TechAmerica lauds House GOP's tech agenda

The industry group TechAmerica praised House Republicans on Friday for the technology legislative agenda they unveiled one day earlier.

The House Republican Technology Working Group said it will focus on protecting U.S. intellectual property, preventing cyber attacks and ensuring there is enough spectrum available for mobile broadband during the current session, spurring the industry's hopes that tech policy will take center stage this year.

"In order to get our nation’s economy back on track, we need to ensure that American innovation is fostered and given every opportunity to succeed, creating jobs and expanding business investment opportunities," said TechAmerica CEO Phil Bond.

“We’re delighted to see the House Republican Technology Working Group prioritizing so many of the top policy needs of the technology industry that are essential for driving tomorrow’s economic expansion, but real progress will require a bipartisan commitment from both sides of the aisle and both sides of the Hill as well as the Administration.”

Support for cybersecurity and data breach legislation has been building in both chambers; the House Energy and Commerce Committee indicated this week it plans to hold hearings on both topics this summer in hopes of crafting legislation for introduction later this year.

Protecting U.S. intellectual property from online piracy is another hot issue thanks to the PROTECT IP Act, which recently passed the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously.

The bill has bipartisan support but is currently on hold due to concerns from Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) that the powers it confers on the government to seize domains are too broad and may result in censorship of the Web. The entertainment, software and clothing industries are strong backers of the bill.

The path forward on spectrum policy is less distinct. There is support for incentive auctions that would allow mobile broadband providers to purchase spectrum relinquished by broadcasters but the controversy over what should be done with the valuable D Block of spectrum remains unresolved.

Public safety advocates believe the D Block should be assigned to first responders for a national public safety network, while others believe it should be auctioned with other blocks of spectrum to raise funds to build such a network.

Finally, the House GOP's tech agenda includes a proposal to re-examine the immigration system as it relates to temporary foreign workers as well as the foreign science and engineering graduates at U.S. universities that are prized by technology firms.

While comprehensive immigration reform seems a political non-starter at this point, there is hope the H1-B visa system can be reformed to focus on attracting skilled technology workers to U.S. firms. The program has been criticized frequently for how the visas are currently distributed.

Lawmakers are also hopeful that something can be done to allow foreign post-graduate students in technical and scientific fields to stay in the U.S. after graduation. Employment-sponsored greencards and visas for entrepreneurs who secure funding for their startups are two such proposals.