Industry trade groups AMOA and AAMA partnered on an industry fly-in to Washington, D.C., last week from June 9-11. AMOA’s Executive Director Lori Schneider reported that the associations hosted 28 industry members over a two-and-a-half-day legislative advocacy event that “represented all facets of the industry – from route operations all the way up to manufacturing.”
On June 9, DGA Group (the legislative counsel for both AMOA and AAMA), hosted a briefing and dinner to prepare attendees for the following two days of visits on Capitol Hill.
Schneider detailed the issues brought forth to Congressional offices:
Small Business Taxes – We support the effort to make the Small Business Deduction permanent but need changes to SALT; Specified Service Trades or Businesses (SSTBs) should enjoy the same treatment as C-Corporations.
Debanking – It is not just technology companies being debanked. Small businesses that rely on cash transactions see their bank account closed with no explanation, no appeal and 30 days to find a new bank. Cash should not be criminalized.
Impact of Tariffs – We are an “exporter” of product and while we acknowledge the strategic value of tariffs to support American-made products, we have already seen an impact on our ability to source components as well as plush/toys and a willingness for buyers to engage. The supply chain has been severely disrupted.
Credit Card Competition Act – Monopolies seldom serve the consumer’s best wishes and currently two credit card companies enjoy a monopoly by controlling 80% of the market.
The delegation conducted close to 30 meetings from June 10-11, meeting with key staffers and also a couple members of Congress. “The debanking issue made a strong impact in several offices with follow-up work to be done,” Schneider added.
On the final day of their trip, the associations hosted a product spotlight event where staffers were invited to come have some fun and play our games while learning more about the industry.
To close out the event, those in attendance enjoyed the annual Congressional Baseball Game at Nationals Park (pictured below).
