ACCESS Washington, D.C. — Your Ticket to a Better Los Angeles

by Gary Toebben

Last week's announcement that a new federal courthouse for Los Angeles has finally been authorized and funded is the result of a 10-year effort to replace a woefully outdated facility in downtown Los Angeles. We applaud Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and the other members of the Los Angeles Congressional delegation for their persistence on this important project for our judicial system and the Los Angeles economy.

This success points out the importance of the Annual ACCESS Washington, D.C. trip the Chamber, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, other elected officials and partnering business organizations take to Washington, D.C. to advocate on behalf of important projects and legislation to benefit the citizens and economy of our region. This year’s trip is March 5-7, and all members of the Chamber and our partnering organizations are invited to join us in walking the halls of Congress and our nation’s capitol.

Other successes in recent years have included funding for the Gold Line extension, passage of legislation to secure a reliable power supply from Hoover Dam, Pell Grants for L.A. students, additional housing vouchers for homeless veterans in Los Angeles and preliminary support for America Fast Forward (AFF) in the current draft language of the Senate and House versions of the transportation reauthorization bill.

Center stage for this year’s trip will be AFF and the reauthorization of a new surface transportation bill. AFF empowers state and local governments to determine their own priorities through self-help funding mechanisms. The Senate draft entitled, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21), includes an AFF provision that would expand the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan program tenfold without increasing the federal debt.

Our delegation to D.C. will also advocate in support of initiatives that will help small businesses grow their companies by participating in President Barack Obama’s National Export Initiative. These initiatives will improve access to credit and trade expertise for small businesses. While recent efforts by the Chamber highlighted the woefully understaffed customs processing booths at LAX and resulted in 20 additional Customs and Border Patrol officers, this is not nearly enough new agents to meet the demand in the foreseeable future.

Advocates for education and workforce development on the ACCESS trip will be supporting Linked Learning, a bipartisan effort introduced by Representatives Judy Chu and Glenn Thompson, and Sen. Bob Casey through the Education for Tomorrow’s Jobs Act, which would combine rigorous college preparation with workplace experience.

Add a White House Briefing and meetings with members of Congress and the administration on energy and environmental sustainability, health care, water, federal regulations, homelessness — and many other issues. Together we will send a message that business growth in Los Angeles is vital to our nation's economic recovery. Join us.

And that's The Business Perspective.