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http://www.austin360.com/statesman/editions/today/business_3.html
Austin American-Statesman
business/tech Monday, September 18
Gore, Bush both courting high-technology votes
By Andrew J. Glass
American-Statesman Washington Staff
Monday, September 18, 2000
WASHINGTON -- When it comes to high-tech issues, who would make the better president,
George W. Bush or Al Gore?
Although the race for the White House won't be won by the candidate who best clears the
high-technology hurdles, those concerns are playing an ever-larger role in shaping the
nation's economy.
Within the next six years, the U.S. Commerce Department reports, nearly half the U.S. work
force will be employed by makers or users of information-technology products or services.
This sector already contributes about 35 percent of overall economic growth and about 10
percent of gross domestic output. The Internet is changing everything from retailing to
the auto industry to the music industry in ways unimaginable even a few years ago.
It's not a stretch to say that this is the first Internet election. When Bill Clinton and
Gore first ran in 1992, there were no Web sites. In 1996, only 10 million people had
Internet access. Today, more than 100 million people do, and the Internet is increasingly
essential to work, education and private life.
Both presidential candidates have position papers on "new economy" issues
ranging from increasing research spending to easing export controls. Both have courted the
high-tech community for political contributions.
On many tech issues, their positions are similar. Both support raising the number of visas
for highly skilled foreign workers, for example. Both support easing export controls,
which the high-tech industry has complained are needlessly restrictive.
On some issues, they must walk a tricky line: GOP nominee Bush, for example, strongly
believes in reducing regulation, but also knows that Internet privacy is a big issue with
voters. Neither candidate has said much about antitrust issues, though the Microsoft case
is a big issue in the tech community. (Notably, Microsoft chief Bill Gates hasn't given
money to either candidate.) Neither has said much about copyright protection, another
top-rank issue. The music industry may hate Napster, but millions of people like the idea
of downloading music on the Internet for free.
Bush has reached out to a wide circle of tech-savvy players, including computer magnate
Michael Dell and Cisco Systems Chief Executive John Chambers, for advice on tech issues.
Democratic nominee Gore tends to rely on his own long-standing expertise on tech issues.
He can speak knowledgeably and spontaneously on issues such as Internet II and the digital
divide.
Philosophically, Bush believes in smaller, less intrusive government, while Gore believes
government has a bigger role to play on economic issues.
"A lot of Republicans have made jokes about Gore saying he created the Internet, but
the fact is that he really believes that government created the Internet," said Floyd
Kvamme, a partner at the Silicon Valley high-tech venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins
Caufield & Byers and one of California's 324 delegates to the Republican National
Convention in Philadelphia.
"Bush," Kvamme adds, "believes the Internet was created by the
entrepreneurs."
Gore tends to be his own adviser on tech issues, while Bush has formed a 350-member Bush
for President High-Tech Council, chaired by Chambers of Cisco, to guide him.
"Governor Bush is a much newer figure on the political scene, so for many months he
has been trying to organize key leaders," said Harris Miller, president of the
Information Technology Association of America. While Miller identifies himself as a
Democrat, he says he is pleased with the positions that both the candidates have taken on
key high-tech issues.
"The vast majority of technology executives are in the Bush camp," said William
Coleman III, a founder and chief executive of BEA Systems, a software firm based in San
Jose, Calif. Coleman also participates in Bush's high-tech council.
Last week, however, the Gore campaign sought to gather as many high-tech business leaders
of its own as possible, asking them to sign a joint letter of support for the Democratic
candidate. The letter is due to be released today to coincide with a Silicon Valley Gore
fund-raiser.
Gore supporters already include such chief executives as Eric Schmidt, chairman of Novell;
Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer Corp.; and Meg Whitman, CEO of eBay.
On the stump, Gore often links technology issues to such broader themes as the need
"to help American workers beat the foreign competition to 10 million new high-tech
jobs."
A blurb on the Gore Web site says: "From early in his congressional career, Al Gore
has focused on the potential of the information technology age. Al Gore has worked to
connect every classroom in America to the Internet, promoted privacy online, advocated
faster Internet connections and he has become a prime advocate for the development of the
Next Generation Internet."
Gore also favors targeted tax cuts aimed at increasing investment in high-tech research
and development, open markets in cyberspace and better educational opportunities for young
people that would make them fit to assume their place in the "work force of
tomorrow."
"It's nice the vice president recognizes that high-tech creates high-paying
jobs," said Tom Stohler, director of work force policy for the American Electronics
Association. "But," he added, "it would take a massive restructuring in the
education system and a tremendous investment in training. We don't have the people to fill
those jobs."
Bush also often uses a wide economic lens to examine the items that matter most to
technology executives. He stresses his support for extending the moratorium on Internet
taxation and the need to offer more corporate tax credits to enhance technological
innovation.
"The Democratic platform is silent on the Internet tax," said Tucker Eskew, a
senior communications adviser for the Bush campaign who specializes in technology issues.
"And we view that as our opponent's lack of commitment to coming down against new
taxes."
