The Silicon Valley Leadership Group and its more than 350 member companies are dedicated to leading the country out of economic recession and building the industries of the future. Many policies on the federal level can help create the environment to enable American businesses to flourish.  We highly caution Congress and the Administration, however, to avoid policies that stifle job growth and innovation, such as the regulation of venture capital firms under the SEC.  While the Administration’s intention is to mitigate risks, this sector does not pose a threat to the stability of the financial system and such action would eliminate the incentives that created the Silicon Valley and its entrepreneurial culture.

In 2011:

The Silicon Valley Leadership Group pushed the Obama administration to make changes within their jurisdiction to make it easier for immigrant entrepreneurs to come to the U.S.:

• Immigrants can now qualify for a visa if they can demonstrate that their business endeavors will be in the interest of the United States, and
• An H-1B beneficiary who is the sole owner of a petitioning company may establish a valid employer-employee relationship for the purposes of qualifying for an H-1B nonimmigrant visa – which can be used by U.S. businesses to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or  technical expertise in specialized fields, such as science, engineering, and computer programming.

We also advocated for passage of the three FTA with Korea, Panama and Colombia during our September 2011 DC Advocacy Trip. 50 member companies signed onto a letter in support and all three agreements were passed by Congress on October 12.  We also joined efforts with other regional business associations across the country, as well as our 18 partner organizations in California.

By partnering with the WIN America Coalition, the Leadership Group supported a $1 trillion temporary repatriation of U.S. foreign earnings at a lower rate to the U.S. economy. Responding to the strong advocacy, Congress introduced bi-cameral and bi-partisan legislation which is currently pending before both the Senate and House.

• Since the annual CEO trip to D.C., Leadership Group members have reinforced against making piecemeal changes in the corporate tax code and vocally opposed to reduce or eliminate a U.S. employers’ ability to defer U.S. taxes on foreign earnings. A fall follow-up trip to D.C. included Capitol Hill and Administration visits urged broader, comprehensive effort to reform U.S. tax laws including temporary repatriation as a bridge to broader reform.