05.19.05

Nelson, Cantwell Co-Chair High Tech Group Reaching Out to Business Community

WASHINGTON , D.C. – The creation of jobs through innovation and technology is the purpose of a new Senate group co-chaired by Nebraska's Senator Ben Nelson and Washington Senator Maria Cantwell.

The Senate Democrats' High Tech Working Group held its first meeting of the 109 th Congress today. Its purpose is to serve as a forum for leaders from industry, academia, and advocacy organizations to share ideas on how to promote continued innovation and a healthy environment for technology growth and job creation.

"In Nebraska there is a renewed interest in development of high tech, cutting edge industries. This new group should be able to provide considerable assistance to promising new businesses and those hoping to modernize and grow," said Nelson. "We're talking about manufacturing industries such as aerospace, pharmaceuticals, computing machinery, communications equipment and instrumentation and service industries such as software."

"There is so much potential for technology to improve the daily lives of people, from delivering better health care to creating higher paying jobs at home," said Senator Cantwell. "Together we can harness this potential by creating a better business environment with a 21st century workforce and the right research and development."

The High Tech Working Group has defined goals that members hope can be achieved through discussion and relationships with high tech business leaders, including:

Strengthening U.S. Competitiveness and Innovation Through Sustained Investments

Accelerating Deployment of Affordable Broadband Networks

Meeting the Educational and Training Needs of the 21st Century Workforce

Fostering a Business Climate Favorable to Innovation

Accessing Global Markets in a Changing World

Improving the Quality and Efficiency of Health Care Delivery

The working group will examine issues which broadly impact high tech industries, their workforce and their customers. It includes strengthening U.S. competitiveness and innovation through sustained investments, accelerating the rapid widespread deployment of affordable broadband networks, meeting the educational and training needs of the 21 st Century workforce, increasing exports of high tech products, and moving from a paper-based to an electronic health care system.

Nelson has worked to help 21 st Century Systems, Inc. in Omaha, a company that develops national defense related software programs to aid soldiers in the battlefield and to help manage military equipment, expand its operation into rural areas like McCook, Nebraska, creating good jobs for Nebraskans in that area.

"One area that I'm particularly interested in is fostering a business climate that encourages investment and furthers the private sector's ability to compete globally," said Nelson. "Sustained public and private investments in research, development and infrastructure will regenerate mature industries, plant the seeds for future industries, and keep our nation strong wile improving the quality of life."

Nelson is also a member of the Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Technology, Innovation and Competitiveness.

Joining Senators Nelson and Cantwell as part of the High Tech Working Group are ex-officio members Senator Max Baucus (MT), Ranking Member, Finance Committee, Senator Jeff Bingaman (NM), Ranking Member, Energy & Natural Resources, Senator Daniel Inouye (HI), Ranking Member, Commerce, Science & Transportation and Senator Patrick Leahy (VT), Ranking Member, Judiciary Committee. Other members of the High Tech Working group: Senator Harry Reid (NV), Democratic Leader, Senator Richard Durbin (IL), Democratic Whip, Senator Evan Bayh (IN), Senator Barbara Boxer (CA), Senator Thomas Carper (DE), Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (NY), Senator Christopher Dodd (CT), Senator Edward Kennedy (MA), Senator Joe Lieberman (CT), Senator Blanche Lincoln (AR), Senator Barbara Mikulski (MD), Senator Patty Murray (WA), Senator Barack Obama (IL), Senator Mark Pryor (AR), Senator Ken Salazar (CO), Senator Debbie Stabenow (MI)

Senate Democratic High-Tech Working Group

The Senate Democratic High-Tech Working Group serves as a forum for leaders from industry, academia, and advocacy organizations to share their ideas with us on how to promote continued innovation, a healthy environment for technology growth, and creating the high-skill, high-wage jobs for industries of the future. The group will foster discussion and debate strategies to address the following policy goals.

