WASHINGTON — April 2, 2019 — This year’s TRSA 9th Annual Legislative Conference coincided with the very first blooms of cherry blossoms in Washington on March 27-28. The ninth year of this event began with a keynote speech by Chris Stirewalt, the politics editor for Fox News Channel and host of the Fox News Halftime Report. Stirewalt discussed the recent release of the Mueller Report and the impact its findings will have on strategy for both the Democratic and Republican parties moving forward. He also took several questions from the crowd. In closing, Stirewalt shared his opinion that partisan politics is here to stay.
The same afternoon, attendees were also briefed by Kevin Schwalb, TRSA’s vice president of government relations, on key issues to discuss with legislators in the following day’s Hill meetings, such as TRSA’s support for infrastructure improvement and adoption of the U.S. Department of Labor’s update of overtime rules. The day wrapped up with prime networking opportunities: the TRSAPAC Reception and a celebration of TRSA members’ exemplary business practices as a total of 25 awards were presented during the Annual Leadership Awards Dinner at the Dupont Circle Hotel. There were multiple winners in each of the eight competitions with an overall winner topping each. Interest in the TRSA competition was higher than ever as dozens of entries were received and judged by TRSA committees and subject-matter experts.
The second day of the conference provided TRSA members with an insider’s view of Washington politics and policy during three speaking engagements with Capitol Hill lawmakers Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chair of the Homeland Security Committee and Todd Young (R-Ind.), a 10-year Marine veteran and U.S. Naval Academy graduate elected to the Senate in 2016. The two senators spoke on Capitol Hill before the TRSA members set off for congressional offices to discuss issues, including the above-mentioned need for infrastructure improvements and approval of the Department of Labor’s proposed changes in overtime eligibility. U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), was the third speaker of the day, and he addressed the TRSA attendees at a luncheon meeting following their Hill visits. As chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), Rep. Luján helped engineer last year’s Democratic takeover of majority status in the U.S. House of Representatives.
More than fifty TRSA members visited a grand total of 77 offices of both Democratic and Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill to discuss issues impacting the linen, uniform and facility services industry. Each attendee was armed with several folders to leave behind with TRSA’s stance on the following issues:
- The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Overtime Regulation Proposal
- Infrastructure Improvements and/or Highway/Road Investment
Posted April 2, 2019
Source: TRSA
