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“It's impossible to be in every state capitol everyday to lobby for or against bills that affect our bottom line. AeA's state government affairs team sure makes my job a lot easier."
Jim Wall,
Manager, Western States, Government Relations, Symantec Corporation
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U.S. Competitiveness Issue Gaining Momentum in Washington, DC Political Sphere  Ten months ago, AeA
released its
report Losing the Competitive Advantage? The Challenge for Science and Technology in the United
States. Business writers across the country gave the report favorable coverage, but official Washington initially ignored the issue.
At that time, a debate on competitiveness could have been held in a phone booth.
AeA was trying to sound the alarm that American preeminence in science and technology is at risk as countries around the world are becoming dramatically more competitive.
They are following the U.S. blueprint for creating wealth and innovation while the United States has all but abandoned this blueprint.
Patience and persistence, we soon discovered, were essential in pushing this debate forward.
We are belatedly seeing our political leaders take on the issue of competitiveness.
Democrats and Republicans in both the House and Senate have proposed legislation focusing on reinvesting in long-term basic research, educating the next generation of scientists and engineers, and welcoming the best and brightest minds on the planet to the United States.
AeA has been pivotal in sparking this debate.
I have briefed over 80 Members of Congress on our report, and many of the current legislative proposals are based on our efforts.
As Silicon Valley Rep. George
Miller (D-CA)  told me, “The AeA report was the catalyst for waking up those of us in the policy world to the issue of competitiveness.”
Now it is time for the Bush Administration to take the ball and run with it.
We see encouraging signs that this is happening.
AeA, along with other groups, has briefed White House staff on the issue, and we are cautiously optimistic that the President will address competitiveness in his upcoming State of the Union speech.
Recently, two prominent columnists, Mort
Kondracke of Roll Call and David Broder of the Washington
Post, have urged the President to take on this issue.
They argue that investing in innovation is a positive, winning agenda that is clearly good for the country.
We couldn’t agree more, and AeA intends to keep sounding the alarm until we have action.
Best regards,
William T. Archey
(bio)
President and
CEO, AeA
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AeA Chairman Meets With European
Commissioner and Members of European Parliament
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 Tom
Edman (bio), AeA Chairman
and CEO of Applied Films
Corporation, traveled to Brussels, Belgium,
from November 30 – December 1, 2005, for a range of meetings with European officials that included the Commissioner for Information Society and Media, Viviane Reding, and several Members of the European
Parliament.
Commissioner Reding was particularly interested in discussing the
AeA Competitiveness study issued last February and how the EU might learn from the
U.S. experience as it strives to implement its competitiveness strategy known as the Lisbon Agenda.
While some of the issues for the
U.S. and EU are different, there is a shared concern over the growing challenge from
India and
China, lack of adequate funding for research, and the loss of engineering talent.
The Commissioner seemed especially interested in hearing from Tom Edman and
representatives from Intel and
Texas Instruments about programs they have for cooperation with universities and technical schools around Europe.
AeA will continue to work with
Commissioner Reding on how AeA member companies can contribute
to implementation of her innovation and growth strategy.
Over a working lunch in the European Parliament building with five Members of the European
Parliament (MEP): James Elles; Karl-Heinz
Florenz; Robert Sturdy; Erika Mann; and Ignasi Guardans, the Chairman and senior representatives from
AeA
Europe companies discussed transatlantic economic and regulatory cooperation, EU economic and political developments,
environment
issues, and competitiveness. Several MEPs would like to see deeper integration between the
U.S. and EU on investment, trade, standards, and research to increase economic growth and create a framework for global competition.
In the area of environment, they hoped to move beyond differences over
Kyoto to focus on practical issues related to controlling carbon dioxide emissions and developing alternative energy sources.
They were open to company comments on specific legislation such as the chemicals registration directive (REACH) and the directive on
restricting hazardous substances
(RoHS).
