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As election day nears, presidential candidates President George W. Bush
and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) have taken on high-tech issues like spam,
cyber security and globalization in a series of questions and answers.
Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) surveyed both
candidates on various issues critical to the IT industry. Here is how
the candidates’ camps weighed in on some of the questions:
Q: What government training, education and certification policies can
help make American technology workers more competitive in the global
economy?
Bush: I will make loans available to help workers pay for
short-term training that leads to an industry-recognized credential or
certificate… My ”Jobs for the 21st Century” provides $250 million
for a new, employer-focused grant program that leverages the expertise
of America’s community and technical colleges to train workers for new
jobs in high-growth industries.
Kerry: I will work to build the workforce of the future by
investing in K-12 math and science education, rewarding colleges for
increasing the number of science and engineering degrees, and creating
state-of-the-art online learning technologies that allow hardworking
American workers to get high-quality training and education at a time,
place, and pace that works for them.
Q: What is the appropriate role of the federal and state governments
regarding Internet telephony and other similar Internet
applications?
Kerry: I am open to examining the best methods to deploy new
technology in a way that is consumer friendly and promotes a competitive
marketplace.
Bush: I support innovative communications technologies like Voice
Over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and believe they will lead to more
communications choices for consumers… Internet telephony by its nature
relies on technology that does not distinguish geographic borders. This
requires us to take a hard look at the appropriate role of federal and
state regulators with respect to a technology that may be more similar
to email than to regular telephony, at least in the way the signal is
transmitted.
Q: What should the federal government do to address the issue of
cyber security?
Bush: I announced the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace in
February 2003. This plan, which complements the National Strategy for
the Physical Protection of Critical Infrastructure and Key Assets,
depends on both public and private efforts to secure the many elements
that comprise the national information infrastructure, including
routers, switches, fiber-optic cables, and tens of millions of
interconnected computers. The strategy provides five national cyber
security priorities: a national security response system; vulnerability
reduction program; an awareness and training program; a government
cyberspace security program, and a national security and international
cyberspace security cooperation.
Kerry: We need a president who will devote the energy of the
White House to making our networks — our 21st century infrastructure —
stronger and more secure. That means supporting a cyber security
intelligence system ready to detect these threats. I will implement
global standards and best practices so that weak links are
strengthened… Most of the infrastructure we need to protect doesn’t
belong to government — and neither government nor business can fix
these problems alone.
Q: What should the federal government’s role be in regard to
Spam?
Kerry: I am open to considering the best means available to
ensure people do not receive unsolicited email.
Bush: The Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography
and Marketing (CAN-Spam) Act of 2003 that I signed into law will help
address the problems associated with the abuse of Spam. It also creates
new criminal penalties to assist in deterring the most offensive forms
of Spam, including unmarked sexually-oriented messages and emails
containing fraudulent headers… Consumers are provided with a choice
not to receive any further unsolicited messages from a sender and
senders that do not honor a consumer’s request are subject to civil
penalties.
Q: How important is the IT industry to the growth and development of
this nation?
Bush: We must continue to tap into the transformations that
information technology can bring about in organizations within a vast
array of industries and sectors. America needs a strong information
technology sector in order to compete in the global economy… My
support for the information technology sector and agenda for America’s
future has attracted the support of more than 26,000 investors, 32,000
high-tech leaders, and 71,000 small business owners.
Kerry: In some areas, there are appropriate steps that the
government can take, working with the private sector, to promote key
applications of IT that improve our quality of life. These include:
overcoming legal and regulatory barriers to the adoption of IT; making
the government an intelligent user of new technologies to carry out its
missions; support for R&D and pilot projects; and establishing
longer-term national goals on the use of IT… I will direct my cabinet
to develop an ”Innovation Agenda” built upon public-private
partnerships that harness IT and advance the following goals: promote
digital opportunity; make our government more open, responsive, and
efficient; transform America’s healthcare system; empower people with
disabilities to lead more independent lives; and put America’s cultural
heritage at the fingertips of every American.
