Silicon Valley Leaders Descend on Washington

Silicon Valley leaders have descended on the nation’s capital this week, arriving in Washington for Tuesday and Wednesday meetings with legislators to push favored left-wing policies.

The annual lobbying trip is organized by the Silicon Valle Leadership Group, which was founded four decades ago by David Packard of Hewlett-Packard, according to the group’s website.

This year’s program includes elected officials as well as business leaders, such as San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, who blamed Trump for anti-Trump riots last year and is still reeling from his admitted “failure” to evacuate thousands of residents before toxic flooding last month.

SiliconValley.com reports:

On Tuesday and Wednesday, more than 80 CEOs and local elected officials are expected to meet with 50 U.S. lawmakers in Washington, D.C. The annual trip, which is organized by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, attracted more participation than it has in previous years.

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The trade association is pushing for federal grant funding for the area’s train system, affordable and accessible health care, immigration reform, an update to the U.S. tax code, investment in scientific research, computer science education funding, among other issues.

The group will also be urging Congress and the Trump administration to reconsider a decision not to fund the electrification of the area’s Caltrain system, which is considered a key step in the eventual completion for the plans of the California High-Speed Rail Authority.

In the past, prominent Silicon Valley executives led efforts to push immigration reform during the Obama administration, only to see such efforts frustrated by opposition from grass-roots conservatives elsewhere in the country.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named one of the “most influential” people in news media in 2016. His new book, How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.