The New Landscape on the Hill

The New Landscape on the Hill

The New Landscape on the Hill: What Will it Mean for America’s Entrepreneurs?
Now that the dust from Election 2006 hassettled, it is time to take a closer look at the potential effects of the changed political landscape on America’s innovation economy. Most of the recent economic news has been pretty good. American companies are prospering, and the base for innovation and entrepreneurship is fairly strong. However, long term worries -- related to trade and current account deficits and a challenged K-12 education system -- lay on the horizon.

At the highest level, it’s unlikely that Democratic control of Congress will change this pattern very much. While Democrats have assumed the majority, their margins are not huge – and quite vulnerable to a veto from the White House. Thus, Congress will be unlikely to introduce huge shifts in policy in the coming two years. However, they will be able to get new issues and ideas on the table via Congressional hearings, and, as we will see below, they will also likely generate some changed policies and priorities in targeted areas.

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