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A new year
Education, health care lead 2004 political concerns of D.C.'s business community
(Published January 12, 2004)

The president of the D.C. Chamber of Commerce says preparing young people for their future role in the workforce and ensuring the availability of health care services to all residents must be top priorities for city leaders in 2004 if Washington is to remain a vibrant place to live and do business.

"Our students are integral in how our city progresses economically, and we must provide them with a foundation for success as they move through our school system," said Barbara Lang, president and chief executive officer of the D.C. Chamber.

Lang also said it is vital that necessary health care services be available for all D.C. residents and that their availability not be economically driven. She also said it is important that all local hospitals remain open and increase the efficiency of their operations.

Lang’s commented as leaders of the 1,900-member business organization begin formulating the D.C. Chamber’s legislative policy agenda for 2004. She said reducing crime and advocating "fair economic support" from the federal government to support municipal services provided to all visitors to the nation’s capital, as well as residents, are expected to remain priority items.

Lang also said the city needs to bridge the wide gap between wealthy and poor residents to ensure that Washington is "the kind of municipality that offers as many individuals as possible the chance to prosper and lead a happy life."

George Washington Univer-sity President Stephen J. Trachtenberg was installed on Dec. 17 as the D.C. Chamber’s new Board of Directors chairman for 2004.

Trachtenberg will succeed XM Satellite Radio CEO Hugh Panero to lead what has grown into the region’s largest chamber of commerce, with more than 1,800 members.

"In Stephen Trachtenberg, we are not only getting a scholar and an intellectual, but we are also getting a visionary who will be a major asset to the business community," Lang said.

George Washington Universi-ty, with its main campus located in Foggy Bottom, is the District’s largest private employer.

The D.C. area’s largest business organization, the Greater Washington Board of Trade, will be led in 2004 by Washington lawyer Togo D. West Jr.

West, who served as secretary of the Army and secretary of Veterans Affairs in the Clinton administration, was elected Dec. 15 to succeed SunTrust Bank President and CEO Peter F. Nostrand.

West currently is associated with the Washington law firm of Covington & Burling.