Tech Groups Praise Bailout Bill Passage
The House approved the Senate-passed multibillion dollar bailout on Friday by a vote of 263 to 171. President Bush signed the bailout package less than two hours later. The legislation included several provisions of interest to the high-tech community including a two year extension of the federal R&D tax credit and alternative energy tax breaks.
Bring on the praise…
"This measure is not just for financial services and if no action was taken it would unduly hurt businesses of every size in every sector because all firms rely on credit to grow and prosper," said TechNet President Lezlee Westine. "The ramifications would have quickly boomeranged through the entire American economy and that was too great a risk."
"The R&D tax credit motivates U.S.-based companies to keep cutting-edge research projects in the United States while funding high wage and high skilled jobs for American R&D workers across diverse industries such as manufacturing, information technology, biotech, agriculture, aerospace and others," the R&D Credit Coalition said.
American Electronics Association President Chris Hansen also praised the R&D tax credit extension but warned that the United States is falling behind other countries that encourage innovation. "Although the high-tech industry is healthy and continues to add jobs, we are concerned that our country’s future growth is being jeopardized by not making the crucial investments necessary to operate in this competitive global marketplace," he said.
Telecommunications Industry Association Vice President Danielle Coffey said her group was pleased with the bill's passage but will continue to work next year toward a permanent R&D tax credit.
Categories:
Congress
Join the Discussion
The National Journal Group has the right (but not the obligation) to monitor the comments and to remove any materials it deems inappropriate.
Comments powered by Disqus