SACRAMENTO, CA – The Sacramento Metro Chamber will lead nearly 350 regional business, civic and elected officials to Washington, D.C. April 9-13 and meet with federal representatives to advocate on behalf of the six-county Sacramento region.
In its 46th year, local elected officials Supervisor Mary Jane Griego, Yuba County Board of Supervisors and Mayor David M. Sander, City of Rancho Cordova will serve as Honorary Vice Chairs for the Annual Capitol-to-Capitol (Cap-to-Cap) program.
“It is an honor to serve as an Honorary Vice Chair for this remarkable civic enterprise we refer to as Cap-to-Cap,” said Supervisor Griego. “As one of the largest delegations of its kind to descend on our nation’s capital, we are all part of something very special in moving our region forward on our national agenda.”
Each year, participants work in teams to establish priorities and asks of our federal representatives in Congress, the Administration and agency officials on regional topics dedicated to improving our economic livelihood. This year, 11 policy teams, representing air quality, civic amenities, economic & community development, flood protection, food & agriculture, health care, homeland security, land use & national resources, transportation, water resources and workforce & education, drafted papers outlining policy positions and solutions. The delegation honed in on three critical areas of investment for our region: infrastructure, people and strategic initiatives.
“This year’s priority issues are designed to improve business recruitment, retention and expansion and provide quality job opportunities supporting our region’s families,” said Mayor David Sander.
Specific to infrastructure, the delegation will seek funding to support improved systems for moving goods and people and expanded water storage in preparation for future droughts. To ensure we build the workforce for tomorrow, participants will request continued funding for education grants and loans, expansion of career pathway programs and services designed to assist our veterans and homeless transition into the workforce. Additionally, participants will ask our representatives to support initiatives that play to our strategic advantages as a region; including expanded trade, support for small business development efforts, access to federal grants to expand our food and agricultural efforts and flood and wildfire prevention. An executive summary of the 2016 priority issues can be reviewed on the Metro Chamber website.
“Cap-to-Cap offers a unique opportunity for representatives from various jurisdictions and industries to collectively work together to advance the region at-large on critical initiatives,” said Peter Tateishi, Sacramento Metro Chamber President and CEO. “We are proud to organize this important program each year as part of our advocacy efforts and pleased to lead one of the largest delegations in recent years to our nation’s capital.”
Delegates will begin traveling on Saturday, April 9th. Follow all the action on Facebook and Twitter via #CaptoCap16.