Business Record - Recap: The Partnership's D.C. Trip

News Article

by Perry Beeman

The Greater Des Moines Partnership loaded a diverse group of nearly 200 active business, government and nonprofit group leaders onto a charter plane and headed for Washington, D.C., for its annual lobby trip May 10-12. At the Senate offices, at Cuba's embassy-like operation at the Swiss Embassy, at Old Ebbitt Grill, and at a rooftop overlooking the scaffold-wrapped Capitol, the delegation pushed for help with bus rapid transit, exports, biotechnology innovations, long-term transportation spending, tax reform, biofuels and defeating patent abuse, among many more items.

I went along to make some new connections, take in the panels and tours, hear the keynote addresses and congressional updates and to gather story tips. The trip didn't disappoint. It was a telling display of collaboration among Des Moines business and local government leaders and their colleagues in Washington. The Greater Des Moines delegation pushed from breakfast through late-night trips to local pubs each day. Sleep was optional. Here are some highlights.

Byers opens the trip with call to action

Partnership CEO Jay Byers opened the sessions with a neatly cadenced introduction punctuated repeatedly with this phrase: "This trip matters." He said there was work to do on exports, direct foreign investment, immigration, renewable fuels, health care, bus rapid transit and a new terminal for Des Moines International Airport. "This trip matters," Byers said.

"Without significant assistance from the federal government, these projects won't happen," Byers told the group of nearly 200 Greater Des Moines elected officials and representatives of business, charity, and nongovernment organizations.

He also noted that 2015 is "the year of Gerry Neugent," noting the Knapp Properties president and CEO has prominent roles in the convention hotel, the Court Avenue Hy-Vee development and other major projects. Neugent also happens to be the chairman of the Partnership board this year.

Said Neugent, rallying the troops: "We represent one of the largest groups to make a delegation to Washington. It's important that we make the best of it."

Congressional call-outs for ethanol, trade, immigration

Iowa's congressional delegation -- minus Steve King, who was back in Iowa -- appeared at a breakfast session. Each member got five minutes, prompting Sen. Charles Grassley to joke that senators aren't used to time limits.

Grassley noted that trade legislation was working its way through Senate committees. He's looking to expand markets for agriculture, manufacturing and financial products. He's also concerned about patent abuse, the need for better transportation, tort reform and asset forfeiture laws that have drawn criticism of police who confiscate too much property.

Sen. Joni Ernst joined other members of the delegation in pushing for a new renewable fuel standard that would help support the biofuels industry. She said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has said a tentative standard will be out in June, with a final version in September.

Ernst is working for better access to mental health services for veterans. She said people have been shocked that she teamed with Democratic colleague Barbara Boxer on foreign affairs, especially the efforts to stop ISIS.

Rep. Dave Loebsack joined the chorus of elected officials calling for a new renewable fuel standard. "There is no question that the administration has not done its job to set those volumes for ethanol and biodiesel. They have to make that decision sooner rather than later."

Congressman David Young said he wants to work on tax reform, energy development and reducing red tape. He has special plans for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In Young's view, if the EPA approves a regulation that costs businesses a combined $100 million, it should have to remove a regulation that cost businesses the same amount.

Young said he was proud to get on the Appropriations Committee, which is tough for a freshman. He said he's working on patent reform, cybersecurity and making sure Iowa, a rural state fighting for attention as rural states lose power, gets heard.

He also praised the Greater Des Moines Partnership's policy-setting machinery. "You folks do it right. Instead of competing against each other, you come together for the good of the whole."

Young said that the recovery from recession has been slow, and that on average, a family of four would have $11,000 more income had the recovery followed historical trends.

"The American dream is dependent on a good economy," he said. "We have been told this is the new norm. It is not the new norm. I'm not going to accept that."

Cuban dignitary: We want Iowa's pork, corn, beans

The promise of unrestricted trade between Cuba and Iowa permeated a fascinating exchange among a high-powered and diverse team of Iowans and two top officials from the Cuban Interests Section, which acts as an informal Cuban embassy until full diplomatic relations are restored.

The meeting was at the Swiss Embassy, which has housed operations of the Cuban government in the United States and U.S. staffers in Cuba during the trade embargo.

