On December 16th, the ABMA Legislative Committee met virtually to receive a congressional briefing from our Government Affairs Associate Pat Rita, specifically detailing the ongoing saga of the Build Back Better (BBB) package. The Committee discussed where things stand currently on Capitol Hill, evaluated new priorities, and continued to look ahead and solidify plans for our 2022 strategies.

Senate Leadership is still vowing to do everything in their power to pass President Joe Biden’s BBB prior to the upcoming Christmas break. But with time running out and without the clear support of Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, some Senators are acknowledging the bill may have to wait until the new year.

This past week, the ABMA met with the offices of both Maine Senator Angus King and New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen to outline our opposition to the damaging increased tax rates on S-Corporations and other pass-through tax structures that, if enacted as part of the BBB, will raise the tax rate for small and medium-sized businesses to over 41 percent.

ABMA will continue to meet with Senators from both sides of the aisle to detail our concerns with the current structure of the tax increases in the BBB.

The Committee reviewed the results of our Legislative Priority Issue survey, looked ahead to our 2022 agenda, and had a detailed discussion on the supply chain and pricing issues that are having such a dramatic impact on the LBM industry.

Mindful of the continued effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and how it will impact our advocacy plans in 2022, the Legislative Committee made the decision to delay a final decision on an in-person event until our January meeting.

The Committee’s next scheduled meeting is Thursday, January 20, 2022, at 11am.