Tuesday night’s dramatic results capped off a historic election season. For the first time in a decade, the White House and Congress will again be led by Republicans. And while the coming weeks will unveil much about President-Elect Donald Trump’s agenda, NACD will be closely monitoring developments to ensure that our industry’s priorities are heard within the incoming administration.
While most of the attention Tuesday evening was focused on the presidential race, the American people also voted to keep the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate with Republican majorities. Many of the same Congressional leaders that have helped champion such causes as Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) reform, rail and regulatory reform will remain in key positions to continue pushing these important efforts including Senators John Thune (R-SD) and James Lankford (R-OK).
Over the last year, we have accomplished a lot on our legislative and regulatory priorities. In the coming months, we have much more work to do! First and foremost, we will encourage President-elect Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency to continue moving forward with implementation of TSCA reform legislation passed earlier this year. Additionally, we will work with leaders in the House and Senate to cut regulatory red tape for the business community and ensure that federal regulatory agencies play by the rules. We will also work with the Food and Drug Administration overseeing the implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act, as more NACD members sell into the food industry.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. In early 2017, NACD staff will sit down with our Government Advocacy and Regulatory Affairs committees to determine both top tier and second tier issues that we can work toward for the remainder of the year. These planning sessions will inform our strategy and help identify best targets in the incoming Trump administration and in Congress.
Needless to say, we have a lot of work ahead of us, and NACD members will remain in the thick of the political landscape as the next chapter in this country’s political history unfolds.