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The White House's New Tech Voice
by Bara Vaida
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy has hired Kathryn Harrington as assistant to the director for communications, and she will handle all media for the office.
Previously, Harrington worked for the public relations and marketing firm Potomac Communications Group and Shandwick Public Affairs. At both firms, her clients included biotechnology, energy, science and technology firms.
In her new job, Harrington will draw on her professional and family backgrounds. Harrington's' father was a high-school science teacher and her sister is a nurse. "I was always fascinated with science, but I have a master's degree in professional and technical writing and pursued public relations and this job brought it all together," said Harrington, whose first job was as deputy press secretary for Sen. John Warner, R-Va.
In other administration news, President Bush formally nominated Kyle McSlarrow, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham's chief of staff, to be deputy Energy secretary . Before joining Energy, McSlarrow was vice president of political and government affairs for Grassroots.com, a political consulting and Web company.
Bush also formally nominated Mark Everson to be deputy director for management of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Everson is currently controller of the Office of Federal Financial Management at OMB and chairman of the President's Management Council, which has been charged with implementing Bush's management reform agenda. That council is divided into three areas, including e-government.
In numerous speeches, administration officials have said the deputy director for management will serve as the federal chief information officer and hence oversee coordination of information technology spending within the government.
Techies Talk Taxes
Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill met with almost two-dozen representatives of the high-tech sector on Monday to discuss tax policy priorities for the industry. The meeting was arranged by the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), which represents some of nation's largest high-tech companies, such as AOL Time Warner, Cisco Systems, IBM and Microsoft.
Officials at the meeting discussed international policy items such as the controversial tax break for U.S. firms with overseas offices, the European Union's value-added tax and tax treaties with other countries. On the domestic tax front, the participants discussed the push for a permanent research and development tax credit; opposition to a bill, S. 1940, that would change the accounting for stock options; and the tax treatment of stock options.
"We had a good meeting," said Ralph Hellman, senior vice president of government affairs at ITI. Tax issues are hot over the next week in the tech sector. Next Monday, the electronics group AeA is hosting a news conference to show its opposition to the Internal Revenue Service's plan to begin withholding taxes on employees' stock options.
Doling It Out For Dole
CapNet, a Washington-area high-tech lobbying group, and Gateway Computer, one of CapNet's members, last Thursday hosted a lunch for North Carolina Republican Senate candidate Elizabeth Dole. Sen. George Allen, R-Va., was a guest at the event, which drew more than 40 people from various sectors of the technology community and raised about $40,000.
Dole discussed several issues important to the high-tech industry, including free trade, economic growth and job creation. Dole, who is running for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., said her campaign plans to bring greater attention to the issues.
"Her initiative and strong working relationships with industry, policymakers and the consumer communities will no doubt serve her campaign well," CapNet Executive Director Tim Hugo said in a statement. "We look forward to working with Elizabeth as she meets the challenges of a Senate campaign."
Earlier in the week, CapNet also hosted a fundraiser for Congressional Internet Caucus co-Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., and raised $15,000.
In other fundraising news, TechNet and two industry officials are hosting a fundraiser lunch for New Democrat Coalition co-Chair Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., on May 29. The two executives co-hosting the event are Gary Fazzino, Hewlett-Packard's vice president of government and public affairs, and Piper Cole, Sun Microsystems' vice president for global public policy.
On May 28, TechNet co-founder John Doerr, former Global Crossing CEO Leo Hindery, and InfoSeek founder and Propel.com CEO Steven Kirsch will host a fundraising luncheon for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC). The event is expected to raise about $1 million, according to a DSCC spokeswoman.
Rep. Weller Seeks GOP Campaign Post
Rep. Gerald Weller of Illinois, chairman of the House New Economy Republicans, announced last week that he collected 84 "firm commitments" in his bid to become the next chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), Congress Daily reported.
Weller, currently the NRCC finance chairman, is challenging New York Republican Thomas Reynolds, for the leadership post. Reynolds, who chairs the NRCC's executive committee and has close ties to House Majority Whip Tom DeLay of Texas, is considered the favorite.
The vote to replace term-limited NRCC Chairman Tom Davis of Virginia will occur after November's mid-term elections, and the winner will need votes of half the House Republicans to win. Republicans currently have 222 House members, and independent Rep. Virgil Goode of Virginia is planning to seek re-election as a Republican.
Employment Moves Within Industry
The Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) recently promoted Keith Kupferschmid, who was the group's intellectual property counsel, to vice president of intellectual property policy and enforcement. In his new position, Kupferschmid will work directly with SIIA's intellectual property committee to establish the association's positions and agenda on intellectual property. Before joining SIIA, Kupferschmid was an attorney with Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner.
Elsewhere within industry, Dittus Communications hired Penny Karas as senior director of technology policy, where she will serve as account leader for Dittus client Pegasus Communications and will develop programs for the Business Software Alliance. Karas previously managed communications for the global launch of the .biz domain-name suffix for Sterling, Va.-based NeuLevel. Before that, she managed corporate communications for Reston, Va.-based Cysive and was account supervisor at Fleishman-Hillard, where she developed and managed policy-related outreach programs for America Online.
The Walt Disney Co., which lobbies on content issues such as digital-rights management, has shifted its outside lobbying work from the law firm of Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand to Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, according to Influence Online. One change that Disney has made since controversy surrounding the bankrupt Enron energy firm surfaced is to end contracts with employers of Disney board members. Verner partner and former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, D-Maine, is on the Disney board, the publication reported.
Fujitsu has promoted Masanobu Katoh to senior group vice president of legal and industry relations and export controls, which means that Katoh will leave Washington and return to Fujitsu's headquarters in Japan. David Olive, who has been promoted to general manager from deputy general manager, will replace Katoh in Washington, and Tetsuro Urono will replace Olive as deputy general manager. Fujitsu lobbies on high-tech issues like e-commerce, intellectual property and telecommunications policy.
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