SACRAMENTO—The nearly 300 delegates participating in the Metro Chamber’s annual Cap-to-Cap effort returned home April 29 after 2 ½ days of advocating for the region in Washington, D.C. and meeting with federal elected and government officials.

Metro Chamber President & CEO Matt Mahood summarized the effort this way:

“This trip is the region's best example of a public/private partnership. With nearly 300 attendees—almost 50 elected officials and dozens of staff members from various cities, counties and special districts coming together with business and labor leaders to advance a unified regional agenda.”

He called the effort “Sacramento region’s competitive advantage,” saying “ this year's delegation may be smaller than years past, but without question remains just as mighty—and in some ways more focused than previous efforts.” Still at, nearly 300 participants it remains the largest effort of its kind in the nation. View the issues delegates advocated on at www.metrochamber.org/captocap.

Over the course of Cap-to-Cap, delegates:

•Conducted over 220 individual meetings with 33 separate congressional offices, 63 different federal agencies offices and 20 different congressional committees

•Advocated on behalf of 91 separate policy and appropriations items

•Heard from four of our region's Congressional Representatives Dan Lungren, Doris Matsui, Mike Thompson and our newest member of the delegation, Tom McClintock. “This is the first time in recent memory we have had a clean sweep of the delegation,” Mahood said.

•Briefed by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and Director of the National Economic Council & Assistant to the President for Economic Policy , Dr. Lawrence Summers

•Conducted a Health Care Policy Workshop that examined health care both the reform discussion and what the policy decisions here meant to our region. “We learned important information about our region’s single largest private sector employer and what the issue of health care reform means to them and our business community .”

•Met with a chief technology officer and member of the Board of Directors for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy

•Met with the top civilian with the Army Corps of Engineers

•Met with California’s Sen. Barbara Boxer

•Had three separate meetings with the White House Office of Management & Budget

•Met U.S. House of Representatives Transportation Committee Chairman, Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minnesota

•Made sure that the professional lobbyists and association representatives that live and work in Washington, representing our local governments, our state government, critical trade associations were made better aware our regions issues

•Clean Green team interviewed by media seven times

•Health Care/Biosciences team interviewed by media six times

•Conducted 15 interviews with the press on an assortment issues ranging from transportation and water resources to economic development

•Used Twitter and Facebook to provide updates during the trip