Chamber joins Illinois Manufacturer’s Association at annual D.C. Fly-In

The Quad Cities Chamber joined the Illinois Manufacturer’s Association last week for their annual fly-in to Washington D.C.

During the trip, Ryan Sempf, Executive Director of Governement Affairs, met with nine different Illinois legislators, including staff from Senator Durbin’s office, Congressman Eric Sorensen (IL-17) and Darin LaHood (IL-16). The team also met with the White House staff for Manufacturing and Industrial Policy and staff from the Canadian Embassy.

Key takeaways from the trip included a focus on next year's tax fight over the expiration of most of the 2017 Trump tax cuts, including a 20% small business deduction and an opportunity to reinstate 100% bonus depreciation and 100% R&D expensing in year one. "We expect this to be a difficult and time-consuming debate with large tax increases if there is inaction, and a ballooning deficit if all the 2017 cuts are extended," said Sempf.

In addition to the 2017 tax law, the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement will be up for review, to be completed by 2026. The process will begin in earnest next year and revisions are expected, rather than a cart blanche extension of the agreement.

For the remainder of the year, Congress will likely be looking to finalize an omnibus FY2025 budget and potentially take up an overdue Farm Bill and the National Defense Authorization Act.

The Quad Cities Chamber will announce its Legislative Agenda in November.

Those interested in keeping in touch with the Chamber’s advocacy can join our  Advocacy Action Center.