Dealers descend on the capital

Washington, D.C. -- Say what you want about federal policy, it's an exciting time to be in the nation's capital. Dealers attending the NLBMDA and NBMDA Legislative Conference yesterday brought their message to the halls of power.

That message consisted largely of support for efforts to spur economic recovery, protect innocent sellers from frivolous lawsuits and freeze the Employee Free Choice Act in its tracks.

Dealers were armed with materials specifically promoting the "Fix Housing First Home Buyer Tax Credit Act," in particular.

"There will not be a recovery without housing," said Colleen Rocha Levine, director of government affairs for the NLBMDA, who led the dealers through a detailed outline of industry lobbying positions.

While the economy was front and center, the matter of card-check legislation was no less compelling to many of the dealers at the conference. The Employee Free Choice Act would effectively eliminate secret ballot voting, according to Levine.

Linda Nussbaum of Huntington, N.Y.-based Kleet Lumber, pointed to her company's experience with some union employees. She lamented the $45 per hour wages for union drivers and described examples of a vocal minority of union workers poisoning the labor-management relationship.

"There's nothing more important to your business than to protect yourself from this," Nussbaum said.

The NLBMDA's Levine also opposed the "card check" legislations' provision for a two-year binding arbitration. Opponents also described card-check as anti-worker, because it denies workers their right to secret ballot elections. "A lot of people are hearing that this is the wrong bill for the wrong time," said Levine.

Levine also delivered talking points on mortgage interest deductions. These deductions, which have been discussed as possible revenue generators to help fund health care reform, should be protected -- especially in a downturn, said Levine.

Marsha Blackburn, a fourth-term Republican congresswoman from Tennessee's seventh district, spoke with the NLBMDA and NBMDA delegates yesterday morning, just before the dealers broke off to meet representatives on Capitol Hill.

Blackburn criticized the staggering national debt, which she said could grow to $14 trillion by the end of the year. "It is a tough time, and we are a nation in recession," Blackburn said. "My constituents know you cannot spend your way to recovery."

Blackburn added her voice to the chorus of the anti card-check movement, calling the Employee Free Choice Act "a very, very dangerous piece of legislation."

Also Tuesday, George Lester, from Martinsville, Va.-based Lester Building Supply accepted the LuDPAC Cup on behalf of Region 4 for contributions to the Lumber Dealers Political Action Committee (LuDPAC) at the NLBMDA and NBMDA Legislative Conference.

LuDPAC is broken up into U.S. regions. Region 4, which is made up of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia, raised the most money in the last election cycle.  

"These are critical times," Lester said. "We need to support these legislative efforts."