AeA Board of Directors Lobby Capitol Hill
Meetings focused on CAFTA, immigration, and competitiveness

Washington, D.C. – 6/15/2005 – The Board of Directors of AeA, the nation’s largest high-tech trade association, spent last week in Washington, D.C. as a part of AeA’s annual D.C. Board meeting.  Executives from 32 high-tech companies held 25 meetings with Members of Congress and staff and the Administration to discuss the United States’ competitiveness in the global marketplace, and to urge Congress to lower immigration restrictions for high-skilled worker (H-1B Visas) and pass the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).

“Opening a dialogue with Members of Congress and key congressional staff is critical to affecting change on these issues,“ said Robert DeKoning, Chief Executive Officer of Tactix, Inc., a leading IT provider based in Portland, Oregon.  “The feedback we received from Members and staff was very positive.  Many are now seeing the urgency for policy changes to keep the United States competitive.”

“As executives from the high-tech industry, we believe that our companies are the growth engine for the US economy,” said Julianne Biagini, Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President, Finance and Administration of Endwave Corporation.   “We are pleased to be able to give input to members of Congress on ways that growth can continue to be achieved.”

Also a part of last week’s events, Anne M. Mulcahy, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Xerox Corporation (NYSE:XRX), delivered the keynote address at AeA’s annual High-Tech Government Dinner attended this year by over 500 people.

Attended by members of Congress, chief information officers and procurement officials from top federal agencies, as well as technology business leaders, AeA's annual High-Tech Government Dinner brings Washington and the technology industry together to discuss policy issues and the role technology solutions can play in meeting government mandates.

Mulcahy spoke on the importance of research and development (R&D) for Xerox, the role it has played in the revitalization of company over the past two years, and how investments in R&D and math and science education initiatives by the federal government are critical to the United States’ competitiveness in the global marketplace. 

“America itself is failing to invest in our own future and to nurture our own technological infrastructure – the very infrastructure that has propelled us to world economic leadership,” said Mulcahy.  “If we won’t start to address the issue now, we run the very real risk of losing our world leadership.  And no one sector can fix the problem alone.  It’s the shared responsibility of business, government, and education.”

Mulcahy discussed solutions, including lowering the barriers for the immigration of highly skilled workers, championing dramatic increases in federal funding of research, and dramatically improving math, science, and engineering education in the United States.

She also spoke on Xerox’s efforts to increase the number of minorities and women entering the high-tech industry.  “Bringing more women and minorities into the world of science and engineering, is not only the right thing to do, it must be an essential part of any national strategy to remain competitive and continue to lead the world in innovation.”

- ## -

About AeA
AeA, founded in 1943 by David Packard, is the largest high-tech trade association in the United States with nearly 3,000 companies, representing all segments of the industry and 1.8 million employees. Currently, AeA has 18 offices in and around the United States, as well as offices abroad in Brussels and Beijing. Our primary purpose is helping our members’ top and bottom lines by providing the following services: Access to Investors; State, Federal & International Lobbying; Insurance Services; Government Procurement; Business Networking; Foreign Market Access; Select Business Services; and Executive Education.

This page was last updated on 06/15/05.