|
The Information Technology Association of America (ITAA)is an industry trade group for several information technology companies. Former Under Secretary of Commerce Phil Bond became the association's President in August 2006. He replaced Harris Miller who resigned as President in January 2006 in order to run for the U.S. Senate in Virginia. Miller was defeated by James Webb in the June Demcratic primary. Founded in 1961 as the Association of Data Processing Services Organizations (ADAPSO), the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA)provides global public policy, business networking, and national leadership to promote the continued rapid growth of the IT industry. ITAA consists of approximately 325 corporate members throughout the U.S., and is secretariat of the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA)., a global network of 67 countries' IT associations. The Association plays a leading role in issues of IT industry concern including information security, taxes and finance policy, digital intellectual property protection, telecommunications competition, workforce and education, immigration, online privacy and consumer protection, government IT procurement, human resources and e-commerce policy. ITAA members range from the smallest IT start-ups to industry leaders in the Internet, software, IT services, digital content, systems integration, telecommunications, and enterprise solution fields. ITAA membership is open to any company with operations situated in the U.S. and offering commercial IT products and services. Companies eligible for full IT membership include firms with headquarters, division offices, or branch offices located in the U.S. as well as foreign firms with subsidiary operations in the U.S. In addition, * offers affiliate membership to firms that sell business products and services to IT companies. Principal [http://www.itaa.org/ ITAA] Staff members [http://www.itaa.org/ ITAA] President Phil Bond Before joining *in August 2006, Bond served as Senior Vice President of Government Relations for Monster Worldwide, the world's largest online career site, and General Manager of Monster Government Solutions. From 2001 to 2005, Bond was Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce for Technology and, from 2002-2003, served as Chief of Staff to Commerce Secretary Donald Evans. As Commerce Under Secretary, Bond oversaw the operations of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Office of Technology Policy, and the National Technical Information Service. During that time, Scientific American magazine named him one of the top 50 contributors to technology in the U.S. for advancing nanotechnology in the federal government. Bond served as Director of Federal Public Policy at Hewlett-Packard Company in 2001 and, between 1998 and 2001, was Senior Vice President for Government Affairs and Treasurer of the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI). From 1993 to 1998, he was Chief of Staff to Congresswoman Jennifer Dunn (R-WA) and, from 1992-1993, was Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, guiding legislative affairs for then Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney. Earlier in his career, Bond served as: Bond is a 1978 cum laude graduate of Linfield College, McMinnville, Oregon. ITAA Publications - ITAA E-Letter ITAA publishes a series of electronic newsletters. The ITAA E-LETTER covers the issues of the networked economy. These include coverage issues such as information and telecommunications public policy, as well as pertinent news about the businesses of electronic commerce, Internet service and enhanced telecommunications service providers. The ITAA E-LETTER is distributed exclusively by electronic mail and available for free available for free. Harris Miller Controversy During the tenure of its ITAA's former president, Harris Miller, the association became active Congressional lobbyists for increases in the H-1B visa quotas, defense of L-1 visa abuse, and support of offshore outsourcing of American jobs. During the late 1990s it went to many college campuses promoting the idea of a labor shortage in the IT industry. This was challenged by others, who claimed the industry was trying to inflate labor supply in order to drive down wages. In 2004 the ITAA released a paper claiming that most computer ballot problems in the United States were caused by voter error, not by machine problems. The paper also asked journalists to put all computer voting problems in this 'context'. After leaving ITAA, Miller's Senate opponent James Webb criticized Miller for his role as an IT lobbyist who exported American jobs, at more than one point saying "you've been called the Antichrist of outsourcing." * Member Organizations | |||||||
|
| ||||||||
 |
|
| |