From June 4th-5th, Exhibit Concepts’ President and CEO, Kelli Glasser and Bill Glasser, husband and company co-owner, are advocating for the event industry on Capitol Hill.
Exhibitions Day is an event that brings lawmakers together with hundreds of leaders in the business of exhibition and face-to-face marketing to address issues crucial to the event industry. Exhibition leaders are working to influence change that will positively impact our economy and the industry’s lifeblood: our customers.
Over the course of this two day event, attendees will be tackling the following issues:
- America’s Transportation Infrastructure: As the Exhibitions Day website states, transportation infrastructure is one of the United States’ top 10 most problematic factors for doing business. Due to under investment in transportation infrastructure, our interstates and highways are damaged and clogged. This affects exhibition companies’ ability to transport trade show property efficiently and influences Americans to avoid road travel — causing a decrease in travel spend and loss of American jobs.
- Secure Travel Partnership Act of 2019 (H.R. 1996): In 2019, the House introduced R. 1996 and amended the Immigration and Nationality Act to rename the Visa Waiver Program to Secure Travel Partnership. As it stands, this program does not waive Visa requirements but enhances security standards between the United States and its partner countries. Event industry leaders are advocating for a change in the program’s name to “more accurately depict its security enhancements and demonstrate strong support for secure and better travel for international travelers who have been highly vetted,” the website states. Secure Travel Partnership will better describe the purposes of the bill.
- JOLT Act of 2019 (H.R. 2187): Across the United States, millions of jobs are impacted by international inbound travel. This policy amended the Immigration and Nationality Act in order to entice international travelers to come to the United States. By supporting the JOLT Act, numerous existing programs will be updated and strengthen, which in turn will increase the United States’ share of the global travel market.
- Protecting Brand USA: The FY2018 budget proposal is calling for the elimination of funding for Brand USA. This bipartisan program promotes our country overseas as a business and tourist destination and is supported by inbound airline passenger fees and private industries, not by U.S. taxpayers. As the website states, the program’s efforts “are crucial to attracting international business travel, investment, and fair and free trade.”
Exhibit Concepts’ attendance at the event is not just about us as a business – it’s about advocating for our clients, our employees and our industry. Glasser puts it best: “Our lawmakers rely on us as citizens and constituents to let them know what’s important to us – when we tell them our stories and ask for their support on our issues, they do pay attention.”
