Outdoor industry leaders this week will participate in the Outdoor Industry Association’s 27th annual Capitol Summit in Washington, DC.
The event, held Tuesday and Wednesday, brings together outdoor industry executives and emerging leaders in Washington to represent their businesses and to meet with members of Congress and the administration to support industry recreation, trade and business priorities.
This year, attendees will encourage action on the following key priorities:
Climate Change: The outdoor industry is uniquely impacted by climate change and increased weather variability. With $887 billon in consumer spending and 7.6 million American jobs, the industry can help communities bridge the transition to a more sustainable and diverse energy economy.
National Park Maintenance Backlog: The National Park Service is grappling with nearly $12 billion in deferred maintenance at more than 400 sites. The Restore Our Parks and Public Lands Act (H.R. 1225) and the Restore Our Parks Act (S.500) will provide $6.5 billion in funding over five years to address this issue.
Recreation Opportunity and Access on Public Lands: Congress has the opportunity this year to enact a bipartisan package of legislative ideas – including the Simplifying Outdoor Access (SOAR) Act and the Recreation Not Red Tape (RNR) Act – that will reduce hurdles to outdoor recreation on public lands and increase accessibility and protections. Both bills are soon to be introduced in the House and Senate.
China 301 Tariffs on Outdoor Products: These tariffs raise costs on outdoor products, stifle innovation and U.S. job growth and can put many products out of reach for consumers. The administration must resolve the dispute with China and remove the additional 10 percent tariff, imposed on products already facing very high import tariffs.
As always, the two-day event provides attendees with insight into the current political landscape, an overview of OIA’s expertise on trade and recreational issues and an interactive training on effective lobbying. This year’s keynote speaker is Paul Begala, political commentator, professor of public policy, author and political strategist.
“We have over one hundred members from small, medium and large companies attending our Capitol Summit this year, and that strong attendance is driven by the need and urgency to address climate change and mitigate its impacts, the ongoing China tariff issue that is negatively impacting so many Americans and our constant fight to ensure proper maintenance and recreational access to our public lands,” said Patricia Rojas-Ungar, vice president of government affairs for OIA. “We look forward to the conversations with the administration and members of Congress this week and are eager to get things done.”
REI is title sponsor of the event. Other sponsors include Gore, Osprey, The North Face, Perkins Coie, Lewis Roca, OIA Global, New Balance, Smartwool, Sorini Samet & Associates and Vasque.
“Last fall, the U.S. government confirmed that outdoor recreation accounts for 2.2 percent of Gross Domestic Product. That’s big,” commented Marc Berejka, REI’s director of government and community affairs. “It’s imperative that the industry regularly shows up in D.C. to make sure our lawmakers know how significant the outdoors is for all Americans – and how significant the ROI is for every federal dollar invested.”
