Congress throws a party like it's 1999

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By Cara Garretson

(IDG) -- In Washington, D.C., one Wednesday night in February, an industry gathering billed as a technology fair quickly turned into a 1990s-style pep rally for the Internet. Speakers revved up the crowd with promises that the year ahead would be a great one for the Internet, while marketers with startups demoed their companies' latest Web products. Complete with free food and drinks, the event felt very much like one of those entrepreneurial lovefests of 1999. Except it's now 2002, and the party was thrown by the U.S. Congress.

The evening's host was the Congressional Internet Caucus, a bipartisan group of Internet cheerleaders composed of members from the Senate and House of Representatives. They work to "educate," but more likely lobby, other Congress members on Internet-related legislation, according to materials handed out at the event.

To its credit, the Internet Caucus tackles some timely issues; this year it will hold panel discussions about broadband adoption, digital rights management, database privacy, and e-surveillance, all in the name of raising awareness and understanding of these topics. The caucus is even sending a group of delegates to Europe this year to discuss Internet issues with lawmakers there.

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But on this night, it appeared the group's mission was to make the Internet industry feel better about itself during these somber economic times, and to remind the audience of Internet companies that these congressmen are working hard for them.

"There are some incredibly important issues facing us in the next couple of years, and technology is leading the way," said Senator John Ensign, a Nevada Republican and member of the caucus. "It's up to the few of us who really care about technology, and you in the industry, to come up here (on Capitol Hill) and educate and lobby."

Amidst the loud music and crowds at the party were a number of online music companies showing off their sites, including Listen.com, MusicNet, Pressplay, and the "new and lawful" Napster, as one congressman described the company. (MusicNet is backed by several record companies, including AOL Time Warner, the parent company of CNN.com.)

Between demos of Napster's new Web site that will feature licensed music from five major labels when it's released, Napster's government liaison said he's impressed with how well Congress members are beginning to understand Internet-related issues.

"I think many members understand we're a tremendously popular, disruptive technology that's changing the way the Internet is working," said Manus Cooney, Napster's vice president for corporate and public policy development. "Whether or not they appreciate the architecture of (Napster's) system is more subjective. But across the board, all members (of Congress) are familiar with Napster."

Congress has no choice but to keep its eye on the Internet now, since topics like digital copyright, Internet taxes, broadband regulation, wireless spectrum, and cyberterrorism have become some of the hottest issues in Washington, D.C. Besides, although the Internet bust is over, there are still plenty of wealthy tech entrepreneurs willing to make campaign contributions to the lawmakers they perceive as allies on these issues.

As for the tech set at this party, they seemed to enjoy the attention. Not only must it have been refreshing to hear Internet rally calls instead of predictions of economic doom, but where else would you find a party host that's still serving free food and drinks?