Today, President Obama will deliver his view on the state of our union to the Congress, as mandated by the Constitution. Tradition, and the aforementioned constitutional mandate, holds that this speech serves as an opportunity to set the President’s legislative agenda for the coming year in consultation with Congress. While these speeches are often far-reaching in promise and grand in tone, they serve as a platform for many interested parties to get a sense of how their policy goals might mesh with the legislative calendar for the coming year.
We at Engine have set fairly aggressive policy goals in many different fields. We are looking forward with particular interest to hearing what the President has to say about technology, and to seeing what the Congress intends to do in the coming year. Be it immigration reform, patent fixes, or reforms in other areas, we’re looking to this speech as a moment when we can get a sense of what we can reach for in 2013.
No matter what is discussed, and what policy priorities are laid out in front of us come Wednesday morning, we know that we won’t be able to achieve anything alone. To that end, we’re partnering with Google and local incubators and tech councils throughout the country to have a series of events this week on tech policy, where we’ll discuss what you as an entrepreneur, investor, or startup aficionado can do about advancing a range of policy goals while maintaining your focus on building your business.
We’ll be holding these events in five startup cities around the country, from Boston to LA, New York to Austin, and beyond, and we hope they will serve to build the core strength of our community in policymaking. By engaging with the issues as a community, collecting and sharing stories, and planning our next moves, we can set ourselves up for making positive changes to the policy and regulatory landscape in 2013. And, just as important, we hope these events will give you the chance to see how many of your friends, colleagues, and fellow travelers in the startup world are also happy to get involved and make it easier for startups to thrive in America.
If you're in Cambridge, join us tonight: Event details and RSVP form.
Or, join us on Wednesday February 13th in Austin: Event details and RSVP form.
Join us in San Francisco on Friday February 15th for our Block Party: Engine Block Party.
Photo courtesy of WCHI News.
