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Cato Daily Dispatch for September 2, 2003

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Congress Is Back: Iraq, Energy, Prescription Drugs Top Agenda
Iraqi Council Names Cabinet
South Korea's Spam Ban Similar to U.S. Legislation

Congress Is Back: Iraq, Energy, Prescription Drugs Top Agenda

"Congress returns to an ambitious domestic agenda this week, but Iraq is likely to overshadow the discussion as lawmakers, including some influential Republicans, demand a clear accounting from President Bush of how he plans to bring stability to the region," reports The New York Times.

"Prescription drugs and energy will be the two marquee domestic issues. The House and Senate are under pressure from the president to conclude negotiations on a Medicare drug benefit-negotiations so delicate that some lawmakers fear they might fall apart. The chambers will also try to come to terms on an energy bill, a measure that has gained urgency in light of the summer's blackout."

The Cato Handbook for Congress, a book consisting entirely of policy recommendations for this Congress, includes chapters on all of the major issues Congress will be grappling with this session. Electricity policy, public and private health care, and several chapters on defense, foreign policy, and homeland security are in the book.

Iraqi Council Names Cabinet

"Iraq's Governing Council yesterday named a 25-member Cabinet reflecting the country's ethnic and religious makeup to take charge of government ministries and begin reclaiming some powers from the U.S.-led coalition," according to The Associated Press.

"L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. civilian administrator for Iraq, has said an election for a new government could take place as early as the end of 2004, after the adoption of a new constitution."

In "A Democratic Iraq? Don't Hold Your Breath," Cato Senior Fellow Patrick Basham writes: "The Bush administration's plan for the reconstruction of a post-Saddam Iraq includes the laudable goal of a democratic political system. This new democracy, it is argued, will serve as a model throughout the Islamic world, like the so-called Velvet Revolution that swept across Eastern Europe at the Cold War's end. Unfortunately, the White House will be disappointed with the short-to-medium-term result of its effort to establish a stable democracy in Iraq, or any other nation home to a large Muslim population."

Separately, in "A Democratic Iraq May Not Be Friendly to U.S.," Christopher Preble, Cato Institute director of foreign policy studies, writes: "If a democratic election, reflecting the honest and freely expressed wishes of the Iraqi people, produces a leader deemed insufficiently committed to Washington's goals, the Bush administration will be forced to affirm or reject its alleged attachment to the principle of democracy."

South Korea's Spam Ban Similar to U.S. Legislation

"South Korean Internet users are getting spammed much less after their government enacted laws that slap huge fines on companies that send unsolicited e-mail," The Washington Times reports.

"Congress is addressing similar legislation to help dam the flood of spam. The Senate is considering an antispam bill, sponsored by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), that would require marketers to post valid return e-mail addresses and allow the Federal Trade Commission to bring civil charges against spammers. That bill passed the Senate Commerce Committee in June. Another bill sponsored by Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) would create a 'Do Not Spam' list that would allow people to opt out of receiving unsolicited e-mail."

In "Why Canning 'Spam' Is a Bad Idea," Clyde Wayne Crews Jr., Cato's director of technology studies, writes: "Unsolicited e-mail can be annoying, but addressing the issue legislatively will create more hassles than does spam itself. It's not apparent that businesses selling legitimate products have any less right to use e-mail than anyone else, and laws targeting only the most egregious spam won't work, because perpetrators will simply relocate offshore. Spam legislation will create legal and regulatory hassles for mainstream companies, even as they increasingly embrace 'opt-in,' permission-based e-mail, which gives consumers the ability not to be contacted unless they want to be."

According to Crews, "The regulation of spam would make it all too easy to impede solicited mail, unsolicited mail that is nonetheless welcome, legitimate commerce, emerging Internet innovations, and even free speech."

Wyatt Dubois, editor, wdubois@cato.org