Key Members of Congress will speak at the NASBP Fly-in on June 26. The issue-orientation and a policy-briefing program that morning at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Capitol Hill will begin with presentations from Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) and Representatives Brian Higgins (D-NY 27th) and Steve King (R-IA 5th) to name a few.

	U.S. Senator Rand Paul’s (R-KY) issues include addressing the federal budget with a plan to balance the federal budget in five years and reforming the U.S. Tax Code to alleviate its burden and complexity on taxpayers. Senator Paul, elected to U.S. Senate in 2010, serves on the following Senate Committees: Homeland Security & Government Affairs; Energy & Natural Resources; Health, Education, Labor & Pensions; and Small Business & Entrepreneurship.
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul
U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins	U.S. Representative Brian Higgins (D-NY 27th)  is in his 4th term in Congress serving the 27th District of New York, which stretches along Lake Erie and consists of the eastern and southern two-thirds of Buffalo, plus most of the Erie County suburbs east and south of the city. Representative Higgins is the son of the late Daniel Higgins, Sr., a bricklayer, union leader, and statewide official, and Mary Higgins, a retired schoolteacher. One of Representative Higgins’ issues of concern is the construction of a project to change an unsafe and underutilized road into a two-way tree-lined parkway running parallel to the Outer Harbor. Higgins has supported measures to improve access to affordable capital; to lower capital gains rates on investing in a small business; to increase grants and tax credits that help small business owners, minority-, women-, and veteran-owned business owners, grow their operations; and to limit unnecessary regulatory and tax burdens on small businesses. Higgins currently serves on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security.
	U.S. Representative Steve King (R-IA 5th) is in his 5th term of Congress serving the 5th District of Iowa, which includes most of Western Iowa and the cities of Council Bluffs and Sioux City. King is familiar with the construction industry. In 1975, he started King Construction, an excavation business, which his son currently operates. As a member of the House Small Business Committee, he supports policies that will reduce the tax and regulatory burden under which entrepreneurs and small business owners operate. Congressman King supports eliminating federal income tax and replacing it with the “Fair Tax”- a national sales tax that would replace all forms of federal income tax. King serves on the House Small Business, Judiciary, and Agriculture Committees.
U.S. Rep. Steve King

NASBP Fly-in attendees will also hear from Emily Murphy, Senior Counsel to the House Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee. Murphy, who is an expert on federal contracting matters, assisted with the drafting of legislation that was adopted in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2013, which included important small business reforms, such as raising the contract size of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Surety Bond Guarantee Program from $2 million to $5 million, amending the definition of contract bundling to include procurements for new construction, and providing the authority of the SBA with the authority to oversee the 13 current mentor-protégé agreements throughout the federal government.

Also, Kirk Bell, Senior Legislative Assistant to U.S. Representative Howard Coble (R-NC 6th), will address the group. Bell currently works closely with U.S. Representative Howard Coble. Since 1985, Bell has worked on Capitol Hill with several Members of Congress including Representatives Cobey (NC), Packard (CA), Robinson (AR), and Hancock (MO). Bell was also Director of Communication-Press Secretary during Carl Paladino’s race for Governor of New York against Andrew Cuomo in 2010.

In addition, NASBP is pleased that Peter Gibbs, Deputy Director of the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Surety Guarantees (OSG), has agreed to again provide NASBP Fly-in attendees an update on the impressive account of projects being undertaken by his office and how these may impact the surety industry. Gibbs manages a staff of over 20 professionals at the organization’s headquarters and regional offices in Denver, CO and Seattle, WA. Gibbs is responsible for developing and recommending policies and procedures, guidelines and criteria for evaluating and mitigating all programs and operation efforts including those governing the regional office. In addition, Gibbs works closely with surety companies who provide over $4 billion annually in bonds to small businesses throughout the U.S.

The afternoon of June 26 will be dedicated to NASBP members, affiliates, and associates meeting with their members of Congress on Capitol Hill. The day concludes with a NASBP-hosted reception that evening in the new U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, located in the lower level of the U.S. Capitol, room SVC 209-08. Invited guests include members of Congress and their staff as well as industry association representatives. For more information about the Fly-in, contact Larry LeClair at lleclair@nasbp.org. Come and show your passion for surety. Register today for the Annual NASBP Legislative Fly-in, June 26. For more information about the Fly-in, click here. To register now, click here.