Aides in Silicon Valley for Trip Promoting Innovation; Lobbyists There Too
The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation has whisked a number of Hill and administration staffers out to Silicon Valley for a three-day tour promoting innovation. As the list of participants shows, staffers on the think tank's trip included aides from the offices of Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).
There are also a number of lobbyists on the trip, including some from Microsoft, AT&T and Facebook.
ITIF's Steve Norton emphasized that the trip complies with ethics rules governing staffer and lobbyist travel. The lobbyists, for example, did not travel with the Hill aides to Silicon Valley and had to pay their own way, while ITIF covers the trip for the staffers.
Stops on the trip - which started yesterday and wraps up tomorrow - included visits at Yelp, Intel, Google and Facebook and a dinner with IT CEOs.
"The goal really is to show congressional staffers first hand some of the exciting things going on at the cutting edge of IT and innovation," Norton told the Alley.
There are also a number of lobbyists on the trip, including some from Microsoft, AT&T and Facebook.
ITIF's Steve Norton emphasized that the trip complies with ethics rules governing staffer and lobbyist travel. The lobbyists, for example, did not travel with the Hill aides to Silicon Valley and had to pay their own way, while ITIF covers the trip for the staffers.
Stops on the trip - which started yesterday and wraps up tomorrow - included visits at Yelp, Intel, Google and Facebook and a dinner with IT CEOs.
"The goal really is to show congressional staffers first hand some of the exciting things going on at the cutting edge of IT and innovation," Norton told the Alley.
Leave A Comment