The Charlotte Regional Business Alliance® led a delegation of business leaders to the nation’s capital for a Washington, D.C. Fly-In this week. The trip served as a welcome opportunity for leaders from the Charlotte Region to be briefed on the state of play in Washington and to have a dialogue with members of Congress from North and South Carolina.
“It was exciting to bring a delegation of best-in-class government affairs specialists and members from the CLT Alliance Executive Committee to our nation’s capital,” Chief Advocacy and Strategy Officer Kelly O’Brien said. “While there, we met with leaders from both the executive and legislative branches and discussed federal issues of importance to our region. As the voice of business, this kind of trip shows Washington that our community is united and engaged.”
To start the trip, the delegation heard from Punchbowl News Founder Jake Sherman. Sherman is a highly regarded, well-connected journalist who focuses his reporting on Congress.
Sherman opened the Fly-In with comments on how members of Congress deal with the rigors of legislating, progress on key legislation, and a forecast of the midterm elections. For a local touch, Sherman talked about covering members of Congress from the Carolinas, which served as a good preview for the group’s visits later in the trip.
Sherman and his colleagues provide multiple daily newsletters and count many in our delegation among their subscribers. To check out their work, subscribe to Punchbowl News here.
Bill Bates with the Council on Competitiveness discussed the U.S. and global economies and some of the work his organization does to promote growth.
Among the many topics Bates covered, cybersecurity was a focus. Businesses and employees have to be on alert for cyberattacks and proactive in defending against them. The stakes and costs are incredibly high as bad actors increase their cyberattacks on U.S. companies, Bates said.
“Cyber hygiene, if not taken seriously, can be crippling for companies,” Bates said.
Continuing the focus on competitiveness issues, U.S. Department of Commerce Chief Economist Ronnie Chatterji gave an update on the status of the U.S. economy and priorities of the Biden administration.
The North Carolina native said that inflation is the number one issue weighing on the economy right now. Chatterji noted that as federal stimulus money was delivered to taxpayers, people started changing their buying patterns – buying more goods than services. He said this change was significant enough to have a sizeable impact on supply chains.
In addition to regulatory steps taken by the administration to help ease supply chain issues, Chatterji said legislation could be passed by Congress to aid the semiconductor industry. The America Competes Act would incentivize manufacturing of semiconductor chips in the U.S., allowing chip manufacturers to better compete globally, and would help to insulate companies from strained global supply chains.
Chatterji talked about addressing workforce shortages as well. Potential employees often lack information about available job opportunities, he said. Private sector job creators, government entities, and higher education institutions can all work to address this issue and thereby connect employers and employees.
Finally, Chatterji, on leave from his teaching position at Duke University, was sure to mention his March Madness predictions throughout his remarks. With Mike Krzyzewski, “Coach K,” retiring from a storied career as head coach at Duke University, Chatterji is undoubtedly hopeful for a deep run this March for the Duke basketball team.
To wrap up day one programming, the group heard from Zach Butterworth, director of private sector engagement at the White House. Butterworth also mentioned the America Competes Act, highlighting the Biden Administration’s focus on bringing jobs and investment back to the U.S., and increasing the economy’s competitiveness on a global scale.
Butterworth also shared the importance of President Joe Biden having a “big vision” for the country. Implementing this vision includes the American Rescue Plan and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which are addressing COVID-19 relief and 21st century infrastructure needs, respectively.
Just over a year into the president’s term, Butterworth noted that the administration’s work always continues.
“My inbox looks like the front page of the Wall Street Journal,” he said.
Members of Congress
The day before the trip began, Congress scheduled a Wednesday morning virtual address from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The CLT Alliance group was still fortunate to hear from many members of Congress from the Carolinas on day two of the DC Fly-In.
With the war in Ukraine top of mind, the members of Congress provided their insights and what they view as the best course for the U.S. Various members covered conflict-related topics including energy independence, the impact of sanctions on Russia, the impact of the war on the global economy, and segments of Zelensky’s address to Congress.
Many members also touched on workforce issues. Sen. Thom Tillis discussed how inflation and workforce shortages are having an impact on businesses and their continued recovery from the pandemic and other stressors.
Rep. Virginia Foxx was direct in saying that business leaders need to be proactive in sharing what types of training and skills they need potential workers to have. Workforce needs are changing, and businesses must articulate what is required.
Rep. Patrick McHenry provided important insights into working with the Republican Conference to enact important pro-growth priorities, and his role as ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee.
In a show of bi-state cooperation, Sens. Richard Burr and Tim Scott shared the podium and discussed how they often work together for the region.
Burr continued with comments on economic development, pointing to the many higher education institutions in North Carolina.
“The next two decades will be the most disruptive for the economy and kids will have jobs that don’t exist now,” he said.
The Charlotte Region has seen tremendous economic growth over the last several years. Our elected representatives are working to continue that growth. To remain competitive, our region must have a skilled workforce that can be nimble enough to be ready for the next set of challenges that will face our economy. We look forward to continuing to work with our federal delegation to make the Charlotte Region the most vibrant, innovative, healthy, and inclusive economy in the nation.