At the head of the table in a room adorned with gold leaf and a mirrored wall were Deputy Chief of Mission Juan Lamigueiro and First Secretary Karin Diez B'Hamel -- amiable, well-spoken hosts eager to do more business with the United States and firmly in favor of the lifting of restrictions that still remain.

The Partnership team included CEO Jay Byers, Knapp Properties chief Gerry Neugent, incoming Partnership spokeswoman Tiffany Tauschek, photographer Jason Walsmith (widely known as a member of Des Moines-based band the Nadas), Mikel Derby, legislative liaison for the Iowa Department of Transportation, and others.

The Partnership, Byers told his Cuban hosts, has long pushed to lift the trade embargo the United States has imposed since 1962, and to open vacation travel to Cuba for U.S. citizens.

Lamigueiro said those travelers and business partners would find Cuba welcoming, and safe. "The safest place for an American citizen in the world is Cuba," he said.

He noted that as the Iowans met with members of Congress and others in D.C., French President François Hollande was visiting Cuba, including meetings with former Cuban leader Fidel Castro and current President Raul Castro. During his visit to Cuba, Hollande called for an end to the U.S. trade embargo on the Communist island nation.

Lamigueiro told his American guests in D.C. that Cuba stands ready to buy products from Iowa and the rest of the United States. "The U.S. has the potential to become one of the most important partners for Cuba," Lamigueiro said. "There is the potential in Cuba. There is potential in the U.S. Cuba is open to foreign investment."

Lamigueiro stressed that Cuba has changed its foreign investment laws, and noted that the United States now is missing out on business that European countries, China, India and others are pursuing. He said the Cuban government has been surprised by the strong support among Cubans for U.S. trade.

Lamigueiro said Cuba has high interest in buying Iowa corn, soybeans and pork. He also noted that the expected influx of tourists, perhaps a million a year from the United States if restrictions are lifted, means the nation is likely to court U.S. companies to build hotels and other improvements.

Diez B'Hamel said she recalls the work of Tom Vilsack when he was Iowa governor, and now as U.S. secretary of agriculture. Former U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin had visited Cuba, too, she recalled. "We have had very good relations with Iowa," she said. "It is a relationship we must build."

Byers noted the Partnership's long support of lifting the trade embargo and travel restrictions for U.S. citizens, and added: "The Congress is in the place where we have to bring pressure. We hope next year, this is an embassy."

Lamigueiro wanted to make sure the visitors kept their eye on the prize: "Don't forget the cigars, the mojitos and the strong coffee," he said with a laugh.

Byers, Boswell shared ice cream with Fidel Castro
Partnership CEO Jay Byers told of a trip he took to Cuba years ago with Congressman Leonard Boswell.

The trip included a late-night meeting with Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who now has relinquished control to his brother, Raul.

"He liked to meet late at night, when the visitors were tired and he was completely in his element," Byers said of Fidel Castro.

Castro basically lectured the group for three hours, not pausing much for questions or dialogue.

Byers found him engaging and intelligent.

Castro apologized that he couldn't offer the guests dinner for the after-hours session, but he ordered his staff to bring one of his favorite treats.

"So there we were eating ice cream with Fidel Castro at midnight," Byers recalled.

Trade and technology transfer: Focusing on university research

In a session on trade, panelists noted that Iowa's three state universities in the past five years have filed 472 license and option agreements and 1,060 invention disclosures, underscoring schools' key roles in research, development and commercialization.

A key to continued success is to prevent patent abuse, something Sen. Charles Grassley and others in Congress are working to address, the trade experts said.

One panelist, Fred Reinhart of the Association of University Technology Managers, said relationships among universities and businesses have grown closer than ever.

His comments seemed to support those of Bruce Katz, the co-author of "The Metropolitan Revolution" who recently spoke in Des Moines and called for a major academic research center downtown. Read more: http://bit.ly/1edqBoO

"There is a lot of discussion going on about how universities can work more closely with industry," Reinhart said.

"There is a lot of co-location that is being tried. Businesses locate right on campus or next to campus, and that really moves things along. We are tapping only the beginning potential of universities helping companies."

