Government Relations Accomplishments:

• Partnered with key members of Congress including Reps. Loretta Sanchez and Dave Reichert and Sens. Joe Lieberman and Norm Coleman to fully fund the FY 2008 Port Security Grant Program. Our efforts resulted in the passage of $400 million in funding included in the FY2008 Omnibus Appropriations Bill.

• Worked with House Procurement Subcommittee Chairman Ed Towns and Ranking Member Brian Bilbray to introduce H.R. 3179, the "Local Preparedness and Acquisition Act," which would extend "Cooperative Purchasing" to GSA's Schedule 84. The legislation passed the House of Representatives. SIA is currently working to move the legislation through the Senate.

• Teamed up with key members of Congress to provide language in the "Higher Education Act," allowing proposed campus safety grants to be used for the purchase of security products and services.

• Successfully advocated for the inclusion of "advanced purchasing" provisions within the GSA disaster recovery cooperative purchasing interim rule adopted on February 1, 2007. These provisions will allow state and local governments to acquire security products through the GSA Schedules Program in advance of natural disasters or terrorist attacks.

• Partnered with Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), 40 of her colleagues, and Sens. Lieberman and Coleman to restore funding for the Port Security Grant Program. Through SIA's lobbying, Congress allocated $320 million for the PSGP in FY2007--$110 million more than the amount requested by President Bush. SIA's efforts also led to the inclusion of $400 million for this program within the FY 2008 Budget Resolution.

• Promoted SIA standards activities to Congress and the Department of Homeland Security, resulting in a plan that will lead to increased DHS involvement in SIA's standards work.

• Persuaded California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to veto anti-RFID legislation that would have hindered technological innovation by the security industry.

• Secured meetings with key officials at the White House Homeland Security Council, GSA, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Congress and the General Accountability Office (GAO) to discuss SIA's concerns with implementation of HSPD-12

• Hosted the 2007 SIA Government Summit that brought together SIA members with key industry and government stakeholders. GSA Administrator Lurita Doan, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, and Senators Ben Cardin were among the event's powerful keynote speakers.