BSA | The Software Alliance welcomes the release of Secretary Clinton’s “Initiative on Technology Innovation,” a platform that recognizes that the success of the tech industry is critical to the US economy. A recent report from BSA shows the software industry contributes more than $1 trillion to the US GDP, nearly 10 million jobs, and $52 billion in R&D, with significant impact in each of the 50 states. The US is the global leader in software and we must continue to invest in our technology infrastructure to remain so.

In May, BSA | The Software Alliance joined more than a dozen technology trade associations in developing the first-ever Technology Sector Presidential Platform, designed to urge the 2016 presidential candidates to consider issues and implement policies that harness the power of technology, create jobs, grow the economy, foster innovation and continue to improve the lives of all Americans. Secretary Clinton’s tech agenda highlights many of the issues we raised in our letter. In particular, we are pleased to see that Clinton’s tech agenda supports the free movement of data across borders, including through the EU-US Privacy Shield. STEM and computer science education is another highlight of the Clinton tech agenda. Our industry has more jobs than it can fill, and educating the next generation of coders will help ensure that the US can produce enough tech talent to fill those jobs.

Many tech issues have bipartisan support. We look forward to the release of the Republican tech agenda and we are hopeful that it will contain similar measures to help support technology innovation and enterprise.