"They haven't delved deeply into high-tech at all," counters Dagoberto Vega, a
Gore campaign spokesman, referring to Bush's views. "They have not addressed any of
the `digital divide' issues, such as connecting those in disadvantaged areas to the
information highway."
Bush, however, has made educational reform a centerpiece of his campaign, stressing the
need to achieve "the promise of high standards and accountability."
To further his goal of "encouraging continued growth of the new economy" and
ensuring that "all Americans share in its benefits," Bush would dramatically
raise the cap of H-1B immigrant visas, reduce frivolous lawsuits imposed on high-tech
companies and small businesses, strengthen math and science curricula while creating
community technology centers, and provide "assistive" technology to the
disabled.
"You may not think of education as a high-tech issue, but it is the most important
issue to high-tech companies," said Toni Casey, the mayor of Los Altos Hills, Calif.,
who also serves as a consultant to several Internet companies.
David Foote, the managing partner of an information technology compensation and work force
research firm in New Canaan, Conn., notes that both campaigns have ignored what some
industry figures see as a pressing need for Congress to reform employment-related labor
and tax laws "that haven't fundamentally (been) changed in four decades."
Adds Foote: "That's very disturbing (because) these laws will choke our nation's
attempts to field an Information Age work force to meet the enormous challenges of the new
economy and maintain America's competitiveness globally."
High-tech political contributions soar
• So far in the 2000 election cycle, George W. Bush has received $927,000 from
computer makers and computer services companies, $241,000 from the computer software
sector, and $211,000 from telecom services and equipment for a high-tech total of
$1,379,000.
• Al Gore's take has been $429,000 from computer makers, $123,000 from software and
$193,000 from telecom for a total of $745,000.
• Gifts to all candidates and parties, by election cycle: 1992: $4.8 million 1996:
$10.1 million 2000: $20.4 million
• Democrats hold a slight lead in the 2000 money race: Democrats: $10.6 million (52.1
percent of total) Republicans: $9.5 million (46.8 percent of total)
Where leading candidates stand on tech issues
Internet privacy
Al Gore: Calls for legislation to strengthen the protection of financial, medical and
genetic information; would make it a federal crime to buy or sell Social Security numbers.
Calls for an Electronic Bill of Rights so people can control their personal information.
Supports industry self-regulation, but says the tech industry has to do a better job of
that.
George W. Bush: Supports provisions that would require online sellers to seek the informed
consent of customers before trading their personal information. In an interview with
Business Week, he said: ``I'm a privacy rights person. The marketplace can function
without sacrificing the privacy of individuals."
Foreign workers
Gore: Supports raising number of H-1B visas from 115,000 to 200,000 a year, which is what
the industry has sought.
Bush: Supports raising number of visas.
Trade policies
Gore: Crack down on foreign piracy of U.S. intellectual property; pursue an international
agreement to make cyberspace a permanent duty-free zone.
Update export controls to avoid unnecessary restrictions on high-tech exports in sectors
such as computers, telecom equipment and chips.
Bush: Restore presidential trade negotiation authority.
On exports, eliminate restrictions that have no genuine national security purpose and make
sure U.S. companies can sell products and services that are widely available elsewhere.
Create a presidential advisory board on high-tech exports.
Research and experimentation tax credit
Gore: Make it permanent and expand it so small businesses could take better advantage of
it. Ensure that the tax code reflects the rapid obsolescence of high-tech equipment.
Bush: Make the tax credit permanent.
Internet taxation
Gore: Extend the current moratorium on sales made over the Internet for at least two more
years.
Bush: Extend the moratorium for up to five more years. He also supports a permanent ban on
Internet access taxes.
Government online
Gore: Put all government services online by 2003.
Bush: Appoint a governmentwide chief information officer and create a $100 million fund to
support interagency e-government initiatives.
Research
Gore: Increase federal research spending in areas such as cancer, information technology,
alternative energy and defense technologies.
Bush: Increase federal research spending, including $20 billion more a year for military
research and doubling the research budget of the National Institutes of Health.
Tort reform
Gore: He's politically tied to the trial lawyers' community, which opposes any changes in
current laws, citing the need to protect the rights of wronged consumers. He opposed
federal product liability reform when he was in the Senate, but as vice president sided
with the high-tech industry on limiting Y2K litigation.
Bush: As Texas governor, Bush compiled a strong record on this issue, which concerns many
high-tech entrepreneurs. He has proposed federal reforms, including sanctions against
lawyers who are found to have filed three frivolous lawsuits and encouraging moving large
class-action lawsuits from state to federal courts.
Antitrust
Gore: Has not commented on the Microsoft case, but has supported government efforts to
pursue the tobacco and gun industries.
Bush: Also has said little about Microsoft, but smaller, less intrusive government is a
pillar of his political philosophy.
Digital divide
Gore: Says computer literacy is ``a fundamental civil right,'' and would spend more to
bring affordable computer and Internet technology to poor and rural communities and
schools.
Bush: Would spend $400 million over five years to improve the education value of Internet
use in schools.
You may contact Andrew J. Glass at andyg@coxnews.com.
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