The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Washington Fly-In Briefing Program began in 2000, and since that time hundreds of chambers and associations have participated to hear the inside scoop on issues and policies that affect our business communities.
For the first time, the McKinney Chamber joined with the Allen-Fairview, Frisco and Plano chambers to represent our County’s interests in Washington DC. We work together to advocate in Austin and now we are working together to make our voice heard at the federal level.
With a population of over 900,000 and growing daily by 80 new residents, Collin County’s projected population by 2040 is three-million people. Along with that growth comes issues that all communities and businesses need to stay on top of to keep our economy thriving.
Briefings were held at the U.S. Chamber offices on Healthcare & Association Health Plans; NAFTA, trade and tariffs; and education, all important issues for us here in Texas. Then, meetings with Congressman Sam Johnson, Senator John Cornyn and Senator Ted Cruz gave the fly-in group a chance to hear what they are focusing on and the opportunity to share issues important to our organizations and communities.
Congressman Johnson shared his support of free trade: “I’ve long been a strong supporter of free trade, which plays a major role in Texas’s economic success story. In fact, Texas is number one for the 16th year in a row when it comes to exports, which by the way support more than a million jobs.”
Dialogue with Senator Cornyn and Senator Cruz focused on regulatory issues, transportation funding, tariffs and taxes along with concerns over continued education support, the possibility of retaliation in the agricultural industry due to tariffs and the need to Fix NICS, the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
A big thank you to FedEx for being our Senate Sponsor for the DC Fly-In.
