Craig Brightup, is the TRI Alliance Washington DC lobbyist covering our Governmental Initiatives.

Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023
On May 27, President Biden and House Speaker McCarthy announced a deal to raise the federal debt-ceiling which Treasury says could be reached by June 5.  The deal follows negotiations based on the Limit, Save, Grow Act debt-ceiling package which passed the House on April 26.  Key elements of the Fiscal Responsibility Act are:

1. Rolls back nondefense discretionary spending to FY22 levels.
2. Limits topline federal spending to 1% annual growth for the next six years.
3. Enacts work requirements for food stamps and welfare benefits.
4. Claws back billions in unspent COVID-19 funds.
5. Establishes statutory pay-go rule for the cost of Presidential executive regs.
6. Streamlines environmental permitting for infrastructure and energy projects.
7. Begins funding cuts for new IRS agents by eliminating the FY23 request.
8. Restarts student loan repayments and requires borrowers pay off loan debts.

Supreme Court Blocks EPA’s “WOTUS”
On May 25, the Supreme Court ruled against the EPA’s expansive definition of “Waters of the U.S.” under the Clean Water Act which included “wetlands.”  Construction projects should benefit from this ruling which essentially says the federal government cannot regulate small bodies of water that don’t connect to larger ones.
Save Local Business Act, Main Street Certainty Act
The TRIA signed on to a letter supporting the Save Local Business Act introduced by Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Rep. James Comer (R-KY) to codify the definition of “joint-employer” in lieu of an expected National Labor Relations Board rule that redefines “joint-employer” and disrupts B-to-B relationships.  The TRIA is also on the letter supporting the Main Street Tax Certainty Act from Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) to make permanent the 20% deduction from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act for small and individually owned pass-through businesses. 
House Education & Workforce Committee OSHA Roundtable
On May 17, I represented TRIA at an invitation-only OSHA roundtable convened by House Education & Workforce Committee Republicans.  Held in the Rayburn Building hearing room, NRCA’s Duane Musser and I were among a small group of association representatives seated with Republican members to discuss OSHA’s proposed Worker Walkaround Representation Designation Process rule; Electronic Reporting of Injuries and Illnesses rule; and Heat Injury and Illness Prevention Standard.  At the table were E&W Chair Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Workforce Protections Subcommittee Chair Kevin Kiley (R-CA), and Reps. Mary Miller (R-IL), Burgess Owens (R-UT), Glenn Grothman (R-WI), Brandon Williams (R-NY), Aaron Bean (R-FL), and Eric Burlison (R-MO).
For more information on our Government Relations Committee or the Tile Roofing Industry Alliance (TRIA) please email us at [email protected] or visit our website at www.tileroofing.org

Pictured – TRI Alliance GR team, with Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV), Appropriations Committee

​TRI Alliance Washington Fly-In Was A Chance To Voice Our Concerns
The TRI Alliance fly-in to Washington, DC, was productive.  On April 18, we had breakfast with Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV), Appropriations Committee (photo attached); a meeting with Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL), Workforce Protections Subcommittee; lunch with Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Ranking Member on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee; a meeting with former OSHA head Loren Sweatt (now HELP staff) including NRCA VP for OSHA issues Cheryl Ambrose at our request; and a meeting with the OSHA/DOL staffer and Chief of Staff for Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS).  Roofing Day meetings took place the next day (April 19) and TRIA’s final meeting was on April 20 with the National Association of Home Builders.  Roofing Day issues were workforce development, DOE’s Building Technologies Office, and the IRC Sec. 199A pass-through deduction, and TRI Alliance meetings focused on OSHA/DOL issues using the attached TRIA Watch List.  More on the fly-in can be found here:
https://tileroofing.org/industry-insights/tri-alliance-government-relations-team-holds-successful-meetings-in-washington-dc/
The TRI Alliance continues to monitor legislation that affects our members and the roofing industry in general.
OSHA Heat Illness Standard
OSHA’s draft Heat Illness Prevention in Outdoor/Indoor Settings Standard moved forward with an April 27 National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health Working Group meeting.  When its recommendations are voted on by the committee in May, OSHA will initiate the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Act (SBREFA) panel process.  SBREFA requires OSHA to notify SBA’s Office of Advocacy when it has an economically significant draft rule so Advocacy can assemble a panel of Small Enterprise Representatives (SERs) to critique the draft.  During the TRIA fly-in meeting with HELP Committee staff, NRCA’s Cheryl Ambrose expressed her desire to have a roofing contractor on the Heat Illness SBREFA panel and felt TJ Curtis would be perfect.
 Julie Su Nomination for Sec. of Labor
On April 20, the Senate HELP Committee held a hearing on Julie Su’s nomination for Sec. of Labor and Republicans questioned her policy positions and record at CA’s labor dept.  On April 26, the Committee approved Su’s nomination on a party-line vote but she may never get a Senate vote due to opposition from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV).
CRA Resolution to Rescind Tariff Moratorium on Chinese Solar Panels
On April 28, the House passed a Congressional Review Act resolution to block the Commerce Dept. from implementing President Biden’s two-year tariff moratorium for Chinese solar panels.  China has been circumventing tariffs by routing solar panels through other countries and the House vote included 12 Democrats voting yes. 
Debt Limit Increase Bill and IRA Green Energy Tax Incentives  
On April 26, the House passed the Republican debt limit increase bill, the Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023.  With the Senate on the sidelines, the ball is now in President Biden’s court to meet with Speaker McCarthy.  A provision in the bill would repeal most of the Inflation Reduction Act’s green energy tax-incentive expansions.  Republicans say they add to the debt and China also benefits from them, but it’s possible they were also concerned by labor union and “social justice” requirements in the expanded tax incentives, too.
For more information about the TRI, please visit our website at www.tileroofing.org

Join us in welcoming new TRIA member, Stoneworth Roof Tile located in Shawnee, Kansas,
Stoneworth is a family owned business run by husband and wife, Dan and Sara. Dan runs operations and sales while Sara handles finance and marketing. They pride themselves on using locally sourced materials and manufacture locally in Shawnee, Kansas- providing job opportunities within their Midwest community.
When asked why they joined TRIA, they said:
“When we went through our rebranding and story building process, we also shifted focus to industry partners that shared similar goals and beliefs on what roof tiles are and mean for the contractors, builders, and homeowners.
In talking with other tile manufacturers about the industry, they encouraged us to research the Alliance to help support the tile roof market. We feel TRIA is a great group that represents the manufacturers and the contractors at a wholistic level. We love the collaboration and focus TRIA, as well as the standards they have build and adopted by many agencies all over the US”.
Stoneworth was founded on the simple principle that they must always exceed their customers’ expectations. This guides all of their activities, from initial contact and designing a roof, to manufacturing and delivery of the roof.
The Stoneworth team used 2020 to hit a refresh on their brand and nail down their story from a
brand perspective. They launched a new website which you can find linked here.