Chairman Issa: regulations 'hampering' technology industry

Foreign companies are surpassing U.S. tech companies because of burdensome regulations, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) said: "It wasn't that long ago that the nation’s research, innovation, and high tech industries were unequaled; there was no more attractive country than the United States for technology start-up capital. More recently, however, the shine has started to come off the apple, and there seems little doubt that federal policies and regulations have played a large role in hampering growth."

Chairman Issa, a former technology executive who was once chairman of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), said he was concerned that burdensome regulations are hurting the growth of the U.S. technology sector and that foreign countries are surpassing the U.S. in terms of technological prowess. Chairman Issa attacked the government’s visa program as well as federal initiatives to provide citizens with more government data.

Google vice president for access services Milo Medin testified that the Federal Communications Commission's slow pace can cause uncertainty for businesses. "Agencies like the FCC all too often open up rulemaking dockets soliciting formal comments, receive a flood of documents from interested parties, and then fail to act for months or years — if they even act at all. The result is uncertainty, which is bad for business, bad for innovation and bad for investment," he said. Medin focused on spectrum calling on the government to move faster to clarify spectrum policies. In particular, he wants clarification on which airwaves will be available for unlicensed use in the aftermath of repacking, which will move broadcasters to a different part of the spectrum if the FCC gains auction authority from Congress. Medin also advocated for a policy loathed by some parts of the cable industry: municipal broadband. "Localities know more about what works for their communities than state governments or the federal government do. In the end, we feel that while this is probably not the right choice in many cases, it is something that should not be prohibited," he said.