[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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