The Austin Chamber’s delegation of 65 members visited Washington D.C. from June 11-13 for their Federal Advocacy Visit. The group engaged in a series of meetings, events, and discussions focused on various aspects of federal advocacy.
After lunch, the delegation proceeded to Capitol Hill, where they split into smaller groups for meetings with several key political figures and committees. These included Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s staff, Rep. Lloyd Doggett, Rep. Joaquin Castro, Rep. Chip Roy, Rep. Greg Casar, Rep. Pete Sessions, Rep. Michael Cloud, Rep. Sam Graves’ staff, Rep. Mark Veasey’s staff, Rep. Colin Allred’s staff, Senate Finance Committee staff, House Education and Workforce Committee staff, Senate Commerce Committee staff, House Ways and Means Committee staff, and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee staff.
Following the breakfast panel sponsored by Austin Community College, delegates visited executive branch offices and federal departments such as the Office of Public Engagement, Office of Infrastructure, Department of Transportation, Department of Education, and Department of Commerce.
The visit concluded with an AI-focused lunch panel featuring Addie Cooke from Google as AI Public Policy Lead; Ayaz Minhas from Meta as Privacy Policy Manager; and Matt Rimkunas from OpenAI as Congressional Lead. This event was sponsored by Texas State University.
The trip facilitated valuable conversations and connections for the participants. “It was an incredible trip full of great conversations,” noted one attendee. The chamber also extended thanks to Southwest Airlines for their reliable transportation services.