Julie Kirk of the U.S. Commerce Department's Economic Development Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship said those who pursue new technologies and products have to be patient and look for partnerships.

"It does take a while," Kirk said. "You can't build an incubator or a co-workers space and wait for them to come, because they won't."

Immigration: Companies push for changes to boost workforce

Two things came through in a Tuesday session on immigration. The speakers see immigration as an answer to worker shortages, especially in technical fields. And, the topic is still controversial.

In general, it was a levelheaded discussion featuring an array of Iowa business giants -- Weitz Co., Facebook, MidAmerican Energy, UnityPoint Health -- discussing the critical need for skilled employees. The only real controversy came when an aide to Sen. Charles Grassley asked the panelist to tell her -- "yes or no" -- if they would support a law that required U.S. businesses to hire an American over a competing candidate from another country.

At first, a couple of speakers supported the idea philosophically, but then the discussion turned away from the idea of the U.S. government making business decisions for private entities, with one speaker noting that a prospect from say, India, could have better IT credentials than a certain American candidate, for example.

The question came toward the end of the session, and the aide left abruptly after the answers didn't line up with the simple "yes" she appeared to seek. That brought several pointed rebukes from the audience as the session wound up, but moderator Lori Chesser, senior shareholder at the Davis Brown law firm, said the aide may have had another meeting.

The rest of the discussion focused largely on worker shortages, and the prospect that immigration could help ease them.

Greg Maurer, director of public policy for Facebook, said: "Right now, we can't get enough talent. We are pushing for immigration."

While pushing for better federal legislation, he's combing the universities, especially for engineers. "If the person can meet the standards, we will hire them on the spot," Maurer said.

One visa program is so overrun that 233,000 companies applied for 85,000 spots, he added.

David Leto, executive vice president of Palmer Group, said the 300 companies that hire Palmer to help hire staffers are hurting for prospects in some fields, especially tech.

He said his company often is filling 90 to 100 IT positions at a time, and in some cases there is one candidate for every 10 openings. "These are mostly developer jobs, and it takes months to fill positions," Leto said.

Dennis Lindebaum, president of UnityPoint Health Foundation, said he expects huge departures in the nursing ranks in the next decade. "We have a huge need for an influx of staff. It's difficult to recruit to Iowa. We don't have mountains, and we don't have oceans. It would help us if the immigration rules change."

Jason Robertson, vice president of business development-industrial at the Weitz Co., said his company also needs workers. He's reaching to schools to sell the benefits of the trades. "Kids are coming out of school. How do we engage them? Construction isn't the first thing they see themselves doing."

In one case, a crew of Latino workers helped fill out a 200-worker roster to pour concrete for a 180-foot-tall tower, Robertson said. They worked 12-hour shifts for a company that helps assemble crews, then went straight to another job outside of Weitz.

David Caris, a spokesman for MidAmerican Energy, said the utility's staff members have an average age of 48. "It's a perfect storm," Caris said. "Our demographics don't look so good."

"We are looking for people with a very specific skill set. We have a challenge finding those people."

In one case, MidAmerican thought about moving a related company to Canada to get around a key worker's visa issues. It didn't, but even changing the worker's title could result in him having to return to Canada.

In India, tech workers wait 10 years to come to the United States because of a lack of green cards, Chesser said.

The Partnership called for the expansion and retooling of visa programs to help companies fill their workforces.

Chesser said the issue is a critical one. "You might have someone say, "I am doing a great job on economic development, but I can't go any farther because I need workers."

Maurer said he's on a coalition of high-tech companies trying to solve some of these issues.

"It's a tough path forward," he said. "It's not top-ticket for most members of Congress. And it's controversial."

Political stance of Ernst and others on immigration

Sen. Joni Ernst joined others in calling for a secure border, but she also bemoaned the loss of potential American workers. "We are sending the best and brightest away," Ernst said of immigrant students. "We need to look at that. We have educated these wonderful people from all over the globe, and we send them back to their homelands when they would like to stay and become American citizens. We want American workers to fill these jobs. We are a nation of immigrants, but a nation of laws."

