Re: Release: July 5, 1993

[Steven Hodas <hhll@u.washington.edu>]

This hearing has been "indefinitely postponed" due tothe realization of
some bright young thing that in this country, at least, private
corporations do not sponsor government hearings. perhaps this is a way to
raise some much needed reveneu, but for now it's a no-go.

Steven

On Wed, 7 Jul 1993, ccat wrote:

> Content: First Announcement/On-Line Congressional Hearing
> 
>      On July 26 at 9:30AM EDT, the Subcommittee on Telecommunications
> and Finance of the U.S. House of Representatives will hold the first
> Congressional Hearing ever held over a computer network.  The oversight
> hearing on "The Role of Government in Cyberspace" will take place in
> the Grand Ballroom of the National Press Club at 14th and F Streets,
> N.W., Washington, D.C.  The hearing is open to the public. An open
> house will be held from 3-5PM on the same day in the same location and
> is also open to the public.
> 
>      Chairman Markey has asked that this historic occasion demonstrate
> the potential and diversity of the global Internet.  Thirty Sparcstations
> will be in the hearing room, allowing members of Congress, staff, and
> their guests to read e-mail, use Gopher menus, read testimony in WAIS
> databases, browse the World Wide Web, and otherwise use the resources
> of the global Internet as part of the hearing.
> 
>      Some witnesses for the hearing will testify remotely, sending audio
> and video over the Internet.  Audio and video of the hearing will also
> be multicast over the Multicast Backbone (MBONE).  We are hoping that
> C-SPAN and other traditional media will also carry the event.  *MORE
> DETAILS ON MBONE AND OTHER WAYS TO WATCH THE HEARINGS REMOTELY WILL BE
> FORTHCOMING SHORTLY.*
> 
>      One of the primary points that we are hoping to demonstrate is
> the diversity and size of the Internet.  We have therefore established
> an electronic mail address by which people on the Internet can communicate
> with the Subcommittee before and during the hearing:
> 
>           congress@town.hall.org
> 
>      We encourage you to send your comments on what the role of government
> should be in the information age to this address.  Your comments to this
> address will be made part of the public record of the hearing.  Feel free
> to carry on a dialogue with others on a mailing list, cc'ing the e-mail
> address.
> 
>      Your cards and letters to congress@town.hall.org will help
> demonstrate that there are people who use the Internet as part of their
> personal and professional lives.  We encourage you to send comments on
> the role of government in cyberspace, on what role cyberspace should play
> in government (e.g., whether government data be made available on the
> Internet), on how the Internet should be built and financed, on how you
> use the Internet, and on any other topic you feel is appropriate.  This
> is your chance to show the U.S. Congress that there is a constituency
> that cares about this global infrastructure.
> 
>      If you would like to communicate with a human being about the
> hearing, you may send your comments and questions to:
> 
>           hearing-info@town.hall.org
> 
>      Support for the Internet Town Hall is provided by Sun Microsystems
> and O'Reilly & Associates.  Additional support for the July 26 on-line
> congressional hearing is being provided by ARPA, BBN Communications,
> the National Press Club, Xerox PARC, and many other organizations.
> 
>      Network connectivity for the Internet Town Hall is provided by
> UUNET Technologies.
> 
>