What's Harris Miller up to?
What's Harris Miller up to?
Date: Sunday, January 08, 2006 3:45 PM
JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER
January 08, 2006 No. 1397
Harris Miller, president of the Information Technology Association of
America (ITAA), is the most infamous and despised lobbyist for H-1B and
offshoring to ever walk on the planet Earth. There is good reason for the
malevolence, because nobody has been more responsible for the misery and
economic despair that high-tech workers have felt recently than Harris
Miller. He has devoted his entire career to destroy American jobs, chip
away at worker's rights, and to enrich employers by lowering labor costs.
Unfortunately Harris Miller has been very successful in his career of
American job destruction - and that's why I nicknamed him as Harris "the
Shiller" Miller.
Listed below is a brief rundown on Harris Miller on some major issues:
* Supports unfettered offshoring.
* Supports unlimited H-1Bs and employment based Green Cards.
* Promots electronic voting machines, and opposes using paper receipts so
that each vote can be verified.
All of you that have subscribed to this newsletter for any length of time
have read many stories about Harris Miller throughout the years so I won't
spend too much space talking about what he has done in the past, because
this newsletter is about what he is up to now. If you want to read about
Harris Miller, go to these two webpages and you will find no shortage of
reading to do:
http://www.zazona.com/ShameH1B/Skunks.htm
http://www.zazona.com/ShameH1B/JobDestructionNews.htm
Many websites have additional information, especially ones such as Norm
Matloff's. Use the links page at ZaZona.com to do further research.
A couple of very strange news items have surfaced about Harris Miller. Here
is a brief rundown:
1) Rumors recently started to circulate in the Virginia Democratic Party
that Harris Miller was going to run against Sen. George Allen.
2) Last week Harris Miller announced his resignation as President of ITAA.
CONCLUSION: So what's Harris Miller up to? It appears that he resigned as
President of ITAA in order to devote all his time to the Senatorial race.
For those of you who question how he could consider running as a Democrat,
just keep in mind that his support of unlimited guest worker visas and of
laissez-faire econimic policies towards offshoring are very mainstream in
the Democratic party. There is very little difference between Harris
Miller's view on these subjects with Democrats such as Kerry, Kennedy, and
Hillary Clinton except perhaps most of those Democrats will give rhetorical
speeches saying they oppose offshoring. In that respect, Harris Miller is
more honest.
Harris Miller has had political ambitions in the past, and has been heavily
involved in the Democratic party. Listed below is a brief synopsis of some
of Harris Miller's political activism:
<> Fairfax County Democratic Chairman 6 years
<> Legislative director to former U.S. Sen. John A. Durkin (D-NH)
<> Was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the House of
Representatives in Virginia's 10th Congressional District in 1984. He was
defeated. (Somehow it seems eerily appropriate that "the Shiller" ran in
1984!)
<> Former congressional staff aide and Carter administration official
<> Helped to raise money for candidate Howard Dean
<> Has given $54,675 over the years in Virginia, 100% to Democrats.
ITAA website: I went to the ITAA website to read their official
announcements on Miller's resignation but the website was down at the time
of this newsletter. They must be working on some major changes.
An activist that gets this newsletter did some checking on domains and
found a few interesting tidbits:
harrismiller4senate.com is available
harrismiller2006.org is taken
along with harrismiller2006.com
harrismillerforsenate.com and .org are both taken
Materials used for this newsletter
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2006/01/03/miller_to_run_against_allen.html
Political news
http://news.com.com/IT+industry+watches+Iowa/2100-1028_3-5142848.html
VA Senate Race: The Maverick vs. The Placeholder
http://www.washingtontechnology.com/news/1_1/daily_news/27694-1.html
Laurence named ITAA interim president as Miller chases Senate seat
http://www.kentonngo.com/750volts/?p=468
750 Volts ; Harris Millers Non-Scandal
http://news.com.com/IT+industry+watches+Iowa/2100-1028_3-5142848.html
IT industry watches Iowa
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Information_Technology_Association_Of_America
Information Technology Association Of America
http://vpap.org/donors/results_level2.cfm?key=INH000202644&Year=All&CandFilter=A
Harris Miller's political donations in Virginia
The Washington Post
Monday, February 25, 1985
Section: Washington Business; Newsmakers; Pg. 19
(A dedicated activist paid to have this archived article. He wished to
remain anonymous, but that still won't keep me from acknowleding the
efforts of the dedicated few who fight for American workers.)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2006/01/03/miller_to_run_against_allen.html
Harris Miller (D), a Virginia activist and president of the Information
Technology Association of America, has decided to run for Senate in 2006
against Sen. George Allen (R-VA), according to WTOP. James Webb (D), former
Secretary of the Navy, has also been mentioned for a Senate run, but the
party leadership, including Gov. Warner, wants Miller on the ticket.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://news.com.com/IT+industry+watches+Iowa/2100-1028_3-5142848.html
VA Senate Race: The Maverick vs. The Placeholder
By Greg Priddy
Over the last couple of days, there have been very stong rumors that
Democratic party insiders have begun to coalesce around Northern Virginia
lobbyist Harris N. Miller as their preferred candidate to run against
George Allen for his Virginia senate seat in 2006. The two main
individuals who have indicated publicly that they are seriously considering
running are Miller and former Reagan administration Secretary of the Navy
James Webb, who has switched parties due to his differences with the Bush
administration. I had posted a profile of his views on foreign and defense
policy on Sunday evening of last week, and had argued that he would be a
good source of 'new thinking' in the Democratic party on these issues.
