In July, I was privileged to represent Nevada State Bank as part of a delegation of 100 business and community leaders who visited Washington, D.C. The trip arranged by the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce included three full days of meetings with key decision makers and policy experts, giving us a chance to let them know about the needs of Nevada’s businesses. This was one of the largest Chamber fly-ins in the country, and I’m proud that so many people from southern Nevada are engaged in making our community a better place to live and to operate a business.

We met with Nevada’s Congressional delegation, as well as other policy experts, to discuss issues of importance to Las Vegas and Nevada. It was an opportunity to learn more about issues and find ways to collaborate on policies that address some of our challenges and capitalize on opportunities.

The Chamber’s policy priorities include:

·        Funding for Interstate 11 between Las Vegas and Phoenix

·        Opposition to storing nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain

·        A systematic approach to releasing public land

·        Increasing Las Vegas’ share of Homeland Security funding

·        Increasing federal funding for graduate medical education

·        Passage of the Marketplace Fairness Act

·        Increasing federal grant dollars in Nevada

·        Federal funding of pilot programs to advance Smart Cities initiatives

·        Policies that increase education attainment and improve the workforce pipeline

During our meetings with Nevada’s Congressional delegation, we confirmed that each member of our delegation is fully committed to finding the funding to build Interstate 11 between Las Vegas and Phoenix, and they all oppose storage of nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain.

One of the highlights for me was a meeting with US Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta to discuss association health plans. We know from Nevada State Bank’s Small Business Survey that affordable health care for employees is one of the top challenges for small business, and the LVMCC has been leading the way in making this possible again. Secretary Acosta said he was impressed that the LVMCC is the first Chamber of Commerce in the country to work to bring back an affordable group health plan, which is scheduled for fall of this year. 

This trip was a great experience for me personally, especially the opportunity to meet so many leaders in the business community. As president and CEO of Nevada State Bank, I’m proud to say that we support the Chamber’s efforts to keep Nevada a great place to do business.

Best regards,