The Chairman also met with Mike McKinley, Deputy Chief of the
U.S. Mission to the EU, to thank his team for their support and close cooperation with AeA Europe
and get his perspective on progress in the area of
U.S. – EU regulatory coordination. Through these meetings and others scheduled during the intensive two day program for the Chairman, AeA reinforced with the Commission and the Parliament its value as a resource on policy and technical issues impacting the high-tech sector.
Rob Mulligan (bio)
Senior Vice President, International
For more information on the International Issues affecting your company, visit:
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Congress Finishes Year with
Limited Results
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 Immigration:
AeA backed immigration provisions were NOT in final budget reconciliation legislation.
By a 51-50
vote , with Vice President Cheney being the tie-breaking vote, the Senate on December 21,
2005, passed the budget reconciliation package that the House passed
a few days earlier.
Unfortunately, language that AeA supported that would have increased H-1B visa and green card numbers over the next five years was not included in the package.
However, the reconciliation package also did NOT include a proposed $1,500 fee on L-visas (intra-company transfers) which the House had sought and which AeA opposed.
AeA is disappointed that the favorable language was not included in the final reconciliation package, but AeA staff will continue to work on these important immigration issues next year.
Math and Science: In good news, the final Senate package included additional monies in the form of scholarships and Pell Grants for juniors and seniors in college who are studying math or science.
The SMART Grant program, introduced by Senate Majority Leader
Bill Frist (R-TN)
among others, is a great incentive to encourage students to study math or science.
R&D Tax Credit Expires for 12th Time:
On December 31, 2005, the R&D tax credit expired for the 12th time.
Both the House and Senate have passed separate tax reconciliation bills that would have strengthened and extended the credit; however, Congress adjourned for 2005 before a final agreement could be reached.
Conferees on the tax reconciliation bills are expected to be announced in early 2006 to iron out differences and finalize a proposal.
AeA is optimistic that a strengthened R&D credit will move forward in February or March.
John Palafoutas (bio)
Senior Vice President, Domestic Policy and Congressional Affairs
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Attend
the AeA State Policy Action Network
(SPAN) Conference in San
Francisco
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 Join us Tuesday, January 24 and Wednesday, January
25, 2006, in San Francisco, California for AeA's State Policy Action Network (SPAN)
Conference.
High-tech state government affairs professionals from all over the nation are planning to attend AeA's State Policy Action Network (SPAN) biannual meeting in San
Francisco. This conference will recap all that went on in the 2005 legislative session, and plan for the upcoming 2006 session.
Following a welcome by Bill Archey, AeA's President and CEO
(bio), we'll engage in discussions on important policy issues surrounding high-tech at the state level, and fine-tuning AeA's State Government Affairs program to address all your legislative needs. Sessions include:
- Utilizing AeA's Legislative Tracking System:
Learn how to get the most out of AeA's newest FREE tool for you and your staff's needs.
- Legislative Briefings from AeA's Policy Staff:
AeA policy professionals from around the country will recap 2005 and give a special look-ahead to 2006.
- An Intro to AeA's New
State Government Affairs Website and Database:
Fine tuned to help you find all the info you need, when you need it.
- Policy Agenda Setting:
Help us decide what AeA's policy priorities will be in the states, including discussion on Spyware/Good Samaritan, Database Breach/Security, E-waste, RFID, and more.
- Defining
AeA/SGA's Best Practices: An in-depth discussion with AeA members and staff as we work to make AeA your number one trade association.
Our policy discussion will be kicked off with a keynote federal update by
Archey. Issue tutorials covered will include E-Commerce & Online Safety, E-Waste, and Municipal Broadband issues at the State Level.
When registering at the Clift Hotel, please mention the AeA SPAN Meeting for the special $175 room rate.
For more agenda information, and to register, visit our website at
www.aeanet.org/SPAN06.
For info on the hotel, visit
www.CliftHotel.com.
For information on how you can get involved with
AeA
State Government Affairs (AeA/SGA), please contact Marc-Anthony Signorino, AeA's
Director of State Government Affairs, at Marc-Anthony_Signorino@aeanet.org or at 202.682.4428.
