“Health care is not the only issue out there with potentially significant consequences for our industry. Here are a few more that are percolating in Washington, D.C. these days:

Privacy – I’ve written quite a bit in the past on the potential for new privacy regulations or laws. It’s still there and still looming. Keep close to the IAB and your other trade organizations to find out how you can help.

Net neutrality – Big battles are taking place relative to the ability of Internet Service Providers to discriminate in their delivery of the bits that go through their pipes – i.e. giving some online content favorable treatment over other content. This is going to be big, really big, and the FCC and its chairman Jules Genakowski are leading the charge here.

Patent reform – Patent trolls are reshaping the patent landscape; their litigation of broad, vague software patents is amounting to a "tax” on innovation. Union Square’s Brad Burnham has a great post on the topic: .

Visas – Innovation-driven companies need the best and brightest talent, no matter where they come from. If U.S. companies can no longer attract and retain the best talent from overseas – and we’re now losing at that game because of immigration barriers – the best talent and the best innovation will concentrate elsewhere. There are efforts in D.C. to create “start-up” visas. It’s a great idea.