIII--OBSCENE, HARASSING, AND WRONGFUL UTILIZATION OF 
                     TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES

     SEC. 801. OBSCENE OR HARASSING USE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS 
                   FACILITIES UNDER THE COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 
                   1934.

       (a) Expansion of Offenses.--Section 223 of the 
     Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 223) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)(1)--
       (A) by striking out ``telephone'' in the matter above 
     subparagraph (A) and inserting in lieu thereof 
     ``telecommunications device'';
       (B) by striking out ``makes any comment, request, 
     suggestion or proposal'' in subparagraph (A) and inserting in 
     lieu thereof ``makes, transmits, or otherwise makes available 
     any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image, or other 
     communication;
       (C) by striking out subparagraph (B) and inserting in lieu 
     thereof the following new subparagraph (B):
       ``(B) makes a telephone call or utilizes a 
     telecommunications device, whether or not conversation or 
     communication ensues, without disclosing his identity and 
     with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any person 
     at the called number or who receives the communication;'' and
       (D) by striking out subparagraph (D) and inserting in lieu 
     thereof the following new subparagraph (D):
       ``(D) makes repeated telephone calls or repeatedly 
     initiates communication with a telecommunications device, 
     during which conversation or communication ensues, solely to 
     harass any person at the called number or who receives the 
     communication,'';
       (2) in subsection (a)(2), by striking out ``telephone 
     facility'' and inserting in lieu thereof ``telecommunications 
     facility'';
       (3) in subsection (b)(1)--
       (A) in subparagraph (A)--
       (i) by striking out ``telephone,'' and inserting in lieu 
     thereof ``telecommunications device,''; and
       (ii) by inserting ``or initiated the communication'' after 
     ``placed the call''; and
       (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking out ``telephone 
     facility'' and inserting in lieu thereof ``telecommunications 
     facility''; and
       (4) in subsection (b)(2)--
       (A) in subparagraph (A)--
       (i) by striking out ``by means of telephone, makes'' and 
     inserting in lieu thereof ``by means of telephone or 
     telecommunications device, makes, transmits, or makes 
     available''; and
       (ii) by inserting ``or initiated the communication'' after 
     ``placed the call''; and
       (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking out ``telephone 
     facility'' and inserting in lieu thereof ``telecommunications 
     facility''.
       (b) Expansion of Penalties.--Such section, as amended by 
     subsection (a) of this section, is further amended--
       (1) by striking out ``$50,000'' each place it appears and 
     inserting in lieu thereof ``$100,000'' and
       (2) by striking out ``six months'' each place it appears 
     and inserting in lieu thereof ``2 years''.
       (c) Prohibition on Provision of Access.--Subsection (c)(1) 
     of such action is amended by striking out ``telephone'' and 
     inserting in lieu thereof ``telecommunications device''.
       (d) Conforming Amendment.--The section head of such section 
     is amended to read as follows:


 ``obscene or harassing utilization of telecommunications devices and 
  facilities in the district of columbia or in interstate or foreign 
                           communications''.

     SEC. 802. OBSCENE PROGRAMMING ON CABLE TELEVISION.

       Section 639 of the Communications Act of 1943 (47 U.S.C. 
     559) is amended by striking out ``$10,000'' and inserting in 
     lieu thereof ``$100,000''.

     SEC. 803. BROADCASTING OBSCENE OF LANGUAGE ON RADIO.

       Section 1464 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking out ``$10,000'' and inserting in lieu thereof 
     ``$100,000''.

     SEC. 804. INTERCEPTION AND DISCLOSURE OF ELECTRONIC 
                   COMMUNICATIONS.

       Section 2511 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1)--
       (A) by striking out ``wire, oral, or electronic 
     communication'' each place it appears and inserting in lieu 
     thereof ``wire, oral, electronic, or digital communication''; 
     and
       (B) in the matter designated as item (b), by striking out 
     ``oral communication'' in the matter above clause (i) and 
     inserting in lieu thereof ``communication''; and
       (2) in paragraph (2)(a), by striking out ``wire or 
     electronic communication service'' each place it appears 
     (other than in the second sentence) and inserting in lieu 
     thereof ``wire, electronic, or digital communication 
     service''.

