It's not every day that members of the United States Congress come to town for a hearing, but they did on Monday, and they came with a purpose.

Ten members of the House Ways and Means Committee came to hear testimony in the impact of the bipartisan opportunity zones tax policy.  It was part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

When the committee crafts tax policy impacting Erie, at least 10 members will now feel a connection to the city, including Rep. Lloyd Smucker, (R-PA). "I'm from Lancaster PA, so the other side of the state but particularly interested in the impact of the opportunity zones here on the waterfront in Erie which I've heard a lot about but haven't had the chance to see first hand."

The lawmaker's visit started with lunch at Bricks American Steakhouse, a new business in the middle of Erie's Opportunity Zones corridor, where private investment spurred by the Erie Downtown Development Corporation attracted Opportunity Zones investment.

After lunch the members of congress headed out on a trolley tour, seeing not only OZ successes, but places still in need of investment.

Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI), the only democrat on the visit wants to make sure the tax policies help everyone, not just wealthy investors. "We want to make sure that those investments are retaining the character of the community, and lifting up the community and public good as a whole, and not just inuring to the benefit of the investors," Rep. Moore said.

Congressman Mike Kelly, who chairs the Ways and Means tax committee and hosted the visit, said that's exactly what would come through in the formal field hearing, which was hosted in the new rehearsal space in the renovated Warner Theatre. "So we've asked those folks to come in and in their own words explain what this policy meant to them, and the businesses that they're in, the neighborhoods that they live in," said Rep. Kelly adding, "I think when you hear it from people themselves, in their hometown they can say okay that makes sense, because so much in Washington doesn't make sense."

Both Reps. Smucker and Moore don't believe that re-upping the Opportunity Zones tax policy will be difficult climb, but they do believe there could be room for improvement in the legislation. "Really I think all of the committee that's here today on a bipartisan basis will be looking at how it worked here, seeing this as a really good example of where it's had an impact, and then hearing from folks here about what worked, what didn't, and seeing what we can do better," Rep. Smucker said.