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Tech titans storm Capitol
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June 4, 1997: 8:35 p.m. ET
Silicon Valley CEOs place extensive legislative agenda before Congress
From Correspondent Bill Dorman
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WASHINGTON (CNNfn) - Nine leaders of America's top technology companies -- executives who are usually at each other's throats -- came together Wednesday to present their legislative agenda to Congress.
The agenda is extensive. It includes permanent tax breaks for research and development, uniform laws on litigation, the lifting of export controls for computer encryption technology and tighter controls on software copyrights.
The CEOs also came armed with a report showing the technology industry is the nation's third-largest employer and is expected to add 1.4 million jobs, either directly or indirectly, over the next eight years.
Wednesday's trip to Washington, sponsored by the Business Software Alliance, was proof that those who create jobs will get the attention of politicians. While the high-technology lobby is not new in Washington, it's kept a low-profile for the most part.
Wednesday's gathering of CEOs changes that. It may also alter the perception that the industry's political fund-raising has lacked coordination.
"This is a new wrinkle that I think indicates how important government policy is now for high-technology companies," said John Endean of the American Business Conference.
Carol Bartz, chief executive officer of Autodesk, said software piracy is of increasing concern. What was already a bad problem has been escalated by the Internet, she said.
"One way I look at the Internet is it's the world's biggest software home shoplifting network," she said.
Other important issues include telecommunications policy and high-definition television -- enough to keep lobbyists busy.
"The amount of time we spend here and having our people here full-time is definitely on the increase," said Microsoft Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bill Gates.
Lobbying Congress can at times be a trying process. Andy Grove, chief executive officer of Intel, said everyone knows patience is a necessity, but it's not a common virtue in a Silicon Valley CEO. (135K WAV) or (135K AIFF)
Although fighting technology companies is unlikely to be politically popular, some Washington insiders look for the tech chiefs to face some frustrations.
They say many on Capitol Hill are not quite ready to entirely believe that what's good for Microsoft is good for America.
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