Tech Scorecard Gives Sessions High Marks
Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., will become the Senate Judiciary Committee's ranking member after reaching a deal with Senate Finance ranking member Charles Grassley, aides familiar with the talks said on Monday. The official announcement could come as early as this evening after the panel's GOP members meet, CongressDaily reports. The appointment requires endorsement of the full Republican Conference, which aides said should not be a problem. So what do we know about the former Alabama attorney general's track record on tech policy? The Information Technology Industry Council's congressional scorecard, which has been rating members since 1998, says Sessions had an 80 percent voting record in the 110th Congress.
Sessions voted in lockstep with ITI in favor of the America Competes Act; the U.S.-Peru Free Trade Agreement; comprehensive energy legislation; and a Senate Finance Committee tax extender package, which included a provision to expand the research and development tax credit for two years. But Sessions voted against the financial bailout package. At the time, Sessions issued a statement saying government "can and should be part of the solution, but we should tailor its role to have maximum benefit with minimal market interference." He called the Obama administration's plan well-intentioned but said it represented "unprecedented governmental intervention in the economy." "Its enactment will be a signal to the world that America has turned its back on the free market," Sessions said.
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