WDMA Underlines Funding for Affordable Housing, R&D at Spring Meeting
The Window and Door Manufacturers Association Spring Meeting and Legislative Conference was held in Washington, D.C., April 9-10. Against a backdrop of a difficult legislative context, the Association reaffirmed the importance of speaking with congressional representatives about industry priorities. “We need to promote, protect and advocate for our industry,” said Emily Videtto, vice president and chief marketing officer for Pella, as well as WDMA’s board chair for 2023-2025.
Election year politics could complicate legislation in 2024
Political and advocacy experts, as well as elected representatives, made clear that legislative movement during a year with a presidential election could be difficult.
“The election will suck all the oxygen out of the room,” said Rep. Jake LaTurner.
Alex Thompson, National Political Correspondent for Axios, who presented for the opening general session, said that it’s “unlikely anything legislative will be passed before the election.”
However, he underlined that speaking to representatives right now could be crucial for getting legislation passed in 2025. “There are likely to be a lot of changes in 2025 and a lot of that legislation is being written right now,” he said. “Congress has this habit of not doing anything for a long time, and then doing something really fast. ... What officers are doing right now is penning the legislation that’s going to sit on the shelf until the deadlines come next year, when they actually have to do something.” Learn more about Thompson's election year forecast.
Representatives that spoke with Association members also made clear they value constituents’ input. “We really love U.S. constituents as stakeholders, as drivers of the economies where we live,” said Rep. Kevin Cramer.
WDMA’s legislative priorities
Major tax bill offers increase in affordable housing
Despite talk of little legislative action, the House of Representatives did vote to pass the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act (H.R.7024), which will now be voted on in the Senate. The tax bill has implications for affordable housing, one of WDMA’s major legislative issues, as it expands the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit through 2025. Changes in the bill could allow for more than 200,000 new housing units to be built nationwide over the next two years.
The bill has bipartisan support, in large part because it is already funded by ending the employee retention tax credit, said WDMA staff.
Securing tax incentives for R&D in manufacturing
WDMA was also focused on finding Congressional support for restoring research and development expensing options for manufacturers. Since 1954, companies have been able to deduct all R&D costs in the same year they were made, but this was phased out due to the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which ended immediate expensing starting in 2022.
WDMA is seeking support for American Innovation And R&D Competitiveness Act (H.R.2673) and the American Innovation and Jobs Act (S.866) in order to restore R&D expensing. The Senate version of the bill would also allow for retroactive expensing for 2022. “Both bills are popular,” said Jacob Carter, Director of Government Affairs, WDMA. R&D expensing is something that most developed countries offer, he said.
Upcoming Legislation
WDMA is also keeping an eye on the following policies in development.
Internal Revenue Service requiring new product ID system. The IRS and Department of the Treasury are proposing to modify requirements for taxpayers seeking to use the energy efficient home improvement credit.
“Beginning on Jan. 1, 2025, taxpayers claiming the credit must also satisfy the PIN requirement for certain categories of products. Under this requirement, an item will only qualify for the energy efficient home improvement credit if the item is produced by a qualified manufacturer, and if the taxpayer includes the qualified PIN of the item on their tax return,” according to the news release.
WDMA will be advocating for the agencies to accept information from the National Fenestration Rating Council’s certified products directory instead.
PFAS laws and compliance. There has been movement at the state and federal level to restrict or ban the use of PFAS, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a group of chemicals used to make fluoropolymer coatings and products that resist heat, oil, stains, grease and water. Maine became the first state to require manufacturers to report these chemicals; the law would ban products with PFAS by 2032. WDMA is reviewing pending legislation. "It's not going away, and compliance dates are coming up," said Michael O'Brien, WDMA president and CEO.