But James Webb also is the kind of candidate who scares the hell out of
certain Beltway Insider [tm] types -- because he's a maverick who isn't
afraid to speak his mind.
Dec 21, 2005 -- 10:26:01 PM EST
He was one of only a handful of former Republican senior officials who
didn't let his (then) affiliation with the Republican party stop him from
calling bull---t on President Bush's Iraq misadventure, in a very loud and
public way. And he certainly doesn't pull his punches, as you can see from
this passage from his (mostly positive) review of Andrew Bacevich's book,
"The New American Militarism: How Americans are Seduced by War."
Running through these pages is the first overt articulation of a
confrontation that has slowly been gathering steam for more than ten years.
This confrontation goes to the core of the American experience. One side is
represented heavily by those with a classical training in America's past
wars (and frequently with experience in having fought them), who would send
American forces into harm's way only if the nation is directly threatened.
The other side is dominated by a group of theorists, most of whom have
never seen the inside of a military uniform, who adhere to an essentially
Trotskyite notion that America should be exporting its ideology around the
world at the point of a gun.
Clearly, this is a guy who calls it like he sees it, and has an independent
streak a mile wide. And my guess is, when insiders at the DSCC, etc, read
his writings, they probably thought he might be a controversial candidate
-- a bit of a maverick, and someone who isn't going to be amenable to
taking orders from the party leadership. ("Psst, Jim, maybe you oughtta
lay off taking about all that Iraq stuff -- stick to the talking points we
gave you.")
Given that these insiders don't think the Virginia race is winnable,
they've taken a page out of the old playbook -- run a 'safe' candidate.
Political parties usually don't leave a major race like a Senate seat
uncontested, the way they sometimes do for House seats, but they often give
the nomination to a party fundraiser in that state more or less as an
honorific, without any expectation that they'll win.
I don't know what's inside their heads, obviously, but that strikes me as
the likely reason for the apparent turn toward Harris Miller -- they don't
expect to win, and he's a safe candidate who will stick to the script and
not make any waves. I think they're wrong, however. I don't have anything
against Miller personally, but in just a half-hour of 'oppo research' on
the web, I was able to home in on an issue that may have been overlooked --
as a lobbyist for the high-tech industry, he's been representing the
interests of the bosses, not the workers, in some very important ways which
have weakened high tech workers' salaries and bargaining power.
As head of the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), Harris
has lobbied relentlessly since the 1990s for expansion of the H1-B visa
program, which is very controversial among tech-sector workers since, by
introducing a supply of much cheaper labor into the U.S. labor market, it
tends to weaken American programmers' and engineers' bargaining power
via-a-vis their employers. Needless to say, that would likely give Miller
a head start on fundraising among those who inhabit the top-floor offices
along the Dulles Toll Road, but it very well might not endear him to the
many tens of thousands of tech workers (and Northern Virginia voters) who
inhabit the cubicles below.
Miller also has been a strong proponent of outsourcing many more Federal
Government jobs, a position that, needless to say, wouldn't exactly endear
him to another huge very-Democratic-leaning constituency in Northern
Virginia.
Of course, George Allen would support the ITAA on these issues as well, but
these issues are going to get a lot of airplay, and they're not going to
help Miller achieve the sort of turnout in Northern Virignia which he would
need to beat Allen. Anyway, my point in all this is to underline the fact
that Harris Miller isn't a 'safe' candidate. He will make some waves as
well...
