This Week in Tech: House cyberpanel takes a closer look at the cloud

by Gautham Nagesh - 10/03/11 12:49 PM ET

TUESDAY: The House Education and Workforce Committee will hold a
morning hearing on modernizing the Workforce Investment Act, which
provides federal funding for training displaced workers. The technology
industry has warned for years that American workers lack the science and
technical backgrounds necessary for the jobs produced by the digital
economy.

WEDNESDAY: The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on
Manufacturing will hold a morning hearing on protecting children’s
privacy in an increasingly online world. Lawmakers have voiced concerns
in recent months over the prevalence of underage users on
social-networking sites like Facebook. The hearing will likely examine
how firms can do more to ensure children aren’t using their services
without adequate supervision or parental consent.

The House Judiciary Committee’s Immigration Policy subcommittee
will hold a hearing after lunch to discuss whether more should be done
to prevent foreign graduate students earning advanced science degrees at
American universities from leaving the country after they graduate.
Under current policy, such graduates must generally leave the country
once their student visa expires, unless they can find an employer
willing to sponsor them for a visa or permanent residency. Critics argue
those limitations force talented minds to either leave the U.S. or tie
them to an employer rather than allowing them to start their own firm
and create jobs in the U.S.

THURSDAY: The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs will hold an
afternoon hearing on providing Internet infrastructure to native
communities. Witnesses are expected to emphasize the necessity of
broadband and wireless Internet access to the economic future of native
communities to ensure equal access to e-commerce and the globalized
marketplace.