federal agendamedia.bizj.us/view/img/8405822/sa-to-dc-agenda.pdf · 2. support airport...

FEBRUARY 1 - 4, 2016

FederalAgenda

1 | Federal Agenda

For 38 years, the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce has traveled to Washington, D.C. to promote and drive important initiatives that benefit San Antonio’s business community and ensure the city remains the best place to live, work, and play.

Today, we partner with the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Free Trade Alliance in order to create a more effective delegation that speaks on behalf of the business community in San Antonio.

To learn more, visit sachamber.org

Advocating for issues that matter to San Antonio.

AerospaceCommunity DevelopmentCybersecurityEducation & Workforce DevelopmentEnergy & SustainabilityHealth Care & BioscienceHospitality & TourismImmigration & Homeland SecurityInternational TradeManufacturingMilitary AffairsSmall BusinessTransportationWater

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1 | Federal Agenda SAtoDC | 2

1. Promote public/private solutions to efficiently and effectively manage the maintenance, repair, overhaul or modification of military platforms such as the class-leading models in place at Port San Antonio.

2. Support Port San Antonio’s request to the Secretary of the Air Force for the no-cost conveyance of tooling and equipment currently utilized at Port San Antonio as originally intended during the closure and economic development conveyance of Kelly Air Force Base.

3. Advocate for inclusion of the Leon Creek Flood Control Project within the anticipated 2016 Water Resources & Development Act, supporting efforts of the Corps of Engineers.

1. Support a non-stop service between San Antonio Airport and Reagan National Airport by extending the 1,250-mile perimeter limitation to 1,400 miles.

2. Support airport infrastructure by increasing funding for the Airport Improvement Program and an increase to the Passenger Facility Charge cap in order to allow for local discretion to generate additional funding for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved projects that enhance safety, security, and capacity.

3. Provide $6.2M in Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) funding for the San Antonio Urban Area (SAUA) and increase the areas that are funded through the Department of Homeland Security to the top 40 within the United States.

Aerospace

CommunityDevelopment

1. Support the University of Texas at San Antonio’s designation as a federally funded research and development center and cyber center of excellence.

2. Support the continued expansion of NSA Texas through additional local contracting and innovation partnerships.

3. Support the creation of a cyber innovation platform in San Antonio to provide rapid capabilities that meet urgent operational requirements from Air Force’s cyber and intelligence commands.

Public Education

1. Reauthorize the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act and include adequate formula funding to support CTE programs aligned with state, regional and local needs; industry internships, apprenticeships and mentorships; career and academic counseling; and testing for industry-recognized credentials.

2. Provide increased flexibility under the maintenance of effort (MOE) requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to account for increased efficiency, significant funding reductions, and other extraordinary circumstances.

Higher Education

3. Increase the 12-semester limit on Pell Grant eligibility for each student.

4. Increase funding for all Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), specifically Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) through Title V (Parts A&B) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 with a focus on STEM education initiatives and research partner opportunities.

5. Promote the passage of the Simplifying Financial Aid for Student Act (H.R. 3446) or (S. 1872) which will allow for applicants to enter tax information from the second preceding year on the FAFSA.

3 | Federal Agenda

Cybersecurity

Education & Workforce Development


Education & Workforce Development (Con’t)

San Antonio Academic Health Centers and Teaching Hospitals

6. Enhance FY17 funding for our nation’s academic health centers, especially the U. T. Health Science Center at San Antonio to expand professional health education, patient care, and biomedical research in San Antonio and the South Texas Border Region by increasing funding levels for the National Institutes of Health; Health Resources & Services Administration; Title VII and Title VIII; Direct Graduate Medical Education and Indirect Medical Education; Physician Reimbursement Rates; Agency for Health Care Research and Quality; Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute; Area Health and Education Centers; and Centers for Disease Control.

Workforce Development

7. Expand the definition of qualifying youth eligible for funding and training programs under grants provided through the offices of the Department of Labor, Department of Education, and Department of Health and Human Services.

8. Request a change in policy eliminating the requirement of a DD Form 214 (DD214) for transitioning service men and women who are seeking access to workforce training dollars before leaving active duty status.

Energy &Sustainability1. Support S. 2072, requiring EPA to establish an Early

Action Compact (EAC) program in order to provide regions with a means of avoiding a nonattainment designation by entering into an agreement between the EPA, state, and local governments to voluntarily implement emission reduction measures.

