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"The AeA is truly changing my perception of business. It is the only place I know where leaders can meet in
a friendly, relaxed atmosphere, and do business as friends, not as vendors."
Sue Ellen Reager, CEO,
@International Services |
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From the Desk
of...William T. Archey, President & CEO, AeA
AeA Holds Board
Meeting in Washington |
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State,
Federal, and International Lobbying
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David McCormick, Under
Secretary of Commerce for Industry and
Security Addresses AeA Export Controls
Committee |
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H-1B Visa and Green Card
Reform on Hold |
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R&D Tax Credit: Deal
Imminent? |
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Join us for AeA's
State Policy Action Network Conference in Nashville, August
14-15 |
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Monthly
CyberSTAT: High-Tech Wages Pay
Significantly More |
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Access to
Investors |
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Attend the 36th Annual AeA Classic, November 5-8,
2006 in Monterey, CA |
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Select
Business Services
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Take Advantage of AeA's
Cost-Saving Benefits and Services |
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Participate in the Salary Surveys by
September 30 for a chance to win an iPod + HiFi
Stereo Package |
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Business
Networking
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SIMposium 2006:
Driving Business Value on the Technology Frontier |
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Calendar of
July Events
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June Events Photo Gallery
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Additional
Resources
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Working
for You: Meet Your AeA Staffer
Chrissy
Camacho, Director, Public and Legislative Affairs |
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Contact
Information / About AeA / Find Your Local Council
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AeA Holds
Board Meeting in Washington
On June 6-8 AeA held
a board meeting in Washington, DC. Attendance
was high and it was a very hectic 2+ days.
As has been our practice, we dispensed with
the usual policy committee meetings on
Wednesday, June 7 in order to lobby members
of the Congress on the issue of
competitiveness with an emphasis on R&D
funding, programs to increase the number of
Americans graduating with a math and
science background, and
visa reform, especially on
H-1B visas.
The board broke down into groups of 5-7 and
met with over fifty members of the Congress
or their senior staff. It needs to be noted
that the AeA practice is not just to meet
with our friends on Capitol Hill. Rather,
we intentionally arrange meetings with
opponents and/or those who are neutral.
Indeed, when we started the Hill visits six
years ago it was AeA board members who met
with 18 representatives in the House and
persuaded 17 of the 18 to vote
affirmatively on the China PNTR issue.
Some of the impressions of the visits by
the board members are:
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Many
Congressional members do not understand
the H-1B high-skilled worker issue. They
confuse it with the illegal immigration
problem.
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The Congress
agreeing to an immigration bill quickly
is highly unlikely. (The Republican
leadership in the House on June 20
announced that it was going to hold
hearings throughout the country on the
immigration issue and they have no
interest in taking up an immigration bill
until the fall. Our reading is that if
there is going to be an immigration bill
it will be in a lame duck session after
the November election).
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Some board members
were surprised that a number of
conservative Republicans were either
opposed or lukewarm about visa reform.
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It sure is chaotic
on Capitol Hill.
On the same evening as
our Capitol Hill visits AeA held its annual
Technology for Government Dinner. This
dinner has become the premier networking
event between the high-tech industry and
the government, especially for the procurement
officials within the U.S. Government. We
sold 575 tickets and the most surprising
occurrence was that over 550 leaders
attended the event. The audience was also
greeted with a stimulating speech by
Jim Balsillie,
the Chairman and Co-CEO of Research in
Motion.
Finally, on June 8, we had the regular
board meeting. One of the guest speakers
was Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina
who has introduced a bill to provide relief
for smaller companies from certain
requirements of
Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404. While it is
unlikely that Senator DeMint’s bill will be
in play this year, the Senator indicated he
will bring the bill back next year with the
new Congress. In addition to a discussion
on Sarbanes-Oxley there was also a lengthy
discussion on the issue of patent reform.
Two large member companies with opposing
views gave presentations on patent reform.
A lively discussion ensued and there will
be further dialogue between now and the
October board meeting when AeA is likely to
take a final position on patent reform.
Again, a terrific attendance by board
members, an even greater engagement on the
issues, important visits to Capitol Hill
and also the White House, important
discussions and if you will, in some
instances, debates on changes to
Sarbanes-Oxley, and the pros and cons of
certain changes in patent law and
regulations.
