TechVoice Blog

Senate Still Reviewing Immigration Legislation that Could Affect the IT Industry

May 21, 2013

The Senate is continuing its work on reviewing S. 744, “the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013.” The Senate Judiciary Committee, led by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), has held several sessions, known as mark-ups, in which they have made substantive changes to the legislation. In between the formal sessions, compromises are being reached in closed-door meetings. The goal of these continued negotiations is to achieve bipartisan report before the bill is voted on by the committee and sent to[...]

An Analysis and Update on the Senate’s Immigration Reform Proposal from Two D.C. Experts

May 15, 2013

Today, TechVoice hosted a WebEx webinar with two of Washington, D.C.’s experts on immigration reform. Alix Burns, founder of Bay Bridge Strategies, and Dan Turrentine, co-chair of Compete America, discussed comprehensive immigration reform legislation titled, “The Border, Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013.” Burns and Turrentine provided analysis of the legislation, fixes they propose and the bill’s future. Discussion began about the impact this bill has on the technology community. The bill addresses legal immigration – i.e., green cards – and temporary[...]

Congressman John Campbell Addresses Tax and Immigration Reform at Southern California TechVoice Event

May 15, 2013

Nearly 50 attendees representing Southern California’s tech industry and academia gathered at Irvine Valley College in Orange County, CA, on May 10 for a wide-ranging program featuring U.S. Congressman John Campbell. It was the third program of the new and growing Southern California TechVoice Chapter; a collaboration between CompTIA and the OC TechAlliance. Click here to view photos from the event. As chairman of the Southern California TechVoice Chapter, I had the privilege of moderating the interactive program with Campbell on issues ranging from taxation to immigration reform. Campbell[...]

Speakers at Tri-State TechVoice Chapter Call for Action

May 9, 2013

Use the power of technology to make government more responsive and effective, and understand the significance of high-skilled immigration to our national economy – both themes dominated our May 7th agenda when nearly 50 tech executives met in Newark, N.J., to hear from Newark Mayor Cory Booker and Robert Feldstein from New York Mayor Bloomberg’s office. This was the official kick-off of the Tri-State TechVoice Chapter, a collaboration between CompTIA, the New Jersey Technology Council, the New York Technology Council and the Connecticut Technology Council. Mayor Booker and Mr. Feldstein[...]

Senate Passes Marketplace Fairness Act; SMBs Concerned about Compliance Burden

May 7, 2013

Yesterday, the Senate passed the Marketplace Fairness Act (“MFA”) by a vote of 69-27. The MFA compels online and catalog retailers ("remote sellers"), no matter where they are located, to collect sales tax at the time of a transaction and remit to states where the customer resides. States are only granted the authority to collect these taxes after they have simplified their sales tax laws. This legislation (S. 743) now moves to the House, where its fate is less certain. The MFA took an unusual route to passage in the Senate. Typically, it would have to be reported out of[...]