McCain lays out tech policy

Republican presidential candidate John McCain this week outlined his technology policy, a plan that he said would encourage American innovation and competitiveness through tax breaks and incentives for research. He said it includes a permanent research and development tax credit, and a plan that would allow companies to expense the costs of new equipment or technology in the first year.

He added that he favors open trade, worker retraining, a reduction in business regulations, as well as protection of intellectual property. McCain also vowed to keep the Internet free of unnecessary regulation and backs network neutrality laws. Finally, he said he supports increased access to broadband, and strongly backs a hike in the number of H-1B visas issued annually with the U.S. Department of Labor determining the number of visas issued each year.

"American workers should always be the first choice for highly skilled technology jobs. However, there is a critical shortage of these workers and American competitiveness is suffering as a result," McCain campaign statement said. "John McCain will expand the number of H-1B visas to allow our companies to keep top-notch talent--often trained in our graduate schools--in the United States."

The statement later continued, "For every foreign worker hired, corporations generally hire five to ten additional American workers."

For more on McCain's tech policies:
- see this InformationWeek.com article