WASHINGTON —Lawmakers addressing top foodservice executives at the recent National Council of Chain Restaurants CEO Leadership Summit urged them to become more involved in the public-affairs process at the grassroots levels.
The inaugural summit, which was held here March 12, focused on the need for the restaurant community to help shape initiatives and issues that could affect the industry, like union card check, menu labeling and food safety. —Lawmakers addressing top foodservice executives at the recent National Council of Chain Restaurants CEO Leadership Summit urged them to become more involved in the public-affairs process at the grassroots levels.
Jack Whipple, president of the NCCR, said the event attracted 14 chain restaurant chief executives and presidents who represented “a wide swath of the industry, including QSR and casual chains.” —Lawmakers addressing top foodservice executives at the recent National Council of Chain Restaurants CEO Leadership Summit urged them to become more involved in the public-affairs process at the grassroots levels.
Two U.S. congressmen, Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., and Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., spoke to the group and discussed key issues facing the foodservice industry. Cooper, an active member of the Democrats’ fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, talked to attendees about health care reform and recommended the industry play a role in the upcoming debate. —Lawmakers addressing top foodservice executives at the recent National Council of Chain Restaurants CEO Leadership Summit urged them to become more involved in the public-affairs process at the grassroots levels.
Durbin, the Senate majority whip, discussed the challenges facing the economy, saying the country went too far with too much credit, Whipple said. In a question and answer session, chain executives told Durbin limited access to capital was hampering their franchisees’ ability to expand and asked him to help rectify the problem. —Lawmakers addressing top foodservice executives at the recent National Council of Chain Restaurants CEO Leadership Summit urged them to become more involved in the public-affairs process at the grassroots levels.
Cal Dooley, president and CEO of the American Chemistry Council and a former U.S. congressman from California, talked about ways the foodservice industry could engage with lawmakers effectively. —Lawmakers addressing top foodservice executives at the recent National Council of Chain Restaurants CEO Leadership Summit urged them to become more involved in the public-affairs process at the grassroots levels.
Dooley said when he was in Congress in the 1990s and early 2000s, it was common for groups to launch letter-writing campaigns to their congressmen. While that type of communication has morphed into e-mail campaigns, Dooley reminded foodservice executives about the importance of face-to-face meetings. —Lawmakers addressing top foodservice executives at the recent National Council of Chain Restaurants CEO Leadership Summit urged them to become more involved in the public-affairs process at the grassroots levels.
He suggested that business leaders attempt to meet with their congressmen when they return home for visits, saying they would be lucky to get 15 minutes of face-to-face time with lawmakers if they tried to meet in Washington. —Lawmakers addressing top foodservice executives at the recent National Council of Chain Restaurants CEO Leadership Summit urged them to become more involved in the public-affairs process at the grassroots levels.
He also stressed the importance of building and developing a public-policy ally network of employees, franchisees, trade associations and like-minded interest groups. —Lawmakers addressing top foodservice executives at the recent National Council of Chain Restaurants CEO Leadership Summit urged them to become more involved in the public-affairs process at the grassroots levels.
Sylvia Rowe, president of SR Strategy Consultants, also examined the public-policy environment concerning food, and touched on such issues as food safety and sodium content in menu items. —Lawmakers addressing top foodservice executives at the recent National Council of Chain Restaurants CEO Leadership Summit urged them to become more involved in the public-affairs process at the grassroots levels.
The leaders also discussed several key industry concerns. Whipple said executives supported the Labeling Education and Nutrition, or LEAN, Act, a federal measure that would mandate the uniform posting of nutritional information at some chain restaurants. —Lawmakers addressing top foodservice executives at the recent National Council of Chain Restaurants CEO Leadership Summit urged them to become more involved in the public-affairs process at the grassroots levels.
“They’re interested in a single solution rather than a piecemeal approach,” he said. —Lawmakers addressing top foodservice executives at the recent National Council of Chain Restaurants CEO Leadership Summit urged them to become more involved in the public-affairs process at the grassroots levels.