[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 110 (Wednesday, September 15, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9281-S9282]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
REPUBLICAN HIGH TECH TASK FORCE
Mr. ENSIGN. Mr. President, I rise to speak about the critical role of
technology and innovation in maintaining our Nation's security and
prosperity in the future. Technology and the intellectual property that
accompanies it is the very lynchpin of our modern economy. Technology
is changing all the rules, from the way we do business to how we
communicate. It is saving lives, and it is protecting our homeland. In
recognition of the critical role that technology plays in the lives of
all Americans, Majority Leader Bill Frist has made technology a top
priority by devoting significant time and resources to the Senate
Republican High Tech Task Force which serves as the focal point for
technology-related issues in the United States Senate.
I have been honored to serve as the chairman of the Senate Republican
High Tech Task Force during the 108th Congress. I have been privileged
to meet the leading innovators of our great Nation and talk directly to
the employees who have made technology their career and are delivering
every day the promise of the new ``next big thing.''
The work of the Senate Republican High Tech Task Force increases in
importance each day, as technology becomes ever more a part of our
lives. It is the responsibility of the Task Force to be leaders on
technology issues in the Senate. We are tasked by the majority leader
to reach out to the technology community to listen and learn and then
advise our colleagues and lead on legislation related to this important
sector of our economy. And we have been very successful this year.
Senate Republican High Tech Task Force members have passed important
legislation that protects technology and helps foster continued
innovation. Just a few of the many accomplishments in the past few
months include the following: Senator Allen has championed intellectual
property protection and has utilized his position with the Committee on
Foreign Affairs to ensure that American intellectual property is
protected abroad and that overseas piracy of copyrighted materials is
fought to the fullest extent possible. Senator Allen was also
successful in passing legislation out of the Senate to keep State,
local, and Federal tax collectors from driving up the cost of broadband
with Internet access taxes.
Senator Grassley has championed free trade agreements with Singapore,
Chile and Australia. Free trade is the life blood of our economy and
ensuring that American companies are able to access new markets on a
fair footing with all appropriate intellectual property protections
creates and protects American jobs.
Senator Sununu has led Senate efforts in protecting nascent voice
over internet protocol technology which promises to provide new data
services for businesses and consumers, fundamentally changing the way
we look at phone service.
Senator Burns worked tirelessly to successfully secure passage of the
CAN-SPAM Act which was passed unanimously by the United States Senate.
Unsolicited commercial e-mails are overwhelming our telecommunications
infrastructure and costing Americans productivity and now, more
alarmingly, affecting their confidence in online transactions. The CAN-
SPAM Act was a successful first step, and the Task Force will continue
to work to restore confidence and protect American consumers from SPAM.
Senator Smith and I have been successful in seeing the Invest in the
USA Act passed out of the Senate. This important legislation will bring
back a cash infusion of over $400 billion to be reinvested in America
and create over 600,000 American jobs. This will allow money that
American companies earn overseas to be brought back to the United
States where it can create jobs and grow our economy.
My colleagues and I have been very busy during the 108th Congress. We
have visited technology centers around the United States and met with
top innovators and the most talented employees in the world. The work
of the High Tech Task Force will continue through the remainder of this
session and into the 109th Congress.
[[Page S9282]]
The Senate Republican High Tech Task Force remains focused on
securing final passage of important priorities such as: final passage
of the JOBS Bill that includes international tax reform, extension of
the R&D Tax Credit and the Invest in the USA Act; preserving broad-
based employee stock option plans that are threatened by FASB; class
action reform to stop frivolous lawsuits that stifle innovation and
drive up costs for consumers; bringing an end to patent fee diversion
that harms the ability of U.S. innovators to bring their exciting
products to market. Four-year delays to obtain patents hurt innovation;
final passage of the Internet Tax Moratorium legislation to keep state,
local, and federal tax collectors from driving up the cost of Internet
access; final passage of the Spectrum Relocation Bill which will
provide additional spectrum for the wireless revolution and has the
potential to yield more than $500 billion in economic and consumer
benefits over the next decade, spur $50 billion or more in capital
investment, and create thousands of American jobs.
These priorities are critical to our country's continued leadership
in the world, and we are redoubling our efforts to see these issues
through to signature by the President. We are more committed than ever
to ensuring that American workers are getting the best education in
order to become the innovators of the future. And yet there are new
issues arising each day. Members of the task force will be intimately
involved with rewriting the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Issues such
as the regulatory treatment of voice over internet protocol and
hastening the availability of spectrum for next-generation wireless
broadband, along with many others, will be added to our list of
priorities for the coming session of Congress.
In conclusion, we have accomplished much over the past year on many
technology issues. The Senate Republican High Tech Task Force has been
an effective voice for technology on Capitol Hill. Our members are
leaders on every major technology issue and are fighting to protect
American innovation. While we have been very successful in pursuing our
policy platform, technology is ever-changing. We will work diligently
to ensure that we stay ahead of the curve and, if nothing else, help
keep government out of the way to allow American innovators and
entrepreneurs to bring the latest and greatest to the doorsteps of all
Americans.
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