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Document 19 of 27.

July 31, 1999

SECTION: CONGRESS; Pg. 2230; Vol. 31, No. 31

LENGTH: 977 words

HEADLINE: Pilgrims, Traveling Route 66

BYLINE: Neil Munro

BODY:

The information-technology revolution has turned Capitol
Hill upside down: Legislators are lobbying high-tech executives
for their support. The reversal in the normal order of things is
driven by the politicians' desire to hitch their respective
parties to the industry that is propelling the nation into a new
Information Age. This state of affairs was highlighted in July
when contingents of Republican and Democratic legislators toured
Northern Virginia to publicize their support for high-tech.

''Any party that does not work to stay current will find
itself in trouble electorally,'' said Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho,
chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, who helped
lead a delegation of eight Republican Senators on a July 26 tour.
''All of us vie for the interest of the public. That's called the
majority.''

''We are most interested in remaking the Democratic Party
to be a party that recognizes the two pillars of our new economy:
technology and trade,'' said Rep. James P. Moran, D-Va., who led
a delegation of 10 Democratic legislators on a July 19 tour of
Northern Virginia. These Democrats are part of the New Democrat
Coalition, whose 64 members advocate social liberalism combined
with free-market economics, but who are outnumbered by more-
liberal House Democrats.

The route and tone of both trips were very similar. In a
bus rented by industry, legislators traveled down Interstate 66
to Reston and Dulles, where they heard industry officials ask for
special favors--deregulation for themselves, regulation for their
rivals, plus a series of measures that would aid the high-tech
sector. The requests included more work visas for foreign high-
tech specialists, fewer restrictions on the export of encryption
technology, and improvements in education.

Democrats met with executives at Nextel Communications
Inc., Network Solutions Inc., Global Integrity Corp., and America
Online Inc., whose chief executive officer, Stephen M. Case,
hosted a one-hour lunch with a question-and-answer session. The
Republican group, led by Sen. John W. Warner, R-Va., also met
with Case and Network Solutions--which is engaged in a noisy
lobbying campaign against a Commerce Department policy that would
cut its revenues--plus executives from Teligent Inc. and roughly
30 other local high-tech companies. The Republican trip included
a televised press conference, during which Warner declared that
if the fast-evolving industry needs something from Congress, ''we
ought to be prepared and equipped to respond immediately. . . .
We're here to help.''

In addition to Warner and Craig, the Senate Republicans
on the trip were Robert Bennett of Utah, Bill Frist of Tennessee,
Connie Mack of Florida, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Jeff
Sessions of Alabama, and Ted Stevens of Alaska. The Democratic
group, in addition to Moran, consisted of Reps. Brian Baird of
Washington, Bob Clement of Tennessee, Calvin Dooley of
California, Bob Etheridge of North Carolina, Baron Hill of
Indiana, David Price of North Carolina, Tim Roemer of Indiana,
Ellen Tauscher of California, and Jim Turner of Texas.

Legislators were polite; few asked awkward questions in
the friendly get-acquainted sessions. Democrats solicitously
inquired about Case's perspective on consumer privacy, but also
politely warned him that industry should help craft a fair way
for states to levy sales taxes on Internet commerce. Republicans
asked how government could help remove trade barriers and
alleviate worker shortages, but also emphasized the need for
government to ensure that the nation's tangled communications
system is safeguarded from hacker attacks. ''We have a
responsibility to the American people that goes beyond this
industry,'' said Frist.

Both parties asked executives to forward additional
information and also urged the industry to increase its lobbying
against rival political factions. The Democratic group asked the
industry to step up its federal lobbying against Republicans and
Democrats who oppose free trade or deregulation of encryption
exports, while the Republicans asked the industry to promote
their party's education reforms at the local, state, and federal
levels.

The tone of both tours reflected the legislators' faith
in the ability of industry executives to cure most of the social
ills that Congress is usually asked to tackle. ''They have proven
our theory: Economic growth fulfills our mission better than
anything in the public sector,'' said Moran. Still, the
government should be ready to intervene if industry fails to
support privacy, state taxes, and law enforcement, he said.

Perhaps because of their similarities, the rival groups
were also quick to emphasize their differences. The Republican
Party contains too many isolationist, anti-free-trade, and
socially intolerant legislators, warned Moran. The Democratic
Party, countered Craig, is beholden to trial lawyers and labor
unions that hamper trade, economic growth, and education reform.
Ultimately, Craig predicted, the GOP's pro-growth economic stance
will be enough to win over high-tech executives despite their
frequently liberal social outlook.

Back in Washington, both groups proclaimed their trips
successful--and are now planning to outdo each other with similar
trips to high-tech regions in Texas and Washington state.

The winner of this Democratic vs. Republican struggle
will be apparent, however, once the industry's financial
disclosure forms are submitted, said Moran. ''You will see it
clearly because of public reports about their (financial) giving,
both hard and soft.''

LOAD-DATE: August 04, 1999

Document 19 of 27.


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