In The News
SAN ANTONIO BUSINESS JOURNAL: "SA to DC" will highlight the 67 most important issues for San Antonio
Washington & San Antonio ,
January 29, 2016
"SA to DC" will highlight the 67 most important issues for San Antonio Next week will be a whirlwind tour for 130 San Antonio business leaders who will be in the nation's capital to push for the 67 issues that will create jobs and growth in the Alamo City. United under the banner of "SA to DC," the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce and three other organizations are headed to Washington DC to educate congressmen, senators and their staffers about those issues. Organizers told the Business Journal that the 130 people signed up for the trip will participate in more than 200 meetings over three days time. This year marks the 38th anniversary of "SA to DC" but organizers said 2016 is pivotal for many issues that are vital to the Alamo City. Among the issues on their agenda are increasing the number of direct, non-stop flights at the San Antonio International Airport, getting a new federal courthouse, federal funding for the Leon Creek Flood Control Project and passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Working in 14 committees, participants will meet with lawmakers from Texas and other states. Meanwhile, the chamber's energy committee will be highlighting issues important to both San Antonio and the Eagle Ford Shale, a vast oil and natural gas producing region just south of the Alamo City. Participants had originally planned to push for crude oil exports but congress approved them on Dec. 18 causing them to readjust their priorities. Now the group will be pushing to speed up the review process for liquefied natural gas export permit, according to energy committee co-chair Chris Ashcraft with the South Texas Energy & Economic Roundtable. With a record surplus of natural gas, South Texas stands to benefit from natural gas exports to Latin America, Europe and Asia where prices are much higher than those in the United States, energy sector experts have said. "LNG exports are tremendously important to this nation and the world," Ashcraft said. Energy committee co-chair Aaron Tipple with Westwood Professional Service, Inc. said participants will also focus on improving air quality, updating the region's power grid and keeping San Antonio's renewable energy economy moving forward. "We're not just talking oil and gas, we're talking about wind and solar and the new energy economy," Tipple said. Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-Laredo) told the Business Journal that his office will receive the San Antonio delegation and provide any support that they need. "In my opinion, the SA to DC trip is one of the most organized," Cuellar said. |