Day 2 of Legislative Briefing & Virtual Fly-In packed with activity

Dozens of meetings held with elected officials and legislative staff

ATSSA’s annual Legislative Briefing & Fly-In wrapped up its first virtual event on Wednesday with a day full of meetings with legislators on Capitol Hill and their respective staffs.

Meetings ran from morning to evening as ATSSA members from across the country had the opportunity to deliver firsthand their priorities for the roadway safety infrastructure industry.

ATSSA’s Government Relations Team set up 54 meetings with legislative offices representing districts in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming.

The event included registrations from 95 ATSSA members from 25 states.

The annual event is traditionally in spring and includes in-person meetings on Capitol Hill but the coronavirus pandemic postponed the April event to October. It was then adjusted to September when the hotel where participants stay and the briefing is held wouldn’t reopen in time.

The two-day event is a free, exclusive benefit for ATSSA members and each year includes a day of legislative briefings followed by a day of in-person meetings with policymakers on Capitol Hill. Next year, ATSSA plans on reverting back to an in-person event, currently scheduled for April 21-22.

Tuesday’s briefing included live appearances by Rep. Garret Graves (R-N.C.) and Rep. Anthony Brindisi (D-N.Y.), and recorded messages from Rep. Xochitl Torres Small (D-N.M.) and Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.). The chief topics were infrastructure and transportation funding. Brandon Ashley, the majority deputy staff director for the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, spoke about tribal roads and ATSSA Vice President of Government Relations Nate Smith provided tips on making your case to Capitol Hill, which included talking points on key issues.

In most cases, the legislative staff handled Wednesday’s meetings but about a dozen elected officials were scheduled to take part, including Rep. Gary Palmer of Alabama, Sen. John Boozman of Arkansas, Sen. Martha McSally of Arizona, Rep. Mike Thompson of California, Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana, Rep. Sam Graves of Missouri, Rep. David Price of North Carolina, Rep. Bob Gibbs of Ohio, Rep. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, Rep. Rob Wittman of Virginia, Rep. Rick Larsen of Washington and Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming.

ATSSA Vice President of Government Relations Nate Smith said he was pleased with this year’s event and glad his team was able to schedule the personal meetings because that is a critical piece of the Legislative Briefing & Fly-In.

“Although the platform was different this year, the mission and goals were the same: educate Congress on the need for federal investment for roadway safety infrastructure projects,” Smith said. “We were successful in delivering that message to both Republicans and Democrats and House members and Senators. Even not being able to meet legislators face-to-face won’t stop ATSSA members from advocating that Safer Roads Save Lives.”