Bush Focuses on High-Tech Industry Issues
Thursday, January 4, 2001
George W. Bush expressed concern for the country's short-term economic outlook Thursday, indicating he may need to implement tax cuts faster than originally planned.
Bush was wrapping up his economic summit Thursday after an intensive effort to convince high-tech heavy-hitters he'd make good on his campaign promises to them.
Leaders of IBM, Intel, Sun Microsystems, Oracle, Hewlett-Packard, Cisco and others gathered in Austin, Texas, to sound off on issues affecting their companies: educating the work force, immigration, government regulations and trade.
"It's about what can high-tech do to help re-spur things, how we can work with him to help that out," said Floyd Kvamme, a participant and a partner in the venture-capital and investment banking firm Kleiner Perkins Caulfield and Byers.
Kvamme, who attended Wednesday's session, said executives also were conveying to Bush their belief that overregulation could harm the industry.
For Bush, the gathering served dual purposes.
He is seeking to build support for his proposed $1.3 trillion, 10-year tax cut, and industry leaders can be powerful messengers.
After romancing Silicon Valley in his election campaign, Bush also must show that he plans to deliver on promises to the industry.
Bush's Thursday meeting was the latest in a kind of listening tour, minus the tour. In the past two weeks he has met in Austin with ministers, members of Congress, agribusiness leaders and now corporate executives.
Each of the forums has been a freeform exchange of ideas behind closed doors, with no significant policy pronouncements or appointments emerging.
On each occasion, participants have left saying they were impressed by Bush's willingness to hear out their concerns.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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