SXSW has been a melting pot of ideas and policy on immigration, cybersecurity, privacy, Internet of Things, international trade, and innovation.
— Suzan DelBene
When you have multiple patients on life support, you don't pull the plug on one just to save another.
As I have said all along, for any trade promotion authority bill to gain my support, it must require strong, enforceable environmental and labor protections.
I don't believe corporations are people.
There's nothing like having a football coach yelling at you at homecoming in front of a bunch of people. You do kind of get used to being inflappable in front of all that heated emotion. At times, that's very useful in business.
Lawmakers need to be better stewards of policy and update it, not just keep adding on top of old laws.
It's clear that the small business tax credit created under the Affordable Care - while well-intentioned policy - can be improved to better serve the needs of small businesses.
We have Windows 8 machines for our office. All of our staff have Windows phones. Some have desktops. We have a couple of folks who are using a Surface. I use a Surface.
Technology is moving quickly. Policy is not moving as quickly.
Advances in technology and the Internet have dramatically changed the way we communicate, live, and work.
As a woman standing up here, we have to fight for the rights of women.
Just because technological advances have made it easier for the federal government to collect information doesn't mean that our privacy rights can or should be violated on the ground or in the air.
Zika has arrived on our shores, and the number of local infections is continuing to grow. Thankfully, companies like SpringStar are doing incredible work developing innovative tools to stop the spread of Zika. It's more important than ever that Congress provide the resources to deploy these technologies to the communities who need them.
The conversation has become so divisive now on all types of immigration reform that it is really hard to move anything.
I know how businesses work and what government can do to help lay a strong foundation for the private sector.
U.S. companies need clear guidelines on when they have to turn over electronic communications to law enforcement if that information is stored abroad. The current uncertainty harms U.S. businesses and their customers and does not well-serve our foreign relationships.
The United States and Israel have always had a unique and strong bond that can never be broken.
My parents were from Wisconsin, and football was a big thing.
I am running because I believe strongly that we need to get folks back to work and address the needs that the folks in the 1st Congressional District have in terms of employment and economic opportunity.
People have looked at all sorts of effects of globalization and blamed trade. But it's lots of things.
Like many of you, I was very disappointed at the rollout of the Affordable Care Act.
You don't have the chance in a small business - when every dollar counts, every day - to make too many mistakes and recover from them, and you don't have the luxury of waiting to make the decision. You have to move quickly.
Policy doesn't move as quickly as innovation happens.
Growing our economy means supporting our small businesses, and one straightforward way to do this is to help business owners with the cost of health insurance for their workers.
Most of our technology issues aren't partisan.
We need to pass measures that protect consumers' private information while also encouraging new technological innovations.
Innovation is what we're going to need for the future, and that's always been a part of the technology industry.
We need to fight for the equal rights of citizens.
If you want to post pictures of yourself online, that's your decision, but you should understand the implications.
When we look at policy, it's important we make sure that it's up to date and reflective of the way the world works today - and where the world is heading in the future.
We don't have a lot of technology people in Congress, so one of the basic things is to help people be educated on how technology works: what's there, where is it headed, what some of the challenges and opportunities are.
We must update our country's workplace policies to remain competitive against other developed countries.
We must not risk defunding environmental conservation programs, which is why Congress should reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund to preserve our natural resources.
Stay engaged; be part of the process.
Some of the best preparation I had for coming to Congress is being a football referee. Because you've got to make a decision, and no matter what you do, someone's unhappy with you.
I was working in email in the early days in the late '80s, and people weren't using electronic communications at all in the way we take for granted today.
I talk to business; I talk to labor. I talk to everybody.
Climate change is a very real threat right now to our economy, the future of our children, to our way of life.
There's nothing like making a decision when you're a football referee. It really pushes you to be very clear - to make that decision and to sell it to everybody who's there. You believe in it, but you have to make sure other people believe in it, too.
Strong, enforceable environmental protections will not only help protect our planet for future generations, it will also level the playing field for small-and-medium-sized U.S. businesses by raising environmental standards.
We have a lot of folks who talk about immigration reform but haven't put their name on a bill.
You don't want to wake up and find out that your watch was hacked, that your thermostat was hacked, that your coffeemaker was hacked.
In this constantly evolving world, Congress must be a good steward of policy to ensure our laws at least keep pace.
I definitely think it's important for a CEO of any large corporation to understand how policy impacts their business and be aware of the decisions being made in Congress.
Congress has an obligation to clear the legal fog by passing my bill to require the federal government to obtain a warrant if it wants to conduct aerial surveillance.
Requiring companies to weaken devices with 'back doors' means we open up innocent Americans to the bad actors who would love easier access to our citizens' personal information.
A farm bill in Washington State is a jobs bill.
Simplifying the tax code and reducing administrative burdens will save small businesses money and time and let owners and employees focus less on paperwork and more on how to operate in this tough economy.
More and more companies are updating their leave policies to reflect an understanding that being family-friendly is a smart investment in their workforce and America's future.
It's not only in Israel's interest but in America's as well to stand with one of its closest and important allies.
