On March 24, National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA) members will be on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., to meet with lawmakers and highlight the issues affecting dealers. The congressional visits are part of NLBMDA’s 2015 Spring Meeting and Legislative Conference, March 23-25, 2015 at the Renaissance Dupont Hotel in Washington, D.C. The conference is being co-hosted by the Northeast Window and Door Association and Window and Door Manufacturers Association.
Prior to the March 24 visits on Capitol Hill, Rep. Tom Marino (R-Pa.) and Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) will address attendees at the Washington Briefing Breakfast. Both Marino and Gardner had a 100% voting record with NLBMDA in the last Congress based on the 12 votes used for the scorecard. Marino serves as Chair of the House Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial, and Antitrust Law.
Gardner was sworn-in as senator in January following his defeat of Mark Udall (D) in November. NLBMDA endorsed Gardner’s senate campaign last year and NLBMDA member Denver Lumber Company hosted his campaign kickoff event. Prior to being elected Senator, Gardner served two terms in the House of Representatives.
Capping the day on Capitol Hill will be a congressional reception in the foyer of the Rayburn House Office Building. The reception will offer an opportunity to meet with lawmakers and recap visits with NLBMDA members and staff.
Focus of Legislative Visits
The three issues that will be the focus of the congressional visits are
1) support for the Innocent Sellers Fairness Act;
2) reform of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Lead: Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule; and,
3) legislation creating online sales tax parity.
Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas) is expected to reintroduce the Innocent Sellers Fairness Act that provides relief from product liability lawsuits for building material dealers and other retailers. The legislation restores fairness to a system that penalizes companies whose only activity was selling a product. It ensures that sellers do not take on liability for a product merely by selling that product, and that if sellers are negligent with respect to certain, specific non-sale activities, they will be responsible for the harm that their negligence causes.