This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
News
Recap of 2024 Vinyl Industry Fly-In
On April 9th and 10th, vinyl industry leaders visited Washington, D.C. to participate in the Vinyl Institute’s annual Congressional Fly-In. This event always provides an excellent opportunity for our organization’s members to share their firsthand experiences and concerns with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. This year, attendees spoke with 48 Congressional offices about our industry’s most pressing issues. We also presented our annual Congressional Champion awards to three members of the House of Representatives for their bipartisan work on HR 5723, The Leveraging Efficiency Awareness in Pumping Systems Act (LEAPS Act). Keep reading for an overview of the noteworthy events that took place during the vinyl industry Congressional Fly-In!
Representatives Marc Molinaro (R-NY-19), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI-7), and Yadira Caraveo (D-CO-8) are the VI’s Congressional Champions
The three legislators received this award due to their work on drafting and introducing the LEAPS Act last September. The bill will help farmers calculate how improvements in their pumping systems (like using PVC pipes) would save them energy and water and guide them toward existing conservation programs to help pay for the upgrades. Plastic pipe like PVC) has a smooth, non-corrosive interior that makes it ideal for agriculture. These properties make it the most efficient pipe material to pump water through, which saves energy and money. The Cadeo Group has estimated that modernizing and updating the U.S.’s irrigation and pumping infrastructure could eliminate up to 10 million metric tons of carbon emissions, as well as save farmers $2.8 billion and 2.5x the annual flow of the Colorado River in terms of water conservation.
We were proud to celebrate a bi-partisan measure to provide information and education tools to farmers on cost savings, energy savings, water conservation, and carbon emissions reductions that can be realized using energy-efficient pumping systems and by switching to PVC pipe.
Vinyl Institute Hosts Second Annual “Vinyl Record” on Capitol Hill
This year, we paired our Congressional Fly-In with The Vinyl Record and had another
amazing evening in the Rayburn building on Capitol Hill. This time, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure hearing room provided members and guests with the opportunity to learn about the many facets of the vinyl industry in the room where policies and investments in water infrastructure are decided! The event was organized in conjunction with the Congressional Fly-In and aimed to provide Congressional staffers with the benefits and applications of vinyl while listening to a DJ and perusing hundreds of records. Attendees even had the chance to take a record home with them! Since the event started last year, we have heard more than a few attendees express surprise at learning that vinyl and PVC are the same material. This event has been instrumental in educating legislators and their staff about the various uses of vinyl, such as in healthcare, water infrastructure, electric vehicle charging stations, and construction.
Advocating for Issues
On the day following the reception, we broke into groups to advocate for the entire vinyl industry. We started and finished every meeting by explaining the myriad of invaluable roles PVC plays in modern life, as well as answering any questions members or staff may have had about PVC based on bad or faulty information.
On the House side, we urged Representatives to cosponsor the LEAPS Act to make farmers aware of the energy- and money-saving nature of changing their agricultural infrastructure to PVC pipe.
We also advocated for members of Congress to support historic funding levels for clean water and drinking water, explaining that while some may have policy differences with the current EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), the money that goes into the State Revolving Funds (SRFs) merely “visit” the EPA on its way to the states to fund desperately needed projects. We described how, whatever differences Members of Congress may have with the EPA’s current priorities, these funds should be considered separate and apart from EPA’s operating budget.
Finally, we reminded members of Congress about the consequences of supporting the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act. Several offices refrained from supporting the latest iteration of this bill, and we thanked them for this. For the offices who remained on BFFPP, we respectfully asked them to reconsider their support based on the facts we presented. and
It was yet another great year for the vinyl industry Congressional fly-in. Participating in these meetings is the best way for a member of our industry to make their voice heard by elected officials, and we want to thank everyone who came to D.C. to participate in such an important. Thanks to everyone who participated, and we can’t wait to make our industry’s voices heard once again next year.