PMI 2024 Washington Legislative Forum & Fly-In

March 12-13, 2024
Washington, D.C.

The PMI Washington Legislative Forum and Fly-In began with expert presentations on the afternoon of the first day. National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun presented on the state of the residential and commercial real estate markets and what it means for the plumbing manufacturing industry.

Also presenting was Cally Edgren, senior director of sustainability at Assent, a company that provides supply chain sustainability management solutions; Zach Schafer, senior advisor in the EPA’s Office of Water; Charles Crain, vice president of domestic policy, National Association of Manufacturers (NAM); and Jenna Hamilton, head of federal policy, Leading Builders of America.

Edgren is responsible for the strategy and leadership of a global team of regulatory and sustainability experts. Her team partners with manufacturers and their supply chains to support global market access with responsible and compliant programs. Schafer provided a comprehensive overview of the agency’s unwavering commitment to safeguarding our water resources.

Crain leads NAM's policy development and advocacy work on economic policy issues critical to the success of manufacturing, including tax, corporate governance, technology, health care, regulatory reform, and immigration. Hamilton represents the nation's high-production home builders on all workforce, immigration, safety and housing issues. She also serves as co-chair of the Essential Workers Immigration Coalition, which represents construction industry and business community interests in immigration policy reform, and in the leadership of the High-Performance Buildings Coalition, for which she brings in-depth knowledge of green building, sustainability and energy efficiency.

On day two, U.S. Rep. Mike Carey from Ohio presented at a breakfast at the Capitol Club. A member of the House Ways & Means Committee, the congressman addressed tax reform, adaptive reuse, and trade – key issues handled by the committee – before PMI members visited congressional offices in scheduled meetings.

Legislation that can have a positive impact on the plumbing manufacturing industry and for which PMI members can advocate include:

• Expanding the use of 529 tax-advantaged education savings account funds to pay for workforce training programs
• Renewing several tax provisions favorable to manufacturers that went into effect in 2017 but have since expired
• Creating tax incentives to spur conversions of underutilized or vacant office properties and other non-residential commercial structures into multifamily housing