Bill Archey (bio)
President & CEO
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David McCormick,
Under Secretary of Commerce for
Industry and Security Addresses AeA
Export Controls Committee |
On Wednesday,
June 14th, 45 members of the
AeA Export
Controls Committee gathered to hear Under
Secretary McCormick discuss US-China high
technology trade, the upcoming proposed
rule on China export licensing, recent
developments for deemed exports, and the
current priorities of the Bureau of
Industry and Security. Mr. McCormick stated
that the soon to be published proposed rule
will have a 120 day comment period and he
stressed the importance for industry to
provide quantitative data and objective
comments with regard to the effect on high-tech exports to China. One aspect of the
rule will be to establish certified
importers in China for civilian purposes,
thereby reducing the licensing burden for
companies in critical sectors such as
semiconductor equipment and electronics.
The committee also met with Judah Ariel,
Legislative Assistant, and Eric Chambers,
District Business Representative, for
Congressman Earl Blumenauer, 3rd District,
Oregon. They provided an overview of the
congressman’s experience and interest in
the U.S. export control system. This
briefing came as a follow up to an earlier
meeting that some members of the
Legislative Subcommittee had with Rep.
Blumenauer on how to move forward with
renewal of the Export Administration Act.
AeA will be working with Congressman
Blumenauer’s staff in order to develop some
export control principles that can be used
for an information campaign as well as
potential legislation during the next
session of Congress.
On Thursday, June 15th, 28 members of the
AeA Customs Committee received updates from
Robert Altneu, Tom Beris and Kelly Herman,
attorneys in the Office of Regulations and
Rulings, Customs and Border Patrol (CBP)
and Scott Baker, Nomenclature Analyst, and
David Beck, Acting Director, Office of
Tariff Affairs and Trade Agreements, US
International Trade Commission (ITC). They
provided a thorough overview of the World
Customs Organization (WCO) and the process
to provide input on the development of the
harmonized system nomenclature (HS) used by
169 member countries. They especially noted
the need to act now on identifying issues
that should be raised for consideration as
part of the HS2012 rewrite process. AeA has
led the high tech industry in providing
input on the HS2007 and will continue to do
so for the HS2012.
Committee members also heard from Joseph
Rees, Director, Importer Self-Assessment
Program, and Jack Palmer, Senior Auditor,
Regulatory Audit Division, CBP who provided
updates on CBP’s regulatory audit programs
including the new initiative Quick Response
Audits (QSA).
Participation on these committees is free
to all AeA members. For more information or
to join, contact Ken Montgomery at
ken_montgomery@aeanet.org or to learn
more about all of AeA’s International
committees contact Rob Mulligan at
rob_mulligan@aeanet.org.
Rob Mulligan (bio)
Senior Vice President, International
For more information on the International Issues affecting your company, visit:
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H-1B Visa and
Green Card Reform on Hold |
House Republican leaders have called
for field hearings on a Senate-passed comprehensive immigration
reform bill that includes important provisions for the high-tech
industry on
H-1B visas and green cards. The hearings will be conducted
in July and August, all but assuring that the House will NOT
take action on the legislation prior to the elections.
Although both the US House of Representatives and US Senate have
passed immigration bills, House leaders were reluctant to
appoint conferees who would try to knock out a compromise
between the two bills. Given the controversial provisions on
illegal workers in this country, lawmakers did not want to force
a vote before November. AeA believes that this issue will be
rejoined in a lame duck session of Congress that will probably
start in late November. AeA will continue to work with members
of the House and Senate to ensure that provisions on H-1B visas
and green cards are part of any immigration bill passed this
year. Stay tuned.
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R&D Tax
Credit: Deal Imminent? |
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Congressional leaders are hinting
that a deal on a seamless extension of a strengthened
R&D tax credit could occur prior to the July 4th recess.
Although AeA has been pressing for a minimum extension to the
end of 2007, lawmakers have been pretty squirrelly on making any
commitments. It’s possible that the extension could only last to
the end of this year. Don’t hold your breath.
John Palafoutas (bio)
Senior Vice President for Domestic Policy & Congressional
Affairs
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Join us for AeA's
State Policy Action Network Conference in Nashville, August
14-15 |
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Join us Monday
August 14 and Tuesday, August 15th in
Nashville, Tennessee for AeA/SGA's
State
Policy Action Network (SPAN) Conference,
timed to coincide with the National
Conference of State Legislature's (NCSL)
32nd Annual Meeting in Nashville
High-tech state government affairs
professionals from all over the nation are
planning to attend AeA's
State Policy Action Network (SPAN),
to recap the 2006 legislative session,
and plan for the upcoming 2007 session.
Attendees will 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.
The discussion will be kicked off
with a keynote federal update by
Bill Archey, AeA's President & CEO. Issue
tutorials covered will include
E-Commerce & Online Safety, E-Waste, RFID
and Broadband issues at the State
Level.