Marc-Anthony
Signorino
(bio)
Director, State Government Affairs
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AeA
offers national financial conferences and
education programs that provide high impact
executive networking, information exchange and
business development opportunities. Join your
colleagues at these worthwhile events in 2006.
Showcase
Your Company to Focused Technology Investors
For
Public Technology Companies
AeA
Micro Cap - May 7-9, 2006
Monterey, California
Featuring 120 publicly traded technology companies
with up to
$200M in market cap or revenues
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Access
350+ investors in one location
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Present
your corporate message & strategies to
investors
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Accelerate
investment interest for your company
For
Privately-Funded Technology Companies
AeA
Venture Forum & Golf Event - March 21-22, 2006
Greensboro, Georgia
Featuring 16 privately funded technology companies
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Present
your investment opportunity to 100+
investors
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Attend
valuable workshops led by industry experts
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Network
with investors and peers on the golf
course
Enrich
the Strategic and Operational Practices of Your
Leadership Team
For
Senior Executives & Managers
AeA/Stanford
Executive Institute - August 13-24, 2006
Palo Alto,
California
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Learn
from renowned faculty and network with 100
tech executives
-
Explore
key elements of successful corporate
stewardship and growth
-
Examine
seven critical business disciplines and best
practices
-
Practice
entrepreneurship and learn tactics to lead
innovation
For
New Managers
AeA/Santa
Clara University Management Program - June
13-16, 2006
Santa Clara, California
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Transition
from being a sole contributor into an effective leader
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Learn
management styles that foster
high-performance and innovation
-
Exchange
perspectives with industry experienced
faculty and peers
For
More Information or to Apply
Contact AeA's
Financial Conferences at 408.987.4234 or
AeA's
Executive Education at 408.987.4276.
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Register
for the AeA 2006 China Trip to Beijing
& Shenzen
Providing Senior Executives Insights
Into Growing U.S. – China Economic Ties
AeA Chairman, Tom Edman
(bio), will be leading the fifth annual
AeA Senior Executive Delegation to China April 4 - 6, 2006.
This trip provides an ideal opportunity to hear from high-tech executives based in
China, as well as leading consultants and political observers, about their experiences and insights into the China market.
Participants will also meet with national and local Chinese government officials as well as the
U.S. Embassy in Beijing.
AeA's
recent Competitiveness
Series paper highlights the
growing economic ties between the U.S.
and China that you will learn more
about during this trip.
In addition to the usual visit to Beijing, this year’s program will travel to Shenzen which is a leading production and R&D center in China for high-tech products including computers, communication equipment, audio visual, optical and electromechanical products.
Located close to Hong Kong, it was designated as China’s first free trade zone.
Its population has grown from half a million people 20 years ago to over 10 million with the highest per capita income in China.
Shenzen is home to some of the most well known Chinese high-tech companies such as Huawei and ZTE.
If you want to know more about the types of meetings and programs you can expect on this trip, see the
Chairman's report from last year that summarizes the highlights from the trip and notes the key benefits to the senior executives that participated.
Register online
or by phone/fax:
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China and the U.S. Are Intricately Linked
Leading Destinations for U.S. High-Tech Exports
2004
(in Billions of Current U.S. Dollars)
Only five countries are larger export destinations for American tech products than China, and trends indicate China could rapidly move up the ranks.
For more details about the importance of China as an economic partner for the United States check out AeA's latest
Competitiveness Series report.
Source:
U.S. Census Bureau
For more
information on Industry Data and AeA Publications visit
www.aeanet.org/research
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The AeA Orange County Council hosted a Sarbanes-Oxley
(SOX) update on December 2, 2005. AeA Board Member Julie Biagini, CFO, Endwave Corporation & Vice Chair of AeA’s National SOX
404 Working Group, facilitated the
discussion that was hosted by FileNet in Costa
Mesa, CA. |
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Dana G. Mead, Chair,
MIT Corporation, moderates the panel of 55 U.S. business
leaders, university presidents, scientists, government leaders,
and association heads -- including AeA's Bill Archey -- at the
National Summit on Competitiveness, hosted by the U.S.
