Engage with the 118th Congress to achieve key county priorities and strengthen the intergovernmental partnership.

County Advocacy Opportunities in Washington, D.C.

Eighty former county elected officials will serve in the 118th Congress: 67 in the U.S. House, including 12 first-term Representatives, and 13 in the U.S. Senate. This will provide county leaders with a unique opportunity to leverage existing relationships and institutional knowledge to advance county priorities in Washington, D.C. 

These early months of this congressional session are a key time for county leaders to build relationships with members of Congress, demonstrate the impact of your county’s efforts in your communities and advocate for the federal programs that help to strengthen local programs and initiatives. These opportunities to interact with your Representatives and Senators are especially critical because they coincide with the development of the policy priorities that Congress will work to achieve over the next two years. With a split Congress and the slim majorities held by both Democrats in the U.S. Senate and Republicans in the U.S. House, bipartisan compromise will continue to be necessary to advance county priorities through legislation.

View the Full Toolkit

Related News

Image of GettyImages-183803161_CENSUSQnA_desat.jpg
News

Census Bureau cancels key rural test sites ahead of 2030 Count

NACo advocates for the reinstatement of key decennial census testing of rural areas and other planned canceled testing criteria.  

Capitol Building
Advocacy

U.S. House passes final minibus funding package

Congress introduced the final FY 2026 Appropriations package, including key county priorities related to transportation, housing, health, emergency management and public safety

Image of Capitol-trees_1_0_0_1_1_1.jpg
Advocacy

U.S. Congress passes minibus funding package

U.S. House and Senate appropriators passed a “minibus” appropriations package containing Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Interior-Environment, Commerce-Justice-Science and Energy-Water spending bills.

USDOT
Advocacy

Federal district court issues ruling preventing the federal government from imposing immigration compliance mandates on grant recipients

On November 4, a federal judge in Rhode Island ruled that the U.S. Department of Transportation cannot condition federal grant funding on a recipient’s cooperation with federal immigration enforcement efforts. 

Image of naco-logo-canvas_xxneedsborder_0_0.jpeg
Press Release

State of America’s Counties Address Highlights Intergovernmental Partnership, Cost and Administrative Shifts

NACo President J.D. Clark, national experts share insights at policy summit in Washington, D.C.