One of the steps we’ve identified as critical to the long-term health of the economy is a renewed focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education.  Many companies in the high-tech sector have grown uneasy in their search for highly skilled human capital.  While it’s simple to dismiss these concerns when looking at the national unemployment rate, it’s also wrong.    Yes, the unemployment [...]

With President Barack Obama wrapping up the Democratic National Convention, it’s appropriate to look back on his first 3+ years in the White House and examine his record on those tech issues we have identified as vital to creating jobs in the tech sector.  At first glance, the Administration’s work has been admirable and should be recognized for taking many steps in the right direction.  In just over [...]

The 2012 Democratic National Convention kicks off today in Charlotte, with three days of policy and political events serving as a precursor to the final stretch of campaigning for President Obama and Governor Romney.  While much of we see from the podium is scripted or pre-produced, conventions serve as an opportunity for parties to formally unveil their platforms.  Last week, we highlighted those [...]

At the Republican National Convention tonight, in a broad economic-themed speech, U.S. Senator Rob Portman of Ohio touched on a number of TechElect priorities:  innovation, trade, and tax reform, in particular.  While there weren’t policy specifics in the speech, the rhetoric echoed many of the pieces approved in the party platform on Tuesday. Here is a look at what he had to say.    You have to liberate [...]

The Washington Post this week published a handful of responses to a question they asked their readers:   How do you encourage the next great U.S. inventions?  Two themes that the Post was quick to point out were our outdated education model, and the need for high-skilled immigration reform.   It is encouraging to see the Post highlight two issues that TechElect has identified as drivers of an economic [...]

Our economy remains sluggish and the outlook for the next few years is uncertain, at best.  You don’t have to take our word for it.  We see that truth borne out with each month’s jobs report release.  We heard it from Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke in his testimony on Capitol Hill last week.  Unfortunately, instead of putting forward innovative plans to solve the problems at hand, the candidates, [...]

Today, the President announced a $1 billion initiative to boost science, technology, engineering, and math (“STEM”) education in the country.  His plan calls for the creation of the Master Teacher Corps, which aims to hire highly qualified teachers to prepare today’s students for the 21st century economy.   If implemented, the plan would hire 2,500 teachers across the country now, and grow to 10,000 [...]

Federally funded research has long been a vital piece of the American research and development pie, and an important generator of new industries, businesses, and jobs, particularly from the Space Age through the Information Age.  But did you know it wasn’t until Senators Birch Bayh, D-Ind., and Bob Dole, R-Kan., came together in 1980 that the United States began reaping a return on its investment? [...]

ITI and TechElect have long advocated for high-skilled immigration reform.  The 21st century demands bright and creative minds that are able to think big and turn innovative ideas into life-changing goods and services.  Unfortunately, outdated U.S. immigration policies are keeping the skilled talent we need in the U.S. either out of the country or from starting new business ventures.  Too often, we [...]

ITI is excited to see momentum building around expansion of the most important trade agreement for the tech industry, the Information Technology Agreement (ITA).  Just this week, members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation reaffirmed their commitment to play a key role as the World Trade Organization (WTO) works to expand the ITA. Last month, WTO members met in Geneva to mark the fifteenth anniversary [...]