Capitol Hill Club 2009  

AALU members turned out in droves to participate in Capitol Hill Club 2009. Over 400 members met with roughly 225 key Congressional offices. Highlighting our very productive slate of meetings were our six ‘Town Halls’. In our second year of holding these interactive large group meetings, we built on our success from a year ago. 

The Town Hall sessions provided our members a unique opportunity to connect with influential members of both chambers of Congress. Our six speakers this year, all AALU LCP Endorsed Candidates, were greeted with capacity crowds at each of our two venues. This year’s slate included three prominent Senators - Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), who was introduced by fellow Brooklynite, AALU President-Elect Nat Perlmutter, Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), introduced by new Director and constituent of North Carolina, Chris Foster, and Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) who was introduced by Rick Thomas. Senator Nelson’s speech was particularly well-received as he proclaimed his support for the technical estate planning provisions associated with estate tax reform that AALU has been the leading voice in promoting.

On the other side of the Hill, AALU members interacted with three distinguished Congressman – Representative Ron Kind (D-WI), introduced by Nick Boylan, Representative Pat Tiberi (R-OH), introduced by new LCP Chair Terry Horan, and Representative Richard Neal (R-MA), introduced by Boston native Bill Leisman.

In hundreds of individual meetings with members of Congress, AALU members communicated the benefits that permanent life insurance provides for 75 million American families. Members described the uses of life insurance to fund non-qualified deferred compensation planning to provide benefits and plan for retirement, and emphasized the need for permanent and sustainable estate tax reform that includes the reunification of the estate and gift tax credit. The tremendous influence of the life insurance community was stressed – citing the thousands of jobs provided and the trillions of dollars invested by the industry to drive economic growth.

New to Capitol Hill Club in 2009 was the Reception and Debriefing at AALU’s Capitol Hill Office at 101 Constitution Avenue. Members enjoyed picturesque views of the Capitol and the city from atop the building and were able to share meeting feedback with their colleagues and AALU staff. As has been the case in years past, Capitol Hill Club was an extremely productive, successful experience for our members. Dozens of members became politically involved for the first time, and dozens more continued to develop lasting, reliable relationships with the legislators who will protect the interests of AALU for years to come.