The NLBMDA shares its 2025 policy agenda
The National Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA) has released its 2025 National Policy Agenda in an effort to outline pressing priorities for the LBM industry in the coming year.
The 2025 agenda highlights NLBMDA’s efforts to advance legislation that supports small business growth, including advocating for the extension of several key tax provisions set to expire at the end of this year.
This year, housing affordability remains a central focus of the group's policy agenda, along with eliminating regulations and red tape. “With a new political environment, we are optimistic that we can find common ground with Congress and the White House administration to advance policies which address the housing affordability crisis and strengthens the residential construction industry,” said NLBMDA President & CEO Jonathan Paine. “NLBMDA is aggressively working with policymakers to identify areas of collaboration to advance the federal legislative and regulatory policies of the association and to promote the growth of the LBM industry."
Breaking down NLBMDA's top priorities
Leading off the 2025 policy agenda is Housing & Construction, and the group says it "supports reinstating higher conforming loan limits for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Federal Housing Administration-insured home loans to ensure greater mortgage liquidity and to provide greater certainty for the housing market."
It also lists key principles needed to guide growth, such as:
- NLBMDA believes any strategy to promote economic growth must include a robust small business component that allows entrepreneurs access to capital and credit while retaining existing cash flow from operations to grow and expand their enterprises.
- NLBMDA supports changes to the National Flood Insurance Program to reflect a slower increase in actuarial rates and to allow sufficient time between the publishing of the new maps and their adoption by local jurisdictions.
In 2025, NLBMA says it will advocate for taller wooden structures (over six stories) and urge Congress to "continue supporting green building without imposing mandates that give preference to only one green rating system."
Tax & economic policy
Any iteration of tax reform should be in support of small businesses, says the NLBMDA, which says it supports the mortgage interest deduction but opposes "increases to personal income tax rates and changes to the section 199A qualified business income deduction included in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act."
Other key economic positions and priorities include:
- NLBMDA supports a tax code that levels the playing field for small businesses and does not unfairly disadvantage S-Corporations and/ or family-owned companies. In addition, NLBMDA opposes unreasonable employment taxes that disadvantage small businesses.
- NLBMDA opposes increases to personal income tax rates that also serve as tax hikes on many small businesses that are structured as passthrough entities (S-Corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships), and supports measures to improve small business access to capital and competitiveness.
- NLBMDA supports the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit as an effective means to expand the supply of affordable rental housing and promote job creation in the construction industry.
Legal reform & consumer protection
NLBMDA says that more than one in four building materials dealers has been the subject of a lawsuit over a product they sold but did not manufacture, alter or install, adding that sellers can be held liable for damages regardless of any wrongdoing.
As a result:
- NLBMDA supports the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act, which would modify Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and allow judges to sanction attorneys for filing frivolous lawsuits.
- NLBMDA opposes efforts to repeal or weaken the bankruptcy reforms of 2005.
- NLBMDA supports the continuation of debit card swipe fee reforms that have created real economic savings for building material dealers and their customers, and supports legislative efforts to implement similar swipe fee reforms for credit card transactions.
Workforce policy
NLBMDA says it will work with the broader business community to repeal or reform the more "onerous" and "burdensome" portions of the Affordable Healthcare Act in terms of costs for employers. NLBMDA also supports repealing annual limits on flexible spending accounts and other pre-tax savings options for employees, as well as opposes minimum wage increases.
Other positions on the workforce front include:
• NLBMDA supports legislation guaranteeing an employer’s ability to participate in a fair union election and ensuring employees are able to make fully informed decisions about joining a union.
• NLBMDA opposes federal regulations requiring private employers to post notice in the workplace advising employees of their right to join a union.
• NLBMDA supports a robust temporary guest worker program to recruit legal, foreign-born individuals when there is a shortage of domestic workers to fill available positions.
Environment, health & safety
NLBMDA expresses concern that federal agencies have undertaken aggressive rulemakings that over-regulate businesses with little or no demonstrated health benefit. To this end:
- NLBMDA supports restoring the “Opt-Out” clause to the Lead Renovation, Repair and ENVIRONMENT, HEALTH & SAFETY [14] NLBMDA 2025 NATIONAL POLICY AGENDA Painting Rule and believes EPA should renew its efforts to identify a lead-paint test kit that meets the RRP Rule’s standard for false positives, and suspend enforcement of the rule until a test kit meeting the false positive standard is identified and commercially-available.
- NLBMDA encourages policymakers to refrain from the promulgation of overly broad or “onesize-fits-all” rules and regulations. To allow employers to provide appropriate training and protections to employees, NLBMDA believes policymakers should clearly frame all issues and fashion appropriate remedies.
Product supply & trade
NLBMDA writes: "We support cooperative efforts between industry and governmental agencies that proactively work to ensure the environmental and ecological health of forests and private lands." It adds:
- NLBMDA supports greater sustainable harvesting of federal forests to meet long-term demand for lumber as part of a comprehensive plan that does not place U.S. private forests at a competitive disadvantage.
- NLBMDA supports reaching an agreement on the longstanding U.S.-Canadian softwood lumber dispute that brings stability and predictability to the pricing and availability of softwood lumber without the imposition of duties. Additionally, we strongly urge the United States Trade Representative and the Secretary of Commerce to consult with all stakeholders, including retailers and consumers of lumber products, in future discussions regarding any terms of trade in softwood lumber between the U.S. and Canada.
Energy
The advocacy group writes: "Any new emissions regulations should fully consider all associated costs and should not kill jobs, negatively impact housing affordability, or create additional costs that will ultimately be passed on to consumers."
Also pertaining to energy, it adds:
- NLBMDA opposes a national energy tax that would cripple our economic recovery and supports efforts to rein in EPA activities to regulate greenhouse gas emissions absent congressional authority.
- NLBMDA supports free market approaches to developing alternative fuels and opposes government mandates that eliminate choice or further drive up the cost of fuel.
Transportation & fleet safety
NLBMDA says nearly 90 percent of its members report that "congestion" is a significant burden to their operations. To combat this issue:
- NLBMDA supports increased infrastructure funding to reduce congestion on our roads.
- NLBMDA supports increasing the gross vehicle weight to 91,000 pounds on federal interstate highways for vehicles equipped with an additional axle as a way to address the environmental, economic, and safety challenges facing our nation's freight network.
- NLBMDA supports the original 34-hour restart requirement as part of the FMCSA’s Hours of Service rule.
Read the NLBMDA's full 2025 policy agenda here.
