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Administration's Tech Policy Challenges
by Bara Vaida
Two of the biggest challenges for handling technology policy within the Bush administration will be organizing a uniform administration position and updating federal regulations for the digital age, according to Kelly Carnes, the Commerce Department's assistant secretary of technology in the Clinton administration.
Carnes noted that during her two years as assistant secretary, 30 government agencies competed to become power centers for control of technology policy, which made developing an administration-wide policy difficult. She also said technology is changing so quickly that current regulations need tweaking to keep pace with the Internet.
Carnes, who is considering her career options, including returning to a position in a law firm, said two of her biggest projects during the Clinton administration were defining e-commerce in the age of globalization and determining how the digital economy was changing the workforce. "The technology office is tremendously important," she said in an interview last week. "It is the focal point where technology policy is considered, and it is the focal point for talking to the business community and communicating their views to the rest of the federal government."
Bruce Mehlman, a telecommunications policy analyst with Cisco Systems, has been nominated as Carnes' replacement.
Auerbach Bids Adieu To Cisco
Karl Auerbach, an at-large member of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) board, has left Cisco Systems, where he was a systems engineer. Auerbach, a frequent and high-profile ICANN critic left Cisco to independently design his own networking products to make the Internet more secure.
"Right now is an incredibly good time to start something new," Auerbach said in an e-mail. "Much of the networking industry is numb or reeling, so there's not a lot of ongoing innovation that I would have to compete against. And because of the big corporate financial situations, there are now a lot of great people available to hire who weren't available even a few months ago."
Finding Bush's (And The Senate's) Favor
President Bush has named an executive from the world of the Internet and media as co-chairman of his Social Security Commission. Dick Parsons, a Republican who is a co-chief operating officer of AOL Time Warner, will help lead the panel, which aims to draft a reform plan.
Elsewhere, Bush and the Senate continued their work in filling the administration's ranks. The latest development: Bush announced his intention to nominate Harvey Pitt to be chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Pitt would replace Arthur Levitt, who has joined the Carlyle Group as a senior adviser in private equity investments. (The Carlyle Group also has tapped former FCC Chairman William Kennard to be the managing director of the group's telecom and media practice.) Laura Unger has been the acting SEC chairwoman since February.
Pitt is a partner in the Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson law firm and worked at the SEC in the 1970s. He also wrote the book Securities in the Electronic Age, which was published last year. As SEC chairman, he would have to tackle difficult regulatory issues involving the globalization of securities markets and technological advances.
In other administration news, John Cloud was named special assistant to the president and senior director for international economic affairs. Cloud has been deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Mission to the European Union from 1999 to 2001. Robert O'Neill also was named counselor to the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget on management issues. O'Neill is currently president of the National Academy of Public Administration.
The Senate Banking Committee, meanwhile, has scheduled hearings on several Bush administration nominees, including James Jochum, who has been nominated to be assistant Commerce secretary for export administration. At that same hearing, the committee is scheduled to vote on the nominations of Grant Aldonas to be the undersecretary for international trade, Kenneth Juster to be the Commerce undersecretary for export administration, Maria Cino to be assistant Commerce secretary and director general of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service.
Last week, the Senate approved the nominations of Brenda Becker to be assistant Commerce secretary and Theodore Kassinger to be general counsel at Commerce.
On The Trade Front
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced several staff appointments, including that of Naotaka Matsukata as a special assistant for policy planning. Matsukata previously was on the staff of Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn.
Also at USTR, Dayna Cade will be a deputy assistant USTR for congressional affairs. Cade previously worked on Bush's presidential campaign and as the director of government affairs for the Airports Council International (ACI). Matt Niemeyer will be a USTR deputy assistant for congressional affairs. He was the deputy political director for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. And Heather Wingate will be a USTR assistant for intergovernmental affairs and public liaison. She was the chief of staff to Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan.
Gephardt Taps A New Spokesman
House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., has hired Erik Smith as his new communications director. Smith previously handled press for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).
In other DCCC changes, Michael Matthews has been named the committee's new political director. Most recently, Matthews served as the national political director for the Gore-Lieberman 2000 campaign.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) also has a newcomer: Laura Dove, the director of integrated media. She is handling several communications and technology projects, including the committee's online outreach efforts.
Dove said the creation of her position is part of NRSC Chairman Bill Frist's efforts to help campaigns use technology in the 2002 election and to provide a point person for technology outreach at the NRSC. Until March of this year, Dove directed the online strategy of Citizens for Better Medicare (CBM) as its deputy director.
The 'A' Teams
James Carroll, most recently with the Livingston Group and a former vice president of Comsat, is joining Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting). As senior manager of government relations, Carroll will report to Elizabeth Arky, the firm's director of government affairs.
Elsewhere, Afilias, the New York-based company that will operate the .info registry, said it has chosen Ron Berg as its new chief executive officer. Berg was the vice president of finance at Idealab. He also has held management positions at Deja.com and Infonautics.
Supreme Court Bound?
There is growing speculation that Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, will be Bush's nominee for the Supreme Court, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. According to the paper, Bush wants to maintain a 5-4 conservative majority and wants his nominee confirmed quickly. Hatch is considered conservative, and as a sitting senator, he could face less scrutiny from colleagues who would confirm him.
Rosen, Westine To Share Their Insights
Hillary Rosen, the president and CEO of the Recording Industry Association (RIAA), and Lezlee Westine, the director of the White House Office of Public Liaison, are scheduled to be the keynote speakers at the Women's High-Tech Coalition on May 23. Women who felt the technology sector needed a female perspective formed the coalition earlier this year.
TechNet On The Road
TechNet is hosting several events in coming weeks, including: a reception for New York Republican Gov. George Pataki in Palo Alto, Calif., on May 10; tours of high-tech companies in Boston on May 11 and May 14, with Sens. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Gordon Smith, R-Ore., as the guests; and a June 8 meeting in Silicon Valley between Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and high-tech executives.
A High-Tech 'Spectator'
Progress & Freedom Foundation President Jeffrey Eisenach has been named a contributing editor of American Spectator magazine, which high-tech commentator George Gilder recently acquired. The addition of Eisenach comes as Gilder redirects the Spectator toward a concentration on high-tech issues.
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