Congressional delegation meets with OSCPA members during Society Fly-in: thirteen OSCPA members and keypersons addressed important accounting and business issues with members of Ohio's congressional delegation at the 6th annual Congressional Fly-in, held April 27-28 in Washington.

• Author: McLaughlin, Tom
• Position: Advocacy & Lobbying

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Six OSCPA members served as federal keypersons, joining Barbara Benton, vice president, governmental affairs and Amy Mignogna, senior manager, governmental affairs on the trip to D.C. Once there, the group joined Clarke Price, OSCPA president and CEO along with seven OSCPA members who serve on AICPA Governing Council to lobby Congress.

Tom McLaughlin, OSCPA keyperson and veteran fly-in participant shared his experience.

MONDAY, APRIL 27

The morning began with a point/counterpoint between columnist Pat Buchanan, MSNBC political analyst, and Donna Brazile, CNN political contributor and ABC political consultant that was part of the AICPA Council meeting. From the "right," Buchanan analyzed the first few months of the Obama presidency along with his view of the political climate. Then Brazile, who has worked on both the Clinton and Gore presidential campaigns, shared her perspective from the "left." Both presentations were sprinkled with humor. It was clear that this wasn't the first time the two had shared a podium.

Following the panel, White House National Economic Council Deputy Director Jason Furman presented a list of President Obama's priorities. He stressed that the Obama administration is working to move the economy forward with an economic recovery plan, financial stability plan and housing plan. Among the most important parts of the plans are health care, energy, education and financial regulation. While few details were provided, it was interesting to hear the direction that the President would like to take the country.

Next, Mark Peterson, AICPA vice president, congressional and political affairs, and Thomas Ochsenschlager, AICPA vice president, taxation, briefed participants on the federal issues we were asked to discuss with members of Congress. The list included:

* Mobile workforce legislation

* Financial regulatory reform

* Patents for tax planning strategies

* The value CPAs provide as trusted advisors during the economic crisis

Peterson then gave a high-level overview of the broader agenda on the Hill. Capital and trade, housing and insurance reform, tax reform, health care reform, and fraud and anti-trust issues are all likely see some type of action this session.

The afternoon concluded with Congressman Joseph Crowley, a member of the Ways and Means Committee from New York. He discussed the tax writing body's agenda for the session, including reviewing the results of the President's Tax Reform Task...