Public Policy Archives - Page 6 of 8 - National Venture Capital Association

Category: Public Policy

A Balanced Approach on Patents is Critical to Innovation

blog, Patent Reform, Public Policy February 11, 2015/by

Now that the Republican Congress is moving forward quickly on patent litigation reform, policymakers must consider the impact of patent reform on the innovation economy. In January, NVCA, along with a broad coalition of universities, non-profit foundations, start-ups, small businesses, manufacturing, technology, and life sciences companies sent a letter to leadership of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees conveying the importance of taking a balanced approach that will stem abusive patent practices while protecting the rights of current patent holders. However, the re-introduction of House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte’s (R-VA), the Innovation Act, H.R. 9, revives the same concerns from last Congress’ debate, without taking into consideration recent developments that have significantly reduced patent litigation filings.

Turning Ideas into Reality at the ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit

blog, Energy, Public Policy February 3, 2015/by

Next week, ARPA-E will host its sixth annual conference and technology showcase convening energy experts and entrepreneurs for three-days focused on moving disruptive energy technologies out of the lab and into the market. We spoke with Dr. Cheryl Martin, Deputy Director for Commercialization at the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) for her perspective on the mission of the Summit and what’s new this year. Dr. Martin leads ARPA-E’s Technology-to-Market program, which helps breakthrough energy technologies succeed in the marketplace. Read more

Shaping the President’s Executive Order on Immigration to Benefit the Startup Ecosystem

blog, Immigration, Public Policy February 2, 2015/by

As the Obama Administration begins to sketch out the details of the President’s executive order on immigration, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has requested that interested stakeholders submit their recommendations on how best to implement the president’s proposed reforms.

With immigration reform having long been a top priority of NVCA, we wasted no time in engaging our member firms and their portfolio companies to develop and submit our own recommendations on behalf of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Read more

Considering the Implications of Tax Reform on the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

blog, Public Policy, Taxes January 21, 2015/by

Like clockwork, with each new Congress comes a renewed push to embark on a wholesale rewrite of our nation’s tax code. Sure enough, the start of the 114^th Congress is proving no different. Not only did President Obama touch on his priorities for tax reform in his State of the Union address last night, but the Senate Finance Committee recently announced the formation of five bipartisan working groups to develop concepts for a tax reform proposal. All of this comes after Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), the newly minted Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, announced his own intentions to proceed with a separate tax reform proposal in the House after he took over the gavel of the chamber’s tax-writing committee. Read more

President Obama’s Executive Order on Immigration Benefits Innovators

blog, Immigration, Public Policy November 21, 2014/by

Last night President Obama announced his executive action to fix the nation’s broken immigration system. Key provisions of the Executive Order benefit the innovation ecosystem and represent a victory for NVCA. Here is a short recap of the provisions that relate to high-skilled immigrant entrepreneurs, the venture capital industry and why this is such an important achievement for NVCA. Read more

NVCA Urges the White House Office of Science and Technology to Foster Innovation in Capital-Intensive Sectors

blog, Energy, Public Policy September 30, 2014/by

This week, NVCA submitted our comments to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the National Economic Council (NEC) on their updates to the 2009 Strategy for American Innovation, a comprehensive set of goals to advance innovation in the U.S.

We are committed to advancing public policies to support the growth of innovative new companies that are the foundation of a vibrant, prosperous U.S. economy. Despite the rise of incubators, crowdfunding, corporate venture capital, along with traditional venture capital, there remain considerable challenges for new companies in capital-intensive sectors such as life sciences, advanced materials and clean energy. In these sectors, in particular, the government has a critical role to play in fostering an environment for increased investment and innovation through tax and regulatory policies. Read more

Advancing Reforms to Spur U.S. Medical Innovation

blog, Healthcare Innovation, Public Policy August 13, 2014/by

NVCA Provides Public Policy Recommendations to House Committee on Energy and Commerce to Address Current Challenges Hindering Medical Innovation

The U.S. venture capital industry has always played a critical role in advancing medical innovation through investment in the life sciences industry, which includes biopharmaceutical, medical technology and diagnostics companies. The life sciences industry has revolutionized healthcare worldwide by preventing or curing serious conditions like influenza and cancer, and transforming once fatal diseases like HIV/AIDS into manageable chronic conditions. Read more

Why It Matters That Rupert Murdoch Joined the Push for Immigration Reform

blog, Immigration, Public Policy June 20, 2014/by

The much-talked about Wall Street Journal piece from Rupert Murdoch on the urgent need to pass immigration reform shines a bright light on the need for Congress to come together and act. While Murdoch is one of many, many voices championing this issue, his piece stands in contrast to the cacophony of voices who are sending immigration reform to the legislative graveyard.

Murdoch’s voice is important because he makes one point crystal clear: Immigration reform is not dead. As a nation we cannot pass on this opportunity to reform our immigration system because the engine of the U.S. economy—innovation and entrepreneurship—depends on the foreign-born entrepreneurs who come to America to build new businesses. Read more

Recapping an Active Week in Washington

blog, Healthcare Innovation, Miscellaneous, Public Policy June 13, 2014/by

There is immense opportunity in America today to build new technologies, services and products that shape the world. One of our key priorities at NVCA is ensuring America remains a country where the new ideas can flourish and long-term investment in innovation is rewarded. But, an environment that supports entrepreneurship and investment in new ideas cannot be taken for granted.

An economy where innovation can thrive must be carefully cultivated. Everyone in the innovation economy—venture capital investors, entrepreneurs, researchers, students, policymakers, corporations, incubators, service providers and others—has a role to play in advocating for the policies and regulations that provide pathways for innovators to bring new technologies and services to market. Right now, innovators are at a crossroads. If our government can’t bring simplicity and transparency to the regulatory system, America risks losing the entrepreneurs and those who invest in new ideas to Europe, Australia and Asia. Read more

NVCA Participates in 2014 Energy Datapalooza Event at White House

blog, Energy, Public Policy June 2, 2014/by

Last week, I attended the 2014 Energy Datapalooza event hosted at the White House, a gathering of innovators who are using the power of data to build the clean energy economy. Several venture-backed companies were part of the technology showcase and exhibited at the event, highlighting novel technologies aimed at energy efficiency, utility load management and a myriad of other challenges in the energy sector.

At the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), we believe that the government can and should be a trusted partner in helping the private sector adopt innovative technologies that will help spur the growth of the next generation of energy companies. Read more

Startups Will Be Collateral Damage in Lawmakers’ Zeal to Attack Big Tech

blog, Public Policy November 19, 2021/by Jeff Farrah

Congress has trained its sights on Big Tech: several antitrust bills have been introduced. But one bill stands apart because it would affect more than large tech companies – it harms American entrepreneurs who launch new enterprises and are responsible for our economic dynamism. Policymakers must take care to protect the startup model that has […]

NVCA Member Spotlight: Shadow Ventures

blog, Diversity, Member Spotlight November 8, 2021/by Sabrina Fang

Welcome to our Member Spotlight series where we give a profile overview of our many diverse members. For this deep dive, we spoke to KP Reddy, Founder and CEO at Shadow Ventures to learn more about his firm.