The Vermont Legislature has adjourned, and our Senators and Representatives have returned to their districts to face the voters for their successes and “policies that still need work”. Be on the lookout for a detailed end of session report from ABC NH/VT coming soon. The end of the session is not the end of the ABC NH/VT advocacy, but it is time to switch gears with a focus on Washington DC.

On June 24^th ABC members and staff descended upon Washington DC for its annual Legislative Conference. The conference itself is an education event for members to learn what ABC of America is doing to protect the interests of Merit Shops. Several staff and members of the NH/VT chapter went this year to stay engaged with the national organization and our representatives.

After arriving in DC several members decided it was time to see the city and check out some of the national treasures we have. They joined Vermont Regional Director Matt Musgrave on what he dubs “Honest Matts Scooter Tour” which began at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum (no scooters in building) and proceeded to go through the national mall seeing the capital building, Washington Monument, World War 2 Memorial, all the way to the Lincoln Memorial and then a loop around the Whitehouse.

After sightseeing everyone returned to the hotels to put on tuxedos for the ABC 75^th Anniversary Gala which was hosted by President George W Bush. This was an amazing event where members got to celebrate 75 years of Merit Shop success and hear a very personal account of the former Presidents time in office.

Wednesday the 25^th was all about business and members visited our congressional delegation. The group split to meet with both NH and VT delegates. First off for Vermont was Representative Becca Balint who invited us into the private office for a great discussion about what we were doing at the Vermont Construction Academy (VCA) to upskill and build the workforce. Balint was more than excited to hear about the industry led effort to tackle the challenges in our workforce and vowed to keep apprenticeship programs alive in the future to bolster our work.

Next, there was a rare and exclusive trip under the capital building in tunnels to go visit the Senate with the first stop being Senator Peter Welch. Welch’s staff had been reporting to him about the great work at the VCA and he applauded our efforts. He also said he would be willing to work towards expanding apprenticeship programs and wanted to work with ABC NH/VT to find good policies he would be able to introduce in future sessions.

The last stop was a trip to Senator Bernie Sanders office. Sanders has not spent a lot of time in Washington DC as he is on a national tour already working on future campaigns, but attendees got to meet with his staff.  Although the staff was cordial and inviting it was clear that Sander’s policy agenda does not match that of the Merit Shop, which was no surprise to anyone.

The annual Legislative Convention happens in June and ABC NH/VT encourages members to consider the trip to see not only the power behind our national association but how impactful it is to our congressional delegates to hear directly from business leaders. Please reach out to matt@abcnhvt.org or josh@abcnhvt.org if you have any interest in joining us next year!