- Promote spectrum availability and efficiency,
- Protect the U.S. from cyber attacks,
- Protect American intellectual property,
- Promote free and fair trade,
- Update the tax code to ensure job growth,
- Ensure American access to the best workers and
- Reduce unnecessary regulation.
CompTIA commends the House Republican leadership for their commitment to fostering job growth through innovation and technology. Our members have an important role to play in several of the key priorities set forth by the Technology Working Group, particularly in providing cybersecurity protection for businesses to operate safely and efficiently, attracting and retaining IT talent in the United States, ensuring an efficient and fair tax code that spurs business growth, and reducing unnecessary business regulations, an issue that disproportionately affects small firms.
The issues addressed by the Technology Working Group are as salient to tech SMBs as they are to multinational IT corporations; and in considering future technology policies, we urge the House Republican leadership to take into account the unique needs and contributions of small and medium-sized IT businesses.
The numbers suggest that such a focus is crucial. In 2010, there were approximately 385,000 IT firms in the United States employing nearly 2.7 million workers. Approximately 95 percent of firms fall into the small business category, defined as 50
employees or less. This means that the vast majority – approximately 366,000 – are small business IT firms.
Small IT businesses drive creativity and innovation across the country and are a vital component of rebuilding our economy, creating jobs and maintaining U.S. competitiveness. These firms are raising the productivity and efficiency of hundreds of thousands of other small businesses while providing the flexibility to innovate and implement new technologies.
The agenda released by the Technology Working Group is a step in the right direction and we look forward to working with Republican leadership on these issues.