Department of Commerce in Washington, DC, on December 6, 2005. |
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On December 7, 2005, executives from AeA member companies including Cisco, Adobe, Intel, National Semiconductor, Endwave, Symantec, Lexar Media, Comerica, AMD, Infineon Technologies, Korn Ferry International, Silicon Graphics, Governor Schwarzenegger's Office, Congressman Richard Pombo's Office, the Honorable John Dutra, Junior Achievement, and other invited guests attended the
AeA Bay Area Council's Holiday Party hosted in Santa Clara, CA. |
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AeA Welcomes New Member Companies
Axalto, Dell, Experian, and
Yahoo!
AeA continues to see growth in its membership with significant additions to our roster in the last three months.
Axalto:
RFID should be continuing growth area for AeA over the next year, and this is apparent with the membership of Axalto, a French RFID company with U.S. headquarters in Texas.
They have joined Texas Instruments,
Infineon,
Zebra
Technologies, Philips Semiconductor,
HP,
Motorola,
Sun,
Freescale,
Plantronics, and others in AeA’s efforts to protect RFID technology from harmful legislation in the states.
Dell Computer:
Dell re-joined AeA to take advantage of our
state government affairs
network, environmental
program, customs
issues, export
controls, federal procurement
efforts, and to augment their lobbying at the federal level.
Experian Information
Solutions:
Experian will focus on
Spyware and e-commerce issues at both the state and federal level.
Yahoo!:
We welcome Yahoo! and their state government affairs director, Bill Ashworth, back to AeA.
Bill was on AeA staff several years ago and has recently moved from
Microsoft to
Yahoo!. Yahoo! will be focusing on
Spyware and e-commerce issues.
To learn more about how your company can become more involved with AeA’s policy initiatives in 2006, please contact your
local council or visit
www.aeanet.org/committees.
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James Lovegrove
Managing
Director
AeA Europe
P:
+ 32 (0)2 502 7015
F: + 32 (0)2 502 6734
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James Lovegrove is Managing Director of
AeA's
European office in Brussels.
Established in 1990,
AeA Europe focuses on managing issues surrounding environment, regulatory standards, security policy and the impact of EU policies on transatlantic trade, investments, jobs, research, education and community affairs throughout Europe.
Lovegrove is a British national and a convinced European.
He has spent most of his academic and professional life involved in European affairs.
James studied European Studies (politics/administrative law), European Law and French at the University of Kent (UK) and the Institut d’Etudes Politiques (Science Po, France).
He then worked at a Brussels based think-tank (European Policy Centre) on a
publication, "Making Sense of the Amsterdam
Treaty." Once graduated,
Lovegrove worked at Freshfields Bruckhaus
Deringer at both their EU affairs departments in Brussels and Berlin and saw the company grow through two mergers.
During his time at Freshfields, James was awarded a traineeship at DG Competition (European Commission).
James has played an important role in ensuring the continued success of AeA Europe, in particular bringing together an
association coalition between European, Japanese, and American producers of
electronics to lobby jointly on recycling and hazardous substances (WEEE/RoHS).
Most recently, he has created a
series of on-line platforms enabling
members to access and share information, for example technical research on lead solder.
James’ understanding of the EU system and critical policy areas of Environment and Standards are of great help to
AeA members.