If we want to have any chance of beating George Allen, we need someone who
will make some noise, and even if James Webb didn't win, his
pull-no-punches style would leave Allen bruised enough to be less of a
contender in 2008, which is in itself an important goal -- and a 'safe'
placeholder candidate wouldn't do that.
Neither Miller nor Webb has made anything official yet, nor has the DSCC.
This is all in the realm of 'well-sourced rumor' for now. So we still have
time to act.
Some friends of mine have set up a web-based petition, where we are
collecting the names of people who would like to encourage James Webb to
run. If you'd like to add your name, click here. Even if you're not in
Virginia, sign up -- we want to show that we can tap the blogosphere for
financial support, the same way it happened for Paul Hackett.
And if I still haven't convinced you, read my post from last week.
Wouldn't you like to have this guy out on the hustings, taking on George
Allen in a pull-no-punches fashion, and trying to get the U.S. on the path
back to a saner foreign policy? (That's why he's no longer a Republican,
after all.)
If I have convinced you, click here to email this post to a friend or two,
or you could email it to yourself and forward it more widely...
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.washingtontechnology.com/news/1_1/daily_news/27694-1.html
Laurence named ITAA interim president as Miller chases Senate seat
01/05/06
By William Welsh,
Deputy Editor
Sybases Robert Laurence will serve as interim president of the
Information Technology Association of America, succeeding Harris Miller,
who said he might announce his candidacy for the U.S. Senate next week.
Miller, who resigned from the ITAA Wednesday, said he is considering
running as the Democratic challenger against GOP incumbent George Allen of
Virginia, who is up for re-election in November.
The ITAA board of directors appointed Laurence to lead the group while ITAA
searches for a permanent president. Laurence will continue with Sybase Inc.
while serving with ITAA.
Laurence is vice president of public sector with Sybase of Dublin, Calif.,
which offers enterprise software products and services to assist customers
in managing and transferring information from data centers to point of use.
Laurence has been active in ITAA since the early 1990s. His past service to
ITAA includes stints as chairman, vice chairman and a member of the board
of directors, as well as a member of the Enterprise Solutions board of
directors. He also served as chairman of the World Information Technology
and Services Alliance, of which ITAA is the secretariat.
In a written statement announcing his appointment, Laurence said he plans
to focus on helping ITAA continue building membership and programs.
Originally posted at 3:49 p.m., Jan. 5. Updated at 10:00 a.m., Jan. 6.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.kentonngo.com/750volts/?p=468
750 Volts ; Harris Millers Non-Scandal Wednesday, January 4th, 2006
Harris Millers Non-Scandal Democrat Harris Miller announced to WTOP that
he
would be challenging George Allen. Miller is currently the only candidate
officially in the race, although persistent rumors and a draft campaign
surround
another Democrat, James Webb.
Reaction to Miller has been mixed within the Democratic Party, with some in
the
party vehemently opposing Miller on the grounds that he supported
outsourcing
(see this comments thread, for example). A reader sent me a few links about
Miller, citing "baggage".
Date: Jan 4, 2006 8:53 AM
Attached is a link to the insider trading complaint
against Virginia US Senate candidate Harris Miller.
http://www.bermanesq.com/pdf/ITTEducational-AmdCplt.pdf
He sold $934,000 in ITT Educational stock after he
learned that the government was investigating the
company for fraud, but before the information was made
public.
Dow Jones news story
http://w4.stern.nyu.edu/news/news/2004/march/0315dj.htm
His companys stock dropped by over 50% after the
F.B.I. agents raided the company offices, but by the
Miller had already cashed out.
Did we have a scandal on our hands?
On August 19, 2004, a class-action insider-trading complaint was filed in
the
Indianapolis US District Court. The case, Austin Police v. ITT, (04-0380-C
H/K)
stemmed from allegations of insider trading. Among the defendants was
director
Harris Miller.
On March 9, 2004, ITT disclosed in filings to the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) that it was under investigation by the Department of
Justice
and the Attorney General of California in addition to the SEC. ITT
disclosed
that it knew of the California investigation in August 2002, which left a
17
month period where it knew of the investigation and the shareholders did
not.
ITT was accused of falsifying enrollent figures and attendance, inflating
grades
to increase federal Title IV funding, and violating GAAP and SEC reporting
requirements.
