Bond Marks Merger with State of Industry

by Charlie Greenwald

03-Apr-08

As they celebrate their April 1 merger this evening at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, member company representatives and guests of the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) and the Government Electronics and Information Technology Association (GEIA) will hear a sobering message from ITAA President and CEO Phil Bond.

"Today there are real concerns about whether Washington understands how to nourish America’s innovation-driven economy; new restrictions surfacing in the government marketplace; and a weakening talent pool for our high-tech sector," Bond said. "Innovative technologies are what drive every aspect of our economy – the question is whether policymakers embrace that idea."

A survey of ITAA and GEIA member companies in March found 91 percent of members feel that Congress has not taken sufficient action in recent years to help the sector innovate and grow, and 75 percent say the Administration has not pursued the budgets, policies and other measures necessary to support the high-tech sector in the U.S. Survey comments cited continuing delays in reforming patent and immigration laws, the recent expiration of the R&D tax credit, and growing opposition to free trade agreements that stimulate U.S. exports of technology products and services.

The survey also determined that 82 percent of respondents concerned about shortages of qualified employees and candidates to work in high-tech industries in the U.S., citing both the dearth of math, science and engineering graduates from American colleges and universities and immigration constraints that have restricted companies from recruiting talent from overseas.

Also evident in survey results is an "increasingly toxic environment for doing business with the federal government," according to Bond. "Proposals are continually surfacing to restrict government contracting and roll back more than two decades of procurement reform that opened the government to competition, lowered costs, and increased the incentives to adopt innovations from the private sector. Even proposals that don't pass are contributing to negative environment for contractors."

"Between the bad proposals and the inaction on badly needed reforms, Washington is busy building a wall between hardworking public servants and the best the private sector has to offer," Bond will warn.

Bond will call on the newly merged association and federal government leaders to focus on the policies that aid the innovation engine including competitiveness programs, developing and recruiting the brightest minds, open trade, and policies that bring the most innovative private sector ideas to the missions of government.

"The high-tech industry is the solution to both our economic and security challenges - stimulating growth in other sectors, strengthening national and homeland security, continuing to increase exports, and helping to educate a new generation of technology pioneers and innovators."