How the candidates stand on technology-related issues.
If you listen to the daily reporting in the media, you’d think the presidential race came down to issues like Iraq, terrorism and healthcare. But what about technology?
We decided to get the candidates’ position on key tech issues, but it wasn’t easy. The Kerry camp sometimes responded with canned boilerplate answers; the Bush campaign didn’t respond at all. However, we pieced together the positions of the candidates based on the responses we did get, plus their speeches, blogs and information posted on their Web sites.
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Sometimes, it’s hard to tell who’s the Democrat and who’s the Republican; who’s the Compassionate Conservative or the Bleeding Heart Liberal. But here goes:
Outsourcing
In campaigning across the country, Kerry makes Bush out to be the leader of the offshore outsourcers. He cites members of the Bush administration who have made public statements in support of outsourcing. Kerry says current tax laws let companies defer paying U.S. taxes on income earned by their foreign subsidiaries. He says he plans to close that “loophole.”
“All across America, companies have shut their doors, putting hardworking people out of a job, leaving entire communities without help or hope,” Kerry says. “We value an America that exports products, not jobs – and we believe American workers should never have to subsidize the loss of their own job.”
Bush countered in a speech earlier this year that taxing overseas labor would hamper innovation in the U.S. Of course, Bush is not coming forward saying he is in favor of offshore outsourcing: He argues that going with Kerry’s plans would create isolationism.
“We want people working here,” Bush adds. But his staff didn’t provide any further details on his policy toward offshore outsourcing.
National broadband policy
It doesn’t take Kerry long in his speeches to point out that the U.S. is 10th in the world in the adoption of broadband. He says the country has fallen six spots in this ranking during Bush’s term as president. Kerry says he would provide a tax credit to ensure that broadband access is universal and affordable. He says he foresees a day when there is a universally available broadband network that is 10 to 100 times faster than today’s networks.
Widespread adoption of broadband would add $500 billion to the U.S. economy and generate more than 1.2 million jobs, Kerry says. “If Bangalore in India can be completely wired, then so should all of America,” he says.
Kerry plans to provide a 10% tax credit for investment in broadband technology and 20% for next-generation high-speed broadband. He proposes that these tax credits be in effect for five years, costing a total of $2 billion. “By bringing more opportunity to rural America, the telecommunications revolution can strengthen the social fabric of many communities,” he says.
Bush has urged Congress to not pass legislation that would tax broadband access offerings. He is in favor of universal broadband access within three years. “The quality of life of our citizens is going to improve dramatically through this technology,” Bush says. He has said that broadband over power lines is the next great opportunity in technology.
In Bush’s four years in office, the number of subscriber lines has increased in the U.S. from 7 million to 28 million. To encourage the deployment of broadband, Bush has urged the unfettered use of federal land to run fiber-optic lines.
According to Bush’s Web site, he has signed into law an economic security package that will speed depreciation schedules. He adds that deploying the telecom equipment and technologies needed for the high-speed Internet is capital-intensive. And companies are more likely to make these investments if they can depreciate the capital costs associated with broadband rollout over a shorter time period, he says on his Web site.
Wireless spectrum
Kerry would provide low-frequency spectrum needed to help with the growth of wireless broadband. “The explosive growth of Wi-Fi shows the benefits of making some spectrum available on an unlicensed basis,” he says. “This could be particularly important for rural areas, since the cost of deploying these new services could be three to four times cheaper than existing wireless technologies.”
Kerry also would make regulatory changes that encompass new broadband technologies such as mesh networks and ultra-wideband. He would free up spectrum by quickening the move of analog television signals to digital and would like to split the vacated spectrum in thirds, giving one-third to first responders and setting aside one-third for unlicensed wireless broadband. The rest would be auctioned off for up to $30 billion. This money would be used to pay for his national broadband policy.
Bush also agrees that more federally controlled wireless spectrum should be auctioned for free public use. He has asked Congress to pass the Commercial Spectrum Enhancement Act, which would allow for the sale of government-controlled spectrum. He notes that framework for spectrum management has not kept pace with the changes in technology and spectrum use.
“The spectrum that allows for wireless technology is a limited resource. In other words, it’s not endless spectrum. And we need to use it wisely. And a wise use of that spectrum is to help our economy grow and help the quality of our people,” Bush said in speech earlier this year.
