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March 7, 2005
Contact: Jim Moore
jimoore@aventagroup.com
512.415.0682
(Washington, D.C.) - Aventa Group, LLC, a professional marketing services company, joined more than 2,000 county officials from across the country that participated in the National Association of Counties (NACo) annual Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. March 4-March 8.
The county officials came to Washington to meet with members of Congress on issues vital to local government, including Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding, funding for justice programs and opposing unfunded mandates. NACo members heard from representatives from President Bush's Administration and Congressional leadership, including Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), Senator Joseph Biden (D-Del.), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Representative Tom Davis (R-Va.), Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt, and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson. County officials also attended workshops and seminars that were designed to further educate on various grant programs and legislative issues.
Sporting a "Save CDBG" button, Senator McCain voiced his support at the Monday morning general session for the reauthorization of the CDBG program, but also cautioned that for the program to succeed that the level of earmarks in the program needs to dramatically decrease. "Earmarking has got to stop, otherwise we will not have a level playing field and our tax dollars will be spent based on who has the most political clout and that's not fair," McCain said.
Representative Davis spoke about the need for a review of the federal role in passing unfunded mandates along to local governments at the Sunday general session. "[It is time] to make the changes we need to do to give local governments the money they deserve."
On Tuesday, March 8, the House Government Reform Committee, which Rep. Davis chairs, held a hearing on unfunded mandates. NACo President Angelo Kyle testified before the committee urging Congress to stop passing unfunded mandates because of the burden it places on counties and their citizens.
Health and Human Services Secretary Leavitt characterized the role counties can play in finding common ground on Medicaid reform at the Monday morning general session. "There's a time in the life of every problem where it's big enough that you can see it, but small enough so that you can solve it—and that's where we are with Medicaid," he said.
Senator Biden, House Minority Leader Pelosi and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Jackson spoke at the Monday luncheon.
Conference attendees participated in workshops throughout the weekend, ranging in topics from the threat of methamphetamines to immigration reform, transportation issues and workforce development. Other workshops covered homeland security, prisoner re-entry, economic development, Medicaid reform, disparities of health care coverage, and the proposed federal budget.
On Tuesday, March 8, many county officials took time to visit Capitol Hill and their respective Congressional delegations, where they met with Representatives and Senators on various issues important to both their home county and nationally.
The conference began on March 4 and March 5 with legislative policy discussions by county officials serving on committees and sub-committees. Also on March 4, an all-day Technology Policy Summit was held at the National Defense University at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C. The summit covered convergence technologies, convergence policy implications, and security, privacy and theft issues.
About NACo (www.naco.org): The National Association of Counties (NACo) is a full-service organization that provides legislative, research, technical and public affairs assistance to county governments. Created in 1935, NACo continues to ensure that the nation's 3,066 counties are heard and understood in the White House and Congress.
About Aventa Group (www.aventagroup.com): Aventa Group is a Santa Fe, New Mexico based company that is rewriting the rules of business development by providing affordable and effective marketing solutions that reduce risk, eliminate complexity, and provide enterprise control over business development in today's competitive marketplace.
Launched in 2001 with the goal of providing quality integrated business development services to a variety of industries seeking access to the governmental business marketplace, Aventa was formed to serve clients interested in maximizing their working relationships with governmental entities. Aventa focuses on "quality", whether it's lead generation, appointment setting, direct sales, or customer service.
For companies that need to ensure that quality of marketing information is accurate, dependable, and always on - Aventa Group provides business development solutions that just make sense.
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