Ninth District Congressman Adam Smith today was appointed to the Democratic Task Force on Technology, a group of approximately 15 Members of Congress who will outreach to the technology community and advise House Democratic Leadership on technology policy.

“Serving on the Technology Task Force will give me an opportunity to work on the issues that will drive the 21st Century economy,” Smith said. “I am looking forward to it, because I think that I can be helpful in educating some of my colleagues about technology and how the government can best allow the technology industry to grow and continue to create good paying jobs across America.”

Since taking office two-and-a-half years ago, Smith has established himself as a leader on high-technology issues. He cites five goals relating to technology policy: 

• Encourage research and development to continue fostering technological innovations;
• Promote technology exports and re-evaluate inefficient and counterproductive export controls and unilateral sanctions;
• Take a hands-off approach to taxing and regulating the Internet;
• Encourage greater access to high-bandwidth (broadband) services by creating incentives for businesses to lay the infrastructure necessary to give homes, particularly those in rural and suburban areas, access to high-speed data capacity; and
• Educate children and adults for the 21st Century by teaching them the skills they need to succeed and providing lifelong learning and skills training. 

Smith is also sponsoring a high-technology summit for government officials and the technology community August 11 at the Bell Harbor Center in Seattle.