     SEC. 805. ADDITIONAL PROHIBITION ON BILLING FOR TOLL-FREE 
                   TELEPHONE CALLS.

       Section 228(c)(6) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
     U.S.C. 228(c)(6)) is amended--
       (1) by striking out ``or'' at the end of subparagraph (C);
       (2) by striking out the period at the end of subparagraph 
     (D) and inserting in lieu thereof ``; or''; and
       (3) by adding at the end thereof the following:
       ``(E) the calling party being assessed, by virtue of being 
     asked to connect or otherwise transfer to a pay-per-call 
     service, a charge for the call.''.

     SEC. 806. SCRAMBLING OF CABLE CHANNELS FOR NONSUBSCRIBERS.

       Part IV of title VI of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
     U.S.C. 551 et seq.,) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:

     ``SEC. 640. SCRAMBLING OF CABLE CHANNELS FOR NONSUBSCRIBERS.

       ``(a) Requirement.--In providing video programming 
     unsuitable for children to any subscriber through a cable 
     system, a cable operator shall fully scramble the video and 
     audio portion of each channel such programming that the 
     subscriber does not subscribe it.
       ``(b) Definition.--In this section the term `to scramble', 
     in the case of any video programming, means to rearrange the 
     content of the signal of the programming so that the 
     programming cannot be apprehended by persons unauthorized to 
     apprehend the programming.''.

  Mr. EXON. Mr. President, I rise to file an amendment to S. 1822, the 
Communications Act of 1994. I expect the Senate Commerce Committee to 
take this legislation up next week. I intend to offer this amendment at 
that time.
  Simply put, this Communications Decency amendment modernizes the 
anti-harassment, decency, and anti-obscenity provisions of the 
Communications Act of 1934. When these provisions were originally 
drafted, they were couched in the context of telephone technology. 
These critical public protections must be updated for the digital world 
of the future.
  Before too long a host of new telecommunications devices will be used 
by citizens to communicate with each other. Telephones may one day be 
relegated to museums next to telegraphs. Conversation is being replaced 
with communication and electrical transmissions are being replaced with 
digital transmissions. As the Congress rewrites the Communications Act, 
it is necessary and appropriate to update these important public 
protections.
  Anticipating this exciting future of communications, the 
Communications Decency amendment I introduce today will keep pace with 
the coming change.
  References to telephones in the current law are replaced with 
references to telecommunications device. The amendment also increases 
the maximum penalties connected with the decency provisions of the 
Communications Act to $100,000 and 2 years imprisonment. The provision 
requires cable providers of adult pay-per-view programming to fully 
scramble the audio and video portions of the programming to homes which 
do not subscribe to the particular program. Unsuspecting families 
should not be assaulted with audio of indecent programming or partially 
scrambled video. The amendment also prevents individuals and companies 
engaged in the pay-per-call services from by-passing number blocking by 
connecting individuals to pay-per-call services via a toll-free number.
  These measures will help assure that the information superhighway 
does not turn into a red light district. It will help protect children 
from being exposed to obscene, lewd, or indecent messages.
  This legislation also protects against harassment. Recent reports of 
electronic stalking by individuals who use computer communications to 
leave threatening and harassing messages sent chills through the users 
of new technologies. Recent stories about the misuse of the internet 
and 800 numbers also demand action. I ask that two stories related to 
the misuse of the information technologies be included at the end of my 
remarks as illustrations of the type of activities this amendment 
attempts to address.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that an article be printed in 
the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

              [From the Los Angeles Times, July 12, 1994]

