During Oct. 21-24, nearly 100 NRCA members and affiliate executives attended NRCA's Fall Committee Meetings and Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. This was a timely opportunity for contractors and other industry representatives to meet with members of Congress on Capitol Hill to advance NRCA's government relations objectives.
A busy schedule
During the meetings, the Government Relations Committee met to discuss NRCA's work regarding federal legislative and regulatory issues important to our industry. Committee members discussed NRCA's advocacy efforts on tax issues, immigration reform legislation, Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations, regulatory reform efforts and other key issues of interest. There was broad agreement roofing contractors currently face more challenges because of government regulation than during any time in recent memory; therefore, NRCA must remain engaged in Washington to effectively convey the roofing industry's position to policy makers.
In addition, ROOFPAC, NRCA's political action committee, held a fundraising reception featuring Rep. Reid Ribble (R-Wis.), a former NRCA president. Ribble discussed the federal government's budgetary challenges, recent government shutdown and fight about the debt ceiling. He also discussed his efforts to work with members of Congress in both parties to bridge differences and address looming budget issues. More than 60 members attended and helped ROOFPAC raise more than $6,000 in funds that will be used to amplify NRCA's voice on Capitol Hill.
NRCA members also received an economic briefing from J.D. Foster, deputy chief economist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Foster briefed participants about the current outlook for the U.S. and global economies and the relationship of economic growth to federal tax and budget policies. The key take-away from the presentation was the economy currently has enormous potential for strong growth during the next few years but there are downsides that could lead to a recession.
According to Foster, the determining factors will be Congressional actions on tax, budgetary and other policy issues in the coming months, as well as Federal Reserve actions regarding setting monetary policy. This reinforced NRCA's efforts to support economic policies that promote growth and oppose legislative and regulatory efforts that hinder business development.
Congressman John Carter (R-Texas) was a special guest at NRCA's Legislative Luncheon. Carter recently has been heavily involved in efforts to develop bipartisan solutions to fix the U.S. immigration system. Carter spoke about the difficult challenges faced with passing immigration reform and indicated he remains committed to working with NRCA to pass legislation that meets the roofing industry's workforce needs.
NRCA members also met with their senators and representatives to urge action on NRCA's key legislative issues. During these meetings, NRCA members advocated for the following: tax reform that lowers tax rates for all businesses and reduces the depreciation schedule for commercial roof systems; immigration reform that meets the industry's workforce needs; legislation to provide regulatory relief to businesses; and efforts to repeal the new health insurance tax authorized by the Affordable Care Act scheduled to take effect in 2014.
Everything counts
Given the current difficult and polarized political environment, making progress on these issues during the next year will be a struggle. But by taking the messages directly to Capitol Hill, NRCA is being heard. There is no substitute for having NRCA members communicate directly with their senators and representatives about the industry's key issues.
Duane L. Musser is NRCA's vice president of government relations.
COMMENTS
Be the first to comment. Please log in to leave a comment.