Next Steps on Federal Priorities

by Gary Toebben

Last week, 160 business, non-profit and elected leaders traveled to D.C. for our annual advocacy trip. Twelve teams spanning a wide-variety of issues that impact the Southern California economy met with seven Cabinet departments, the Vice President's office and dozens of Congressional and Senate offices. You can view the advocacy agenda here and our photo gallery here.

Despite the daily news and rhetoric on 24-hour cable, there is work happening on the Hill and we're proud that our conversations and input will help to shape those policies. Among our delegation's accomplishments last week:

• Economic drivers: The economy team had a productive meeting with the Commissioner of Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) who grew up in Santa Monica and served at Los Angeles International Airport for two years. CBP has made some major investments in staffing and technology at the ports and airport; ACCESS D.C. delegates thanked the Commissioner for those commitments and discussed areas for improvement. We'll look to deepen this relationship when the Commissioner joins the Chamber for World Trade Week in May.
• Trade: We met with the offices of the Vice President and the U.S. Trade Representative to discuss the importance of trade to Southern California, our logistics industry and our nation as a whole. We also noted the negative impact of the proposed steel and aluminum tariffs. Administration officials were optimistic that the basic framework for a modernized NAFTA would be in place by summer.
• Transportation infrastructure: One-third of our delegation covered nearly 20 meetings to share our thoughts on the components of a productive infrastructure investment package. Those meetings included Senator Tom Carper, the Ranking Member on the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee, Majority staff for the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, the Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Transportation. We committed to working with DOT on an upcoming visit to Los Angeles to demonstrate business community support for Metro projects.
• Housing and Homelessness: As our region aggressively ramps up addressing our homelessness crisis, the federal government recognizes that we are bringing dollars and solutions to the table. This team met with both the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development to push for the preservation of programs that have proven to be successful. The VA asked to work with us on identifying immediate actions to support the West L.A. veterans campus, while HUD asked for us to share the new processes we are putting in place and thanked us for our continued support of the U.S. Interagency Task Force on Homelessness. VA officials will also be out here this summer and have asked for our assistance on setting up a roundtable discussion.
• Education: As the budget omnibus negotiations were conducted to meet a March 23 deadline, three education teams, including three members of the LAUSD School Board and the Interim Superintendent, advocated to ensure that Congress' FY 2018 and FY 2019 budgets contain meaningful investments in cradle to career programs. Education delegates also committed to working to ensure that all CA Congressional members co-sponsor the Child Care for Working Families Act, which will dramatically increase the quality and availability of child care in L.A. County and across the nation.

Washington, D.C. can seem like an increasingly frustrating place. But as Bruce Katz of the Brookings Institution remarked on Thursday morning, "Cities are vanguards of change...we need to stop looking to the federal government to solve problems. Thank you for taking a few days of your time to help lead in addressing the challenges L.A. faces and sharing ideas on how the Federal government can help improve the economy for all."

I personally thank the 160 leaders who carried our message to D.C. and who returned home to continue their hard work this week. You are making a difference and we all appreciate your dedication.

And that's The Business Perspective.