TechWonk Blog Subsection
TechWonk Blog
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In today鈥檚 political climate, many consider Congress to be dysfunctional, hampered by gridlock, and increasingly out of touch.聽 Few would associate the body with the terms 鈥減ragmatic鈥� or 鈥渇orward-looking.鈥澛犅� Yet, two out of the only six millennials currently serving in Congress, Representatives Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, and Aaron Schock, R-Ill., have teamed up to combat this perception.聽 Last week, [...]
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The U.S. House of Representatives has taken聽an important聽step forward to protect thousands of American jobs at risk by an arbitrary closure of the Federal Helium Reserve.聽 With the House鈥檚 unanimous bipartisan approval (367-0!) on an amended version of H.R. 527,聽the U.S. Senate聽is given聽an opportunity to finally bring this matter to resolution and keep American businesses open and American jobs thriving. [...]
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This week, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh travels to Washington for meetings with President Obama and top Administration officials. Their primary topic: economic growth. But several key policies being pursued by the Indian government would work to restrict the import of innovative products and services into India, setting back that nation鈥檚 economy with ripple effects globally. We鈥檝e written [...]
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With a 97-2 vote, the Senate this afternoon聽has given overwhelming bipartisan support聽to legislation that would extend the life of the Federal Helium Reserve 鈥� the single largest source of helium in the nation and the source for 30 percent of the world鈥檚 total supply.聽聽Right now, the clock is ticking on the thousands of American jobs that are associated with access to the helium reserve.聽聽Current law [...]
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It was the legendary Chief Justice of the United States, John Marshall, who wrote the now famous phrase, 鈥淸T]he power to tax involves the power to destroy鈥︹�� 聽He would likely repeat those words if he could read through the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act, introduced this week by U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich. 聽This legislation, if enacted, would direct the destructive power of the tax code on the global competitiveness [...]
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The news of the last several weeks has been dominated by storylines on government surveillance programs and the level of access that security agencies have into people鈥檚 daily lives. While these reports have continued to develop, there has been little attention focused on solutions. What limits should there be on government programs? What are the ramifications of these programs on the global flow of [...]
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鈥淭he birthplace of the people who possess those minds is not a matter of great interest to us and neither should it be to anyone else. 聽Bringing capable immigrants -- many of whom receive their educations at U.S. colleges and universities -- into our workforce expands our economic growth, makes our companies more competitive internationally and creates more jobs for all workers.鈥� That鈥檚 the message [...]
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Back in July, the Department of Energy issued "Proposed Determinations" of computers and servers as "covered consumer products,"聽 a key step in imposing new DOE energy efficiency regulations on these products.聽聽 91快活林 last week responded in opposition.聽聽 Our comment letters can be found here and here. 91快活林 sees an important role for the U.S. government in energy efficiency, but not what DOE was proposing.聽聽 [...]
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At last, Russia has stepped up and fulfilled its promise to join the Information Technology Agreement (ITA).聽 Today, the WTO is reporting Moscow has joined the agreement, which is regarded by the tech industry as one of the WTO鈥檚 most commercially successful trade pacts. Recall the dust up a couple years ago when Russia seemed to be balking at an earlier commitment to join the ITA as a condition of [...]
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As we enter an increasingly digital and mobile economy, the promise of greater operational efficiency for businesses, consumers, and governments is obvious. 聽 So, too, is the need for greater reliance on data centers. 聽 What may not be as obvious is what this means for a cleaner, greener future, or, as Google queried at their large forum earlier this year, how green is the internet? I expect to have [...]
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