FEDERAL INSIGHT By Richard Shanahan ELFA Companies Host Congressional Members A T TENDING CAPITOL CONNECTIONS IS THE PERFECT WAY TO START A REL ATIONSHIP WITH A MEMBER OF CONGRESS. An even better way to impress upon the congressional member the importance of our industry to the economy is to host that individual at your offices. This year, a number of ELFA member companies have done just that—invited their local member of Congress to visit their offices and meet with their employees. Brian Kestenbaum, Senior Vice President and General Counsel at LEAF Commercial Capital, said about their visit with Con-gressman Ryan Costello (R-PA): “Members of Congress have a lot on their plates. For the most part, they are unfamiliar with the size of our industry as a whole and its importance to the economy, both nationally and in their districts. So these meetings tend to be educational—we teach Congress mem-bers about our industry and how it impacts the economy.” The time to start building critical relationships with members of Congress is not when a damaging law is being debated; the ideal is to already have the relationship built. Congressman Costello’s visit was specifically designed to highlight the equipment finance industry in southeastern Pennsylvania. Representatives from LEAF Commercial Capi-tal, Brandywine Capital Associates and Siemens Financial Ser-vices all met at Susquehanna Commercial Finance’s offices and collectively discussed the industry and policy issues of concern. Since the Congressman is in his first term, this helped establish an early relationship to educate him about the industry. District events help the member of Congress focus en-tirely on one subject for an extended time period. LeaseTeam in Omaha, Nebraska, hosted Congressman Brad Ashford (D-NE) for almost two hours in February. According to LeaseTeam CEO Russ Hallberg, the staff “discussed what we do at LeaseTeam, how our industry impacts local economies and the national economy alike, and some of the challenges the industry faces. Rep. Ashford also participated in a gen-eral Q&A session with our employees. It was a great way to inform our local representative about the equipment finance industry and why it matters.” “We have been fortunate to have continued dialogue and meetings with our area’s Congressmen at member offices and local district events,” says Valerie Jester, President of Bran-dywine Capital Associates. “There is no better way to tell the story of the equipment leasing and finance business than in the offices of a member company that employs constituents and plays a role in the economic growth of a region. In turn, we find that we serve as a valuable resource to our legislators when they need insight into issues concerning the economy and how our industry plays a critical role in capital formation.” It is all about building connections with the people elected to represent our member companies in Congress. “Establish-ing a relationship with Congress opens up lines of communi-cation,” LeaseTeam’s Hallberg notes. “These are extremely im-portant to have in place when you want to share concerns with current laws or potential legislation.” The time to start building that critical relationship is not when a damaging law is being debated; the ideal is to already have the relationship built so when a member of Congress suggests legislation that would At the ELFA Executive Roundtable, Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-FL) welcomed the attendees to his district and spoke to the group. L-R: Andy Fishburn, ELFA; ELFA Chairman Bob Rinaldi, Commercial Industrial Finance; Congressman Murphy; Bill Verhelle, Harvard Partners; and ELFA President & CEO William G. Sutton, CAE. At Orion First Financial’s Small Business Lending Conference in August, Congressman Derek Kilmer (D-WA), pictured second from left, addressed the group. With Kilmer are Barbie Schaefer, Stacey Dullum and Joe Collins, all of Orion First Financial. 56 OCTOBER 2015 EQUIPMENT LEASING & FINANCE MAGAZINE