WASHINGTON WIRE

NAED's April Washington Wire

NAED continues to monitor what's happening in the political world for our member companies. Here is the latest. (To read more or print, click the image below.)

NAED Opposes the PRO Act

Congressional Democrats recently reintroduced the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. The PRO Act is a well-intentioned bill that aims to strengthen labor laws and workers’ rights in the United States. Unfortunately, how the bill intends to achieve those goals defies the rules of economics and would create more harm than good for the private sector, especially small family-owned businesses. NAED opposes the PRO Act for the following reasons:

• Infringement on employer rights: The PRO Act infringes on the rights of employers by limiting their ability to operate their businesses.
• Burden on small businesses: If passed, the PRO Act would impose significant costs and administrative burdens on small businesses that would be required to comply with a variety of new regulations and rules. This would very likely lead to job losses and harm small businesses, which are already struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Unions have too much power: The PRO Act would prioritize union membership at the expense of employee welfare and privacy. The resulting increased labor costs could ultimately harm businesses and workers.
• Negative impact on 1099 workers: The PRO Act could harm gig workers, who are currently classified as independent contractors and therefore not eligible for benefits like health insurance and paid time off. The PRO Act would make it easier for independent contractors to be classified as employees, which could lead to higher costs for businesses and potentially limit the flexibility of their work.

NAED opposes the PRO Act due to the impact it would have on businesses and the economy, as well as the perceived power imbalance between workers and employers. Supporters argue that the PRO Act is necessary to strengthen workers' rights and ensure that they have a stronger voice in the workplace. NAED supports empowering our people in a way that leads to win/win solutions to employer/employee issues. If passed, the PRO Act would do the opposite of its intended purpose by pushing workers out of the workforce and making it harder for businesses to operate.

House Republicans Push Permanent Tax Relief for NAED Businesses

In 2017, NAED worked with coalitions of other small business groups to help usher in a number of tax reductions, including the small business tax deduction, improved expensing laws, lower marginal rates across the board, and improvements that protect more family businesses from the hated death tax. As many of you are aware, because of budget rules in the Senate, Congress was forced to make many of these tax cuts temporary. The tax cuts helping NAED small businesses are amongst the 27 expiring tax provisions due to come up for reconsideration over the next two years. This critical tax relief will expire on December 31, 2025, meaning the next Congress and President will decide the fate of the tax code. NAED is pushing now in support of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Permanency Act, HR. 976 to make sure Congress understands how high of a priority addressing tax relief should be.

The bill's main sponsor, Rep. Buchannan of Florida said: “In 2017, Republicans delivered the most comprehensive overhaul of the U.S. tax code in more than three decades and achieved historic economic growth. With Americans continuing to suffer under the weight of record-high inflation and an uncertain economic future, we need to provide some much-needed relief and certainty to hardworking families and Main Street businesses and ensure these tax cuts do not expire.”

The Biden Administration has voiced support for higher taxes on business and is not likely to support making these tax cuts permanent, however, public policy battles are fought between the 20’s (to borrow a football analogy). If we don’t continually push our priorities, the forces of higher taxes on business will gain ground in the debate. We will continue to keep you updated as Congress debates these tax policies.

DOE Releases Executive Summary Report to Bolster Domestic Manufacturing and Deployment of Clean Energy Technologies

The Department of Energy (DOE) has been gathering input from key stakeholders to increase domestic manufacturing and deployment of clean energy technologies, including transformers and grid components, solar photovoltaic components, as well as future technologies such as fuel cells. This information has been condensed into an Executive Summary Report was created to help DOE determine a path forward in utilizing $500 million in Defense Production Act (DPA) funds. In June 2022, President Biden released a presidential determination that DOE could use the DPA to increase domestic production and adoptions of clean energy technologies and in August 2022, Congress included $500 million in the Inflation Reduction Act to implement the program. The department sought input from companies, trade associations representing the supply chain, labor unions, energy and environmental justice groups, and environmental organizations.

The largest theme from the report is the need for long-term budgeting by the federal government in investments to encourage adoption, including incentives to consumers, education and workforce development for the installation of clean energy technologies, and direct purchases for use in government facilities. While Congress has appropriated nearly $10 billion for home energy efficiency upgrades and electrification on top of the $500 million in DPA funds, it is unlikely future funding will be appropriated to make other investments suggested in the report. One key recommendation that could impact NAED members is the use of “Buy American” policies in future projects; distributors would need to source products that meet the production standards included in these policies.

.

Stay in the know by subscribing to NAED's Washington Wire:

Washington Wire Discusses 2023 Legislative Agenda

While there hasn’t been any new legislation since the November election, there’s definitely been a lot of “politics” happening since the new Congress was sworn in earlier this month. NAED's Ed Orlet breaks down what that will mean for the legislative agenda in 2023, and he talks in the Washington Wire about how to take advantage of the opportunities that still exist in the electric vehicle (EV) market for NAED distributors because of the Infrastructure Act.

Watch this video:

Meanwhile, there are other situations that NAED continues to monitor for our member companies (click this image for more info):

DOE Proposes New Lamp Efficiency Requirements

The Department of Energy (DOE) has released a proposed rule that would increase energy efficiency requirements for lightbulbs from 45 lumens per watt to 120 lumens per watt. This increase in energy efficiency will reduce energy consumption by the equivalent of 29 million homes per year, according to the DOE.

This action comes after the energy advocates have pushed the Department to increase the pace of energy efficiency rulemaking. The Biden Administration plans to release over 30 additional energy efficiency rules later this year.

Congress Fails to Extend Immediate Deduction of Research and Development Costs

For distributors designing electrical and control systems, Congress’s failure to extend immediate deduction of research and development (R&D) costs will impact your business tax liability. Under current law, businesses will be forced to amortize R&D costs over five years instead of immediately deducting their value.

