Outdoor Industry Association's annual lobbying trip to Washington D.C. ended on a high note Thursday after Congressional leaders introduced two bills at the top of its trade agenda.
The event kicked off with an evening reception on Tuesday, April 14 where US Interior Secretary and former REI CEO Sally Jewell addressed the 50-plus OIA delegation. At a breakfast meeting Wednesday, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman assured the delegation that the Trans Pacific-Partnership (TPP) trade agreement being negotiated by the United States and 11 other countries would reflect the industry’s values of social and environmental responsibility and have the strongest enforcement mechanisms in these areas of any trade agreement in American history.
Delegates then struck out to lobby Congress to provide full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and pass the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act to provide the badly needed resources to fight wildfires that are increasingly cutting off recreational access to federal lands in Western states and cannibalizing funds that could be used enhance recreation amenities. Delegates, including several CEOs, also worked to line up cosponsors for OIA's signature legislation, the U.S. OUTDOOR Act. OIA argues the legislation could save the industry and consumers millions of dollars annually by eliminating duties of up to 30 percent on certain recreational outerwear not made in the United States.
Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) introduced the latest version of the bill in the Senate Wednesday. Ayotte later joined U.S. Rep. Jared Polis to accept the OIA 2015 Friend of the Outdoor Industry Award for their support of the trade association's public policy agenda. A Democrat, Polis represents the area of Colorado that includes Boulder, where OIA is headquartered.
OIA said that it expects U.S. representatives Dave Reichert (R-WA 8) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR 3) to introduce a House version of the U.S. OUTDOOR Act in coming days. The Senate bill is co-sponsored by Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Rob Portman (R-OH) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).
“The U.S. OUTDOOR Act is a critical piece of legislation for the outdoor industry,” Timberland President Stewart Whitney said Friday. “Lower tariffs on outdoor gear ultimately translate into greater innovation and consumer participation in outdoor recreation. That’s good for the consumer, and good for business.”
If enacted, the U.S. OUTDOOR Act will make it easier for REI to deliver innovative new products to at lower costs, REI President and CEO Jerry Stritzke said.
OIA has been pushing the legislation since 2009, but staff say growing bipartisan support for TPP and renewing several expiring trade agreements present the best opportunity since 2007 to advance a comprehensive, or omnibus, trade package. Even as OIA delegates departed Washington Thursday, the bill's odds seemed to improve with the introduction of bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) legislation in both houses of Congress. Froman immediately praised the legislation, although it includes a provision which for the first time enable Congress to revoke TPA.