            Info Superhighway Veers into Pornographic Ditch

       Dramatically illustrating the security problems posed by 
     the rapid growth of the Internet computer network, one of the 
     nation's three nuclear-weapons labs has confirmed that 
     computer hackers were using its computers to store and 
     distribute hard-core pornography.
       Officials at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 
     Livermore, Calif., which has highly sophisticated security 
     procedures, said Monday that the incident was among the most 
     serious breaches of computer security ever at the lab, which 
     lies east of San Francisco.
       The offending computer was shut down after lab officials 
     were alerted by a reporter who was investigating Internet 
     hacking.
       The computer contained more than 1,000 pornographic images. 
     It was believed to be the largest cache of illegal hard-core 
     pornography ever found on a computer network.
       While hackers once devoted their efforts to disrupting 
     computer systems at large organizations or stealing 
     electronic information, they have now developed ways of 
     seizing control of Internet-linked computers and using them 
     to store and distribute pornography, stolen computer software 
     and other illicit information.
       The Internet, a ``network of networks'' originally designed 
     to connect computers at universities and government research 
     labs, has grown dramatically in size and technical 
     sophistication in recent years.
       It is now used by many businesses and individual computer 
     users and is often viewed as the prototype for the 
     ``information superhighway'' of the future.
       But the Internet has an underside, where so-called pirates 
     with code names such as ``Mr. Smut,'' ``Acidflux'' and ``The 
     Cowboy'' traffic in illegal or illegally-obtained electronic 
     information. The structure of the Internet means that such 
     pirates can carry out their crimes from almost anywhere in 
     the world. Tracing them is nearly impossible.
       The FBI late last week confirmed that it was investigating 
     software piracy on the Internet. A reporter discovered a 
     number of sites at prominent institutions that were being 
     used to distribute stolen software, including one in the 
     office of the president of the University of California, 
     Berkeley, and another at Lawrence Berkeley National 
     laboratory.
       Pirates also have their own ``chat'' lines, a series of 
     channels within a service called the Internet Relay Chat. An 
     elaborate pecking order determines who will be allowed to 
     take part in these conversations--newcomers can often wangle 
     their way in if they have a particularly hot piece of 
     software to offer.
       Sandy Merola, deputy director of information and computing 
     at the Berkeley lab, said the pirate site was shut down last 
     week after the Times investigation revealed its existence. 
     Merola said the Department of Energy, which oversees lab 
     operations, as well as the FBI, had been notified of the 
     incident.
       At Lawrence Livermore, officials said Monday that they 
     believed at least one lab employee was involved in the 
     pornography ring, along with an undetermined number of 
     outside collaborators.
       Chuck Cole, deputy associate director of computing at the 
     lab, said that unauthorized graphical images had been found 
     on a Livermore computer. He confirmed that they were 
     pornographic.
       The employee has been placed on ``investigatory leave'' and 
     his security badge confiscated while an investigation is 
     undertaken, the lab said.
       It was unclear whether the pornographic images were being 
     sold or how many people had gained access to them. The 
     pictures were sufficiently graphic that they would probably 
     be considered obscene by the courts, and therefore 
     transmitting them over the Internet would be illegal.
       The massive amount of storage capacity used in the 
     Livermore scheme shows how Internet hacking could be quite 
     profitable. Seizing control of large and sophisticated 
     computer systems at universities or government laboratories 
     can save unscrupulous entrepreneurs large sums of money.
       One computer expert said there might be more to the 
     incident than met the eye. The expert suggested that the 
     hardcore pornography may be a cover for an 
     ultrasophisticated espionage program, in which a 
     ``sniffer'' program combs through other Livermore computers, 
     encodes the passwords and accounts it finds, and then hides 
     them within the pornographic images, perhaps to be down-
     loaded later by foreign agents.
       But Cole said there was no possibility of a computer 
     intruder gaining access to classified data at Livermore Labs.
                                  ____


               800-Number Maneuver Evades Phone-Sex Rules

                          (By Henry J. Cordes)

