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A Conversation with Chris Israel
December 31, 1969 |Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
By Christine M. Ferrara
This is the fourth in a series of articles about APEX, held January 22-24 in San Diego. Chris Israel is the APEX keynote speaker for the second day of the show.
The federal government may seem removed from the day-to-day world of electronics, but its actions affect electronics -- and technology in general -- every day.
On Wednesday, January 23 at 8:30 a.m., Chris Israel, deputy assistant secretary for technology policy for the Department of Commerce's Office of Technology Policy, will illustrate these connections by outlining the Bush administration's policies on technology, its achievements in the world of high-tech during its first year, and how these policies affect the electronics industry during his keynote speech.
Israel's background is diverse, with stints in both the public and private sectors that reflect a long history of technological involvement. A Kansas City native, he spent three years on Capitol Hill as a legislative aide to Kansas representatives Jan Meyers and Todd Tiahrt, both Republicans. There he worked on a range of issues, from telecommunications to banking policy to focusing on the Appropriations Committee.
He then spent two years as senior public policy analyst for Time Warner Inc. In January 2001, Israel became deputy director of international public policy for the newly merged AOL Time Warner. Both of these experiences exposed him to a range of technology issues, such as those affecting cable, intellectual property, privacy and taxation over the Internet, he says.
He made the jump to the Department of Commerce in November 2001, calling it a "fantastic opportunity to serve the Bush administration and work with a really talented group of people." Israel plans to draw on his background to address macro issues that affect technology, such as the administration's approach to economic stimulus. The economic stimulus package, drawn up in the wake of the current economic downturn, is a large piece of that, especially in electronics, where layoffs have been heavy.
"The President supports the Senate taking action on the stimulus package he introduced several months ago," Israel says. "Since he released the package, there have been nearly 1 million subsequent job reductions."
One of the downturn's effects is that companies are not investing in technology as heavily as they were a year or two ago. "To the extent that the government can do things to provide a catalyst for capital expenditure, we are looking for things to do in that regard," Israel says.
The Bush administration has implemented a permanent tax credit for research and development (R&D), and is looking toward the future of high-tech by investing $1 billion into improving math and science teaching in the 2002 budget. The Education Reform Bill, which President Bush signed into law on January 8, is another piece of the Bush administration's aggressive stance on education.
Another big issue for the administration is trade. A core piece of its agenda is obtaining trade promotion authority, which passed the House of Representatives in December 2001 but still needs to pass the Senate. "All the conversations we've had here in Commerce indicate that trade promotion authority is extremely important for the technology industry," Israel says.
Another important point is information security, which has come to light in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks. "Clearly, it's important to invest in technology that provides a level of security," Israel says. "We will see focused research and effort put into the field of cyber security." As evidence, Israel points to the fact that President Bush has established a director of cyber security that reports to Director of Homeland Security Tom Ridge.
The Bush administration is looking to support continued technology growth and innovation in fields like broadband, which will have an impact on a number of industries such as contract manufacturing, OEMs and assemblers. At the same time, there is a disconnect between the supply, which is abundant, and the demand, which is growing but still small. "We're interested in understanding that dynamic and look at policies that might affect or improve that situation," Israel says.
The Internet also has been a driving force in U.S. technology policy for a number of years. "It's become a part of the fabric of society, and it has attracted a lot of attention from the government," Israel says. "The Internet and technology have helped stimulate a growth in productivity, and consumer relationships are built around the Internet. It's a global medium, which also raises policy questions with other countries."
It is important to differentiate that the Bush administration is investing and is interested in technology, but does not want to develop the technologies itself or over-regulate. "A bedrock principle of the administration is to provide an environment where business can thrive, while keeping government regulation at the absolute minimum," he says.
At the same time, through his speech, Israel seeks to issue an open invitation for high-tech businesses and individuals to become engaged in the policy-making process. "Nothing is more valuable for a policy maker than having a direct insight into the industries, into the operations, the motivations and ideas. There's no more valuable resources than knowledge and understanding," he says.