Taxing the Internet
The U.S. Senate extended a moratorium in April on the ban on Internet access taxes.
Kerry was an original co-sponsor of the Internet Tax Freedom Act, which was was passed in 1998. This act placed a moratorium on Internet access taxes and taxes on e-commerce. He says he supports extending the moratorium for four years. However, while on the campaign trail, he did not make it to Washington D.C., to cast a vote when the Internet Tax Nondiscrimination Act was on the Senate floor in April.
Bush has pushed for a permanent moratorium on Internet access taxes. “If the goal is to spread broadband, it doesn’t make sense to tax it while we’re spreading it,” he said in a speech earlier this year. “If we want to be a nation of innovators, we don’t want to overtax industry and commerce and the entrepreneurial spirit.”
Cybersecurity
In creating the Department of Homeland Security, Bush also implemented the National Cyber Security Division that looks into national recovery efforts when dealing with cyberthreats. That division earlier this year announced new threat-alert services to inform IT professionals and the public of computer viruses and other such problems. One initiative is called Cyber Security Bulletins, which IT professionals can receive as bi-weekly e-mail updates on security issues.
Worms and viruses are causing billions of dollars each year in losses to the economy, Kerry says. He acknowledges the havoc these viruses could reach if not addressed soon. “We need a president who is actively supportive of developing technologies that will automatically detect and respond to these kinds of attacks,” Kerry says.
Kerry recommends supporting a cybersecurity intelligence system that will detect these cybersecurity threats. “John Kerry will implement global standards and best practices so that weak links are strengthened,” a Kerry staffer says.
In trying to shore up security on the Internet, Bush touts his part in negotiating the Cybercrime Convention. At the end of 2001, the U.S. signed the Council of Europe Cybercrime Convention along with 28 other nations. The Bush administration says the convention will help the U.S. and other countries fight criminals and terrorists who use computers to commit crimes, such as assaulting global information infrastructures.
Bush also created a national board and designated a special adviser for cyberspace security. The Critical Infrastructure Protection Board has organized national committees to streamline initiatives and address emergency planning. He recently put out a directive for the entire federal government to implement a single way for authentication into networks and buildings.
CAN-SPAM
Even though the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act (CAN-SPAM) has been seen as largely ineffective, Kerry does not have an answer to toughening the law against spammers. All his staffers could muster was: “John Kerry is open to considering the best means available to ensure people do not receive unsolicited e-mail.” Kerry didn’t cast a vote on CAN-SPAM in 2003.
Bush, who of course signed the bill, does note that there were six spam settlements during National Consumer Protection Week in February. Only recently have more spam crackdowns been made public. The president also signed into law the Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act in July, toughening punishment against identity thieves with longer jail terms and a new charge of aggravated identity theft. “This sends a clear message that a person who violates another’s financial privacy will be punished,” Bush said.
“The problems associated with spam cannot be solved by federal legislation alone, but will require the development and adoption of new technologies,” Bush states on his Web site.
Telework
Going with the same refrain of tax credits, Kerry supports a telecommuters tax credit to provide incentive to help people work from home.
Bush supports teleworking as a way to aid families, people with disabilities and the environment because it gives workers the flexibility to meet everyday demands, his Web site states. Within the first two weeks of his administration, Bush proposed a $20 million “Access to Telework Fund” to expand employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities by increasing access to telework equipment.
However, Bush’s track record on telework within his own government has not been stellar. The Office of Personnel Management report states federal agencies are only at 14% compliance with the telework mandate. But nearly 70% of federal teleworkers reside outside the Washington, D.C., area. Section 359 of Public Law 106-346 requires that 100% of eligible federal employees telework by year-end.
Taxing VoIP and views on UNE-P ruling
Kerry apparently hasn’t thought too much about taxing VoIP or about the back and forth rulings earlier this year on the right of telcos to disallow competitors use of their equipment.
When asked how VoIP should be taxed, his staff responded, “John Kerry is open to examining the best methods to deploy new technology in a way that is consumer-friendly and promotes a competitive marketplace.” They repeated that phrase when asked about Kerry’s view on whether an appeals court decision earlier this year to overturn the FCC’s unbundled network element platform ruling was the right decision.
Bush’s camp declined repeated requests for comment.
Senior Copy Editor Greg Cusack helped in researching this story.
