The

Honorable Mitch McConnell

Majority Leader
United States Senate

The Honorable Ron Johnson
Chairman, Homeland Security and
Government Affairs Committee
United States Senate

The Honorable Harry Reid

Minority Leader
United States Senate
The Honorable Tom Carper
Ranking Member, Homeland Security and
Government Affairs Committee
United States Senate


November 30, 2016

Dear Majority Leader McConnell, Minority Leader Reid, Chairman Johnson and Ranking
Member Carper,
We write in strong support of H.R. 5658 / S. ____, The TALENT Act, bipartisan legislation
that would codify the Presidential Innovation Fellows Program as a valuable pipeline for
attracting the brightest minds in technology and innovation to serve in the federal
government. The TALENT Act passed the House in July 2016 by an overwhelming
bipartisan vote of 409-8. Bipartisan companion legislation has now been introduced in the
Senate. We urge the Senate to take up and pass the bill this work period to institutionalize
this valuable government service program.
The Presidential Innovation Fellows (PIF) Program was created in 2012 to attract leading
technologists, entrepreneurs and executives to help solve some of our Nations greatest
challenges. The Program recruits thought leaders around the country and pairs them with
innovators inside government to leverage Fellows private sector expertise. The resulting
partnerships have helped to save taxpayer money, fuel private sector job growth, and
modernize the way federal agencies interact with the citizens they serve.
As scholars, industry leaders, and entrepreneurs committed to innovative problem-solving,
we welcome the PIF Programs successes and the benefits it brings to government agencies
and taxpayers alike. In its first four years, the program has already made significant
contributions to address challenges affecting the American people, including:
Providing employment opportunities to veterans: Fellows working with the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Labor developed the
Veterans Employment Center, the first interagency website connecting veterans,
transitioning servicemembers, and their spouses to meaningful employment
opportunities. The portal has resulted in cost savings of over $27 million to the VA.

 Making government more open: Fellows redesigned the portal Data.gov to make it
easier for agencies to provide data to the public and release over 180,000
government datasets for use by citizens, academics, and start-up businesses.
Helping patients access their own health information: Fellows working with the
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) helped improve data interoperability and ensure that 150 million
Americans have access to their own electronic medical records.
Leveraging technology to help cancer patients: Fellows working with the National
Cancer Institute (NCI) are redesigning how patients and oncologists find and
understand information about available cancer clinical trials, providing a
meaningful resource to cancer patients and improving research outcomes.
Improving education access and outcomes through technology: Fellows working at
the Department of Education helped develop The Future Ready District Pledge,
signed by roughly 2,000 district superintendents, representing millions of K-12
students, as a roadmap to promote the adoption of broadband access in the
classroom.
In addition to its programmatic successes, the PIF Program has emerged as a valuable
pipeline for bringing technologists and innovative thinkers into long-term roles in the
federal government. Nearly one third of Fellows remain in government service following
their fellowship, assuming leadership roles such as Deputy Chief Technology Officer of the
United States, Chief Technology Officer of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and Chief
Data Officer of the Department of Commerce.
By codifying the Presidential Innovation Fellows Program, the TALENT Act will ensure that
this innovative program continues to provide fresh thinking and cutting-edge expertise to
our 21st century federal government. We urge the Senate to take up and pass the
legislation this work period.

Sincerely,
Michael Abbott
General Partner
Kleiner, Perkins, Caulfield and Byers

Jeremy Allaire
Co-founder & CEO
Circle

Enrique Allen
General Partner and Co-founder
Designer Fund

Tasso Argyros
Founder & CEO
ActionIQ, Inc.

Ben Blumenfeld
General Partner and Co-founder
Designer Fund

Jeffrey J. Bussgang
Flybridge Capital Partners
Harvard Business School

Steve Case
Chairman
Revolution and The Case Foundation

Ron Conway
Investor and Philanthropist

Mazy Dar
CEO
OpenFin

Dan Doctoroff
Founder & CEO
Sidewalk Labs

John Eley
CEO
GoldenSource

Victoria Espinel
President & CEO
BSA | Software Alliance

John Paul Farmer

Director of Tech & Civic Innovation
Microsoft

Alexandra Reeve Givens

Executive Director
Institute for Technology Law & Policy,
Georgetown Law

Zach Graves
R Street Institute

Jennifer Y. Hyman
CEO and Co-Founder
Rent The Runway

Stan Humphries
Chief Analytics Officer and Chief Economist
Zillow Group

Matt Keiser
CEO
LiveIntent Inc.

Christian Lanng
CEO
Tradeshift

John Lilly
Partner
Greylock Partners

Joe Lonsdale
Founder, Palantir/Addepar
Partner, 8VC

Linda Moore
President & CEO
TechNet

Swati Mylavarapu
Partner
Kleiner, Perkins, Caulfield and Byers

Craig Newmark
Founder
craigslist & craigconnects

Nuala OConnor
President & CEO
Center for Democracy & Technology

Tim O'Reilly
Founder and CEO, O'Reilly Media
Partner, O'Reilly AlphaTech Ventures

Shervin Pishevar
Cofounder and Managing Director
Sherpa Capital

Hicham Oudghiri
Founder and CEO, Enigma.io

Stephanie Palmeri
Partner
SoftTech VC

Eric Ries
Entrepreneur & Author

Matt Rogers
Founder & Chief Product Officer
Nest

Reshma Saujani
Founder & CEO, Girls Who Code

Zach Sims
Co-founder & CEO
Codecademy

Nick Sinai
Venture Partner, Insight Venture Partners
Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy,
Harvard Kennedy School of Government

Anne-Marie Slaughter
President & CEO
New America Foundation

Max Stier
President and CEO
Partnership for Public Service

Halle Tecco
Founder
RockHealth

Ev Williams
CEO
Medium

Nicole Wong
Senior Advisor, Albright Stonebridge Group,
Former Deputy U.S. CTO

*Institutional affiliations are provided for identification purposes only and do not represent
institutional endorsement.