The bill was revised slightly and overwhelmingly passed the House late last month, alarming many in the tech industry who fear it still could unintentionally block many websites.
Lobbyists who work on technology issues said many lawmakers just don't understand enough about how technology works.
In the last year, AeA, a high-tech trade association, has started distributing colorful, four-page handouts to lawmakers that distill complex issues such as the patent system and radio-frequency identification tags.
"There's still a big learning curve," said William T. Archey, AeA's chief executive.
While struggling in June to follow testimony over a technological gap that allows people to copy protected DVDs, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) quipped, "I think that we might promote the quality of this hearing by having the senators leave the room."
But his conclusion after the hearing was no joke to the Motion Picture Assn. of America, which has been pushing Congress to pass legislation to close what's known as "the analog hole" -- the ability to bypass digital protections by converting DVD signals to analog and then back to digital.
As lawmakers often do when they don't fully understand an issue, Specter said he saw no need for an immediate legislative solution. He urged Hollywood to work something out with consumer electronics manufacturers, who oppose any legislative mandates.
"If you get in a technical debate on these issues, you're already losing because members of Congress don't have time to read the technical information," said John Feehery, MPAA executive vice president of external affairs and a former top congressional aide. "You need to put it in terms that politicians understand -- this is going to hurt jobs, this is going to hurt economic activity."
Technology is now so pervasive that it has become a component of other major issues -- including global competitiveness, national security and improving healthcare delivery -- raising the profile and stakes for laws affecting it.
With the phone industry pushing hard for telecommunications legislation, lawmakers have jumped to include their own pet technology projects. The version that passed the Senate Commerce Committee in June includes a permanent moratorium on Internet access taxes, new anti-piracy measures on digital TV and radio signals known as "broadcast flags" and an expansion of low-power FM radio service.
All those complicated technology issues could make telecommunications legislation difficult to pass this year. But the issues won't go away, industry executives said. And neither will the nervousness when Congress considers new laws governing technology.
"The technology has gone into generation two and is creating these new requirements to rethink its impact," said Robert Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a Washington think tank. "They are important issues that Congress should be dealing with, and it's important they get them right."
