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Advocacy

Federal Legislative Agenda

The 2025 Federal Legislative Agenda for the Cobb Chamber represents our commitment to advance a vibrant and thriving economy by enhancing the business climate and quality of life for Cobb County, the region, and the state of Georgia.

Federal Legislative Agenda

Cobb County’s business community shows resilience amid challenges like inflation, workforce shortages, shifting consumer behavior, and federal disruptions. For 11 years, Georgia has been the top state for business. The Cobb Chamber 2025 federal legislative agenda supports a thriving economy by improving the business climate and quality of life for its 2,700+ member organizations, from small businesses to global headquarters, representing over 18,000 business leaders.

While our positions fall into four policy areas, top priorities include:

  • Express gratitude for the Administration and the Congress for delivering permanent tax relief for businesses providing long-term certainty, avoiding the “tax cliff” from expiring provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
  • Request for urgent implementation of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act by encouraging federal agencies to deliver clear, concise guidance, and rapid communication of tax law changes, and provision of timely education, ensuring business owners fully understand new standards, avoid confusion, and eliminate the need for tax return refiling.
  • Urge the passage of the budget before the new fiscal year to avoid the uncertainty of continuing resolutions.
  • Support appropriations adding C-130Js to outfit Dobbins Air Force Reserve Base.
  • Support of federal appropriations for Cobb County projects to improve mobility for our county, the seven cities in Cobb County, the Cumberland Community Improvement District, the Town Center Community Improvement District, and the Gateway Marietta Community Improvement District.

Fostering a Resilient Economy

  • Support for cybersecurity improvements at the federal level by promoting public-private partnerships, unified federal requirements, and policies like the reauthorization of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act to enhance national cyber resilience.
  • Oppose legislation, regulations, or programs that impose tax increases, hinder economic growth, create obstacles to job creation, or impede companies’ ability to attract and retain essential workforce talent.
  • Support legislation reducing the cost of time, resources, and regulatory constraints on small businesses.
  • Support using robust, peer-reviewed science and risk-based determinations in legislation and regulatory policies.
  • Support liability protection legislation for businesses against frivolous lawsuits.
  • Support apprenticeship and job training programs that incentivize employment and better prepare our citizens for future workforce challenges.
  • Support programs and policies that reduce or remove barriers to available and affordable childcare, enabling working parents — and those who would join the workforce but for such barriers — to participate fully in the economy.
  • Support federal funding for community-level grants that assist entrepreneurs and small business start-ups.
  • Support policies and legislation that provide equal tax treatment for all retail sectors.
  • Support a federal consumer privacy law to provide businesses with a streamlined roadmap for compliance.
  • Support policies ensuring safe, reliable, and affordable energy.
  • Support policies that combat organized retail crime and counterfeit goods.
  • Support Congressional action to increase the human, physical, and technological resources along the southern border and at our ports of entry.
  • Support implementation of modern, effective, and efficient employment verification reforms.

 

Infrastructure and Transportation

  • Support efforts to sustain and enhance investments in transportation to move goods and people efficiently and effectively.
  • Support policies that encourage the growth and modernization of telecommunications and energy infrastructure.
  • Oppose unnecessary regulations on federally funded infrastructure projects and support policies that streamline federal oversight.
  • Support the streamlining of competitive grant program application processes to better direct projects of local priority to the most competitive grant applicant.
  • Support legislation allowing greater flexibility in federal funding programs for multimodal options incorporating highway and transit elements.
 

Healthcare

  • Enable greater flexibility for businesses as they offer healthcare coverage to their employees.
  • Support adding full tax deductibility of health plan premiums for individuals, businesses, and business owners.
  • Support workforce development efforts to assist hospitals with the national healthcare workforce shortage.
  • Support the expansion, offering, and enrollment in diverse coverage options like association health plans to decrease costs and increase access for small businesses.
  • Encourage passage of the Save Healthcare Workers Act (H.R. 3178/S. 1600) as the bipartisan legislation would make it a federal crime to assault a hospital staff member on the job.
  • Urge Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) to account for inflation in FY25 to assist with the continuing strain on healthcare resources, such as hospitals and long-term care facilities, and the healthcare workforce.
  • Urge CMS to create a permanent telehealth and hospital-at-home program rather than its current waiver process which expires September 30 to allow for greater access to healthcare.
 

Safeguarding Dobbins Air Reserve Base and Supporting Growth of Our Military and Defense Community

  • Support the concurrent and proportional fielding of newer weapons systems at Dobbins to match the disproportionally modernized capabilities of the Active Duty component of the Air Force.
  • Oppose continuing resolutions, which fail to provide predictable training, stable recruitment, and pre-planned orders for Reservists.
  •  Support the immediate availability of TRICARE Reserve Select Insurance for Air Force Reservists, who are also federal civilian employees, which comprise a large portion of the population in Cobb County.
  • Request a comprehensive DoD study to evaluate Reserve Component dental care, assess costs, and quantify the impacts to Reservists in all our local communities.
  • Support full adds for C-130J and F-35 aircraft that provide 20,000+ direct and indirect Georgia jobs.