[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 116 (Thursday, September 9, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1817]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  INTRODUCTION OF A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OUTLINING A VISION TO SHAPE 
   CONGRESSIONAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY POLICY INTO THE NEXT CENTURY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. THOMAS M. DAVIS

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 8, 1999

  Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to announce the 
introduction of a concurrent resolution which recognizes the critical 
role played by the information technology sector and electronic 
commerce in the United States economy. On behalf of my colleagues, 
Representatives Dreier, Goodlatte, Dooley, Jim Moran, Dunn, Eshoo, and 
Adam Smith, I am setting forth principles that we hope will shape 
congressional information technology and electronic commerce policies 
that will ensure United States' continued worldwide dominance and 
competitiveness in the Information Technology Revolution.
  The United States is the world leader in the innovation and 
production of information technological goods and services. Information 
technology was responsible for 6.1 percent of the U.S. gross domestic 
product in 1996. In 1997, U.S. businesses took in $804 billion or 80 
percent of worldwide information technology revenues. Information 
technology has spurred economic growth in the form of new goods, new 
services, new jobs, and new capital. Since 1993, the U.S. high 
technology industry has added over 1 million jobs to the U.S. economy, 
such that the industry now employs nearly 5 percent of the U.S. private 
sector workforce as of 1998.
  Similarly, Internet growth has outstripped earlier predictions. The 
number of Americans with access to the Internet has increased nearly 
900 percent since early 1993. There were an estimated 148 million 
Internet users worldwide at the end of 1998, with approximately 81 
million users in the U.S. alone by early 1999. One estimate places the 
dollar volume of business-to-business electronic commerce in 1998 at 
$27.4 billion. The projected volume for 1999 is $64.8 billion. Those 
numbers are expected to quadruple in the next two years alone.
  Like other pivotal moments in human history, the Information 
Technology Revolution is transforming the tools and ideas that affect 
the way individuals communicate and think both privately and 
commercially. The American experience alone is replete with 
illustrations of new technologies generating faster economic growth. As 
the information technology industry continues its phenomenal expansion, 
the Federal Government needs to ensure that it plays an enabling--and 
not an inhibiting--role in supporting the movement of industry and 
people into the Information Age.
  It is critical that policy makers recognize that the information 
technology industry and electronic commerce have become thriving forces 
in our economy because of the simple fact that they have largely been 
left alone to develop and grow according to the demands of free market 
processes. Our hope is that this resolution will encourage lawmakers to 
consider the holistic effect of individual legislative initiatives that 
are directly or indirectly aimed at information technology and 
electronic commerce. For this reason, I look forward to working with my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle to achieve passage of this 
legislation.

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