Tech CEOs To Lobby Washington
Top executives from some of the nation's largest tech companies will be in Washington Wednesday to meet with key administration officials and congressional leaders to discuss the firms' calls for action on such issues as clean energy, tax reform, and education reform.
The executives will be in town as part of TechNet's annual CEO fly-in, where the tech executives come to the nation's capital to lobby policymakers on key tech priorities. Cisco CEO John Chambers, VeriSign CEO Mark McLauglin, Hewlett-Packard General Counsel Mike Holston, TechNet co-founder John Doerr, a partner at the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, are just some of the dozens of tech executives expected to come to town for the event. They will be meeting with Obama administration officials such as Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, TechNet President and CEO Rey Ramsey said in an interview.
In their meeting with Geithner, Ramsey said the tech CEOs will likely bring up their concern over an administration proposal calling for changes to a provision that allows U.S. companies to defer paying taxes on overseas profits. Ramsey said the CEOs will likely stress that the proposal is "anti-competitive." They also will likely focus on the importance of enhancing and making permanent the research and development tax credit.
On Capitol Hill, Ramsey said the TechNet executives also will also be meeting with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sander Levin, D-Mich., as well as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader John Boehner, and Sens. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who heads the Senate Republican High Tech Task Force.
Tax reform is part of TechNet's innovation agenda, which also includes "improving the nation's education system and human capital support; fostering a globally competitive business climate; and driving investment for clean technology and 21st century energy solutions." Ramsey said patent reform, immigration and expanding access to broadband, other key TechNet issues, might also be discussed with policymakers.
TechNet said a survey it released Tuesday shows there is public support for many of the policies the group favors. For example, the poll found 78 percent of likely voters surveyed agreed that U.S. schools are failing to adequately prepare children for the high-skilled jobs of the future. The survey also found that 62 percent of likely voters would back "short-term, small increases in their monthly energy bill if it would lead to new innovations that would ultimately lower their bills, reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels and create more high-paying jobs in the U.S." The survey was conducted by Zogby of 4,143 likely U.S. voters March 12-15 and had a margin of error of +/- 1.6 percentage points.
"The American public 'gets it.' They know that broadband technology and clean energy technology are key to 21st century high-wage jobs," Doerr said in a statement.
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