Congressman Loebsack called for more visas. "We have a shortage of folks" to fill jobs, he said. "We have to get it done. This has been going on for too long," Loebsack said of the immigration debate. And he took what undoubtedly was a swipe at Congressman Steve King, who was in Iowa and missed the event: "The last thing we need is rhetoric that inflames the situation."

Keynote political perspective

Kelly O'Donnell, lead political reporter at NBC News, said in a keynote address that she loves Iowa, where reporters and everyone else can get close to candidates. She noted Iowans' thoughtful and intelligent questions during campaigns. "I like when voters can ask a question without blinking, who know about the issues." Then again, O'Donnell also likes the food. "I love a great steak dinner when I'm in Iowa," she said. "I love the (state) fair. If you are going to see the butter cow, you can check, is the candidate wearing proper footwear?" On another topic, O'Donnell said she uses social media carefully, not wanting sources to feel burned by having every little comment reported. In some ways, social media has made it tougher to develop professional relationships in Washington, D.C., she added. "In the glory days, LBJ didn't have Twitter to deal with," O'Donnell noted. So relationships among government officials and reporters were easier to establish.

A room with quite a history

A morning session in the Kennedy Caucus Room of the Russell Senate Office Building brought the Greater Des Moines visitors to the site of famous hearings. One historical series of hearings in the room -- named to honor the three brothers who served as senators -- delved into the sinking of the Titanic. Another came after accusations of communism in the Army ranks. Those sessions also examined accusations against Sen. Joseph McCarthy but led to his acquittal. Still, the televised sessions were high political theater and led to the end of McCarthy's political career. The hearings featured this famous quote from Grinnell College graduate and Army counsel Joseph Welch: "Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?" The room also featured landmark hearings on the Vietnam War and Watergate.

Trimming his goatee?

Chuck Todd was a no-show for the first keynote spot of the trip. That led one teaser to tweet that Todd must have a standing Monday appointment to get his goatee trimmed.

Video comedian

Des Moines Area Community College President Rob Denson appeared via video to address the delegation, and as is a customary on the trip, he had the crowd roaring with laughter. "We don't like to say we're the best, but there is no one better," he said before launching into a more-than-slightly-altered version of "William Tell Overture," with lyrics that amounted to "let us count the ways DMACC rocks." Denson said DMACC is the biggest community college in Iowa. "I want to tattoo this to my back," he said. Of DMACC's mortuary science program, Denson noted: "We've got you covered from cradle to grave."

One is the loneliest number

Congressman Dave Loebsack took Sen. Charles Grassley to task for referring to "Republicans and Democrats" in the Iowa delegation. "He means Republicans and Democrat," said Loebsack, the lone Dem representing Iowa in Congress. Of his GOP colleagues, he said: "They come over to console me sometimes."

Did that bacon squeal?

Congressman David Young marveled over the fine Kennedy Caucus Room breakfast at the Russell Office Building, replete with eggs (Iowa is the No. 1 producer in the country) and bacon (Iowa is the top pork producer). "When someone at Sen. Ernst's table bit into the bacon, you heard a squeal," Young said, as people laughed while recalling Ernst's now famous "make 'em squeal" call for Washington action.

Yes, Iowa is small

Young a couple of times mentioned the sparse population of some counties. "There are more deer in Adams County than people, and Sen. Grassley has hit half of them."

The cost of Sen. Grassley's toilet seat, revealed

One of the louder ovations came when Congressman David Young recalled Grassley's history in the Kennedy Caucus Room.

"There was a dark-haired senator here back in the early '80s who questioned the Reagan administration, the Department of Defense, Cap Weinberger. You remember the $1,000 toilet seats and the $100 hammers, and that type of thing? Can you imagine that exchange with Chuck Grassley? (Young changes his voice to impersonate Grassley): "You know, you can get a toilet seat in Waterloo at K-mart for $4.99!"
"I tease you because I love you!" Young told his Republican colleague, Iowa's senior senator, as the crowd laughed loudly.

D.C. man's best friend

Congressman Rod Blum: "Like they say, if you want a friend in Washington, buy a dog."

Political coverage commitment

NBC is so committed to political coverage in Iowa, it stores a satellite truck in Ames year-round.

Source