2. Support Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) funding for the EPA National Clean Diesel Campaign to continue reducing diesel emissions, promoting the use of clean diesel equipment and trucks, and supporting voluntary measures that assist the region in meeting current and future National Ambient Air Quality Standards.


1. Enact legislation that provides positive incentives for physicians to acquire and maintain health information technology and that reforms the electronic health record meaningful use program so that physicians are not mandated to engage in unnecessary activities and reporting.

2. Support stable and predictable reimbursement for hospital care, including continued full funding for Medicare GME and renewal of Texas’ 1115 waiver by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

3. Pass legislation to eliminate the Medicare site-neutral payment cuts for hospital outpatient departments under development at the time of enactment of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015.

Health Care & Bioscience

3. Support H.R. 8, the North American Energy & Security Act of 2015, which will help with resolving conflicts between environmental statutes and grid reliability requirements, protecting critical infrastructure information, eliminating the mandate for federal buildings to use only non-fossil energy by 2030, and expediting pipeline permitting.

4. Support of S. 2012, the Energy Policy Modernization Act. The bill includes provisions designed to strengthen building efficiency codes, expand domestic energy supplies, facilitate investment into critical infrastructure, and improve support for weatherization of homes and state energy programs.

5. Support reconciliation of H.R. 8, the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act of 2015, and S. 2012, the Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015, to increase regulatory certainty for economically viable LNG export projects. Both bills would set a deadline for DOE to review non-FTA export permit requests for LNG projects following final environmental approval by FERC.

Energy & Sustainability (Con’t)


1. Support JOLT ACT, Brand USA, and all efforts to market the United States as an international destination.

2. Support the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) which encourages increased foreign travel and spending in the United States.

3. Oppose H.R. 4019, the Orca Responsibility and Care Advancement Act which affects educational programs and local tourism industry organizations.

4. Support American Hotel and Lodging Association’s efforts regarding wage issues in the hospitality/service industry.

Hospitality & Tourism

Health Care & Bioscience (Con’t)

4. Enact structural changes to reform the Medicare Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) program and end abusive audit practices by co-sponsoring and passing the Fair Medical Audits Act of 2015 (H.R. 2568) to assist the physician community and the Medicare Audit Improvement Act of 2015 (H.R. 2156) to assist the hospital community.

5. Support socioeconomic status risk adjustment to the Medicare Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program by co-sponsoring and passing the Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act (S. 688 / H.R. 1343).

6. Support the implementation and enforcement of the 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) to ensure health insurance plans provide benefits coverage for behavioral health and physical health equally.


Immigration reform at the federal level and policies that:

1. Encourage investment in former military bases via EB-5 Foreign Investor Pilot Program.

2. Expand “start-up visa” programs for job-creating entrepreneurs.

3. Improve the availability and process to obtain non-immigrant work visas.

Immigration &Homeland Security

International Trade

1. Reform and permanently reauthorize the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im) to ensure U.S. manufacturing and exporting competitiveness.

2. Support a capital increase for the North American Development Bank to fulfill its mission of improving environmental infrastructure and the quality of life on both sides of the border.

3. Support the passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

4. Strengthen the political and business relationships with the Embassies of Mexico, Canada, Namibia, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and Germany to promote exports and foreign direct investment (FDI).

Manufacturing

1. Support the Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership (IMCP) for the Alamo Region including: • Applications for workforce development initiatives provided through the Department of Labor, Department of Commerce, and the Economic Development Administration.


• The passage of the Made in America Manufacturing Communities Act codifying the IMCP program.

Manufacturing (Con’t)

Military Affairs1. End Sequestration and appropriate funds for each

Department to adequately support their assigned missions.

2. Continue Impact Aid, which makes up a significant part of the total budgets for Lackland Independent School District (ISD), Ft. Sam Houston ISD, and Randolph Field ISD.

3. Support Military Construction (MILCON) funding requests from Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA) missions and commands. Further, support Sustainment, Repair and Modernization (SRM) funding for JBSA as new construction becomes less common.

4. Support efforts to recapitalize the current F-16 (Block 40/50) and to bring an F-35 operational or training mission to the 149th Fighter Wing, the Air National Guard’s (ANG) premier pilot training center.

Small Business

1. Support legislation to encourage access to capital for small businesses through stronger U.S. Capital Markets, increase funding for federal programs and non-profit intermediary lenders, increase awareness about the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI’s), and amend the Federal Credit Union Act to provide additional member business loans.

