Raising Your Voice in Washington, D.C.
Government Affairs Update
“Some heavy lifting now, will
go a long way later.”
Time to Protect LIFO
As Congress starts the New Year, it is
expected that the great discussion of
“comprehensive tax reform” will heat
up. This tax reform legislation has the
potential to be a huge hit to those
distributors who use LIFO.
The House Ways and Means Committee
is working on a tax reform proposal
that is expected to call for LIFO repeal.
Although the chances of a divided
Congress reaching consensus on
major tax reform in an election year
are not great, distributors must make
it abundantly clear to Congress that
any tax reform proposal, including LIFO
repeal, is a non-starter.
“There’s building support in Congress
to repeal LIFO,” said Ed Orlet, NAED vice
president of Government Affairs. “The
federal government spends close to
$4 trillion every year. The problem is
they only collect around $3 trillion in
revenue. Some in Congress see LIFO as a
big pot of money that ‘nobody will miss’.”
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LIFO Repeal is an annual fixture in
President Obama’s budget. Senate
Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus,
has also called for LIFO repeal in his
tax reform proposal. It seems that LIFO
repeal is one thing some Democrats
and Republicans in D.C. can agree
on these days. That means it’s more
important than ever to be heard by
your elected officials.
“Some heavy lifting now will go a long
way later,” Orlet said. “Now is the time
to hit the phones.
Call you member of
Congress and tell
them what repealing
LIFO would do to
your business.”
meetings were held with elected
officials. Attendees met with Senators
and Representatives from their home
states and districts, as well as districts
where they have branch locations or
other operations. In the meetings,
attendees educated their elected
officials about the legislative issues that
are important to the industry as well as
their business’s contributions to their
state and district.
The Fly-In began with an afternoon
training session with
Ed Orlet and Stephanie
Vance of Advocacy
Associates. Attendees
were briefed on what
to expect in meetings
with their members of
Congress and how to get the most out
of their appointments.
“First-timers and
seasoned political vets
alike made a strong
impact on policymakers.”
To find more information about
LIFO or contact information for your
representatives visit www.naed.org/
tellcongress.
Successful Day on the Hill
at NAED’s Third Annual
Congressional Fly-In
This past September, the NAED held
its third annual Congressional Fly-In
in Washington D.C. More than 100
“I am proud for our industry,” Orlet said.
“First-timers and seasoned political
vets alike made a strong impact on
policymakers. But the Fly-In was just
the beginning. Our members work in a
‘relationship business’ and it’s the same
on Capitol Hill. We need to cultivate the
relationships we started at the Fly-In.”
NAED