# Lexington, Louisville leaders head to Capitol Hill for federal advocacy **Published:** 2026-08-07T00:43:01.130Z **Source:** [Commerce Lexington](https://www.commercelexington.com/news/joint-lexington-louisville-delegation-travels-to-capitol-hill-for-dc-fly-in) **AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) **Canonical:** https://feeds.lexingtonky.news/article/lexington-louisville-leaders-head-to-capitol-hill-for-federal-advocacy More than 50 regional business and community leaders from Lexington and Louisville traveled to Washington, D.C., on July 22-24 for a joint advocacy trip, according to [Commerce Lexington](https://www.commercelexington.com/news/joint-lexington-louisville-delegation-travels-to-capitol-hill-for-dc-fly-in). The delegation, presented by Columbia Gas of Kentucky in partnership with Commerce Lexington and One Louisville, brought together approximately 80 business and civic leaders from both the Bluegrass and Louisville regions to advocate for shared federal priorities. During the three-day fly-in, participants met with Kentucky's elected officials, including Rep. Morgan McGarvey and Sen. Rand Paul, to discuss issues affecting both communities. The agenda included direct engagement with members of Congress and senior federal officials, as well as networking opportunities with policy leaders and DC insiders. Among the regional priorities discussed were data center development, airport funding, University of Louisville research initiatives, and Ohio River cleanup efforts. The delegation also advocated for pro-business policies including extensions of significant tax cuts from 2017, regulations that limit energy costs, and increased legal immigration. One Louisville, formed in March 2026 from the merger of two groups, now serves as the Louisville area's official economic development organization and chamber of commerce. The partnership with Commerce Lexington represents an effort to present a unified regional voice at the federal level. The event was expanded to a two-night, three-day format this year to allow for a more productive schedule without early morning travel, organizers said. ## Sources - [Commerce Lexington](https://www.commercelexington.com/news/joint-lexington-louisville-delegation-travels-to-capitol-hill-for-dc-fly-in) - [Commerce Lexington Washington D.C. Fly-In event page with event details](https://www.commercelexington.com/washington.html) - [Louisville Public Media reporting on the delegation's federal priorities and meetings](https://www.lpm.org/news/2026-07-30/louisville-officials-push-for-tariff-cuts-data-center-development-in-washington-trip) --- This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Commerce Lexington, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://www.commercelexington.com/news/joint-lexington-louisville-delegation-travels-to-capitol-hill-for-dc-fly-in.