ALA Annual D.C. Fly-in a Success

ALA members and staff visited Washington, D.C., May 17-18, for the association’s annual fly-in. With the great deal of activity going on in Washington today, the meetings and events did not disappoint. Participating members were able to witness the legislative process unfold firsthand as they took to the Hill to discuss important issues impacting the lighting industry today.

Educating members of Congress and their staff about the harmful effects of the Border Adjustment Tax (BAT) was priority number one in the House. Michael Estrin, CLMR, owner of Estrin Sales Agency, effectively reminded the politicos that lighting is a part of every person’s life; therefore, if the BAT were to go into effect, everyone would be impacted.

At a time when retail stores are hurting for foot traffic, retailers and distributors explained how the BAT would hinder their ability to survive, especially since they are already at a disadvantage because of the many online retailers that do not collect sales tax.

The statistics on the price increases of everyday consumer goods because of the BAT are staggering. During the fly-in, ALA met with the chief tax counsel for the Committee on Ways and Means to talk about the small-business nature of the industry and how lighting products would also experience drastic price increases. The message was well received and ALA was asked to stay engaged on the issue of comprehensive tax reform.

In addition to the BAT, ALA also advocated for Senate action on a bill to exempt LEDs from a Department of Energy rule on external power supplies (the House has already passed the measure). ALA continued to emphasize the need to modernize the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 – the base energy law impacting the lighting industry.

Finally, ALA successfully lobbied on the need for Congress to finally take action on the Remote Transactions Parity Act/Marketplace Fairness Coalition by picking up two new cosponsors in the House. However, much work is left to be done on this critical issue.

In addition to 25 appointments on Capitol Hill, members received presentations from ENERGY STAR program staff, the Appliance Standards Awareness Project – an energy-efficiency advocacy group, Americans for Affordable Products – a group opposing the BAT, and the Marketplace Fairness Coalition.