Strengthening U.S. Competitiveness and Innovation Through Sustained Investments

Sustained public and private investments in research, development, and infrastructure, can regenerate mature industries, plant the seeds of future industries, keep our nation strong, and improve the quality of life. Utilize technology to protect our country, its citizens and businesses from attacks to our homeland and its critical infrastructure; from chemical and biological threats in our air, water, and food supply; from cyber-threats and deceptive on-line practices that can compromise consumers' personally identifiable information, detract from their on-line experience, and shake confidence in conducting on-line transactions. Establish the U.S. as the leader in clean energy, slashing our dependence on Middle East oil. Make permanent the research and experimentation tax credit. Increase support for longer-term fundamental research at universities, national laboratories, and other institutions, balanced across disciplines. Foster collaborations and partnerships between the public sector, private sector, and universities for applied research and accelerated commercialization of technology. Strengthen Federal programs to support the competitiveness of America's small and medium sized manufacturers. Support increases to the Department of Defense investments in basic and applied research; recommit DARPA to focus on over-the-horizon research, with strong support for university and basic research. Create a virtuous cycle of innovation through the convergence of bio-, nano-, and information technologies.

Accelerate the Rapid Widespread Deployment of Affordable Broadband Networks

Accelerate the deployment of high-speed broadband networks and its adoption by individuals, businesses, K-12, higher education, and all levels of government: Develop a national broadband roadmap. Use financial tools such as tax incentives, loans, loan guarantees, and grants, to spur investment, demand, and competition for current and next generation broadband networks. Lower barriers and create incentives for developing and deploying applications in communications, healthcare, distance learning, telework, distributed energy, eGovernment, and entertainment that will drive high-speed broadband uptake. Support programs that target broadband applications to underserved communities and those that support computer literacy. Efficient and fair allocation of spectrum in the face of rapidly evolving technological changes, and ensuring the FCC has the capabilities and resources to conduct its technical analyses accurately and expeditiously. Encourage all levels of government to modernize their business systems to enable secure low-cost on-line transactions with citizens and businesses.

Meeting the Educational and Training Needs of the 21st Century Workforce

Develop a domestic "pipeline" of better-educated knowledge creators and workers who can fill new jobs and respond flexibly to the changing knowledge and skill requirements of existing jobs. Prepare all workers for a future in which the information technology intensity of jobs will increase across all industries. Increase the pool of scientists, engineers, and technicians in the U.S. Retrain incumbent and dislocated American workers for high-demand technical fields, now and in the future, through life long learning. Fully fund the implementation and No Child Left Behind. Increase the number of highly qualified K-12 math and science teachers. Accelerate the development and deployment of innovative learning technologies that can improve student learning outcomes.

A Business Climate Favorable to Innovation

Foster a business climate that encourages investment and fosters the private sector's ability to compete globally. Improve access to risk capital for technology-driven companies of all sizes. Targeted use of tax incentives and accelerated depreciation to accelerate the deployment and adoption of strategic technologies. Promote wide employee ownership in their companies to attract, provide incentive to, and retain employees. Balance the need for strong intellectual property protections while not stifling innovation. Continue modernization of the U.S. patent process to improve the quality of patents, reducing the time required for their award, and ensuring the Patent and Trademark Office funds are not diverted for other purposes.

Accessing Global Markets in a Changing World

Increase exports of high tech products and services from companies of all sizes. Enforcing existing trade agreements and unconditional market access for U.S. exporters of technology products and services. Continuing support for aggressive export promotion. Working with our trading partners to reduce non-tariff barriers to trade. Making certain that our export control laws do not unnecessarily limit the ability of our Nations' industries to compete globally. Pressing our trading partners to enforce intellectual property laws and stop the piracy and counterfeiting of goods.

Improving the Quality and Efficiency of Health Care Delivery

Move from paper-based patient records to an electronic health records system, where data is easily stored, transferred from location to location, and retrieved at any time. Establish federal leadership in defining a National Health Information Infrastructure and adopting health information technology (IT) standards. Provide financial assistance to individual health care providers to stimulate investment in IT, and to communities to help them set up interoperable IT infrastructures at the local and regional level. Study changes to Federal reimbursement and payment structures that would encourage the adoption of IT to improve health care quality and patient safety, increase efficiency, and control the rising cost of care. Lower barriers to adoption for distance consultations and telemedicine.

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