This afternoon I received a call from a journalist who informed me that the Commerce Department Appropriations bill being considered in the House extends the freeze on transfer of the IANA functions into FY 17, which starts on October 1, 2016. (I took the call while driving and am not sure if this is just the Committee mark, or whether the bill has been reported out.) Asked for a reaction, I told him that I was somewhat surprised given the rather friendly reception that the House Commerce Committee accorded the transition and accountability measures at its hearing last month. On the other hand, the appropriators have their own views and priorities and don't defer to the authorizing committees. Speaking further, I observed that if the Senate appropriators went along with this it would seem to set up a confrontation between Congress and the Administration. Secretary Strickling has previously stated in public that the current freeze prevented NTIA from completing the IANA transition. However, this White House is well known for taking Executive action in defiance of Congressional restrictions. As the news is just breaking there is no telling how it will be received by, or impact the ongoing implementation work going on within, the ICANN community. That's all I have at the moment. Best, Philip Philip S. Corwin, Founding Principal Virtualaw LLC 1155 F Street, NW Suite 1050 Washington, DC 20004 202-559-8597/Direct 202-559-8750/Fax 202-255-6172/Cell Twitter: @VlawDC "Luck is the residue of design" -- Branch Rickey ________________________________ No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com<http://www.avg.com> Version: 2016.0.7497 / Virus Database: 4568/12245 - Release Date: 05/16/16