The Sacramento Metro Chamber is preparing again this year to lead a group of business and community leaders from the Sacramento region to Washington, D.C. on April 5th for its annual Capitol-to-Capitol Trip to lobby elected representatives and government officials on issues vital to the Sacramento region. This will be the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s 38th consecutive visit and remains the largest chamber of commerce lobbying trip in the nation.

Flood protection, transportation, clean energy technology and extending health care coverage for low income children are the centerpieces of this year’s Cap-to-Cap agenda.

“The Metro Chamber’s annual Cap-to-Cap Trip allows our region’s business and civic leaders to maintain important connections with our federal representatives and keep our region’s priorities top-of-mind throughout the year,” said Robert Dugan, head of legislative affairs for Granite Construction and Chair of the 2008 trip. “An important benefit of the trip is that it allows our region to keep a constant presence at the federal level and to keep elevating the issues important to ensure economic growth and prosperity.”

The Sacramento region is not alone in advocating for policy or seeking appropriations from the federal government. Our community competes with every other city, county and region in the nation. “The success of the Cap-to-Cap Trip is part persistence, part focus and part composition of its delegates,” said Matt Mahood, president & CEO of the Metro Chamber.

“The long-standing history of the trip has fostered the type of dialogue that allows each interest group in the region to feel comfortable advocating for their institutional interests while understanding that they need to work together to determine how those interests fit into a regional agenda,” Mahood added.

Bringing the region’s leaders together in Washington—business, labor and government—to advocate for our regional priorities gives our region a unique competitive advantage. “It’s something that is far stronger than any phone or mail campaign,” noted Dugan. “Quite often on the trip over the years we have heard Congressional leaders from other parts of the country comment that they only wish their regions could produce the turnout and cooperation that we manage to deliver each year.”

The trip’s purpose is specific and clearly defined: to utilize regional cooperation and leadership to identify, prioritize and advocate for the federal domestic policy and resources necessary to create economic and civic prosperity for California's greater Sacramento region.

“Each year, the Metro Chamber delegation makes a difference for our region through our actions in the halls of our nation’s Capitol,” noted Mahood. “We make sure our region’s funding priorities are known and understood. We shape regional policy directly. We present a single voice as we advocate for our region, and, we build important relationships not only with decision-makers in Washington, but among participants in a way that fosters regional collaboration.”

A strong unified voice from our region is important in the federal policy and funding process for our region’s priorities. “Our Congressional leaders need local support to be successful for us, and the trip is a cornerstone of that effort,” Dugan stated. “Cap-to-Cap is a great opportunity to create the synergy necessary for economic prosperity of the region as a whole.”

While our representatives understand our region’s priorities, Washington, D.C., is a competitive place. Our leaders need support to compete for limited federal resources for the Sacramento region and to help drive the legitimacy of their efforts to represent our region’s policy need.

“The Cap-to-Cap Trip is a perfect example of regional cooperation at its best,” said Michael Jacobson Metro Chamber board chair. “Cap-to-Cap offers a unique platform for business leaders and elected officials—representing local, regional and federal jurisdictions—to amplify attention on regional issues and in support of common objectives.”