Advocating from the Top Down The National Roofing Contractors Association’s Roofing Day brings small business concerns to Capitol Hill

On April 18th and 19th, more than 220 contractors, manufacturers, consultants, and association professionals from 33 states and the District of Columbia met with House members in more than 170 congressional offices. An annual event, Roofing Day is part of the National Roofing Contractors Association’s advocacy arm.

This year, the focus was on support for the Main Street Tax Certainty Act; funding for the Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office; and workforce shortage solutions:

Support the Main Street Tax Certainty Act: As part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, many owners of sole proprietorships, partnerships, trusts, and S corporations may deduct up to 20% of their qualified business income. The deduction is set to expire in 2025. NRCA is advocating to keep the tax cuts permanent.

Support for Funding for the Department of Energy’s Building Technology Office: BTO develops and accelerates adoption of cost-effective technology and techniques related to high-performance and energy efficient buildings. “This issue speaks to our manufacturing members, particularly those that partner with this office and develop these technologies to drive energy savings and efficiencies for consumers,” says NRCA’s director of federal affairs, Deborah Mazol. “We feel positive that even during this fiscally constrained budget environment, there’s a lot of support for this office.”

Support Solutions to Workforce

Shortages: Immigration reform and career and technical education are long-standing priorities for NRCA. Mazol says there is bipartisan support for the Perkins and Technical

Education State Grants and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. “But with a fiscally constrained environment, we have to keep pushing and make sure those in Congress know the value of these programs.”

Perkins and Technical Education State Grants are given to states based on a formula. According to a NRCA position paper, “The imbalance of federal funding between types of education is quite alarming. CTE grants are funded at less than 1% of what is sent to colleges and universities. Especially in a time of fiscal constraint, we need to invest our tax dollars wisely.”

Reform of the 2014 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which was designed to align the needs of job seekers and employers. NRCA wants reforms that include relief from burdensome paperwork for small businesses, increased awareness of the program within communities, recognition of the value of competency-based training and certification programs and provisions for better functioning workforce boards that meet in-demand workforce development needs.

NRCA’s advisory committee on Roofing Day D.C. prepared members for their day on the Hill with background information, position papers, and training on how to speak with Congressional members. The roofing industry is an essential $100 billion sector with nearly 1 million employees. Mazol says NRCA got positive feedback and believes the event was successful for all parties involved. “We have a consensus of what affects the industry so we can speak with one voice. And our issues are generally non-controversial. We have a good story to tell as an industry.”