Washington, DC – The National Restaurant Association today announced two of the confirmed speakers for the National Restaurant Association’s Public Affairs Conference, to be held September 25-26, 2007 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in downtown Washington, D.C.  U.S. Representatives John Boehner (R-OH) and Adam Putnam (R-FL) will address the crowd of more than 700 restaurateurs from across the nation.  Boehner and Putnam join Ari Fleischer, the primary spokesperson for President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2003, and Mike McCurry, the press secretary for President Bill Clinton from 1995 to 1998, in the impressive line up of speakers scheduled for the 2007 Public Affairs Conference. 

“The National Restaurant Association continues to be at the forefront of debates about key public policy issues that affect restaurant operators, and the 2007 Public Affairs Conference will provide a dialogue with lawmakers and opinion leaders to promote our pro-employee/pro-employer policy agenda,” said Peter Kilgore, acting interim president and chief executive officer of the Association.  “We are pleased to add two prestigious members of Congress to the exciting agenda for this year’s conference.”

Representative Boehner represents Ohio’s 8th District and was first elected to Congress in 1990.  Boehner was elected House Republican Leader in 2006.  Representative Putnam, Chairman of the House Republican Conference, represents the 12th Congressional District of Florida and is now serving his fourth term in Congress.

Restaurateurs in attendance at the 2007 Public Affairs Conference will learn about critical public policy issues and meet with members of Congress to discuss their concerns and support of key legislation impacting the restaurant industry. 

Reporters who would like to attend the conference or accompany restaurateurs on their Capitol Hill visits should pre-register by contacting the Association at (202) 973-3677 or media@dineout.org.  For more details and the full agenda, visit www.restaurant.org/paconference.