The Chamber of Commerce will travel to
Washington D.C. on May 7 - 10, 2012
Click here for the 2012 Legislative Action Plan.
Below is information from the 2011 trip:
The Chamber's Legislative Committee has developed three major talking points for the trip: fiscal responsibility, regulatory reform, and economic development. Read the entire 2011 Legislative Action Plan here.
Stay up to date with the Chamber by following our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter @bcschamber.
Check out our third short video with Royce Hickman talking about the trip.
And check out our pre-trip briefing video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcCDpN8dVrU
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Release: May 12, 2011
CHAMBER COMPLETES LEGISLATIVE TRIP
"Positive results from meetings on Capitol Hill."
The Bryan-College Station Chamber of Commerce wrapped up its four-day trip to Washington D.C. on Thursday and is headed back to the Brazos Valley.
The Chamber traveled to the nation's capitol this week as part of its annual legislative trip. A total of 23 volunteers -comprised of business owners, local officials, and community members - traveled to Capitol Hill to deliver issues directly to the nation's elected officials that the group had determined critical to business as well as to the community, state, and nation.
"We're up here to promote small business in Bryan and College Station, and the issues that are important to them," said Marty Cangelose, a former chairman of the Chamber's Board of Directors and current co-chair of the legislative committee. "These are issues that we determined are important to business, and that's what we're here for. This is my eighth year coming up here, and I feel this definitely has an impact."
The legislative committee outlined three main talking points in meetings many months before the group traveled to Washington D.C. Those points asked for fiscal responsibility, regulatory reform, and economic development. And another main point the group made sure to include: they weren't asking for any new funding or projects.
The group met with all elected Texas officials or their staffers, as well as scheduled some meetings with other senators or representatives from other states that serve on committees that aligned with the group's talking points. Key meetings included extended time with Senator John Cornyn, Representative Bill Flores, and the Chief of Staff for Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.
"I enjoy having friends from Bryan-College Station and the Chamber and others to come visit and tell me what's on their mind and what we can do to be helpful to them," Cornyn said. "And I usually then report to them what I see from my perspective of the front line of the fight up here in Washington. So I really look forward to it and enjoy it."
Both Cornyn and Flores discussed the issue of regulatory reform at length with the group.
"The Chamber has rightly recognized that it needs to focus on the macro issues -- the issues that are important to the country as a whole. Because let's face it - if the country goes bankrupt, then the Bryan-College Station community is no better off than the country as a whole," Flores said. "So the Chamber has focused on regulatory issues - such as the EPA - that is overreaching and is hurting Texas jobs. And I hear about it from one end of the spectrum to the other. From what's happening to where our banks are being regulated to the way egg growers and chicken farmers regulated, everybody's getting hurt by the overreach of the federal government and the regulatory regime around here."
As the group is preparing to return to the Bryan-College Station area, they are leaving Washington with a feeling of positive results. And most importantly that they were able to take the voice of business directly to those that guide the direction of the nation.
"Anyone that's been up here will see that the halls are full of people bringing their issues up here. And the worst thing you can do is not get your opinion in front of these elected officials," said Chamber President and CEO Royce Hickman. "We're letting them know what issues are important that we want passed. What issues we think are detrimental that we don't want passed. And it's critical to get that message up here first hand."
This is the eleventh year that the Chamber has traveled to Washington. The legislative planning committee -- which is comprised entirely of business and community volunteers, and does not include lobbyists - will begin planning the 2012 trip within the next few months.