Week ending April 14, 2000
ITI Continues to Push for Trade and Electronic Commerce Agenda
Today, ITI hosted Mike Moore of the World Trade Organization, for a discussion about establishing a new trade round and the e-commerce agenda that ITI and the Business Software Alliance developed last year. (See ITI press release.)
ITI Pushes for five-year Extension
The Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday held a hearing on the Internet tax issue and the Committee Chairman pledged to get an extension of the current moratorium through Congress this year. ITI continues to push for the five-year extension as well as the repeal of the excise tax and a permanent ban on taxing Internet access.
The Senate Commerce Committee is expected to consider Internet tax legislation in the coming weeks.
ITI Behind Effort to Reduce Congressional Review Period
The House International Relations Committee, by a unanimous vote, approved legislation to reduce from 180 days to 30 days the amount of time that Congress has to review changes to computer export controls. ITI has long sought a reduction in the review period so that the US IT industry can remain competitive in the foreign marketplace.
ITI Continues to Support Dreier/Lofgren Bill
The Judiciary Committee's Immigration and Claims Subcommittee this week passed, by a voice vote, legislation introduced by Congressman Lamar Smith (R-TX) that would eliminate the caps on H1-b visas. We are pleased to see this issue being addressed but still have some concerns about a number of details contained in the Smith legislation.
ITI continues to support the legislation being pushed by Congressman Dreier and Congresswoman Lofgren that would raise the cap to 200,000 and includes money for education. We believe that as this issue moves forward, we will be able to work with Chairman Smith and others to get a bill that will receive wide bipartisan support.
ITI Praises Senate for Quick Action
This week the Senate passed S. 2323, the Worker Economic Opportunity Act, a bipartisan bill sponsored by Senators Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Chris Dodd (D-CT). This legislation will help ensure that all employees share in the success of their companies. The bill allows nonexempt (hourly) workers to continue to receive stock options and other forms of employee equity.
A February 1999 compliance letter by the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division placed stock options and other forms of equity participation programs for non-exempt workers in jeopardy by requiring employers to recalculate overtime pay based on profits realized when an employees exercises the stock options.
ITI notified Senators that it anticipates scoring this bill in its annual ITI High-Tech Voting Guide that will be released at the end of this year.