When registering at the
Sheraton Music City
Hotel, please mention the AeA SPAN Meeting
for the special $135 room rate.
For more agenda
information, and to register, visit our
website at
www.aeanet.org/SPAN06.
Marc-Anthony Signorino (bio)
Director/Counsel, Technology &
Environmental Policy
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Monterey, California - November
5-8, 2006
Join us at the
36th annual AeA Classic,
taking place at the Monterey
Conference Center, November 5-8.
The conference will feature
presentations from public AeA
member companies with a market cap
or revenues of $100 million to $4
billion. Companies will benefit
from the opportunity to gain
visibility and develop business
contacts with 750+ investors.
Unique to the AeA Classic, each
presenting company will be
assigned to their own private
meeting room, where they conduct
multiple 45-minute meetings with
investors. The format allows for
an effective exchange of
information and powerful
networking opportunities.
-
Develop and maintain business
relationships
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Save time and money by seeing
multiple investors in one location
-
Accelerate investment interest
Contact
Melissa LaVigna at
408.987.4236 to guarantee your
spot. Visit
http://www.aeanet.org/classic
for more information.
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To help member
companies reduce operating costs, AeA partners
with leading service providers to offer special
AeA rates and exclusive benefits on day-to-day
business expenditures. All employees of member
companies may utilize these services:
Your company's
participation in the
AeA Salary Surveys is critical in maintaining
dynamic reports for you and your industry peers.
Submit data to any of the AeA Salary Surveys
between July 1 and September 30 and be entered
into a drawing for an Apple HI-Fi Stereo and 4 GB
iPod Nano package ($600 value). All data
submissions are kept strictly confidential.
Get Access to the Data You Need
To help you get the pay data you need quickly
and accurately, the AeA Salary Surveys provide
current, customizable market data that is specific
to the high-tech industry. There are four salary
surveys you can choose to participate in and
access data from, including:
- Technical
Benchmark: Engineering, IT and web development
- Non-Technical
Benchmark: Administration, HR and accounting
- Sales &
Marketing: Sales and marketing positions with
commission details
- Executive:
Executive and upper management positions
Subscribe Today
and Receive 3 Months Free
Purchase access to the Surveys between July 1
- September 30 and you will receive an additional
3 months of access free (15 months for the price
of 12 months).
Participation
Participation is easy. You may submit your
data online, complete an Excel spreadsheet or
provide a copy of another recent survey
submission. To participate or subscribe,
click here or call
AeA's
Survey Support line at 1.800.542.9078.
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September 17
- 20, 2006 ~ Dallas, Texas
AeA is proud to be a conference affiliate for SIMposium 2006. Hosted by the Society for Information Management (SIM), SIMposium is the premier practitioner-driven
conference designed for and by CIOs for peer-to-peer exchange on
technology and business integration best practices.
SIM's annual conference has provided CIOs,
CTOs, and other senior IT executives a host of unique networking
opportunities and access to leading companies and innovations to leverage
their business. As an affiliate sponsor to the conference, AeA
members receive the SIM member pricing ($200 discount compared to
non-members).
Please visit the following link to
register:
http://simposium2006.simnet.org/
Register by June
30, 2006 and receive a free iPOD Shuffle
Learn more!
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High-Tech Wages Pay Significantly More
Tech Wages Are More Than Double
Private Sector Wages in Four States
High-Tech
Wages vs. Private Sector Wages
2004
(in millions of current U.S. dollars)
High-tech
wages in every state significantly
exceeded private sector wages. The
largest differentials were in
California, Idaho, Washington and
Oregon, where tech workers earned an
average industry wage more than double
the average private sector wage. At
the national level, the average
high-tech wage was 85 percent more
than the average private sector wage.
For more details on the technology
industry in your state, see AeA's
recently released report,
Cyberstates 2006: A Complete
State-by-State Overview of the
High-Technology Industry.
