The following statement is attributed to Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, Consumer Technology Association (CTA)™, in support of the Chairman of the Senate Republican High-Tech Task Force, Sen. Orrin Hatch's (R-UT), "Innovation Agenda for the 115th Congress":

"We greatly appreciate Senator Hatch's leadership in putting forward an innovation agenda that fuels our economy and job creation, attracts and retains the world's best and brightest talent and stems the abuse from patent trolls. Empowering innovators to create new jobs, markets and industries will provide countless benefits to the U.S. economy and American consumers, while enabling our nation to remain one of the world's best place to do business.

"We are at a crossroads where we need a national strategy recognizing that innovation drives our economy and global  leadership. Chairman Hatch's plan recognizes that  innovation depends on nurturing, getting and keeping the best and brightest and a legal and regulatory system encouraging creativity and entrepreneurship. 

"We commend  Sen. Hatch on his strong, bold and broad proposal to ensure to our nation remains the global leader in innovation."