2021 Year in Review: Federal Government

This year has been an especially busy one between the change in presidential administrations, the state legislature meeting for its regular session (plus three special sessions), local government activity, and the continued emergence from the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s a review of our activity at the federal level in 2021.
 
Transportation/Infrastructure

• Joined dozens of local Chambers of Commerce across the western United States to support the bipartisan infrastructure package, especially provisions for water infrastructure and drought resilience
• Wrote a letter to Senator John Cornyn in support of the Senate bipartisan infrastructure package
• Supported legislation filed for the Ports-to-Plains corridor as well as transportation legislation that would ensure Texas and other donor states receive at least 95% of what they contribute annually to the Highway Trust Fund

• Visited Washington, D.C. and met with elected officials and/or staff of the following offices and organizations: Senator John Cornyn, Senator Ted Cruz, Senator Ben Lujan (New Mexico), Representative Jodey Arrington, Representative August Pfluger, Representative Ronnie Jackson, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives
• Joined the Texas Association of Business and nine other local Chambers of Commerce to oppose the proposed $3.5 trillion reconciliation spending bill that would have given the United States the highest corporate tax rate in the developed world

• Joined forces with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to encourage businesses to “Rally for Recovery” in early 2021
• Opposed the PRO Act, which would have eliminated right-to-work laws, risk the employment status of workers who chose not to join a union, and made it difficult for independent contractors to demonstrate their working status, among other harmful provisions
• Created an action alert in opposition to a $15 federal minimum wage, which resulted in 90 total messages being sent to members of Congress from area businesses and residents

• Published an op-ed in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal supporting trade policies that would promote the economic and national security interests of the United States and its allies against the Chinese Communist Party
• Wrote a letter to the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers opposing the repeal of the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR) and encouraging regulatory consistency for landowners