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TechNet: Lobby Of A Different Breed
by Bara Vaida
In Washington, where a bipartisan fundraising and lobbying group is rare, both Democrats and Republicans often criticize the high-tech lobbying group TechNet. In the five years since its creation, the organization has received a steady spray of grousing from fundraisers and others in the nation's capital that it is raising too much money for one party or the other.
"Some policymakers have expressed the frustration that in their effort to be bipartisan, they [TechNet officials] sacrifice opportunities to advocate an aggressive policy agenda that supports their industry," said Lori Otto, the technology policy adviser to the Senate Republican Policy Committee.
Fundraising complaints about TechNet do not surprise CEO Rick White, who said many Washingtonians do not understand TechNet. He noted that it operates differently than most fundraising organs, which tend to lean toward a particular party. For example, BI-PAC, one of the few bipartisan fundraising groups in Washington, endorses a majority of Republican candidates, according to an analysis of the organization's most recent campaign data conducted by the Center for Responsive Politics. CapNet, a high-tech lobbying group for the Washington region, also clearly supports more Republicans.
"The way we work isn't like other Washington, D.C., organizations," said White, who is a former two-term House Republican. "We do one event a year for each committee ... and part of the success of the event depends upon the enthusiasm and approach of the party committee. We raise just about as much for one party as the other ... and I think we do a good job for both."
Not A Party Animal
TechNet could not provide detailed fundraising information for each party, but it does publish a weekly calendar of fundraising and other events. The calendar did not indicate a great disparity in the number of events for each party. Since Nov. 1, TechNet has scheduled 14 for federal Democratic candidates and 11 for Republicans, including fundraisers for both political parties.
TechNet's political action committee currently favors Democrats. As of May 31, it had dispersed $39,500 to Democrats and $29,005 to Republicans. But Connie Correll, executive vice president of the group, said current disbursements only appear to favor Democrats because scheduling issues have resulted in fewer Republican events so far.
TechNet's efforts for party committees have irked Republicans. A TechNet-organized fundraiser Nov. 8 for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) raised $300,000. On Dec. 1, meanwhile, TechNet listed a fundraiser for Rep. Anna Eshoo, a California Democrat from Silicon Valley. The event also benefited the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), raising $450,000. A DCCC spokeswoman said, however, that TechNet did not organize the event; Eshoo did.
In February, TechNet hosted a fundraiser for the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) that yielded $300,000 for Senate candidates. White said the NRSC sent three senators to the event. A TechNet fundraiser for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) in late May, meanwhile, reaped $1 million. The DSCC sent more than a half-dozen Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Thomas Daschle, D-S.D., which White said increased enthusiasm for the meeting.
That fundraiser prompted one GOP fundraiser to say, "TechNet isn't doing anywhere near what it needs to do in terms of fundraising for Republican candidates, especially since Republicans support the high-tech sector."
The charge frustrates TechNet co-founder James Barksdale, who noted that the organization has raised millions of dollars for Republicans, including $4 million at one fundraiser for George W. Bush when he was running for president.
Barksdale said that years ago he heard NRSC charges that TechNet was raising more for the DSCC, and he investigated. "It turns out it wasn't true," he said. "The fact was that the DSCC pulled together an event from San Francisco with one in the valley, so it looked like it was a bigger event, while the NRSC was just in the valley. The parties just use these figures to try and keep us pumped up to give more and more money."
TechNet is planning a large fundraiser for the NRCC this August, he said. "These complaints are foolishness," he added. "We are doing the best we can."
A Limited Agenda
TechNet and the parties may suffer from a reciprocal perception problem between the organization and Washington. Barksdale said TechNet was never established to be an ideological organization; rather, it is a network of CEOs who use fundraising as a tactic for leveraging two or three top-tier policy priorities.
This year, those issues include promoting broadband and a math and education bill, as well as stopping legislation that would require the expensing of stock options. He said the organization tries to take the lead only on consensus issues among TechNet's 230 CEOs.
The narrow focus has worked for TechNet members. For example, they were part of business coalitions that successfully fought for securities-litigation reform, litigation relief stemming from the Year 2000 computer snafu, increases in H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers, and permanent normal trade relations for China. And TechNet has had influence in other ways. The group's former GOP political director, Lezlee Westine, is now director of the White House Office of Public Liaison.
House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman John Boehner, R-Ohio, said TechNet was "really helpful" in getting the education-reform bill through Congress last year. "When they are clear about their agenda and stick with it," TechNet can be effective, he said.
But TechNet's top priorities are not always clear to lawmakers, and that causes confusion about the organization's intentions. For example, Barksdale said the debate over renewing presidential trade-negotiating authority, also known as trade-promotion authority (TPA), is not among TechNet's top priorities. But it is a pivotal issue for many Washington-based high-tech associations whose members also belong to TechNet.
One House Republican leadership staffer said his leadership does not understand why TechNet does not pressure Silicon Valley Democrats like Anna Eshoo, Mike Honda and Adam Smith, who did not vote for the trade bill. TechNet held fundraisers for those lawmakers this spring. "TechNet isn't as effective as they could be because they don't put heat on Democrats and they treat them equally to Republicans, even though Republicans have more often supported high-tech issues," the staffer said.
In response, Barksdale said: "TPA has never been on our top three priorities. Most members are supportive, but it isn't a TechNet issue. ... And as to their complaints on TPA and fundraising, on the one hand the [Republicans] don't want us to be bipartisan, but then they want us to get them Democrat votes? I don't know how we do both."
A Calling Outside Washington
Staffers for Senate and House leaders in both parties were surprised by Barksdale's comments because they thought, based on letters and comments from TechNet members, that trade-negotiating legislation is a leading priority for the organization. They suggested that if TechNet hired a Washington lobbyist, the organization's message might crystallize and ease the griping.
TechNet has resisted hiring a dedicated D.C.-based lobbyist, though sources said it recently hired D.C.-based Dittus Communications to craft its message on stock options. Barksdale said there is no plan to hire a Washington lobbyist because TechNet CEOs have access to lawmakers without one.
"We aren't a Washington lobbying group, and it never was our goal to be one," Barksdale said. "When we started TechNet, we said we weren't going to compete with the D.C. high-tech associations or we would have never gotten them to participate with us on our issues. ... We have been successful, and so we don't need a paid lobbyist in D.C."
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