Today we start with a victory lap eight years in the making. Ever since President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into law in 2017, we have been aware of the $4 trillion tax cliff facing NAW’s members that was scheduled to hit at the end the of this year. My predecessor Jade West started working toward ensuring you and your business would never have to face that cliff, see your tax rates spike, and bring economic growth to a halt. Our VP of Government Relations and tax expert Alex Hendrie joined her in that campaign three years ago, and in 2023 I joined the fight. Lobbying is not as simple as shaking hands and convincing people of your position, it is a grind often taking years of building champions on the Hill, drafting talking points and bill language, testifying in committee rooms, and socializing ideas. It involves our PAC and getting business-minded people elected, and having them understand and engage with the wholesale distribution industry. It involves leading coalitions and gaining grassroots and media support, and in the end it is about getting 218 Members of the House and 51 Senators to agree with you and vote yes.

Last week NAW had a major win, in fact multiple wins. Congress passed and President Trump signed into law a permanent extension of the 20% pass-through deduction, gave permanence to a host of business deductions, and did this all without threatening to take away LIFO accounting standards. Discussions about LIFO have been a part of every major tax debate I can remember, and the coalition led by NAW was truly remarkable in educating members of Congress and we now have a broad list of champions who protected us. This is exactly what NAW was built to do.