BCW Goes to Washington for Meetings with US Chamber and Congressional Members

The Business Council of Westchester was among six business organizations statewide that joined with the Business Council of New York State for a two-day visit on June 22 to Washington D.C. In addition to the BCW, business organizations attending the event included the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, Bronx Chamber of Commerce, Capital Region Chamber, Greater Rochester Chamber and Staten Island Chamber of Commerce.

Representing the BCW at the two-day event were BCW President and CEO Marsha Gordon, BCW Executive Vice President and COO John Ravitz, BCW Board Members Taryn Duffy of MGM Resorts Empire City Casino, Cynthia Delfino of YMCA of Central and Northern Westchester, Susan Fox of Westchester Institute for Human Development, and Karen Erren of Feeding Westchester.

The trip began Wednesday, June 21 with a welcome reception. More than 50 representatives from Congress, businesses, and advocacy groups attended the reception. Evan Jenkins, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce addressed the crowd. Day two of the trip included briefings from the US Chamber of Commerce staff and private meetings with the New York State Congressional Delegation members.

The trip provided BCW members with an opportunity to ask important questions to the members of the NYS congressional delegation on a range of issues that have been a priority in the BCW’s legislation agenda. The issues included the changing energy landscape facing Westchester County and New York State and the serious reliability and costs issues facing businesses until the renewable infrastructure is built. There are also important issues regarding the status of workforce development and nutritional and food federal programs. Another critical issue that was raised is the status of federal dollars that are needed to make repairs to transportation infrastructure in Westchester.

“We were delighted to be part of this important and highly informative trip to our Nation’s Capital. We heard from experts on issues important to New York State employers and a briefing on what the current Congress will be working on for the remainder of the 2023 calendar year. This trip is another advocacy ‘tool’ that we will be using to build a strong line of communication with the Westchester and New York State Congressional delegation and the BCW,” said BCW President and CEO Marsha Gordon. “We thank the Business Council of New York State and the US Chamber of Commerce for this tremendous opportunity to discuss issues of importance to our members in the business community,” she added.