TechWonk Blog Subsection
TechWonk Blog
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President Obama is in Cuba, the first sitting president to travel to the island in nearly ninety years. His trip kicks off a historic week, as he travels on to Argentina, the only G20 country he has not yet visited during his time in office, and also marks the first bilateral visit by a U.S. president since 1997. As the entire world watches this historic moment, tech companies are paying particularly [...]
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Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), Chairman of the House Committee on Armed Services, has introduced his latest plan to increase acquisition agility and interoperability in programs at the Department of Defense (DOD), and while an iterative approach to true acquisition reform may be effective in the long run, too few steps may stall the momentum. The proposal, the Acquisition Agility Act, is a continuation [...]
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Appearing before the International Tax Policy Forum and Georgetown University Law Center Conference late last week, Jason Furman, Chairman of the President鈥檚 Council of Economic Advisors, threw cold water on an emerging aspect of turbo charging innovation policy鈥攖he American adoption of a so-called innovation box. In his speech, 鈥淓ncouraging Innovation and the Role of Tax Policy,鈥� Furman attempted [...]
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This week marks another important step in what has been a busy year in policy developments for autonomous and connected vehicles. On Tuesday, the Senate Commerce Committee will hold its first hearing exclusively focused on self-driving cars. This comes on the heels of several recent, noteworthy actions in this space: The Department of Transportation (DOT) announced that it will update its 2013 guidance [...]
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Last week, the process to transfer stewardship of Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) from the U.S. government to the wider Internet community reached an important milestone: transmittal of the community-developed transition proposal to the Department of Commerce鈥檚 National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). This helps keep the process on track for the planned handover [...]
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From smartphones to household appliances to cars, today's world is hungry for connectivity to a degree that is outpacing our broadband infrastructure. Last week, the Senate Commerce Committee approved legislation that will make key improvements in the U.S. innovation ecosystem. Sponsored by Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) and ranking member Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), the MOBILE NOW Act (S. 2555), if enacted, [...]
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ITAPS applauds the Virginia General Assembly and Governor Terry McAuliffe (D) for passing into law Senate Bill 150 to better balance the interests of the commonwealth of Virginia and the private sector when it comes to state information technology (IT) projects. The new law delays the evaluation of vendor exceptions to liability provisions until after the technical evaluation of the proposal has been [...]
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Today, House Judiciary Committee lawmakers will get their first opportunity to delve into the complex issues presented by what鈥檚 become known as 鈥渢he Apple case.鈥� As these policymakers examine the implications of encryption technology, we hope they will keep the following five points in mind. First, the women and men who work for U.S. technology companies abhor crime and terrorism. They work each day [...]
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The world is abuzz with curiosity about what the future will be like as we connect cars, appliances, even entire cities with the Internet of Things (IoT). This technology evolution will usher in new opportunities to improve the quality of our lives and create new avenues for economic growth. But it also means policies developed before IoT, like energy efficiency standards, need to evolve so they continue [...]
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International tax policy has been a hot topic inside the Beltway since last year. With all the talk, policymakers and stakeholders alike have wondered what鈥檚 in store for 2016 and beyond. While passage of legislation remains uncertain this year, on Wednesday, the House Committee on Ways and Means helpfully furthered the conversation with its hearing 鈥淭he Global Tax Environment and Implications for [...]
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