The class action suit alleged that Miller and his co-defendants sold their
ITT
shares, acting on their knowledge of the DOJ and California probes, and
dumped
them at artifically high prices before the March 9 disclosure, which caused
ITT
stock to tumble 50%. In this period between the beginning of the California
probe and its disclosure, Miller sold ITT shares twice. Miller sold 10,000
shares on October 22, 2003 at $49.04, and 8,000 shares on January 28, 2004
at
$55.50, totaling 18,000 shares and $934,000 for Miller. ITT stock fell
after the
discolsure of the California probe from $34.87 on March 8 to $28.29 at
close of
trading March 15. Millers codefendants had, before that, sold 826,166
shares
for a total of $27,501,566, allegedly with insider information.
$934,000 on insider trading sounds rather damning, however, thats not
all there
was to it.
On June 24, 2005 the United States Attorney Generals office informed
ITT, which
led the Department of Justice investigation informed ITT that the
investigation
had been ended, citing lack of evidence. On July 25, the SEC also
terminated its
probe.
The plaintiffs argument was that ITT did not properly disclose of the
false
attendance and enrollment figures and did not disclose of California
investigation, allowing the 10 co-defendants to cash in on their shares
before
the information became public. On September 14, 2005, Judge David F.
Hamilton
dismissed the case, agreeing with the defendants argument that the
allegations
of fraud were based on testimony from witnesses the plaintiffs could not
prove
had actually been ITT employees or knew of their allegations firsthand, or
that
they occured in the class period, if at all. The sale of stock occured over
a
14-month period, and Hamilton determined that the simple knowledge of an
investigation was not enough to merit an accusation of insider trading.
In the end, it was determined all of the allegations were simply hot air.
The
California investigation in question was settled in October 2005, with an
admission that some grades were inflated, but that it led to only 49 extra
grants. This story of insider trading and fraud was not to be.
Virginia Politics | 11:12:31 PM |
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://news.com.com/IT+industry+watches+Iowa/2100-1028_3-5142848.html
IT industry watches Iowa
By Declan McCullagh
Story last modified Tue Jan 20 06:40:00 PST 2004
Democratic presidential candidates have remained relatively quiet on
technology, but as primary season gets under way, the "offshoring"
controversy could provide a catalyst to raise the profile of high-tech
concerns in the campaign.
News.context
What's new:
The race for the Democratic presidential nomination gets under way in Iowa
and New Hampshire.
Bottom line:
The movement of U.S. tech jobs overseas could provide a catalyst to
higher-octane discussions of high-tech concerns in the Democratic
presidential primaries.
More stories on this topic
The flow of U.S. manufacturing jobs overseas has been a recurring theme of
the Democratic debates leading up to Monday's Iowa caucuses and next week's
New Hampshire primary, in a jab at President George W. Bush. As a result,
lobbyists are closely tracking the positions of Democratic candidates on
offshoring, which many companies argue is necessary to preserve their
competitiveness.
"One of the concerns I have is what happens in this situation when, in
their eagerness to create a policy issue, some of them have engaged in a
lot of antitrade rhetoric and antiglobalization rhetoric," said Harris
Miller, president of the Information Technology Association of America
(ITAA). "From the association's perspective, it will be an ongoing concern
if it turns into a hard-and-fast policy concern in the general election."
Offshoring offers among the biggest technology interests in a campaign
where neither Democrats nor Republicans have weighed in on hot-button
technology topics such as spam, computer security, Internet taxes and
online piracy.
Along with Reps. Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., and Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio,
Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry has positioned himself against the technology
industry on offshoring.
"In the U.S. alone, the value of IT services provided by offshore labor
will double to $16 billion next year and triple again to $46 billion by
2007," Kerry's campaign Web site states. The site indicates that if
elected, Kerry would try to slow the practice. Kerry also introduced
legislation in November that would require employees of offshore call
centers to identify their location.
ITAA's Miller, who says he has helped to raise money for candidate Howard
Dean in a personal capacity, says IT companies would "be very disappointed
in any presidential candidate who has made a fundamental of his campaign
that he would remove the U.S. from a leadership role on trade
issues...obviously this is a lot of posturing in the primary. We know that
candidates in both parties have last-minute changes of heart when they have
to go out in front of the general electorate."
Applause from industry
Probably the candidate with the most extensive record on technology is
Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman, who has been active in Congress in areas
as diverse as privacy, free trade and video games. That should be no
surprise. Lieberman, who is polling in the single digits in Iowa and New
Hampshire, is likely the Democrat with the least regulatory views on taxes
and trade--crucial concerns to any industry with a global focus.
