The following guest entry was written by Larry Farnsworth, a vice president at Crosby-Volmer International Communications and former staffer for House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

I believe there will be a chance for the [110th] Congress to get things done in a bipartisan fashion for the high-tech industry. There’s always been a bipartisan will to pass sound pieces of public policy, from trade agreements, to making permanent the extension of the R&D tax credits and H-1B visa reform.

But the high-tech industry needs Congress to pass additional legislation such as the making the President’s tax cuts permanent in order to keep America competitive. The tax relief passed in 2003 has primed the pump for the economy to roar full steam ahead, but the R&D extenders have been flat lined. By extending the R&D tax credits, businesses will be able to fund critical projects they otherwise would have cancelled and simply chalked up as the cost of doing business.