Tax writers continue negotiating a possible agreement to bring back the tax credit; however, the passage is likely to be retroactive and pass closer to the end of the year.

New Congress, New Majority, New Expectations

With a new Congress comes a new majority in the House of Representatives and new expectations about what will happen in 2023. Republicans flipped the House of Representatives and now have a four-seat majority, a very thin margin to work with. However, Republicans are the opposition party compared to the White House, and their agenda is much more about politics than policy, as evidenced by the opening days of the 118th Congress and the 15 votes to elect a new Speaker.

House Conservatives pounced on the thin majority to extract concessions from Speaker McCarthy to try and shape the tone of the new Congress compared to previous Republican majorities. These conservatives have been able to secure seats on the powerful Government Oversight and Judiciary Committees, where they will be able to exercise additional power to examine what the Biden Administration has been doing and use their power to subpoena officials over issues the party cares about. This likely means far less legislating than in years past, and the bills that do make it out of the chamber will be focused on messaging rather than making new laws.

While we expect to see votes on issues that help restrain the regulatory powers of the Executive Branch, we are unlikely to see true reforms while the Senate remains in Democratic hands.

.

Stay in the know by subscribing to NAED's Washington Wire:

NAED’s Washington Wire Breaks Down Current Polling Information

With the 2022 Mid-Term Election just about a month away, we are seeing a variety of polling information for the closely contested races.

But polls don’t always provide the full picture. Alex Ayers, who is NAED’s lobbyist in Washington, D.C., reminds us that polls don’t always tell the full picture.

For this month’s Washington Wire, Alex looks at polls that have valuable, accurate data, and ignores polls that don’t have valuable data, so you can have a better idea of how the midterm election is shaping up right now.

Keep in mind — a lot can change over the next 32 days, and Alex will be working with NAED’s Government Affairs to keep you updated on what to expect before November 8.

Click here for the most recent video:

Stay in the know by subscribing to NAED's Washington Wire:

In today's Washington Wire, Ed Orlet discusses the newly-passed Inflation Reduction Act:

1. Newly Passed Climate Bill Makes a Big Push for Home Electrification
   1. One of the components of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is the newly created High-efficiency Electric Home Rebate Program which provides state energy offices with funds to give low and medium-income homeowners and landlords a rebate of up to $14,000 on qualifying changeovers to move homes from gas appliances to electric.
2. Long-term Extension of Energy Efficiency Tax Credits Provides Opportunity; New Contractor Requirements Could Impact Utilization
   1. As part of the Inflation Reduction Act, Senate Democrats included long-term extension of Section 25C, the renamed Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit; Section 45L, New Energy Efficient Home Credit, and updates to Section 179D, Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings Deduction.
3. Inflation Reduction Act Includes Indirect Tax Changes with the Potential to Impact Distributors
   1. The Inflation Reduction Act included several direct tax changes aimed at large corporations, however indirect tax changes including new IRS funding have the potential to impact NAED members. While changes to pass-through business taxation were discussed in earlier versions of the IRA, no tax rate changes were included in the final bill for pass-through entities, however, a limitation on loss deductions was extended for two years later this decade.

While the overall impact of the IRA is more beneficial for NAED members than negative, the precedents set by the legislation and the uneven playing field created by the labor provisions are troublesome.

GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THESE ISSUES! 

Click this link for the current Washington Wire newsletter,which describes the issues in full and watch Ed Orlet's video below:

1. The Biden Administration Adds the Electrical Industry to its List of Sectors Using the “Defense Production Act” to Increase Domestic Production

   1. In a surprise move to the industry, the Biden Administration announced it would be using the “Defense Production Act” (DPA) to increase domestic production of clean energy products. The announcement is part of the Administration’s response to high energy prices, even though the actions taken will have a limited impact on current prices.

2. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's 180 Day Progress Update

   1. So far, the DOE has already released $10 billion in funding. As funding for these programs rolls out to individual projects, there will be opportunities for NAED members to sell energy-efficient equipment and supplies.

3. Fighting Against Tax Hikes on NAED Members:

   1. At the beginning of this year, NAED joined other small business associations in pushing back against some major tax threats.

GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THESE ISSUES! 

Click this link for the current Washington Wire newsletter, which describes the issues in full and watch Ed Orlet's video below:

Stay in the know by subscribing to NAED's Washington Wire:

1. Senator Manchin Urges Bipartisan Cooperation on Energy and Climate Policy

2. DOE Reinstates the Minimum Energy Efficiency Rule for Light Bulbs, Once Again Eliminating Incandescent Bulbs

3. The First Quarter GDP Estimate Shows a Shrinking Economy, First Negative GDP Since COVID Lockdowns Slowed Growth in 2020

4. Primary Season has Begun, Marking the Next Phase in the 2022 Election Cycle

GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE 5.4.22 ISSUES! 

Click this link for the current Washington Wire newsletter, which describes the issues in full.

Stay in the know by subscribing to NAED's Washington Wire:

1. The White House releases plans for improving energy efficiency in public schools, opportunities for NAED members

2. NAED Joins Trade Associations Supporting Senator Scott’s Employee Rights Act to Counter Union Overreach PRO Act:

   1. Secret Ballot Elections  

   2. Criminalized Union Threats

   3. Political Protection  

   4. Union Decertification

   5. Gig Worker Benefits

   6. Protection for Local Businesses  

   7. NLRB and NLRA Reform 

3. DOL to bring back overtime rule settled during Trump Administration

GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE 4.11.22 ISSUES!

Click this link for the current Washington Wire newsletter, which describes the issues in full, and watch Ed Orlet's video:

Stay in the know by subscribing to NAED's Washington Wire: