FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN LIKELY

It is very likely that the federal government will shutdown when FY23 funding expires on October 1.

• Where it stands: The Senate and House of Representatives remain far apart on the contours of keeping the government open while Congress continues to debate its FY24 funding bills.
• The big picture: The current debate is over a continuing resolution, not funding the government itself. This means that a long government shutdown is possible, as are multiple government shutdowns before the end of the year.

Why is this important for ECA? Government funding legislation can be the vehicle for passing ECA’s

policy priorities such as reducing visa wait times.

CALIFORNIA ENDS LONG-STANDING TRAVEL BOYCOTT

Last week, California passed a new law ending the state’s travel ban to 26-states nationwide.

• Why it matters: This ban prevented elected officials, state workers, and university faculty from traveling to events in more than half of the country using state funds.
• By the numbers: In 2017, California originally restricted travel to 4 states, but the ban grew to 26 states over the last 6 years.

ECA strongly believes in the power of face-to-face business events to bring people together, and we commend the overwhelming bipartisan support for this important policy change.

NEVADA DELEGATION TELLS FTC TO PASS ANTI-FRAUD RULE

Earlier this month, Nevada’s Congressional delegation called on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to finalize its business impersonation fraud rule.

• Advocacy works: This effort kicked off on ECA Legislative Action Day when our Nevada team met with Rep. Susie Lee’s office!
• What’s next: ECA continues to encourage the FTC to finalize its proposed rule ASAP to get it more enforcement authority to stop the scammers that prey on our industry.

Special thanks to ASAE’s Burcu Sahmali for leading the charge on this effort!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

• ASAE Inroads wrote about the introduction of the new Visa Processing Improvement Act.
• EDPA is encouraging its members to reach out to Congress in support of the JOBS Act and the Freedom to invest in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act, two of ECA’s future workforce priorities.
• This week’s EXHIBITOR NOW Association Focus podcast features advocacy updates from ECA and an interview with PCMA’s Howard Givner.
• Chris Griffin highlighted the importance of ECA in this Insights from the Tradeshow Floor clip.