GOP High-Tech Task Force Says Agenda Meshes with Democrats’
Republicans are eager to work with Democrats on broadband deployment legislation, Sen. Smith (R-Ore.) said Wed. at a new conference announcing the agenda of the GOP high-tech task force. Smith, task force chmn., said GOP goals mesh with Democrats’ efforts, such as House Speaker Pelosi’s (D-Cal.) innovation agenda released Tues. “Democrats are starting to mimic us,” Smith said, calling many of Pelosi’s ideas derivative of Republicans’.
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The GOP agenda calls for spreading broadband technology by minimizing regulation on new Internet services. It also says that it would ensure that next-generation broadband products and services get delivered to all Americans through “sound spectrum policies that maximize efficiency.” The agenda calls for revamping the Universal Service Fund program to encourage delivery of communications services to rural areas while minimizing waste and abuse.
Tax incentives are a major part of the policy platform. The task force is promoting legislation that would make permanent the Internet tax moratorium, promote a research and development tax credit and repeal the federal excise tax on telecom services. The task force also advocates tax policies that would accelerate depreciation schedules for technology and broadband equipment, to encourage deployment of products and services. Sen. Sununu (R-N.H.) is pushing a bill that would allow white spaces in the broadcast spectrum to be used commercially, which could spur broadband deployment.
“We've got a lot more work to do,” Smith said. “Studies show that the U.S. continues to fall behind” in broadband deployment. “Congress can and must promote” policies to change this, he said. It’s also crucial that lawmakers not to delay the Feb. 2009 DTV deadline. Sen. Hatch (R-Ore.) said he had worked 2 years on an R&D tax credit, which he views as crucial to the high-tech industry.
Smith said he supports measures such as one proposed by Sen. Durbin (D-Ill.) Tues. to promote broadband deployment. It would set up a matching-grant program, run by the Commerce Dept., to help public-private partnerships increase broadband access. Durbin called the public-private model “an important first step in building out broadband networks.” The legislation would create a clearinghouse of technical assistance and grant writing experience.
USTelecom praised the Republican task force agenda for seeking to help the industry, and promised cooperation advancing its proposals. Vice Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska) of the Senate Commerce Committee said he’s glad to see a focus on broadband deployment: “Universal service reform and extending the Internet tax moratorium are critical issues before the Committee this year… I look forward to working with Senator Smith and the other members of the task force as we work on promoting this agenda.”