How can FEDA members help support NAW’s im- portant advocacy and policy work?
It is important for distributors to understand that they can engage in policy debates and have a strong voice without ever crossing into the more controversial world of politics. FEDA and its members know the foodservice equipment industry better than anyone and are experts in the supply chain. Bringing that knowledge and understanding to the policy debate is the best way to support and defend the industry. Most legislators have never been in a warehouse, nor fully understand the relationship manufacturers, distributors and sales teams have in the supply chain. So, a great first step is for distributors to invite them to your place of business, give them a tour and let them meet your employees. Policymakers want to understand how rules and regulations impact the real world (and they want to meet voters), so the more FEDA can help educate legislators the better. Additionally, we welcome FEDA to the broader business coalition efforts as we educate legislators. NAW and our team of lobbyists can help tell the story of FEDA’s members by collecting anecdotes and real-world impacts that can be used to amplify that message in D.C.
Is there anything else you’d like FEDA members to know about the work you and NAW perform?
I will finish where I started. Unlike many trade associations in D.C. that narrowly focus on a handful of very specific issues, NAW embraces an incredibly broad mission: to defend and protect the free enterprise system, support free markets and be the voice for the entrepreneurs and family businesses that keep America growing. Similar to wholesaler-distributors’ role in the supply chain, we are the center of the business community in Washington D.C. It is what attracted me to NAW in the first place. More than any time in my political history, that mission is being tested. The rise of populism in both parties has policymakers openly questioning capitalism — some Republican senators have called it a “failed experiment.” Candidates are running on platforms to raise taxes by as much as $5 trillion over 10 years and, for the first time, we are seeing legislation that is specifically targeting the distribution industry. The battlefront is broadening and NAW is working to meet the demands. It will be a wild ride.
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