This ninth annual edition provides
comprehensive information on the
high-tech industry nationally and
state-by-state by:
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high-tech employment
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high-tech wages
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high-tech payroll
-
high-tech establishments
-
technology exports
-
venture capital investments
-
research and development expenditures
Source:
Cyberstates 2006
For more
information on Industry Data and AeA Publications visit
www.aeanet.org/research
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Attendees at the
Technology
for Government Dinner included U.S. Government Chief
Information Officers, Chief Technology Officers, and procurement
officials from more than 30 Federal military and civilian
agencies. Pictured above: Cheryl Watkins, Symantec; and Scott Charbo,
CIO, DHS |
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On June 14,
Bay
Area/Silicon Valley Executive Director. Betty Baker gave a presentation on
the challenges in the high-tech
industry to Stanford University's Breakfast
Briefings. From left to right: Betty
Baker and Janet Wright,
Director, Stanford Breakfast Briefings,
Stanford University |
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On June 14, AeA members gathered in DC to hear Under Secretary
McCormick discuss US-China High Tech Trade during the
AeA
Export Controls Committee meeting. Pictured are Dana Townsend,
Mercury Computer Systems, Eric Chambers, Judah Ariel,
Congressman Earl Blumenauer's Staff, Bob Rarog, Sun Microsystems. |
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Chrissy Camacho
AeA’s Director,
Public and Legislative Affairs
P:
512.474.4403
F: 512.476.9908 |
Chrissy Camacho is the Director
of Public and Legislative
Affairs for the
AeA Texas Council. In this
role, Camacho is responsible for
working with AeA member
companies, coalitions and state
legislators to shape public
policy important to technology
companies. AeA has become
the recognized voice of the
technology industry, and our
industry has been identified by
the state of Texas as one of the
key economic drivers for the
next 20+ years. Camacho
works with member companies to
provide strong leadership on
state issues that impact their
bottom line, education and the
overall economy of the State of
Texas.
Additionally, Camacho runs AeA's
State Government Affairs (SGA)
Environment Program which
monitors legislation on
Electronic Waste, Energy
Efficiency, Materials
Restrictions, Mandatory Labeling
and Chemical Bans in all 50
states. She holds
weekly meetings/conference calls
with the State E-Waste &
Environmental Working Group.
For more information or to join
this work group, contact
chrissy_camacho@aeanet.org
Before joining AeA, Camacho
served as Senior Associate at
Ross Communications in Austin,
where she worked closely with
AeA on several important
initiatives, including the
Technology Education Consortium
(TEC) and the Texas Engineering
and Technical Consortium. Her
professional experience also
includes positions as Campaign
Director for Michael Williams,
Railroad Commissioner; Policy
Director for State Sen. Florence
Shapiro; and Legislative Aide
for State Rep. Kent Gruesendorf.
Camacho holds a B.A. in
Political Science from St.
Mary's University and is located
in AeA's Austin office.
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| Date |
Event |
Location |
| Jul. 10 |
Texas Public Policy Committee Meeting |
Austin, TX |
| Jul. 10 |
42nd Annual Golf Classic |
Westlake Village, CA |
| Jul. 10 |
AeA Texas Executive Committee Meeting |
Dallas, TX |
| Jul. 11 |
Venture Scene Mid-Atlantic |
Philadelphia, PA |
| Jul. 12 |
Business Development Cmte Mtg |
Seattle, WA |
| Jul. 13 |
AeA HR Roundtable |
Carrollton, TX |
| Jul. 14 |
Education Committee |
Bellevue, WA |
| Jul. 14 |
AeA Tech Board |
San Diego, CA |
| Jul. 14 |
AeA Midwest 1st Annual Golf Outing |
Woodridge, IL |
| Jul. 14 |
East Bay CEO Roundtable |
Fremont, CA |
| Jul. 18 |
AeA Texas Sales and Marketing Roundtable |
Dallas, TX |
| Jul. 19 |
4th Annual Power Surge 2006 |
Sacramento, CA |
| Jul. 20 |
Practical Insights on China 2006 |
North Billerica, MA |
| Jul. 20 |
AeA Sorrento Valley Mixer |
San Diego, CA |
| Jul. 20 |
AeA Texas CEO Forum |
Dallas, TX |
| Jul. 25 |
The EHealth Horizon |
Washington, DC |
| Jul. 25 |
AeA To Ring The NASDAQ Stock Market Closing Bell |
New York, NY |
| Jul. 25 |
AeA Texas CFO Forum |
Richardson, TX |
| Jul. 27 |
NJ-PA Government Affairs Committee |
Via Telephone Conference Call, NJ |
| Jul. 27 |
David McCormick Event |
Menlo Park, CA |
| Jul. 28 |
HR Committee Awards Luncheon |
, |
| Jul. 29 |
OR Council - Party in the Pinot |
West Linn, OR |
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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 about 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.
For
questions or information about this
newsletter,
please contact the AeA
Monthly News Staff via email or at
202.682.4458.
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This page was last updated on 5/25/06.
Copyright © 2006 American Electronics Association. All rights reserved.
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