2019 Washington Fly-In Materials:
Washington Fly-In Agenda
Central Kentucky Regional Priorities (One-Pager)
Bluegrass Region's 2019 Federal Priorities

More than 50 Central Kentucky business, government and community leaders attended the annual Bluegrass Region’s annual Washington, D.C. Fly-In presented by Columbia Gas of Kentucky on July 24-25, 2019.  The two-day trip offered attendees the opportunity to meet with members of Kentucky’s Congressional Delegation, various agency officials, Congressional staff, and legislative experts to learn about key issues and promote policies that help businesses in the region.

​Attendees on the trip are diverse and represent various sectors of the local economy such as government, banking, health care, non-profit, education, manufacturing, energy, and professional services.  Members of the delegation act as “policy ambassadors” for Central Kentucky.  They share the issue concerns of the business community with members of Congress, and advocate for policies or projects aimed at making the region a better place to live and work.

This year’s Bluegrass Region 2019 federal advocacy priorities included:

• TRADE: Support for the USMCA and other trade/tariff polices that help Kentucky businesses grow.
• INFRASTRUCTURE: Support for increased federal investments in vital infrastructure including U.S. DOT BUILD Grants.
• HEALTH CARE: Support for health care policy changes that lower costs for employer-sponsored healthcare plans.
• WORKFORCE: Support for policy reforms related to key workforce development issues such as immigration reform, higher education reauthorization and making apprenticeship certifications more flexible to meet business needs.
• R&D GRANTS: Support for continued federal funding for important research and development grants that benefit the University of Kentucky’s research and start-up businesses.  This year, UK was awarded the largest federal grant ever for a four-year opioid study.  The more than $87 million study is aimed at reducing opioid deaths by 40 percent in 16 counties, including Fayette.
• HEMP: Support for regulatory changes to help advance Kentucky’s hemp.

The Bluegrass Region D.C. Fly-In is organized by Commerce Lexington Inc. and the Central Kentucky Regional Public Policy Group.  Members of the Regional Policy Group are responsible for crafting the federal policy agenda each year.

​The Regional Policy Group meets monthly to discuss issues important to the region, and membership includes business, community and government leaders within the eight-county region of Bourbon, Clark, Fayette, Franklin, Jessamine, Madison, Scott, and Woodford counties.   

2019 D.C. FLY-IN
PRESENTED BY:
Columbia Gas of Kentucky

PLATINUM SPONSORS:
Frost Brown Todd LLC
Kentucky Coal Association
Kentucky Utilities Co.

GOLD SPONSORS:
Blue Grass Airport
Kentucky Blood Center
WesBanco Bank

RECEPTION SPONSORS:
Commerce Lexington Inc. Economic Development
Kentucky Bankers Association

SPIRITS SPONSOR:
Beam Suntory
​

CONTACT:
For more information about the Washington, D.C. Fly-In contact Lynda Bebrowsky at (859) 226-1611.