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| Date |
Event |
Location |
| Jan. 5 |
CEO Forum |
Gold River, CA |
| Jan. 9 |
AeA Texas Executive Committee Meeting |
Dallas, TX |
| Jan. 9 |
AeA Texas Public Policy Committee Meeting |
Austin, TX |
| Jan. 9 |
Consumer Electronics Buyer Delegations |
San Jose, CA |
| Jan. 10 |
AZ Executive Committee Meeting |
Scottsdale, AZ |
| Jan. 10 |
State Procurement Legislation Roundtable |
Broomfield, CO |
| Jan. 10 |
HR Committee Meeting |
Woburn, MA |
| Jan. 10 |
Human Resources Networking Event |
Portland, OR |
| Jan. 11 |
Operations Roundtable |
Carlsbad, CA |
| Jan. 11 |
Market Briefing:Selling Into China's High Tech Manufacturing |
Redmond, WA |
| Jan. 12 |
Global Product Development Event |
San Diego, CA |
| Jan. 12 |
CEO Forum |
Portland, OR |
| Jan. 12 |
Executive Committee Meeting |
Gold River, CA |
| Jan. 12 |
CIO/CTO Roundtable |
Roseville, CA |
| Jan. 12 |
International Business Series: Doing Business in India |
Richardson, TX |
| Jan. 12 |
AeA January Executive Monthly Member Luncheon |
Alpharetta, GA |
| Jan. 12 |
12th Annual Abacus Awards |
Fort Lauderdale, FL |
| Jan. 13 |
Port Security |
Dania Beach, FL |
| Jan. 13 |
Education Committee Meeting |
Bellevue, WA |
| Jan. 17 |
Membership Committee Meeting |
Redmond, WA |
| Jan. 17 |
Government Affairs Committee Meeting |
Boston, MA |
| Jan. 18 |
AeA Annual Open House 2006 |
Sacramento, CA |
| Jan. 18 |
Federal Appropriations: Funding for High-Tech |
Washington, DC |
| Jan. 18 |
Cyber-Security: Who's Your Gatekeeper? |
Seattle, WA |
| Jan. 18 |
HR Network - Creative Recruiting |
Redmond, WA |
| Jan. 18 |
AeA Texas Business Development Meeting |
Dallas, TX |
| Jan. 19 |
Operations Network - Enterprise Risk Management |
Bellevue, WA |
| Jan. 19 |
HR Roundtable - 'What Keeps HR Executives Up At Night?' |
Atlanta, GA |
| Jan. 19 |
AeA Texas CEO Forum |
Dallas, TX |
| Jan. 19 |
NJ-PA Government Affairs Committee |
Via Telephone Conference Call, NJ |
| Jan. 20 |
AeA Bay Area Council High Tech Legislator of the Year Award |
Pleasanton, CA |
| Jan. 20 |
WA Council Executive Committee |
TBA, WA |
| Jan. 24-25 |
AeA State Government Affairs Conference |
San Francisco, CA |
| Jan. 24 |
AeA Texas CFO Forum |
Richardson, TX |
| Jan. 24 |
Lunch With SEC Commissioner Cynthia Glassman |
San Jose, CA |
| Jan. 24 |
China RoHS Webinar |
Via, Teleconference |
| Jan. 25 |
Creating a Customer Centric Organization |
Costa Mesa, CA |
| Jan. 25 |
HR Roundtable Meeting |
San Diego, CA |
| Jan. 26 |
AeA Texas CEO Forum (Austin) |
Austin, TX |
| Jan. 26 |
Shoji Shiba: From Breakthrough To Transformation |
Santa Clara, CA |
| Jan. 27 |
NJ-PA Executive Committee Meeting |
Clark, NJ |
| Jan. 31 |
Colorado's IT Vision |
Denver, CO |
| Jan. 31 |
AeA Texas HR Forum (Austin) |
Austin, TX |
| Jan. 31 |
Engineering Network - What's Up With Fuel Cells? |
Renton, WA |
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Full Events Calendar
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AeA
(formerly the American Electronics
Association), founded in 1943, is a
nationwide non-profit trade
association that represents all
segments of the technology industry
and is dedicated solely to helping our
members’ top line and bottom line.
We do this in partnership with our
small, medium, and large member
companies by lobbying governments at
the state, federal, and international
levels; providing access to capital
and business opportunities; and
offering select business services and
networking programs.
AeA is the largest association of
high-tech companies in the United
States with 2,500 companies,
representing all segments of the
industry and 1.8 million employees.
You can
find the office closest to you by
clicking here
or entering your zipcode below.
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About AeA
