Tech lobbies AeA, ITAA announce merger plans

Two of Washington's most prominent high-tech trade groups - the American Electronics Association and the Information Technology Association of America - announced today their boards are negotiating a merger.

Comment on this article in The Forum.The groups' executives say the pairing would strengthen the industry's voice on Capitol Hill with a new presidential administration and a new Congress on the horizon. But some tech insiders warned the combined entity might face major policy hurdles. No deadline for the merger has been set, but AeA President Chris Hansen and ITAA President Phil Bond said they hope to have the deal finalized soon so they can engage with policymakers early next year.

AeA has long been known for its state lobbying efforts, while ITAA has "tremendous bandwidth" at the federal level, particularly in the area of government procurement, Hansen said. He noted that policies surrounding agency contracts are increasingly attractive to AeA's members who want more federal dollars. "Even where we work in the same areas, we don't work in the same way," he said.

Legislation pertaining to cybersecurity, trade and taxation will be on the front-burner for Bond and Hansen in the 111th Congress. Making permanent the federal research and development tax credit is at the top of Bond's agenda. "The credit has lapsed and it's costing us north of $12 billion and thousands of jobs," he said.

Meanwhile, Hansen wants to get involved in the push to create a nationwide system of electronic medical records. "A lot of our companies have a real interest in seeing that deployed," he said. One tech policy veteran argued neither organization was active on key issues in the 110th Congress, like antitrust and competition; intellectual property; or the debate over "network neutrality," a proposal to ban Internet providers from blocking content.

"There are a host of tech questions that Congress wants sensible answers to," the official said, wondering whether the new group would be prepared to take on the challenge. With such a pairing, "you run the risk of being homogenized in what you do," the official said. "There are lots of intra-industry issues that have public policy implications."

The source said ITAA was "pretty weak" when its longtime chief Harris Miller, a Democrat, left to run for Virginia Republican Sen. George Allen's seat. He lost the Democratic primary to now-Sen. Jim Webb, who defeated Allen. The trade group "almost went out of business" and was without permanent leadership until Bond came aboard, the source said. "From day one, he started talking about a merger. He thought they needed strength in numbers to survive," the official said of Bond, a former Commerce Department undersecretary. Since Bond's arrival, ITAA has acquired the Cyber Security Industry Alliance and the Government Electronics and Information Association.

AeA and ITAA have not come up with a new name, and executives have not sorted out what the change will mean for their workforce. "We're anticipating that Phil and I will be a team to bring this to fruition," Hansen said. Bond noted that he and Hansen are "committed to making this work," and if there is back office redundancy, "we'll have to take a look at that."

Their new headquarters location is also undetermined. AeA is based in Santa Clara, Calif., and Washington while ITAA calls Arlington, Va., home. The likely choice will be inside the Beltway, but Hansen said the group will maintain a strong presence in Silicon Valley.