More than 150 leaders of New York's business community traveled to Washington May 23 to urge New York's Congressional delegation to support policies that will improve New York's business climate.

The day-long event was the annual "Washington Lobby Day" sponsored by The Business Council and its affiliate, the Chamber Alliance of New York State (CANYS).

A central focus of lobbying was The Council's effort to increase government support for research and development in New York, said Denise Murphy McGraw, director of regional affairs for The Business Council.

"The Business Council is urging Albany to invest $1 billion in state funds over five years in strategic R&D in areas where New York already has strengths," McGraw said.

"This investment would help New York compete for the growing pool of federal R&D dollars, so we want to tell our leaders in Washington about this - because their work related to federal research funding can advance our initiative in New York."

During the day, visiting business leaders had visits and briefings with members of New York's Congressional delegation and their staff, government research officials, and Washington-based lobbyists for New York interests.

The formal agenda also included presentations on R&D in New York by Richard Jarman, director of advanced manufacturing affairs for Kodak, and R. Wayne Diesel, vice chancellor of business and industry relations for State University of New York. In addition, business leaders also briefed both Sen. Charles Schumer and Sen. Hillary Clinton on The Council's proposal, the Research University Business Initiative (RUBI).

With its RUBI proposal, The Council is calling for a five-year, $1 billion state investment in R&D in three strategic areas in which New York already has existing research strengths: micro/nanotechnology; photonics and information technology; and genomics and biotechnology. The proposal is based on the recognition that tomorrow's economic growth will likely be driven by new technologies that come from emerging disciplines like these.

Visiting business leaders also gave New York's Congressional delegation an overview of all pending projects across the state on which federal support is being sought. CANYS assembled that information because members of Congress in the past have asked for such a coordinated presentation of information on such projects, McGraw said.

The agenda also included: a legislative breakfast hosted by U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer; remarks by Kesh Narayan of the National Science Foundation (NSF); a budget update by William Hughes, an aide to House Speaker Dennis Hastert; a briefing on business issues in Washington by Lonnie Taylor, a lobbyist for the US Chamber of Commerce; and commentary on goings-on in Washington by Doug Turner, Washington bureau chief for the Buffalo News.

The event was coordinated with the US Chamber of Commerce's annual "Washington Fly-In," an annual Washington lobbying day for business leaders around the country.

CANYS is an association of nearly 90 local and regional chambers of commerce around New York State; it is also an affiliate of The Business Council. Denise Murphy McGraw is its executive director.