5 August 1998
Excerpted from Senate Report 105-235 (686K), July 2, 1998

               Telecommunications Carrier Compliance Fund

Appropriations, 1998....................................................
Budget estimate, 1999...................................    $100,000,000
Committee recommendation................................................

    The Committee recommendation does not include direct
appropriations for the telecommunications carrier compliance
fund. The request included $100,000,000 to reimburse equipment
manufacturers and telecommunications support services for
implementation of the Communications Assistance for Law
Enforcement Act [CALEA].
    The Committee continues to recognize the need for law
enforcement to retain its ability to use court authorized
electronic intercepts in the rapidly growing digital
telecommunications environment. At the same time, the Committee
is concerned that the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the
telecommunications industry have been unable after nearly 4
years of discussions and negotiations to resolve differences
regarding compliance with CALEA. On March 27, 1998, the
Attorney General filed a petition with the Federal
Communications Commission [FCC] advising that the industry's
interim technical standard was deficient. The standard was
unacceptable because it did not properly address law
enforcement requirements that the Department of Justice and the
FBI maintain are essential for meeting evidentiary and
minimization requirements dictated by law. In view of the
continued impasse and the uncertainty about when a FCC decision
regarding the industry standard will be forthcoming, the
Committee does not recommend any new funding for the
telecommunications carrier compliance fund. The Committee notes
that $102,580,270 is available in the fund to begin reimbursing
industry once an agreement is reached.