Representatives from the AMOA once again were in Washington, D.C., to lobby for the industry on April 1. The association’s government relations leadership team, which included committee chairpersons Joe Jacobson and Bret Clostermery, AMOA past presidents Tim Zahn and Bob Burnham, and AMOA Executive VP Lori Schneider, conducted its first in-person visit to Capitol Hill with the 119th Congress now underway.
Led by AMOA legislative counsel, John Russell and Adriana Santoni Vicens with DGA Group, the delegation conducted productive visits with 12 different offices in both the House and Senate, Schneider reported.
“The sole focus of the April 1 meetings was “de-banking” and the AMOA legislative team made strides in making connections with newly appointed House Financial Services leadership offices, introducing them to the severe problem our industry continues to experience with account closures and the difficulty faced by operators in opening new accounts,” she explained.
The afternoon was spent with key staffers representing Senate Banking leadership. Schneider said AMOA has established strong relationships with Senate Banking offices and “our conversations were both positive and encouraging.”
“AMOA also recently made a submission to be included in the official record of the Senate Banking Committee hearing conducted in February on de-banking.”
The issue has received bipartisan attention in both chambers this Congress, and AMOA hopes to see some legislative relief this session.
“Overall, our meetings were productive, and AMOA looks forward to continuing these conversations with both in-person visits and Zoom meetings over the coming weeks,” Schneider added.
Also on the association’s radar, of course, are the impact of tariffs and upcoming tax reform. “These issues could have a devastating impact on our members and small business,” she said. “As tariffs begin to take hold, we encourage members to reach out to the AMOA office and share examples of financial impact being experienced so we can relay this information to legislators.”
AMOA Members, Here’s How the Association Says You Can Help…
- Please continue advising AMOA of any account closures. Congressional offices want to see evidence the account closures are still happening. You can reach out to Lori Schneider, lori@amoa.com, or report your account closure at www.amoa.com/account-closure.
- Share any business impact you are experiencing due to imposed tariffs with the AMOA office.
- Participate in any upcoming AMOA grassroots efforts.
- Go to the upcoming Association Fly-In, June 9-11, in Washington, D.C. AMOA and AAMA are “joining forces to voice our industry’s concerns and have some fun at the same time!” The Fly-In will include visits on The Hill, hosting a reception for Congressional offices, taking in the Congressional Baseball Game at Nationals Park and more! Details will be coming very soon.