Dean Garfield, the president and CEO of the Information Technology Industry Council is watching the State of the Union address from Silicon Valley tonight.

As President Barack Obama focuses his speech on job creation and economic recovery, Garfield emphasized in an op-ed in The Hill today the importance of adopting policies to "make our nation more competitive, our workforce more educated, our tax laws more rational, our trade policies more positive, and our immigration laws more welcoming of international talent."

"Our punitive corporate tax system and lackluster trade polices pre-dated this President, but he has the opportunity to set us on a new course," he wrote. "The same is true for investing in smart systems, renewables, and energy efficient technologies.  The private sector desire to be global leaders is there, what is necessary is federal investment and regulatory framework that creates the glide path to success."

Read the rest of the op-ed here.

With this year's elections fast approaching, web giant Google on Wednesday added some internet-based elections tips to its Public Policy Blog. 

Google's Elections and Issue Advocacy team, which works with political campaigns to help capitalize on the internet, posted the tips intended to help candidates running in this year's midterm elections. 

"Today's electorate is hungry for political news and is eager to voice opinions online," wrote Chris Talbot, a member of the team, "This requires campaigns to adopt thoughtful and integrated strategies."

The third item on Google's list recommends that candidates "Join social networks to further amass and interact with [their] list of supporters."

Here is the entry:

Social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube represent massive gatherings of audiences, so they can't be ignored. Social networks allow supporters to "subscribe" or "follow" your campaign, and they're great for sharing information about your candidate and seeing that information passed on. Keep your free YouTube politician channel fresh with short videos that call out your supporters and show your candidate's human side. And don't hesitate to ask your followers to take action when needed.

Other recommendations include utilizing online search advertising to build e-mail lists and raise money, "blasting" the Google network to announce campaign news, using data about online platforms and to quickly respond to events online.

You can read the full entry here.

Cross-posted from the Twitter Room

The government needs to be investing more in the research and development of cybersecurity tools, said Howard Schmidt, the new cybersecurity coordinator in the White House.

 In one of his first public appearances since taking the job last month, Schmidt said he’s been meeting with members of Congress and heads of agencies, although he offered few specifics of what cybersecurity legislation should include. He spoke today at the State of the Net conference.

The administration has been criticized for not moving fast enough to create a cybersecurity strategy for the government.

“There’s the perception out there that things aren’t getting done,” he said. “That can’t be farther from the truth.”

He said he “has the president’s ear” when it comes to coordinating efforts across agencies.

“There are no silver bullets,” he said. “But we have tremendous support from the Hill, agencies and private sector….We are better positioned than ever to face these threats.”

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts on Wednesday said “it was a mistake” for the company to slow down Internet traffic to file-sharing site BitTorrent.

During an address at the Congressional Internet Caucus’s State of the Net Conference on Capitol Hill, a contrite Roberts noted the company changed its policy without government intervention.

“We realized it was not the right solution," he said.

The temporary traffic-throttling was one of only two instances that interrupted access to content or websites, Roberts said. Read more...

The Congressional Internet Caucus is hosting its annual all-day State of the Net conference today, with keynotes by Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and Howard Schmidt, incoming cyber security coordinator for the White House.

After the back-to-back panel discussions, a closing reception will feature a specialty drink tailored for the occasion, poking fun at the most-talked-about issue of the day: net neutrality.

The Net-Neutralitini, inspired by the Open Internet Coalition, will be served to remind cocktail-hour goers of why they should support regulations that would require Internet companies to treat all traffic equally. (We wonder if Comcast's Roberts will partake?)

Here's the recipe, which will be prominently displayed on the bar: Read more...

Mignon Clyburn and Meredith Attwell Baker share more than the distinction of being the only women on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) . They have powerful last names familiar to Washington insiders.

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The Department of Transportation announced new rules to ban commercial truck and bus drivers from texting while driving and from using any handheld cellphone or other mobile deices that can take a driver's attention off the road.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, applauded the action. In October, Rockefeller introduced the Distracted Driving Prevention Act that would give states incentives for curbing texting and talking while driving, particularly among teen drivers.

“Texting while driving is extremely dangerous, and we must do all we can to bring it to a stop," he said.  "Last week I also signed on to a resolution that would prohibit all Senate employees from engaging in this same risky behavior. Together, we can work to make these important safety improvements and save lives.” Read more...

The FCC is asking more questions about those fees consumers have to pay to get out of their cellphone contracts early.

The agency today sent letters to AT&T, Google, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless, asking them specific questions about how and why they charge early termination fees, or ETFs. The FCC is particularly interested in how the companies inform their customers about their options.

"This is an essential step to ensuring that consumers have the information that helps them make informed choices in a competitive marketplace," the letter said.

The FCC recently asked Verizon Wireless why it decided to jack up the ETFs for some smartphones to $350. When asked about Verizon's defense of the policy, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said the company's response "raised more questions than it answered."

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) believes the GOP caught a break when it won Sen. Edward Kennedy’s (D-Mass.) old seat. And he is thanking a House Democrat for the Republicans’ good fortune.

During a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing, Barton extended his appreciation to Chairman Edward Markey (D-Mass.) for not running in the Massachusetts Senate race.

“Mr. Chairman, thank you for two things,” joked Barton, “holding this hearing, and not running for the Senate in Massachusetts,” which resulted in chuckles from the audience.

“I think had you run,” Barton continued, “the outcome would have been different and your side would be smiling ... and my side would not be — well, we’d be smiling for you personally, but we wouldn’t be smiling that the [Democrats] won, so we’re glad you decided to stay in the House.”

Cross-posted on Washington Scene