Public Policy Programs

Legislative Coffees

The 2007 Legislative Coffees are held at the Council Bluffs Public Library, 400 Willow Ave every other Saturday from 9-10:30 a.m. The coffees are designed to give all Chamber members, public officials and citizens an opportunity to hear the latest news from the Legislature and to have their questions and concerns heard.

Area legislators are asked to review the latest activity of the House and Senate chamber of the Legislature and state their views and opinions on potential outcomes followed by a question and answer session. The forums are moderated by a member of the Chamber's public policy group and open to the public. Donuts and coffee will be served. If you have questions, please call Kelli O'Brien, Director of Public Policy at 712.325.1000.

The schedule is as follows:

• January 27
• Feb 10 & 24
• March 10 & 24
• April 7 (Easter weekend) & 21

Council Bluffs Day at the Legislature
March 20th 2007 Des Moines, Iowa

Please mark your calendars for this one of kind opportunity to lobby your Iowa General Assembly March 20th 2007.

This day begins with interaction of House and Senate leaders and continues in the afternoon lobbying with the committee chairs and managers of bills concerning areas of interest: Community Revitalization, Infrastructure, Business Climate and Workforce. Property Taxes, Historic Tax Credits, Energy Development and Education are few of the issues within the 2007 Legislative Agenda put forward by the Council Bluffs Chamber of Commerce as a member of the Iowa Chamber Alliance.

At the evening reception, the entire Iowa House and Iowa Senate are invited to join Council Bluffs Business community and elected officials at the Embassy Suites on the River after a busy day.; Last year's attendance for the first year included 97 Iowa State Senators and Iowa House Representatives. The business leaders that attended represented large, medium and small businesses. The hope this year is to increase the number of people from Council Bluffs to travel to the State Capitol. We encourage you to be an active participant in your state government and this is one way that we seek to engage you and your business.

If your business or organization would like to explore the new sponsorship opportunities for this event. Please call Krisi Plunkett at 712.325.1000 for more information.

If you are interested in attending, please contact Kelli O'Brien at the Chamber for more information about this event.

Washington DC Ambassadors 2007

The 2007 Council Bluffs Area Chamber of Commerce DC Ambassadors will be heading to Washington on March 5th and 6th..

This year's group of civic, business, and government leaders will depart for Washington DC as a part of a two day series of meetings to gain federal support for multiple projects in our community. The trip is important in maintaining relationships and contacts with federal officials who are decision makers in the allocation of federal funds.

The trip will include meetings with Senator Tom Harkin, Senator Charles Grassley, Representative Steve King and various members of their staffs. We will also meet with other members of congress and individuals from multiple federal departments and agencies.

The Chamber continually plans and organizes the trip recognizing the significant impact federal programs and funding can have on impacting the quality of life and economic stability of our community. It is important for our community to take an organized and unified agenda of issues and projects that are important to our entire community. Resources are sought for multiple projects that are beyond the resources and capabilities of our local governments.