NBWA/Brewers Legislative Conference 2002 - National Beer Wholesalers Association

Modern Brewery Age, May 13, 2002 by Gregg Glaser

"This is your most important business trip of the year," said Ronald "Strick" Strickmaker, NBWA Chairman, to a record number of attendees of beer wholesalers and brewers from across the country at the 12th Annual National Beer Wholesalers Association/Brewers Joint Legislative Conference held in Washington D.C. on April 14-17. Strickmaker went on to emphasize the importance to the attendees of taking the conference's messages home with them and being as aggressive as possible this election year to elect pro-beer candidates to Federal and State legislatures.

The wholesalers and brewers were briefed by their associations' presidents, David Rehr of the NBWA and Jeff Becker of The Beer Institute, on key legislative issues affecting their businesses and on which they should lobby their Congressmen and Senators during the final two days of the conference.

Joining the attendees this year were approximately 60 members from the Brewers' Association of America, expressing support for issues of importance to the NBWA and The Beer Institute. "Threats of a common enemy unite us," said Daniel Bradford, BAA president "We share a common goal." Stating that the BAA now included 20 wholesaler members, Bradford promised that the BAA would continue working with the NBWA and The Beer Institute on matters pertaining to state legislation on taxes and alcohol limits.

Issues highlighted in detail by Rehr and Becker included making the inheritance tax repeal of 2001 permanent, rolling back the 1990 beer excise tax, support for commercial driver's license reform, emphasizing the historic declines in alcohol abuse and combating additional restrictions on beer advertising.

Taking a tag-team approach to the issues, Rehr and Becker mounted the stage at Washington's Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill, located just a few blocks downhill from the Capitol, and took their places behind podiums at opposite sides of the stage. Jacketless and energetic as ever, Rehr described the process that NBWA members and brewers should follow when visiting Congressmen and Senators, comparing the process to a business sales call. "All of D.C is based on intimidation," Rehr explained, "from the big buildings and monuments to the big offices and plush carpets. What you do every day in your businesses is 1,000 times more complicated than what these legislators do." Rehr reminded the wholesalers and brewers to make their legislative sales calls with persistence and repetition.

As in years past, Rehr and the NBWA staff provided each conference attendee with a "sales kit," a packet of information that included the names of all Congressmen and Senators and their voting records on NBWA/Beer Institute issues before Congress. These kits included color coded issue position papers and cards to be left with legislators, several NBWA pamphlets (Promoting Responsibility in Their Communities, Who are Beer Wholesalers and the NBWA Marketing and Communications Code), two Beer Institute pamphlets (Commitment to the Future Community Service Initiatives and the Advertising and Marketing Code) and a BAA pamphlet titled "A Short History of Prohibition," Also included in the kits this year were 12-ounce beer glasses embossed with the NBWA/Brewers Legislative Conference logo on one side, and on the other side lined markings showed the various taxes that go into a 12-ounce bottle or can of beer: six percent state and local income, payroll and other taxes; 19 percent sales and excise taxes; 19 percent Fe deral income, payroll and other taxes.

Rehr reminded attendees that there is strength in numbers. "We bring more members to Congress than any other group. Tell your Congressmen and Senators to 'Do the right thing!' when voting." Rehr and Becker together coached the NBWA members and brewers on how to respond to expected rebuttals to their lobbying points and reminded them to "ask for the order" when leaving the legislator's office. As a follow-up to meeting with legislators, Rehr told attendees to invite their elected representatives and key staff members to visit their businesses when these people are in the home district. "Most of these people have no idea what you do in your business," Rehr said. He explained that many politicians and their staff members have probably never visited a beer wholesaler and that having them on site is a great way to show them what a wholesaler does on a day-to-day basis and explain why NBWA and brewer issues are important.

Answering his own question, "Why do we go to the Hill so often?", Rehr responded, "Because it gives us victory." He cited last year's lobbying efforts as being successful in passing the repeal of inheritance taxes until 2010, but reminded attendees, "The death tax isn't dead permanently." He encouraged everyone to keep at their lobbying efforts with enthusiasm and to show their Congressional representatives their pride in their businesses and their contributions to their communities.

Becker explained that the beer business is "very much a family business, whether it's a brewer, wholesaler or retailer. The industry won't be stagnant, and we'll continue to be aggressive." Becker stated that the relationship between the NBWA and The Beer Institute had grown much stronger over the past two years and that their lobbying efforts had been increased by the efforts of the BAA. In addition, new members this year include the National Association of Beverage Importers and Guinness UDV.