Advocate for Brick

Support Current Actions

To help ensure that the voice of the brick industry is heard by lawmakers on Capitol Hill and in state capitals, everyone – regardless of membership status - can help! Advocate for your industry, your beliefs or even your own economic interests by supporting the activities that have real consequences on our industry.

OPPOSE USING TAX INCREASES TO PAY FOR INFRASTRUCTURE BILL
Tax increases on businesses and individuals would harm businesses and the brick industry at large. Instituting major tax increases such as those currently being proposed would reverse the benefits our industry has seen in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and would result in the loss of 1 million jobs in just two years.

BIA urges members to write to their Member of Congress and Senators to urge that they vote in opposition to any significant tax increases as a means of funding the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package and $3.5 trillion reconciliation package. The most troubling tax provisions being proposed right now include increases in:

Income taxes, for those in the top bracket, from 37 to 39.6 percent -- this would include a raise of taxes for “pass-through” income, and continuation of the stepped-up basis;
Corporate taxes by more than a quarter, from 21 to 26.5 percent; and
Capital gains taxes by a quarter, from 23.8 to 28.8 percent.

USE THE FORM ON THIS PAGE TO SEND A MESSAGE TO YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS NOW!

SUPPORT WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT LEGISLATION IN CONGRESS
The DRIVE Safe Act would enable trucking companies to boost the number of drivers able to do interstate routes. In this way, enactment would assist BIA in improving the supply chain by providing some relief to the shortage of truckers.

BIA Urges members to write to their Congressman/woman and Senators to urge that they co-sponsor the DRIVE Safe Act, in hopes that it can gain support. The most logical vehicle for passage appears to be via attachment to an infrastructure bill currently being debated.

USE THE FORM ON THIS PAGE TO SEND A MESSAGE TO YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS NOW!

OPPOSE TAX INCREASES
As we prime our national economy for a sharp recovery period, as many economists have acknowledged is probably after unprecedented federal assistance during the pandemic, Congress should shelve major tax policy changes.

A recent study commissioned by the National Association of Manufacturers and conducted by renowned economists from Rice University found that corporate tax increases would have a negative effect on the economy over the next 10 years. The study, which leveraged economic models relied on by Congress, predicts higher taxes will equal fewer jobs and smaller national growth. Now is not the time for tax increases!

USE THE FORM ON THIS PAGE TO SEND A MESSAGE TO YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS NOW!

OPPOSE HARMFUL LEGISLATION IN TN
HB.0749 & S.0631 are bills similar to those we have defeated in other states, such as Indiana, and which are powered by strong, national special interest groups who are seeking to cheapen the construction design standards for residential dwellings across the country. The bills, if enacted, would strip local authorities of their control over local zoning codes. Local zoning regulations and neighborhood design aesthetics should be controlled by local stakeholders and not state elected officials in Nashville. If enacted, the legislation would lower property values, decrease public safety and a lower quality of life for homeowners in Tennessee.

Ensure your state representatives vote for local control and urge them to VOTE NO on HB. 0749 & S. 0631.

USE THE FORM ON THIS PAGE TO SEND A MESSAGE TO YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS NOW!

OPPOSE THE PRO ACT OF 2021
The PRO Act of 2021, if enacted into law, would rewrite the nation's historical labor law practices and, in so doing, jeopardize the economic recovery from COVID-19.

Specifically, the bill would tighten federal definitions of a joint employer and independent contractor in such a way that it would expose the construction industry to enormous liabilities and doom to failure many legitimate small business and self-employed arrangements. The bill would also permit the National Labor Relations Board to undemocratically overturn a secret ballot election which rejected unionization in certain scenarios and force employees to contribute “fair-share” union dues, lessening workers take-home pay.

Tell your U.S. Senators to support economic recovery and urge them to VOTE NO on the PRO Act of 2021.

USE THE FORM ON THIS PAGE TO SEND A MESSAGE TO YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS NOW!

HELP US OPPOSE INDIANA HB1114
HB 1114 is a power grab by strong, national special interest groups who are seeking to cheapen the construction design standards for residential dwellings in Indiana in an effort to pad their own bottom line. The bill, if enacted, would strip local authorities of their control over local zoning codes. Decisions regarding our neighborhoods should be made at the local level not by state government leaders in Indianapolis.

If enacted, the bill would lower property values, decrease public safety and a lower quality of life for homeowners in Indiana. It would also have a negative effect on the state's economy and it's small businesses.

Ensure your state representatives vote for local control and urge them to VOTE NO on HB 1114.

USE THE FORM ON THIS PAGE TO SEND A MESSAGE TO YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS NOW!

Some of the Issues

Response to Covid19 Crisis
BIA communicated to leaders of all 28 states in which brick is manufactured to assert that it is ‘essential’ at a time of national emergency, given the product’s widespread use in construction of facilities housing both health care services and emergency response. BIA was pleased that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security concurred with BIA’s assertions and declared the use of brick in construction to be essential. Additionally, BIA joined with the National Association of Manufacturers to lobby Congress to pass, and later improve the Paycheck Protection (PP) program contained within the CARES Act. The PP program made available forgivable loans to enable small businesses to retain employees thru the depths of the crisis.

EPA MACT Rule
BIA continues work on its top policy priority: helping the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defend its 2015 rule mandating the use of Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) rule. The rule was remanded to the EPA in 2018, and the agency is expected to propose a response in November, 2020. BIA believes that the rule’s metric limits and health basis are fully consistent with the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.

OSHA Enforcement
BIA works to assure that member companies do the best possible job of protecting worker safety and health. This includes working with OSHA, for instance: in regard to finding a workable means of demonstrating compliance with standards vis a vis the possible presence of the coronavirus.

HUD Housing Affordability
BIA has submitted comments on several occasions to the President’s Task Force on Housing Affordability run by the Dep’t of Housing and Urban Development. The comments asserted that building with brick is the best possible option, given brick’s well-documented environmental and thermal benefits, as well as the documented advantages in terms of savings in homeowner energy and insurance costs, as well as the enhanced re-sale value enjoyed by buildings built with brick.

DRIVE Safe Act
BIA has worked with the American Trucking Associations to urge Congressional passage of the DRIVE Safe Act, which would boost the supply of truck drivers able to drive interstate routes. This has been a concern, as there has been a shortage of affordable, reliable trucking resources able to ship brick.

Leveraging Member Relationships

BIA employs a number of tools in the work to safeguard brick. Coming under the auspices of the Committee on Government Affairs and Compliance, BIA leverages resources of staff and outside consultants as well as alliances with like-minded trade associations. But no tool in the arsenal is as important as utilizing and leveraging relationships of BIA’s active members. View three primary examples.

Local Planning Policies

Look at the communities that have stood the test of time - the neighborhoods that have kept their value, their beauty and their charm long after the builder and/or developer has made their money from the project. Many of these desirable communities – if not most – probably have a lot of brick. Many community planners want to ensure that their neighborhoods today stand for quality, attractiveness and strength. See How Brick Can Help.

Advocacy

Support Current Actions

Leveraging Member Relationships

Local Planning Policies

The Brick Industry Association