Washington, D.C., May 11 – Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) President Dave McCurdy issued the following reaction statement in support of "Offshore Outsourcing and America’s Competitive Edge: Losing Out in the High Technology R&D and Services Sectors"(available at http://lieberman.senate.gov), a white paper presented today by Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) at a forum co-hosted by EIA and the New America Foundation:

"Against the backdrop of ongoing debate over U.S. jobs and offshore outsourcing, Senator Lieberman could not be more accurate or timely in noting the need to fundamentally rethink America’s competitiveness strategy over the long-term. For the high-tech industry, the bottom line is this: the U.S. needs to develop a national innovation and technology vision and strategy.

In our Policy Playbook on Innovation that EIA unveiled last week (available at www.eia.org), we outlined many of the same issues discussed in Senator Lieberman’s white paper, including the current international business climate; the importance of free, fair and secure trade and enforcement; and the need for a strengthened U.S. education system. We want to work with Senator Lieberman and other leaders on some equally important concerns outlined in our playbook. For example, we are witnessing something unheard of in this country’s entrepreneurial history: a kind of reverse brain drain of foreign-born high-tech talent from the U.S. to other nations due to overzealous post-9/11 visa policies. What’s more, as a business environment, the U.S. is facing stiff competition from countries going out of their way to make high-tech companies welcome. And we need meaningful workforce training and assistance to update our Trade Adjustment Assistance program.

Our leaders must accept the fact that these issues are affecting our competitiveness as a nation and begin the process for a rational reaction. The U.S. needs accountability, not blame-spreading; responsibility, not partisanship. Most of all, we need the political will and leadership at the highest level to propel us forward, begin the debate, and develop a strategy that encourages more innovation, more trade and ultimately more high-skilled, high-wage high-tech job growth.

Senator Lieberman has done the country and our economy a great service by outlining the challenges ahead. The choice is clear: if we don’t determine what tomorrow will look like, others will determine it for us."

Contact name: Neil Gaffney
Contact email: ngaffney@eia.org