Where does Barack Obama stand on technology issues?

In the second of our four-part series examining the positions of the presidential and vice presidential candidates on technology policy, BetaNews' Ed Oswald takes a look at the Illinois Democrat.

With respect to the growing middle ground between technology and politics, it could be viably argued that no one has embraced technology as part of his or her campaign -- at least as an ideal -- more than Sen. Barack Obama.

The use of online means to recruit campaign volunteers and to incite action on behalf of candidates, dates back to the 1984 campaign of Sen. Gary Hart. Web pages became a key component of campaigning in 1996, in Pres. Bill Clinton's bid for re-election against Sen. Bob Dole.

While Gov. Howard Dean's 2004 campaign could be the modern template for serious use of the Internet in politics, Sen. Obama has used a variety of methods, including e-mail, social networking, and text messaging, to stay in touch with supporters.

But does this embrace of technology and the Internet translate into positions that technology professionals would necessarily find favorable?

Sen. Obama's and his running mate, Sen. Joe Biden (Del.), are currently at odds over changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which has more commonly been referred to as 'warrantless wiretapping.' But back in January, Obama, Biden, and Sen. Patrick Leahy (Vt.) were on the same side, with Obama saying the retroactive immunity given to telecommunications companies was unacceptable.

Obama's tune changed in June, when he switched positions to support compromise legislation he believed President Bush would sign. While the retroactive immunity remained -- albeit couched in a clause that enables a court to determine whether such immunity applies, though pretty much guaranteeing that it does -- Obama said in a June statement that he would work in the Senate to reverse the immunity clause. This after having voted against an amendment to strike that clause.

Furthermore, Obama said his support for the new amendments to FISA was based on the fact that it restored the its original power and intent, making it clear that the President could not circumvent the law in order to spy on US citizens without a warrant.

Another position which finds the two sides of the Democratic ticket at odds with one another is net neutrality. While Sen. Biden has consistently said he believes any kind of legislation to enforce equal access for Internet services is unnecessary, Obama apparently believes the opposite.

"Barack Obama supports the basic principle that network providers should not be allowed to charge fees to privilege the content or applications of some Web sites and Internet applications over others,"according to Obama's campaign Web site. On its face, the statement does not imply a stand for or against specific net neutrality legislation -- several bills have been introduced since 2005, with nearly all of them having been tabled or stalled -- though it does side with what many believe to be the ideal's basic principle.

Obama's name has appeared as a sponsor of several bills that call for the enforcement of net neutrality policies for the nation's ISPs. It appears to also be a high priority for his administration; he has said he wants legislation passed during his first year in office.

Sen. Obama has made a good deal of noise since the primaries on the subject of opening up the federal government. Some may consider portions of his proposals the type of lofty, pie-in-the-sky proclamations they'd normally hear from a typical politician. But Obama's concept of a government empowered by technology to reach the people, is probably the most comprehensive effort to date to at least envision how the Internet may be tied into the day-to-day business of Washington, DC.

Government data would be opened up to the public in 'universally accessible formats,' Obama proposes, while the executive decision making process would be opened up, not only to solicit opinions from the public but also tap into the expertise of the public at large on certain subjects. Government departments and agencies would more directly and frequently account for themselves and their activities online, with requirements to provide more public reports of their business, and to invite public participation.

Americans would also be invited to comment on legislation on the President's desk for up to five days before the President signs it, essentially allowing citizens themselves to lobby the President directly.

Another major change that would significantly affect how the federal government would deal with technology is the appointment of what is being described as a "chief technology officer."

This cabinet-level official would be tasked with ensuring all branches are using technology in an effective manner. It would play hand-in-hand with the open government initiative, as the CTO would also be responsible for managing transparency as well.

Interoperability would also be another important factor that the CTO would need to manage. This would prevent confusion between agencies during national crises, and avoid bottlenecks which occurred on 9/11 and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

To some extent, the White House has had a central authority in charge of information systems since the first term of the Clinton administration. But this was far from a cabinet-level official; in fact, his contact with the President was certainly not direct, and most often limited to e-mail discussions.

The creation of a "cabinet level post" entails, by definition, the creation of a cabinet department, because cabinet secretaries require something to be secretaries of. This is a portion of Obama's oft-floated CTO proposal that has not been expanded upon, perhaps in order to deflect criticisms that the creation of yet another cabinet department would increase the size of government and only weigh further on an already resource-strapped federal budget.

I could have sworn this interview was longer than it appears now. In any event....

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Q&A With Senator Barack Obama On Key Technology Issues

November 26, 2007

Michael Arrington

Immigration and H1B Visas

MA: What is your position on H1B visas in general? Do you believe the number of H1B visas should be increased?

BO: Highly skilled immigrants have contributed significantly to our domestic technology industry. But we have a skills shortage, not a worker shortage. There are plenty of Americans who could be filling tech jobs given the proper training. I am committed to investing in communities and people who have not had an opportunity to work and participate in the Internet economy as anything other than consumers. Most H-1B new arrivals, for example, have earned a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent abroad (42.5%). They are not all PhDs. We can and should produce more Americans with bachelor’s degrees that lead to jobs in technology. A report of the National Science Foundation (NSF) reveals that blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans as a whole comprise more that 25% of the population but earn, as a whole, 16% of the bachelor degrees, 11% of the master’s degrees, and 5% of the doctorate degrees in science and engineering. We can do better than that and go a long way toward meeting industry’s need for skilled workers with Americans. Until we have achieved that, I will support a temporary increase in the H-1B visa program as a stopgap measure until we can reform our immigration system comprehensively. I support comprehensive immigration reform that includes improvement in our visa programs, including our legal permanent resident visa programs and temporary programs including the H-1B program, to attract some of the world’s most talented people to America. We should allow immigrants who earn their degrees in the U.S. to stay, work, and become Americans over time. As part of our comprehensive reform, we should examine our ability to replace a stopgap increase in the number of H1B visas with an increase in the number of permanent visas we issue to foreign skilled workers. I will also work to ensure immigrant workers are less dependent on their employers for their right to stay in the country and would hold accountable employers who abuse the system and their workers.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/11/26/qa-with-senator-barack-obama-on-key-technology-issues/

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