2. Strengthen initiatives that strive to provide opportunity for small, minority, women, and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses (SWMBE) to participate in bidding for large contracts, in an effort to meet the SWMBE goal of 23% and service-disabled veteran-owned business goal of a minimum of 3% for all prime contract and subcontract awards for a given fiscal year.


3. Continue financial support of the Department of Defense-sponsored Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTAC) initiative.

4. Support legislation to fund initiatives to assess cybersecurity resiliency of small businesses who contract with federal agencies to meet requirements as stated in DFARS 204.73.

5. Continue current certification process of Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB) and Women Owned Small Business (WOSB) by the Small Business Administration (SBA), eliminating the fee-based third-party certification requirement for women business owners.

6. Provide a 10% financial increase to support the Department of Defense-sponsored Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTAC) initiative to allow for compliance of an adjusted cooperative cost-share agreement from 50/50 to 65/35 percent as approved in the 2014 legislation.

7. Reintroduce the Promise Zone Job Creation Act which was introduced in the 113th Congress, which would add business tax incentives to the Promise Zones Initiative and provide an employment tax credit to employers who employ a resident of the Promise Zone or who locate their businesses within a Promise Zone.

Small Business (Con’t)

Transportation

1. Continue to support a multi-year federal surface transportation reauthorization bill to include an expedited environmental review process, renewal/expansion of the TIFIA and TIGER programs, Corridors of National Significance Program, enhanced funding for bus replacements, and additional funding across the modes.

2. Support grant and loan opportunities, including a proposed Corridors of National Significance Program, for the Lone Star Rail District and other potential passenger rail projects impacting our region.


Transportation (Con’t)

3. Support VIA Metropolitan Transit projects that may be eligible for TIGER 2016, Small Starts/New Starts, and other federal funding grant opportunities that can further the development of public transportation and other multi-modal projects.

4. Support continuation of flexible funding for state and local governments as part of the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Program, the Surface Transportation Program (STP), the National Highway Performance Program (NHPP), and the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP).

5. Support federal programs, policies, and legislation that encourage and provide incentives for the use of alternative fuels and technologies, including making permanent the current federal tax credits for alternative fuels and related infrastructure.

Water

1. Secure $10 million in each of the FY16 and FY17 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Work Plans from within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Construction General Account for reimbursing Bexar County’s $61.3 million advance of the federal share for the San Antonio Channel Improvement Project (Mission Reach Ecosystem Restoration and Recreation Project).

2. Support the Urban Waters Federal Partnership program and the six projects identified in the San Antonio region: • Brackish Groundwater Desalination; • Olmos Basin/San Antonio Zoo Water Quality and Ecosystem Restoration; • Eastside Promise Neighborhood/Wheatley Choice/ Promise Zone and Salado Creek Greenway; • San Pedro Creek Restoration; • Westside Creeks Ecosystem Restoration; and • San Antonio Missions World Heritage and Cultural Connections.

3. Support full funding for water infrastructure financing tools, primarily the Water Infrastructure Finance and


Innovation Authority (WIFIA) and the State Revolving Funds (SRF) for drinking and clean water projects.

4. Support a 2016 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) • WRDA 2016 is anticipated for consideration and approval of projects included in the Report to Congress on the Future of Water Development; • Support study and funding for the Mitchell Lake Flood Control Project and the Brackish Groundwater Desalination Project; and • Support funding for the $28.3 million Leon Creek Watershed Flood Risk Management Project.

Water (Con’t)


SA to DC Chair Eddie AldreteSenior Vice President, IBC Bank

Renée FloresChairman of the Board,San Antonio Chamber of CommerceRegional Vice President, External and Legislative Affairs, AT&T

Richard PerezPresident & CEOSan Antonio Chamber of Commerce

Rebecca Quintanilla CedilloChairman of the BoardSan Antonio Hispanic Chamber of CommercePresident, Strategic Initiatives, Inc

Ramiro CavazosPresident & CEOSan Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Pat FrostChairman, Executive CommitteeFree Trade Alliance San AntonioPresident, Frost Bank

Jose E. MartinezPresident & CEOFree Trade Alliance San Antonio

San Antonio Chamber of Commerce602 E. Commerce, San Antonio, TX 78205(210) 229-2100 | sachamber.org Free Trade Alliance203 S. St. Mary’s St., Suite 130, San Antonio, TX 78205(210) 229-9724 | freetradealliance.org San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce200 E. Grayson, Suite 203, San Antonio, TX 78212(210) 225-0462 | sahcc.org

2016 Leadership

2016 Sponsors

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