By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff
Do you want members of Congress to pass bills that protect our automotive freedoms and enable the specialty automotive aftermarket to thrive? If the answer is yes, now is the time to get involved with SEMA efforts to connect industry businesses with their members of Congress.
U.S. Representative Jake Ellzey (R-TX, center) visits Summit Racing’s Arlington, Texas distribution and order fulfillment center.
Whether in Washington, D.C., or state capitals around the country, public policy battles are won by organized interests that have relationships with lawmakers. The organizations that shape public policy are comprised of businesses and individuals who know their lawmakers. More importantly, their lawmakers know them.
SEMA members have hosted members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senators at their businesses for more than 20 years. These visits have been integral to developing meaningful relationships with lawmakers that help them to understand our industry so that they can advocate for policies that defend and grow it. If you would like to get to know your members of Congress, we stand ready to help!
Braden Liberg (left), Edelbrock’s director of compliance and calibration engineering; Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC), the lead Republican co-sponsor of the RPM Act; and Todd Belcher, Edelbrock’s general manager of east operations (right), pose for a picture after the Congressman’s meeting with Edelbrock employees.
The first step in developing these relationships is to introduce yourself and invite them to your business. SEMA staff will draft up an invitation, send it to your lawmakers, coordinate the visit by providing a briefing prior to the event and manage day-of logistics in coordination with you and your company. Our government relations team is ready to do the heavy lifting! If you’d like to host your elected officials, please email Eric Snyder, SEMA’s director of congressional affairs, at erics@sema.org.