Next Gen Web joined some of Washington’s heaviest hitters yesterday at an Innovation and Jobs Roundtable hosted by the Democratic Leadership Council. The panelists, ranging from high-level Obama Administration officials to private-sector business leaders, all made one thing clear: high-speed broadband deployment is crucial to creating new jobs and jumpstarting the economy.

DLC Chairman Harold Ford Jr. opened the event, saying that innovation will be the driver of new jobs. He introduced the first panelist, US Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, who expanded on this message. Secretary Locke said he has a goal to make the entire economy more innovative, citing specific proposals to create more “clusters of innovation” like Silicon Valley or the Raleigh Research Triangle, should the FY ’11 budget pass. But to accomplish this, he stressed the importance of robust, high-speed Internet across the country.

Getting into details, Secretary Locke explained that about $4.5 Billion of the nearly $7.2 Billion allocated for broadband expansion in the FY ’11 federal budget will be distributed by the Commerce Department. The Dept. will channel this money first towards underserved and un-served communities by building out high speed infrastructure. Only then, he said, will the private sector be able to connect high-speed broadband with users, a process he called building the middle-mile of high speed internet.

Small Business Administration (SBA) head Karen Mills echoed the Secretary, citing SBA goals to increase innovation. Infrastructure and innovation are the foundations for helping small business, she said.

US. Representative Betsy Markey (D-CO) spoke to the role innovation plays in stimulating local economies, saying high-speed broadband access is critical to “unleash the talent of rural America.”

AT&T Vice President Xavier Matthews closed the program, repeating the mantra “invest and innovate.” Referencing the Internet Ecosystem, Matthews explained that investment by the private Information and Technology sector creates jobs not only within the industry, but also creates new industries (with new jobs to offer) and allows small businesses to reinvent themselves. Shifting the focus to long term investment in broadband is vital to economic and job growth opportunities, Matthews said.

Public and private sector leaders agreed yesterday that innovation is the key factor to job growth, and high-speed broadband is necessary for innovation. A DLC report on display yesterday, “Where Jobs Come From: The Role of Innovation, Investment, and Infrastrucutre in Economic and Job Growth,” is worth reading for more insight on the subject.

Watch interviews with AT&T Vice President Xavier Matthews and DLC CEO Bruce Reed.

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