       Lincoln.--Scanning his Ralston church's phone bill 
     recently, the Rev. Michael Thomas found $160 in calls to a 
     phone-sex service.
       Thomas said he was appalled that someone would make such 
     calls from Messiah Lutheran Church. None were authorized.
       He said he was more appalled that the calls were possible. 
     Calls to a phone-sex service had troubled Messiah Lutheran 
     before, prompting the church to block all calls to 900 toll 
     numbers--the once typical avenue to phone-sex services.
       Now it appeared someone had skirted the block, Thomas said, 
     by calling a toll-free 800 number and then asking to be 
     transferred to a phone-sex line with a big per-minute charge.
       ``I'm outraged that there is this loophole in the system.'' 
     Thomas said.
       Thomas isn't the only one. The Nebraska Public Service 
     Commission has received dozens of similar complaints in 
     recent months.
       Dwight Wininger, the commission's executive secretary, said 
     many ``purveyors of adult entertainment'' that provide phone 
     sex, psychic predictions and conversation have started using 
     800 numbers with reversible charges to peddle their services.
       Wininger said the companies may see 800 numbers as a way to 
     get around phone blocks and the regulations that the federal 
     government and some states have put on 900 toll calling.
       ``We beat back the first wave, and now they're coming back 
     with 800 numbers.'' Wininger said.
       ``Here's how the Public Service Commission says the new 
     tactic works:
       A caller dials a toll-free 800 number and reaches an 
     operator, who gives the caller an ``identification number.'' 
     The caller may be asked to punch in the number then, or to 
     hang up and dial the 800 number again. Either way, the phone-
     sex service uses the identification number as permission 
     to reverse charges.
       If people want to dial 800 numbers on their phones and use 
     the services, that's their business, Wininger said. The 
     problem is that many who call are using phones they're not 
     authorized to use.
       Boys town has been billed for $92 worth of calls and the 
     Omaha School District for $68, even though both block 900 
     calls. One Omaha woman reported to the commission that her 
     son had rung up calls to 800 numbers costing $1,384.
       Hotels are especially vulnerable, PSC officials said. 
     Guests can gain access to phone-sex lines by calling 800 
     numbers from their rooms and be gone long before the bill 
     arrives.
       A guest at the American Family Inn in Bellevue recently 
     rang up three calls to an 800 phone-sex service. The bills 
     totaled $156.
       ``It's very, very scary,'' said John Hobbs, the hotel's 
     manager. ``It makes you think of not allowing 800 calls to 
     leave the hotel.''
       The Ben Franklin Motel near Papillion also has complained 
     to the commission about 800 calls.
       Gene Hand, head of the commission's telecommunications 
     division, said many people may be surprised that they can be 
     charged for a call to an 800 number.
       Federal regulations allow for charges on 800 calls if the 
     caller has a ``presubscription or other arrangement.'' Hand 
     said adult entertainment companies apparently believe that 
     the identification number they provide constitutes 
     subscribing to the service.
       To talk to the ``sexy hot dream girls'' provided by one 800 
     service, a reporter received a four-digit number from an 
     operator. After calling the 800 number back and repeating the 
     four-digit number, the caller was connected to the service.
       On another service, a recorded voice said that to ``talk to 
     one of our hot babes,'' the caller needed to dial the last 
     four numbers of the phone from which the call was placed.
       Hand said public utility regulators across the country are 
     considering pushing the Federal Communications Commission to 
     change rules to bar all billing on 800 calls.
       For people who find unauthorized 800 calls on their phone 
     bills, local phone companies have been good about waiving 
     charges, Hand said.
       Hand said the Public Service Commission will not permit 
     phone service to be disconnected for failing to pay for 
     unauthorized calls to the services. He said Nebraskans who 
     need help can call the commission at 800-526-0017.
       ``And that is toll-free,'' he said.
                                  ____


                Closing Loophole on Telephone Dirty Talk

       More power to the Nebraska Public Service Commission if it 
     asks the Federal Communications Commission to bar companies 
     from billings customers who dial 800 numbers. Phone-sex 
     services have been moving to 800 numbers to get around blocks 
     on 900 toll calls.
       Concerned parents and others who don't want their phones 
     used to dial Phone-a-Bimbo and the like can have their phones 
     fixed so calls to the 900 prefix are blocked.
       Now the people who run the talk-sex lines have found a 
     loophole in the federal regulations governing 800 numbers, 
     which people assume are toll-free. If callers give an 
     operator an identification number that shows they are 
     ``subscribers'' to the service in question, they can be 
     billed for an 800 call. The process is quick and easy. And it 
     allows the ``subscriber'' to call the phone-sex line from any 
     telephone.
       So even though parents and business people might have 900 
     numbers blocked, their phones can still be used for expensive 
     dirty talk.
       That shouldn't be. Phone-sex and similar ``services'' ought 
     to be restricted to the 900 prefix, where people know what 
     they are getting and can block if they don't want access. The 
     integrity of the 800 system is especially important in Omaha, 
     where a thriving telemarketing industry relies on public 
     trust in 800 service.
       Gene Hand, head of the Nebraska Public Service Commission's 
     telecommunications division, said that public utility 
     regulators may ask the FCC to plug the loophole in the 800 
     service regulations. That can't happen soon enough.

                          ____________________