WASHINGTON-With the House up for grabs this fall and a slew of high-tech bills pending before Congress, the high-tech lobby is flexing its muscle on Capitol Hill and shaping the debate on key issues important to the wireless industry such as China trade, high-tech visa liberalization, abolishing telecom and Internet taxes and continued federal research and development.
The issues are particularly crucial for the evolving dot-com wireless sector.
Most of the lobbying is not coming from the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, the Personal Communications Industry Association or other mainstays in the wireless industry.
Rather, hearts and minds on Capitol Hill, at the White House and in federal regulatory agencies are being changed this election year by groups like TechNet, the American Electronics Association, the Telecommunications Industry Association and a host of high-tech business lobby coalitions.
Why the aggressive high-tech lobbying campaign? Because the stakes are huge. With the uncertainties associated with a change in the political landscape after this fall’s presidential and congressional elections, the fast-moving high-tech community wants to nail down legislative victories now.
Time and timing are key for high-tech. Initial public offerings are queued up. Global competitors are moving forward. And time to market can be the difference between success and failure.
Sheila Krumholz, research director at The Center for Responsive Politics, said the high-tech industry’s clout in the 2000 election is proving significant.
“At the very least, the administration and Congress are having to listen to the high-tech guys plead their case because they don’t want to cut off the money supply,” said Krumholz. `’It’s [high-tech’s influence] has gone from 0 to 60 over the past decade.”
That the high-tech industry has so much clout with lawmakers today can be attributed to several factors. First, high-tech firms have plenty of money for campaign contributions and for high-powered lobbyists.
Moreover, high-tech firms, depending on where they decide to expand their operations, hold out the promise of high-paying jobs for constituents in lawmakers’ districts.
All that only adds to the leverage the high-tech industry has in 2000 with Republicans, who barely control the House, and with Democrats, who believe they can recapture it from the GOP.
Indeed, the high-tech industry let Rep. Robert Matsui (D-Calif.) know as much recently after House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.) announced he will vote against permanent normal trade relations with China, but not encourage other Democrats to do the same.
Immediately after Gephardt’s out-of-town announcement on China trade last month, there reportedly were grumblings in the high-tech industry about steering money away from Democrats as a punishment.
That provoked a sharp rebuke from Matsui, Clinton’s point man in the House on China trade and a supporter of the wireless industry’s push to repeal the 3-percent federal excise tax on telecom services. Matsui threatened to reconsider his support for China PNTR.
“We can’t work with the high-tech industry unless they acknowledge that Gephardt was going to vote against [China trade] and stop making threats against Democrats,” said Kathy Roeder, a Matsui spokeswoman.
Roeder said it was a breach of faith on the high-tech industry’s part to make threats and criticize Gephardt when they should have known what position he’d take on China PNTR. She said Gephardt’s April 19 announced opposition to China PNTR was discreetly delivered in St. Louis, away from the politically combustible nation’s capital.
However, Gephardt’s speech against the China trade bill was strongly worded.
While Gephardt has opposed free trade agreements in the past, he kept his position on China PNTR secret until only a few weeks ago.
Matsui and the high-tech community are now trying to play down the dust-up.
“The Gephardt announcement was expected and wasn’t a surprise. We’re still very optimistic about the outcome,” said Marc Brailov, AEA’s spokesman.
Roeder agreed. “We’re still feeling positive. We expect to deliver 70 to 80 votes.” That number of votes, combined with an expected 150 from GOP House members, would be enough to pass the China trade bill in the House. A vote is scheduled the week of May 22.
Passage of the China trade bill in the Senate is virtually assured.
China, with a population of 1.3 billion and a poor telecom infrastructure, is potentially the largest export market for U.S. wireless companies.
TechNet, a powerful, bipartisan high-tech group based in Palo Alto, Calif., did not respond to a request for comment.
Despite the growing clout of the high-tech community, traditional telecom giants remain big donors. And to this point at least, telecom and high-tech firms are favoring the GOP.
During the 1999-2000 election cycle, according to the CRP research through April 1, AT&T Corp. was the second-largest soft money donor ($807,569 to Republicans and $575,350 to Democrats). Microsoft Corp. was the sixth-largest soft money contributor, with $522,150 going to Republicans and $341,250 going to Democrats.
BellSouth is the third-biggest contributor to Vice President Gore’s presidential campaign so far, having donated $72,250 through March 1. GTE Corp. is the biggest soft money donor ($10,000) through early this year to House telecom subcommittee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-La.).
Somewhat offsetting the high-tech business lobby on China trade, high-tech visas and other issues is organized labor. The Communications Workers of America has contributed $1.18 million to Democrats so far during the 1999-2000 election, while giving nothing to the GOP.
Other top soft money donors include: SBC Communications Corp. (R-$370,231, D-$266,150); Bell Atlantic Corp. (R-$276,186, D-$181,350); BellSouth Corp. (R-$187,967, D-228,650); U S West Inc. (R-$274,600, D-$105,000); MCI WorldCom Inc. (R-$260,760, D-$61,400); Oracle Corp. (R-$236,350, D-$75,000); America Online Inc. (R-$230,825, D-$77,250); Loral Corp. (R-$0, D-$285,000); Time Warner (R-$78,000, D-$188,500); Sprint Corp. (R-$63,275, D-$161,958); Teligent Inc. (R-$62,500, D-$155,800); and CTIA (R-$89,000, D-$60,250).
