Elizabeth Hyman Posts

Use the power of technology to make government more responsive and effective, and understand the significance of high-skilled immigration to our national economy – both themes dominated our May 7th agenda when nearly 50 tech executives met in Newark, N.J., to hear from Newark Mayor Cory Booker and Robert Feldstein from New York Mayor Bloomberg’s office.  This was the official kick-off of the Tri-State TechVoice Chapter, a collaboration between CompTIA, the New Jersey Technology ...

On January 11th, CompTIA partnered with the North Carolina Technology Association (NCTA) to launch our third TechVoice chapter. About 60 technology executives attended a breakfast gathering and panel discussion in Durham, NC featuring Congressman David Price (D-NC), State Representative Marilyn Avila (R), information technology attorney Ed Turlington and myself. NCTA President and CEO Brooks Raiford moderated. With 2012 elections now completed and the fiscal cliff averted for now, the conversati ...

A broad swath of topics was covered at the Southern California TechVoice Chapter meeting on December 14 in Newport Beach, CA. This post-election analysis and forum was co-hosted by CompTIA’s Southern California TechVoice partner, the Orange County Tech Alliance. I was privileged to participate in a panel with California state assemblyman Don Wagner and Dan Schnur, director of the Jesse Unruh Institute of Political Science at the University of Southern California. Tim Jemal of Jemal Public Affair ...

Heading into 2013, three key tech policy issues to watch will be immigration, online sales taxes and cybersecurity, said Politico. While Congressional leaders debate the merits of allowing more students with advanced degrees to stay in the U.S., they will also be taking a closer look at online tax laws for companies of all sizes and coming to terms on cybersecurity legislation to protect our nation’s critical infrastructure.While small business advocacy groups have been pleading with Congress to ...

President Barack Obama and his administration are attempting to protect billions of dollars in R&D aid from sweeping budget cuts, said Politico Pro. In addition to meeting with recipients of R&D aid in the science and technology sectors, Obama said in a Twitter live chat last week that the administration is looking to defend its aid budget while offering cuts from alternative areas.The Obama administration’s proposal to tax high income earners would hit about 940,000 people who report bu ...

President Barack Obama and Congressional lawmakers haven’t emphasized a variety of educational options – namely technical training – to solve our nation’s workforce shortage, said the National Journal. The hardest jobs to fill in our country, which includes IT positions, don’t require traditional four-year degrees, yet legislation that promotes these opportunities is lacking.The House of Representatives passed a bill last week that would grant more visas to those who graduate with advanced degre ...

CompTIA’s 10th Annual Information Security Trends study reviews how the use of mobile devices and technologies such as cloud computing create opportunities as well as vulnerabilities, reports Federal Computer Week. Fifty-seven percent of respondents indicated their company has made at least moderate IT security changes to combat those threats over the past two years, while 10 percent indicated they’ve made drastic changes.Federal officials have hinted that the cybersecurity budget will be spared ...

This November marked the conclusion of a long and arduous presidential election. After nearly two years of politicking and billions of dollars spent the results are: President Obama was re-elected to a second term; the Democrats retained control of the Senate; and the Republicans retained control of the House. On the surface it would appear to be a status quo election, but there are important details within the election results that could have meaning for the IT community.The Executive BranchOba ...

Many small business owners have put off plans to hire and expand amid uncertainty around what they will face when several Bush-era tax cuts expire at year’s end, said USA Today. Although tax hikes appear to be a likely outcome, there are several legislative scenarios that could alter, minimize or even delay the tax hikes set to kick in this January.After warning that U.S. financial institutions will continue to be under constant cyber attack, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said tha ...

Passing of new cybersecurity legislation may have to wait until next year. Tech and telecom companies stepped up networking efforts at both national conventions. Obama plans to appoint a secretary of business.The passing of new cybersecurity legislation to protect our nation’s critical infrastructure may have to wait until next year, said The Hill. Even though Defense Secretary Leon Panetta urged Congress to act swiftly and Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he is planning to bring the issue to the ...