The Silicon Valley Leadership Group encourages members of Congress to embrace policy changes to improve US global competitiveness.
Many Leadership Group member companies are headquartered in the greater Silicon Valley area and are committed to staying in the region. However, there is tremendous pressure on employers, particularly those that are publicly traded, to pursue less costly locations for operations. This pressure frequently results in expansion to other states and other nations.
At the same time, our world-class colleges and universities are producing the next generation of innovators and raw talent – yet immigration policies and cost-of-living challenges too frequently prevent those young people from staying here after they graduate.
We have been encouraged by the interest shown in economic competitiveness issues on both sides of the aisle, and are delighted that the Innovation Agenda is a top priority for Congress. Listed below are the issues we have prioritized for 2007:
Reforms to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
We are supportive of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) insofar as it has created increased management accountability, improved internal controls, greater transparency, and improved fraud detection. However, we have significant concerns regarding the implementation of Section 404(b) of the act, which has proven onerous and expensive to the companies who are “accelerated filers”. In the interest of American competitiveness, we ask that smaller companies be exempted from this burden, and that all companies get the guidance and certainty we need to return us to the intent of the act - at the more reasonable costs anticipated by Congress when it was passed.
Enhanced, Permanent Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit
R&D is the foundation of the innovation economy in Silicon Valley. California has an attractive R&D tax credit which helps keep those activities in an otherwise high-cost state. However, the outdated basis and uncertainty of the federal tax credit has led some to question the commitment of the US to keeping research and development here. We would like to see the credit become permanent along with including the Alternative Simplified Credit modification and Alternative Incremental Research Credit enhancement.
Oil Dependency and Climate Change
The Leadership Group and its member companies are committed to reducing our oil dependency, decreasing our carbon emissions, and increasing R&D in fossil fuel alternatives. We supported AB 32, California’s sweeping new greenhouse gas bill, and hope we are able to work with our delegation to address these issues on a national scale, as well.
Our Workers and Jobs
Silicon Valley employers are passionate about education and job training that gives us the workforce we need for today and tomorrow. Much of our focus as an organization is on improvements to the pre-K-16 system, where we advocate for better teacher training, strengthened curriculum, and greater accountability. We also recognize that our incumbent workforce needs continuing education and, as our economy changes, in retraining to meet new demands. We believe that the National Science Foundation will continue to be a focal point for developing programs and solutions to address education and workforce issues, and encourage enhanced funding for those functions.
Positive Immigration Reforms
We support a thoughtful approach to immigration reform that assures the talent we develop here can stay here. We also support strengthening and expanding the H-1B and EB visa program so that highly skilled workers can participate in our economy, regardless of their nation of origin. In recent years, policy changes have led to the unintended consequence that some foreign-born students training at our universities are not able to stay here when they graduate. At the same time, India and China are rapidly expanding their capacity to produce engineers and other sought-after professionals. We encourage Congress to consider our ability to attract and retain talent here in the U.S. as an important component of any immigration policy adopted.
Import/Export Issues
We are advocates for reasonable policies on key business concerns, including China Export Controls and Air Cargo, which balance concerns for national security with those of our truly global markets.
