Tech industry pushes policy agenda with supercommittee

{mosads}He noted that the tech industry has weathered the recession better than almost any other sector of the economy, and said Congress should look to the industry as it tries to spur growth. 

The Business Software Alliance, Tech America, TechNet and the Information Technology Industry Council were other trade groups that joined in the recommendations. Individual companies included Microsoft, eBay, Oracle, Cisco and T-Mobile.

The groups urged the lawmakers to give tax incentives to encourage companies to move foreign earnings back to the U.S. The letter claims that a tax holiday could bring $1 trillion back to the country.

“As a nation, we are much better off with those dollars being invested here rather than elsewhere,” they wrote.

Critics of a tax holiday argue that a similar program in 2004 failed to create the jobs or economic boost that its proponents promised.

The letter also urged “target investments” in research and development to spur innovation. The groups recommended cutting some programs to allow for increased spending on “pro-growth” investments.

“Programs that support basic scientific research, improve our infrastructure, protect our intellectual property and create a 21st century workforce are smart investments,” the groups wrote.

The groups voiced their support for incentive spectrum auctions, which would give the Federal Communications Commission the authority to sell broadcast spectrum for wireless broadband use. After splitting the auction revenue with participating television broadcasters, the government could still raise more than $24.5 billion to reduce the deficit from the program, according to the letter.

The auctions would also free up more spectrum for wireless devices such as smartphones and tablet computers.

The groups argued that increasing employment-based visas for highly educated workers could also reduce the deficit through fees that the workers would have to pay. Many tech companies say they have trouble finding enough American-born workers to fill high-skill jobs. 

The letter claimed that the federal government could save $1 trillion over 10 years by adopting more efficient information technology such as cloud computing.