"Clearly Lieberman has the most articulated and defined positions and
record in support of technology," said Dave McCurdy, president of the
Electronic Industries Alliance, an umbrella organization of technology
trade associations that comprises about 2,300 member companies. "Without
question, he's more pro-high-tech even than the Bush administration."
Last May, Lieberman won the endorsement of technology executives and
venture capitalists, including John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins Caufield &
Byers, and Handspring CEO Donna Dubinsky. Other Lieberman endorsers were
Henry Samueli, chairman and chief technology officer of Broadcom; Dan
Scheinman, a vice president of Cisco Systems; and John Freidenrich of the
Bay Partners venture capital firm. Lieberman has received a "life rating"
of 100 percent from the Information Technology Industry Council, which
compiles lists of technology votes in Congress, with an emphasis on trade.
Before the 2000 election, Lieberman sided with the tech industry on key
issues: lifting the cap on H-1B visas, renewing the moratorium on Internet
taxes, extending the research and development tax credit, and promoting
antispam legislation, among others. But on social issues, Lieberman has
often drawn fire from civil liberties and First Amendment groups for his
dogged campaigns against Internet prurience and video game violence. He has
condemned video game makers for excessive violence, saying last year that
the PlayStation 2 game "Grand Theft Auto III" was "sick and indefensible."
He's also pressured companies such as Best Buy, Circuit City and Wal-Mart
Stores to stop selling violent games to minors.
Another issue, Lieberman has advocated an ".xxx" or ".sex" top-level domain
for pornographic content on the Internet. "This idea, which would in effect
establish a virtual red-light district...has a lot of merit, for rather
than constricting the Net's open architecture, it would capitalize on it to
effectively shield children from pornography, and it would do so without
encroaching on the rights of adults to have access to protected speech,"
Lieberman told a government commission in June 2000.
Both the Lieberman and Dean campaigns were caught spamming last year,
something that is not restricted by the recently enacted Can-Spam
(Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing) law.
McCurdy of the Electronic Industries Alliance also had kind things to say
about Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, who is tied with Dean in New
Hampshire or leading by a hair, according to polls. "Kerry has made an
effort to reach out to the technology community and is actually pretty
knowledgeable on a number of the issues, though not always lining up (with
us)," McCurdy said. "(Sen. John) Edwards a little less so, and Gephardt is
not even in the ballpark because of his position on trade and outsourcing."
By the numbers
In a rarity among the candidates, former Vermont Gov. Dean has produced an
Internet policy paper, "Principles for an Internet Policy," which outlines
some themes familiar to frequent Net users; It calls, for instance, for the
Internet's end-to-end nature to be protected. But it also reiterates
pro-regulatory themes, calling for more federal spending to achieve
"universal Internet access, regardless of economic or geographic position,"
for example.
Dean's campaign has relied heavily on the Internet for fundraising and
organizing, which has produced a surprisingly strong showing for a
Washington outsider from a state with just three Electoral College votes.
Though Dean had staked out an early lead, he finished third in the Iowa
caucuses, well behind first-place finisher Kerry and the runner-up, North
Carolina Sen. John Edwards.
Former Army Gen. Wesley Clark, who, according to an American Research Group
poll is gaining ground in the days leading up to the New Hampshire primary,
does not list any technology topic on his campaign Web site. Instead, the
site is devoted to touting Clark's proposed tax hikes, foreign-policy
advice, and prescription drug benefits.
Clark did receive more than $830,000 for his lobbying work on behalf of
data-mining firm Acxiom, according to the Center for Public Integrity.
Acxiom is the same company involved in a secret deal last year to use
information on JetBlue Airways customers to create passenger profiles.
Until last fall, Clark was on the board of Acxiom and Entrust, a
Dallas-based company that sells security and digital identity products.
Kucinich warns of how the USA Patriot Act made it easier for police to
wiretap the Internet, and notes that he was the only candidate to vote
against the law. Kucinich also alleged last November that Diebold, which
makes touch-screen voting machines, had unreasonably invoked the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act to silence critics on the Internet.
Chris Hoofnagle, associate director of the Electronic Privacy Information
Center, said Edwards has one of the best privacy records of the Democratic
candidates, whose number also includes the Rev. Al Sharpton.
"Sen. Edwards has twice introduced a spyware bill. It's very strong,"
Hoofnagle said. "It's an opt-in bill...The 'adware' companies of the world,
like Gator, are always trying to seek exemptions from being defined as
spyware. Sen. Edwards' bill didn't make compromises."
Introduced in January 2001, Edwards' Spyware Control and Privacy Protection
Act would have required computer users to give their consent before
software "that includes a capability to collect information about the user"
could be activated. It died in committee.
