Today, Rep. Pete Aguilar hosted a meeting with some of the Inland Empire’s largest employers. The roundtable focused on what improvements can be made at the federal level to help alleviate unnecessary burdens facing businesses that employ large numbers of Inland Empire residents.

“The Inland Empire is home to some of the most thriving businesses in the nation that provide good-paying jobs to thousands of residents,” said Rep. Aguilar. He added, “It’s important to have meetings like this so we can talk more about what can be done at the federal level to help employers with the tools they need to hire more skilled workers in San Bernardino County.”

David Draper of Lewis Group of Companies in Upland attended the discussion and said, “First of all I appreciate the invitation, and I think this is important. I think this is some great insight we’ve learned from a lot of leaders in the Inland Empire area, and I want to thank the congressman for a great event. We hit a lot of issues, heard from a lot of voices, and each one has ideas that’s going to change our world here in San Bernardino County for the better.”

Lawrie Jordan from the Environmental Systems Research Institute in Redlands participated in the meeting and said, “We appreciate the opportunity to attend the roundtable today. It was a very productive discussion. We’re very appreciative of Congressman Aguilar’s leadership in the area. We talked about substantive issues that focused on three main things – jobs, regulations and costs. It was a very productive conversation and I think some very good things will come out of it, so we appreciate again the opportunity to participate, and it’s a process that we’d like to stay actively engaged in from now on.”

Job creation and growing the Inland Empire economy is Rep. Aguilar’s top priority. Since taking office, he has introduced four different jobs bills, held a jobs fair that connected San Bernardino County job-seekers with over two dozen local employers and held several roundtable discussions with small business owners. He also convened his first Small Business Advisory Board last week where he met with local small business owners and community stakeholders. Yesterday, Rep. Aguilar introduced his latest jobs bill, the Small Business Lending Assistance Act of 2016,which eliminates fees for certain Small Business Administration (SBA) loans to firms in areas with higher unemployment rates to help small businesses access capital. These were all recommendations in Rep. Aguilar’s Jobs Plan, which he released last April. His Jobs Plan can be read in full here.

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