Posted by Jeff MeisnerEditor, Microsoft on the Issues
More than 700 employees attended a town hall meeting today with Erskine Bowles, co-founder of The Campaign to Fix the Debt, to discuss the threats posed to our economy by the national debt.
The Campaign to Fix the Debt is a non-partisan movement to put America on a better fiscal and economic path. The campaign is comprised of people and organizations with a variety of social, economic and political perspectives who share the belief that America's growing federal debt threatens our future and must be addressed. The effort is focused on mobilizing key communities – including leaders from business, government, and policy – as well as people across America who want to see elected officials work together to solve our nation's fiscal challenges.
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Today, The Seattle Times featured an editorial supporting Microsoft’s National Talent Strategy proposal that outlines ideas for securing U.S. competitiveness and economic growth through high-skilled immigration reform and investments in STEM education.
The editorial suggests that the National Talent Strategy, announced by Microsoft’s Executive Vice President and General Counsel Brad Smith this fall at the Brookings Institution, should be part of the larger conversation happening in Congress next year around immigration reform.
At the Social Innovation Summit today, Microsoft announced the winners of the second annual Microsoft Imagine Cup Grants program, a three-year, $3 million competitive grant program that provides students with funding and support to help transform their projects into social enterprises or nonprofits that will address a specific social issue. Below is a photo of Team StethoCloud from Australia. Its members include (left to right) Kim Ramchen, Hon Weng Chong, Andrew Lin and Mahsa Salehi. The team took the second place grant consisting of a US$75,000 cash award for their solution that will help diagnose childhood pneumonia.
The Imagine Cup Grants program is part of the Microsoft YouthSpark initiative, which aims to create opportunities for 300 million youth during the next three years. Check out this feature story on the Microsoft News Center and this post on the Microsoft Corporate Citizenship Blog.
Editor’s Note: This post is part of a monthly series from Microsoft called “The View from Washington State”. The View from Washington State provides insight and commentary on topics and trends of importance to technology, education, corporate citizenship and public policy in Washington State.
Posted by Irene PlenefischGovernment Affairs Manager, Microsoft
Washington’s Governor-Elect Jay Inslee has made job creation his #1 agenda item. He has called innovation the “secret sauce” to creating more jobs, spurring more economic activity, and helping to cure state government’s lingering budget woes.
Governor-Elect Inslee is the one of many elected leaders in our state that takes pride in the size and scope of Washington’s information technology industry. These elected leaders understand that the industry has been a driving force in helping the state weather the recession, continuing to create thousands of new, well-paying job opportunities even as the overall economy has foundered.
Posted by Fred HumphriesVice President, U.S. Government Affairs, Microsoft
Microsoft welcomes today’s vote in the Senate to approve Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) for Russia and Moldova. We look forward to President Obama’s signature on this important legislation. The Russian Federation and Moldova are already Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and today’s action ensures that America now will be able to take advantage of the benefits of their joining the WTO, and the enforcement of the rule of law in key areas such as Intellectual Property Rights protection and Services, which are the key to our economy’s future competitiveness.
This has been a lengthy and important negotiation led by many U.S. Trade Representatives and officials across the Executive Branch of Government through many Administrations, including Senators Portman and Senator Johanns, among others.