Overall, however, political experts said technology will not play a central
role in the presidential election season.
"It's safe to say that almost none of the really important Internet and
technology issues will be debated during this campaign," said Adam Thierer,
a policy analyst at the nonpartisan Cato Institute. "In an attempt to shore
up votes and campaign cash for the technology community, all the candidates
will probably just play it safe and stick to bland platitudes and
generalities about how 'technology is vital to the U.S. economy.' It's just
a bunch of hot air."
Thierer predicts that in the weeks leading up to the November general
election, Bush will do the same. "The Bush campaign will be feeding us the
exact same rhetoric and telling us he's the man that really cares about
high-technology and the Internet in America," Thierer said. "But there has
been no coherent vision or policy leadership on these issues from the Bush
White House."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Information_Technology_Association_Of_America
Information Technology Association Of America
From SourceWatch
The Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) -- formerly the
Association of Data Processing Service Organizations (ADAPSO) -- describes
itself as the "the only trade association representing the broad spectrum
of the world-leading U.S. IT industry" -- "one of America's fastest growing
industries," representing more than $800 billion in spending in 2001,
according to ITAA.[1] (http://www.itaa.org/about/index.cfm)
ITAA describes itself in press releases as providing "global public policy,
business networking, and national leadership to promote the continued rapid
growth of the IT industry. ITAA consists of over 400 corporate members
throughout the U.S., and a global network of 50 countries' IT associations.
The Association plays the leading role in issues of IT industry concern
including information security, taxes and finance policy, digital
intellectual property protection, telecommunications competition, workforce
and education, immigration, online privacy and consumer protection,
government IT procurement, human resources and e-commerce policy."[2]
(http://www.itaa.org/news/pr/pressrelease.cfm?ReleaseID=1071000864)
ITAA advances the interests of the IT industry in various ways, such as
doing media outreach (including "virtual press kits")[3]
(http://www.itaa.org/news/source/vpk.cfm); organizing business, investor,
policy (especially tax related), technology and informational events[4]
(http://www.itaa.org/events/index.cfm); publishing reports; maintaining an
extensive speakers bureau; providing "tailored technology business
insurance"; and, of course, lobbying at the state, federal and
international levels of government. ITAA lists 34 employees on its
website.[5] (http://www.itaa.org/about/staff.cfm) According to
Lobbyists.info, 10 of these are registered lobbyists, including ITAA
president Harris Miller. ITAA also uses the Washington DC lobby firms Ruder
Finn, and Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P. as outside consultants.
In addition, ITAA has its own political action committee -- the Information
Technology Association of America's "NET" PAC. The address, phone number,
main contact (Harris Miller), and registered lobbyists for ITAA's "NET" PAC
are identical to those of ITAA itself. The ITAA "NET" PAC focuses on
computer industry and telecommunications legislative issues, according to
Lobbyists.info. ITAA's "NET" PAC spending on political campaigns (a mere
$10,000 or less over the 2004, 2002 and 2000 election cycles) does not
reflect its political influence, though a vast majority of those funds (87%
or higher) went to Republican candidates in 2002 and 2000, according to the
Center for Responsive Politics.[6]
(http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/lookup2.asp?strid=C00317446&cycle=2000)
"Absent campaign [finance] reform, the information technology industry
needs to give money to maintain its accessibility, serve as educators, sell
its case. No question the industry must take part in the political
process," explained Marc Pearl, ITAA Senior Vice-President of Government
Relations.[7] (http://www.opensecrets.org/newsletter/ce56/01connect.htm)
As described by ITAA: "Our goal has been, and will continue to be, working
to promote IT's robust growth and contribution to the 'New Economy.' Direct
lobbying, testifying at congressional hearings, and information sharing
comprise the foundation of ITAA's public policy advocacy program. We also
sponsor, in cooperation with the House and Senate IT working groups,
regularly scheduled Congressional Staff Briefings on the many divergent and
convergent issues confronting our industry, and how these critical issues
can be positively and negatively impacted by government intervention...
Because IT policy permeates outside the Beltway of DC, our efforts extend
beyond Congress, the Administration and Federal agencies. State and local
government, as well as multi-national governmental organizations and,
industry groups and governments are a critical part of our focus and
attention."[8] (http://www.itaa.org/govt/about.cfm)
The more than 350 member companies listed on ITAA's website include such
major computer manufacturers, defense contractors, electronic voting
machine manufacturers, internet-based companies and other major
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