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Today, on behalf of the IT Alliance for Public Sector (ITAPS), a division of tech trade group ITI, I will testify before the California Senate Rules Committee hearing in favor of the confirmation of Amy Tong as the California State Chief Information Officer and Director of the California Department of Technology (CDT). Under Tong’s leadership, CDT has undergone improvements to provide increased transparency [...]
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As we approach Earth Day, ITI will join many communities and organizations engaged in discourse relating to the environment this week. While many discussions around town will focus on waste, energy conservation and air pollution, ITI will highlight an issue that garners a little less attention but is key to tackling environmental challenges: diversity in the area of sustainability. ITI will convene [...]
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On April 5, I had the privilege of testifying before a subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee to detail the tech industry’s policies, commitments, and achievements in driving responsible minerals sourcing throughout our global supply chains. It was the first hearing of the year for the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy, and lawmakers chose this convening to discuss [...]
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Earlier today, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the agency has received enough H-1B petitions to meet the total statutory cap of 85,000 visas allotted under law for fiscal year (FY) 2018. This marks the fifth consecutive year in which the visa cap was reached within days of USCIS accepting petitions for the upcoming year, demonstrating both the necessity and limitations [...]
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In 2015, an audit by California exposing glaring lapses in the state’s cybersecurity readiness quickly galvanized the California legislature and policymakers to take action. Fast forward to an oversight hearing last week which found, to its credit, the California Department of Technology (CDT) has improved upon its plan to fill those holes by hiring Peter Liebert earlier this year as the state’s new [...]
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On Monday, ITI is hosting a tax reform conversation and the timing of this event could not be better—tax reform is a hot topic in the nation’s capital. The political alignment of the White House and Congress presents a generational opportunity to confront the deficiencies in the current U.S. tax system, while setting our nation on a course towards future prosperity. In the tech industry, we welcome [...]
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Too often in the broader cybersecurity discussion the fact is lost that state and local governments are some of the most vulnerable and sought after targets of cybercrime. While much of the discussion focuses on securing federal systems and data, what government officials must keep in mind is that states and localities manage an exceptional amount of personally identifiable information that by all [...]
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“Buy America.” Sounds good when you say it, but despite being well-intentioned, such policies simply do not reflect the reality of the modern marketplace and can ultimately serve to do more harm than good for American workers and our economy. That is why the IT Alliance for Public Sector (ITAPS) recently joined 30 business associations representing companies across several industry sectors to urge [...]
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Each year, ITI honors one board member whose efforts transcend regular responsibilities to our organization with the Gary P. Fazzino Award for Innovation Excellence. Gary served as chair of ITI’s board while he was an executive with Hewlett-Packard and Applied Materials. A former mayor and council member for Palo Alto, Calif., his legacy of service and deep interest in public policy inspired many of [...]
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The Department of Defense’s DFARS Network Penetration and Contracting for Cloud Services rule continues to be problematic. That is why the IT Alliance for Public Sector (ITAPS) sent a letter to Department of Defense requesting the Department host a public technical forum to resolve the many questions and concerns identified by our industry in trying to implement a Final Rule. The rule requires contractors [...]
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