McCain Tech Plan to Continue Hands-Off Approach to Regulation

Technology policy has not been a front-burner issue for either Sen John McCain (R-AZ) or his Sen Barack Obama (D-IL). However, it has become more critical for the McCain campaign in recent weeks, as perceptions grow that Sen McCain is less than tech-savvy. On Thursday, Sen McCain is expected to unveil a technology agenda that bundles previously announced pro-business proposals with continued support for a hands-off approach to regulation. The plan, dubbed "John McCain and American Innovation," will call for a 10% tax credit on wages paid to all research-and-development employees. At the same time, it will reiterate Sen McCain's opposition to Internet taxes and new laws guaranteeing Network Neutrality, the idea that Internet providers must treat all legal Internet traffic equally. The goal of the plan, said McCain spokesman Taylor Griffin, is to create "good, high-paying, innovation-oriented 21st-century jobs." The plan resulted from months of work by several of Sen. McCain's former telecommunications-policy aides and supporters, including former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell.