The Chamber maintains a close working relationship with the members of Congress representing our region and their staff: The annual DC Fly-in, held each spring, is an opportunity for Chamber members to meet with congressional members and hear first hand the issues impacting the region's business community. Issues at the federal level that are currently being addressed include:

• Broadband
  The Chamber has joined a coalition of organizations organized by the US Chamber of Commerce to advocate for a national broadband policy that will promote investment in high-speed Internet networks to make new broadband services and applications available to business and consumers.
• Comprehensive Transportation and Infrastructure Policy
  The Chamber supports the development of a new comprehensive federal plan to address the infrastructure and transportation needs of the nation, to ensure the effective and efficient movement of commerce and to connect all modes of transportation including air, rail, roads and water and to plan for future increased capacity.
• Democratic Workplace
  Modern, up-to-date infrastructure must be maintained for the region to effectively compete in the global marketplace. Without the ability to move goods and services to customers, businesses can not compete and succeed.
  
  2009 Legislative Priorities - Development of a comprehensive funding solution for South Carolina roads that includes a dedicated, re-occurring funding source for new construction and highway and road maintenance. The Chamber supports the following as methods for increasing infrastructure funding:
  • Increase in the state's motor fuels tax and an annual indexing of the motor fuel tax based upon inflation.
  • Replacing the current statewide gas tax with a sales tax on gas and motor fuel.
  • As a member of the national Coalition for a democratic workplace, the Chamber will work to protect secret ballot elections and will continue to oppose any changes to labor organizing efforts that will lessen employee rights and maintain support for right-to-work legislation.
  - Secure $21.5 million in state funding to extend the 7,000 foot runway at Charleston International Airport/Charleston Air Force Base to 9,000 feet to support the continued expansion of the region's aviation cluster.
  - Continue to support the expansion of the Port of Charleston at the newly permitted facility on the former Naval Base.
  - The Chamber supports public policies that encourage the deployment of next-generation broadband networks, maintain affordability, and apply consistent regulation to competing technologies and services. Broadband public policy should be designed to encourage continued investment in broadband infrastructure, and should create an environment where everyone has an incentive to invest and innovate - from network operators to software developers to content providers.
  
• Education
  The Chamber works actively with the Education Foundation and congressional offices to secure additional funding through the US Department of Education's Smaller Learning Communities Programs.
  
  Additionally, the Chamber will advocate to designate the Education Foundation as an eligible fiscal agent for Department of Education grants.
• Environmental
  The Chamber supports the development of a comprehensive energy policy at the federal level to reduce the country’s dependency on foreign oil, to encourage nuclear power funding and development and to help reduce impacts on global warming, including allowing exploration of off-shore drilling off the shore of South Carolina as well as exploration and development of renewable energy resources.
• Funding of Federal Data Providers
  The Chamber urges Congress to fund the Census Bureau, Bureau of Economic Analysis, US Department of Labor and other federal programs that provide estimates of the population, demographic trends, employment and labor data, and other economic data that form the basis for regional and local economic planning and decision-making.
• Healthcare
  The Chamber will advocate for passage of legislation establishing small business health plans, also known as association health plans, which would allow small businesses to pool risk and access coverage without regard to state mandates.
  
  Advocate for the adoption of information technologies to establish electronic medical records, decision support mechanisms, and claims processing.
  
  Support efforts to ease the growing burden overcrowding emergency rooms on public and non-public hospitals.
• Hospitality
  The Chamber will continue to work as a member of the state's H2B Coalition and national H2B Workforce Coalition in urging Congress to extend the H2B visa program to ensure employers can hire temporary, seasonal workers to adequately staff the region's hospitality industry.
  
  The Chamber supports efforts to increase both convention and meeting attendance and air travel. One example will be exploring the feasibility of reinstituting federal policies such as exemption of spousal travel costs to attend business meetings.
• Immigration
  The Chamber supports comprehensive immigration at the federal level to ensure a uniform approach. We need new immigration laws that are fair and balanced. These laws must meet the needs of our growing economy and the test of common sense. Only through this kind of comprehensive approach can an effective solution be reached. Securing the national borders is important, but it can not be accomplished in isolation.
  
  A comprehensive approach containing a set of principles that make sense and can work. Such legislation must:
  - Promote national security interests by requiring thorough screening of foreign workers and creating strong disincentives for illegal immigration.
  - Be comprehensive in nature, addressing both current and future economic needs for workers. - Address the status of undocumented workers already in the United States by requiring them to earn their legal permanent residency by paying hefty fines, working several years while under a temporary visa, learning English, paying taxes, and remaining free of criminal violations. A requirement to go home for a period of time would hurt the economy and the industries dependent on these workers.
  - Strengthen the rule of law by establishing clear, sensible immigration laws that are effectively and vigorously enforced. This would require a reliable employment eligibility confirmation system that is easy to use so that businesses can decipher federal immigration laws without expensive lawyers.
  - Establish a guestworker program that ensures that U.S. workers are not displaced by foreign workers. U.S. workers should have first shot at all job opportunities before they are opened up to foreign workers.
  - Create an immigration system that functions efficiently for employers, workers, and government agencies. We need a fast and dependable way to match willing employers with willing employees, and visa limitations that fluctuate according to market needs.
  - Ensure that all workers enjoy the same labor law protections as U.S. workers - not more, not less. Only by bringing undocumented workers out of the shadows can we protect them from the tiny minority of unscrupulous employers who might want to exploit them.
  
• Military Base/Federal Facilities Retention and Expansion
  The Chamber's Military/Federal Facilities Policy Council works closely with the entire South Carolina congressional delegation on retaining the 22,000 jobs associated with the region's military facilities. The Policy Council also works to expand the region's $3 billion military/federal presence by seeking additional missions and expansion opportunities. Current key issues of focus include:
  - Expansion of the runways at Charleston International Airport/Charleston Air Force Base- including securing FAA funding estimated at $21.5 million during 2009 for half of the funding needed to extend the 7,000 foot runway to 9,000 feet.
  - The location of Africa Command headquarters on the Naval Weapons Station Charleston.
  - The creation of Joint Base Charleston as one of 12 joint base initiatives under the Department of Defense, under the direction of a flag officer.
  - The expansion of Red Bank Road to serve the Naval Weapons Station Charleston, Nuclear Power Training Command and Nuclear Power Training School and the Navy Health Clinic.
  
• Port Expansion
  The Chamber will continue to advocate for support of the Port of Charleston and its expansion plans, particularly the development of a new terminal on the former Navy Base site. The Chamber also supports funding for a feasibility study to determine the appropriate depth of the harbor.