WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell named U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) to the Senate Republican High Tech Task Force for the 111^th Congress.

“I’m proud to once again serve as a member of this Task Force,” stated Sen. Hutchison. “To get our nation through the current economic climate, we need to enact legislation that will grow jobs and spur innovation, allowing our entrepreneurs, researchers and workers to create the next-generation products and technologies.  Whether it as the ranking Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee, or on the Senate floor, I’ll continue fighting for economic and technological growth in Texas .”

Senator Hutchison, the ranking Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee, has served on the Senate Republican High Tech Task Force since its inception in 1999.  The Task Force was created to advise the Republican Conference on technology issues. The Task Force helps facilitate an exchange of views between the Senate and ’s job creators in high tech industries.

Senator Hutchison is the co-founder of The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas (TAMEST), a group created to recognize Texas ’ top achievers in the fields of medicine, engineering, and science and to support scientific research and encourage collaboration.  As senator, she has worked with the university administrators to establish “centers of excellence” at the major universities in Texas and has supported technology incubators, partnerships between universities and communities in an effort to grow companies from start up to independent company.

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