Worse than unknown, CIOs are out of touch. "Most [CIOs] don't have a clue "Most
CIOs don't have a clue what's happening in Washington. -Dr. Leon A. Kappelman,
professor of business computer information systems, University of North Texas" True,
the companies CIOs work for belong to their own trade associations, but these groups
lobby for their own industry-specific policy issues -- health care or tax reform, for
example. They leave IT issues to the IT trade groups, which consequently are the only
voices many lawmakers hear. Thomas J. Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce, one of Washington's largest and loudest business associations, believes CIOs
can balance this perspective by asserting themselves as the people who know IT best.
Can is the operative word; so far CIOs have chosen to keep their distance from Capitol
Hill. "[CIOs] say, "We don't do Washington,'" grumbles Donohue, who doesn't hesitate to
label IT executives "arrogant" and "naive" for refusing to get in the game with the
issues that affect them. "That's not the way our society is organized," Donohue says,
addingg, "People who 'don't do Washington' eventually come around."
Vendors in Action
Government, like nature, abhors a vacuum, and in the absence of CIOs, the vendor-
driven trade associations have stepped forward to flex impressive muscles. Funded by a
who's who of American high-tech vendors, these trade groups employ researchers,
marketers and legions of registered lobbyists to focus on political agendas set by
their member subcommittees. And it works. Among some of the IT trade groups' recent
victories:
Y2K. This issue was brought to the federal front burner in 1995 by the ITAA,
which established a Y2K Task Force to educate the public and private sectors about the
millennium bug, as well as to influence legislation. The ITAA was a key supporter of
the 1998 Y2K Information and Readiness Disclosure Act, which forced companies to go
public with their Y2K preparedness, and the aforementioned 1999 Y2K Act, which limits
post-Y2K litigation. This latter bill was controversial, dividing opinion along IT
vendors and customer lines. Of course, in the end, the vendors had roughly a dozen well-
financed IT trade associations supporting their stance; the customers had none.
