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A Call To Innovation Arms
by Randy Barrett
The technology industry always wanted respect in power town, but its policy goals now are set to become the proverbial football in a star-studded political bash-a-thon on Capitol Hill this week.
The rumble has been brewing for some time, but since President Bush noted the connection between basic research, innovation and technology in his State of the Union speech last month, there is now an all-out war between Democrats and Republicans to claim patrimony of the issue.
If success has many fathers, these dads -- and moms -- are none too keen on each other. That makes for an awkward family portrait.
Scowling in one corner stands House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., who is clearly peeved that Democrats have managed to get on the tech policy bandwagon at all. Smiling happily in the other is House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who is busy offering the Republicans an olive branch after successfully co-opting the turf in record time.
"This is not a partisan issue," Pelosi wrote in a Wall Street Journal editorial Monday. "For more than a year, Democrats have been working with leaders in business and the academic community from across the country and across the ideological spectrum to put together our innovation agenda."
On Tuesday, Team Pelosi is scheduled to trot out newly minted National Medal of Technology winner George Lucas in a town-hall-style meeting in the basement of the Capitol. The celebrated "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" film director will talk about the "need to create a new generation of innovators that reflects the diversity of our country," a statement from Pelosi said.
On Wednesday, House Republicans are scheduled to hold their own tech confab in the same room. All the marquee heavies will be there, including Hastert, new Majority Leader John Boehner of Ohio, Majority Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri and Chief Deputy Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia.
A Hastert spokesman said to expect some new ideas on the Republican tech agenda. A Democratic source said he suspects Hastert will take the opportunity to soundly bash Pelosi and try to dislodge her party's claim on the innovation issue.
Tech Medalists Honored At White House
Bush on Monday hung National Medals of Technology around the necks of eight recipients during an East Room ceremony.
This year's medal laureates include engineer Ralph Baer; IBM's Nicholas Donofrio; Roger Easton of RoBarCo; filmmakers Lucas and Chrissie England of Industrial Light and Magic; Henry Nordhoff of Gen-Probe; Mark Pigott of Paccar; and Padmasree Warrior of Motorola.
"The medals I'm about to present are the highest award a president can bestow for astounding achievement in science and technology," Bush told the assembled crowd. "They recognize work that has helped expand the horizons of human knowledge."
Also in attendance were all the president's science and technology men: National Science Foundation Director Arden Bement, National Institute of Standards and Technology Director William Jeffrey, and White House science adviser John Marburger.
Not to be overlooked were Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y., and his staff director, David Goldston.
McQueary Reportedly Leaving Homeland Security
Charles McQueary, the undersecretary for science and technology at the Homeland Security Department, is leaving the agency, according to Hill staffers. His next professional destination is unknown.
McQueary was confirmed in 2003 and led the department's research and development programs. Before joining Homeland Security, he was president of General Dynamics Advanced Technology Systems in Greensboro, N.C. Earlier in his career, he served as president and vice president of business units for AT&T and Lucent Technologies, and as a director for AT&T Bell Laboratories.
In other Homeland Security news, Julie Myers is a new assistant secretary, succeeding Michael Garcia as the head of immigration and customs enforcement.
Tech Group Taps New Lawyer
The Association for Competitive Technology has tapped Braden Cox to be its research and policy counsel.
Cox comes from the American Legislative Exchange Council, where he served as director of the information technology and telecommunications task force. He succeeds Michael Tavilla, who has taken a position with the Aberdeen Group in Boston.
"Braden was the first and only name that came to mind as we looked to fill this position," ACT Vice President Steve DelBianco said. "Braden's work as a lawyer and his focus on tech and telecom issues brings ACT up to a new level of policy expertise."
Earlier in his work life, Cox was a technology counsel at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. He holds a law degree from the University of Georgia.
Schmitz To Lead New Program At Input
Paul Schmitz has been named vice president at Input. The company slices and dices federal procurement data for IT systems integrators.
Schmitz will run the company's executive program, which supplies "best practices" research, executive education, and strategies to improve the performance of their organization's sales, marketing and business development.
He arrives from Gartner Group, where he ran its executive program. Before that, Schmitz worked at The Executive Committee.
Elsewhere, David Brant has joined Deloitte Consulting. He was formerly the director of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
During his eight-year tenure as chief of NCIS, Brant oversaw the investigations of the terrorist attacks on the USS Cole in 2000 and the Pentagon in 2001. He joined the agency in 1977.
"David Brant is a global leader in the law enforcement community," Greg Pellegrino, managing director of Deloitte's global public-sector practice, said in a statement. "We are honored to have such an esteemed public servant join Deloitte to help our public- and private-sector clients."
Brant holds a bachelor's degree Bradley University and a master's degree in criminology from Indiana State University.
Quote Of The Week
"If we can have our cake without eating theirs, that would be great."
-- House Science Committee Staff Director David Goldston, on concerns that a budget emphasis on physical sciences could impact biomedical funding at the National Institutes of Health.
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