Elizabeth Hyman Posts

A look at the week of January 9 in public advocacy for the IT channel: With Congress on recess until the end of January, Beltway publications have been focusing on the 2012 legislative agenda.  National Journal gives an overview of where cyber and cloud legislation currently stands in both houses and what to expect when Congress reconvenes.  Additionally, a recent report on U.S. competitiveness calls for investment in technology education.Tech Policy Items to Watch on the Hill - National Journal ...

A look at the week of December 19 in public advocacy for the IT channel: This week, Fierce Health IT reports that health IT professionals are some of the most in-demand members of the workforce.  The Hill listed network protections as one of Congress’s top priorities for 2012.  Federal CIO Steven Van Roekel wants to break agencies’ habit of clinging to outdated technology. Demand for Health IT Professionals Continues To Rise — There is a significant demand for health ...

Funding equal to FY 2011 levels for the Perkins Act was included in the “mega-bus” FY2012 appropriations bill that Congress passed as it left for the holiday season.  This is considered a victory for Perkins supporters who pushed back against reductions.  The Perkins Vocational and Technical Education is a crucial component in the career and technical education arsenal – helping States through formula grants to support training and education.   Countless Americans rely on Perkins to ensure they ...

A look at the week of December 12 in public advocacy for the IT channel: This week, members of Congress are looking at innovative ways to fund small businesses.  A cybersecurity bill is making progress in the House Homeland Security subcommittee on cybersecurity.  Federal cloud providers have new security controls from the Obama Administration.Both Parties Invest in Crowdfunding — Even as they continue to spar over taxes, deficit reduction and government regulations, members of Congress are eyei ...

A look at the week of December 5 in public advocacy for the IT channel: This week, States urge Congress to address the issue of sales tax in online commerce.  Senate Democrats introduced a new payroll tax bill to Republican criticism.  A House cyber bill recommends creating a clearinghouse to share data between the government and private sector. Congress Urged to Close Online Sales-Tax Loophole — State officials and some retailers urged Congress to finally close a loophole that they say benefits ...

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced several changes to encourage the adoption of electronic health records, specifically by delaying Stage 2 of meaningful use standards by one year.  According to HHS, “to encourage faster adoption, the Secretary announced that HHS intends to allow doctors and hospitals to adopt health IT this year, without meeting the new standards until 2014. Doctors who act quickly can also qualify for incentive payments in 2011 as well a ...

A look at the week of November 28 in public advocacy for the IT channel: This week, the arrival of new Department of Homeland Security Deputy Undersecretary for Cybersecurity Mark Weatherford might lead to greater cooperation between DHS and the intelligence community.  Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) wants to attach cyber legislation to the defense authorization bill.  The Department of Defense is seeing significant savings in consolidating IT.Cybersecurity Expert Hails New DHS Cyber Chief — New Depa ...

CompTIA started out the month of November with a bang, hosting our Washington, D.C. Fly-In.  With more than 50 advocacy visits made by more than 30 CompTIA members and partners, we certainly delivered to Capitol Hill an important message – that the interests of small and medium sized IT firms must be addressed.As we near the end of November, however, the interests of small IT businesses will have to be seen within a broader context.  At this writing, it appears that the “Super Committee” charged ...

Below is a special blog post from Karen Elzey of the Aspen Institute.While the “skills gap” is undoubtedly felt by many of our country’s employers, small and medium-sized businesses in the technology industry especially are scrambling to fill open positions.  This need was highlighted at the recent CompTIA meetings in Washington, D.C., where the executive vice president of Alvaka Networks stated that there are currently 450,000 unfilled IT jobs.  That’s why it’s critical for small and medium-siz ...

According to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), more than 100,000 primary care providers have adopted electronic health records through their local Regional Extension Center (REC).  Thirty-eight percent of these providers are from small practices.There are currently 62 RECs throughout the country and they have received $677 million of funding from the HHS.  According to the Office of National Coordinator, the goals of the RECs “include outreach and education, EHR support (e.g., w ...