TechAmerica, formed from the merger of four other tech trade groups, feels a responsibility to make the tech portions of the stimulus package successful, said CEO Christopher Hansen. The 1,500-member came out of the merger of AeA, the Information Technology Association of America and two other tech trade groups.

The stimulus package, pushed by U.S. President Barack Obama, includes about $50 billion in direct spending by the U.S. government, including $19 billion for health IT projects, $7.2 billion for broadband deployment and $4.5 billion for smart energy grid projects. TechAmerica is offering its advice to state governments, which much of the money will flow through, on how to most efficiently spend the money, said Roxanne Gould, TechAmerica's senior vice president for state government affairs.

For example, TechAmerica is working with Florida's state government to extend fiber broadband networks to schools currently using dial-up, she said.

While many people watching the stimulus package have called on the government to get the money out as quickly as possible in the hope of creating jobs, TechAmerica has a longer view, Gould said. "Our mantra has really been that, even if used in the next year or two, we really need to focus on using these dollars to benefit our communities for the next decades," she said.

Obama outlined three major policy focuses in a to Congress: energy, education and health care. Even beyond the stimulus package, tech will play a major role in each of those areas, Hansen said.