This was the first year I participated in STI/SPFA’s Washington D.C. fly-in to talk to Capitol Hill staffers and a member of Congress about legislative issues affecting STI/SPFA members. I would do it again and here are my reasons why.
Personal visits are effective
It’s important to know that in this age of AI and Zoom, one-on-one congressional office visits remain the most effective way to help staffers gain a deeper understanding of the issues through personal stories, prioritize concerns based on constituent feedback, and secure votes.
STI/SPFA’s goal with their fly-in held, was to bring members to their congressional offices and talk about policy issues affecting the association and build connections. When, and if, our industry faces a critical legislative issue, we have some connections with congressional offices. Without building these relationships and establishing trust, it’s much more challenging for STI/SPFA to accomplish our policy goals
It’s also a way for us to be heard and to have staffers understand how policy decisions affect the way we conduct our steel tank and steel fabrication businesses.
A few surprises
The most surprising thing about my Washington, D.C. fly-in visit to Capitol Hill was that anyone can walk into any of the Senate or House office buildings at any time. Although there are magnetometers (walk through security devices) and U.S. Capitol Police at all the entrance doors, once you get past these initial security measures, you can roam the buildings.
My second surprise is D.C. is clean and safe. I’m from Henderson, Kentucky, a small city with about 40,000 residents, so my perspective about D.C. was based on what I heard–that D.C. was not safe. That’s not true. What I found is a beautiful, clean, safe city.
Much of the city is national parkland. In accordance with the Height of Buildings Act 1910, building heights in D.C. are limited by the width of the street. So, unlike New York City and Chicago, D.C. has few skyscrapers. Instead, the memorials and monuments serve as the city’s recognizable landmarks.
Preparing for the meetings
The association’s legislative affairs firm scheduled the Capitol Hill visits and held a virtual webinar a week before the Hill visits. This webinar included pertinent information like stay neutral and stick to the facts about policy decisions affecting the steel tank and steel fabricators industry.
At a breakfast before the meetings began, they provided us with handouts that had more information about our visits and talking points to use in the meetings.
We focused on three issues:
ARPA funding extension
This legislation was passed during Biden Administration and it gives municipalities money for infrastructure needs like steel tanks. It specifies that the funding needs to be spent by December 31, 2026. Since the last invoice issued is Sept 30, 2026, we asked for more time. It’s an unfortunate situation because in some cases, the tanks will be 75 percent built, and the companies will need to walk away from these partially built tanks because there’s no money to finish the job.
OSHA heat rule
OSHA would like to pass a rule that says as if the temperature is more than 80 degrees, you must give workers a break every 15 minutes. Upfront, that makes sense. But if a worker needs to climb 2,000 feet, by the time they get to the top of the structure, under this new rule, they’d need to come down. To beat the heat, some employees work from 3:00 a.m. to 11 a.m. thereby bypassing the hottest part of the day.
Tariffs
As someone who works with a steel tank company, it was challenging to talk about tariffs because they don’t affect steel tanks but they do affect other parts of our industry.
The meetings
I was nervous walking into the buildings for the first time. You’re walking into these beautiful white, stately buildings that house the halls of Congress. You have scheduled meetings with powerful people and no way of knowing how they will go.
Luckily, I was paired with Kevin Gallagher from Caldwell Tanks, who was there for the second time. His presence made me feel more comfortable because I was with someone who knew what to do.
We spoke with six congressional offices: five representing Kentucky offices, and one representing North Carolina. Overall, the meetings were very successful with the congressional staffers listening intently and responding positively.
By the end of our scheduled meetings, Kevin and I were playing off one another. We said that Kentucky is the protector of bourbon and NASA. That’s because we produce fire protection tanks in case of a fire at a bourbon distillery, and we help build tanks that prepare rockets to drain 500,000 gallons of water in 30 seconds on rocket take-off.
Our most successful meeting was with Rep. James Comer because we got to speak directly with him and he asked great questions. I was impressed that Rep. Comer left a hearing to return to his office to meet with us, held our meeting, and then returned to the hearing.
The congressional representative with the most impressive office was Sen. Rand Paul. When you walk into his office, you were hit with a chart that represented the country’s national debt. The take-away was: “Here’s what you owe, and here’s what I’m doing about it.” That chart was relatable to every person who walked into Sen. Paul’s office.
Just like Sen. Paul, our ability to paint a picture with words really helped drive the point across of who STI/SPFA is, and how our members contribute to the U.S. economy. For example, if we were talking to a staffer from a small town, we’d say, “You know that elevated water tank with the name of your city or your high school on it? We make those tanks.”
There weren’t many downsides to our meetings. Unfortunately, our meeting with Sen. Mitch McConnell’s office was canceled. There was one meeting where I felt the staff member wasn’t quite as engaged as the others.
One of the highlights of my day was a surprise ride on the Capitol Subway System a tunnel system under the Capitol typically reserved for members of Congress. Kevin and I needed to go from Rep. McGarvey’s office to Sen. Paul’s office several blocks across the Hill and we thought we’d grab a cab. But an intern in Rep. McGarvey’s office offered to take us through tunnels where we saw artwork representing all 50 states. That was an insider Capitol Hill experience I thoroughly enjoyed.
Follow-up
After the meetings, we didn’t hold a formal debrief because D.C. was preparing for the 250th July 4th celebration, and we needed to leave the city as quickly as possible.
We let STI/SPFA know about our scheduled meetings, and who we spoke with during our meetings.
When I got home, I sent a personal note thanking each staffer and the congressman for their time and recapping our meeting. I let them know if they had any additional questions, they could contact me.
A few additional thoughts about D.C.
As I first-time visitor to D.C., I can say it’s a safe city. I walked 30,000 steps and didn’t feel unsafe. I tried to take it all in. Frankly, it was impossible to do in just a few days.
The city also was much cleaner and more accessible than I thought. I was impressed with the diversity of the city. I don’t think I met two people of the same nationality and coming from a small Kentucky town of 40,000, that was a pleasant surprise.
Additionally, DC has some excellent Michelin star restaurants and I enjoyed a few on my visit.
Lessons learned
Here are a few of the lessons I learned:
Participate in the fly-in
It was well worth participating in STI/SPFA’s Capitol Hill fly-in. I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.
Be prepared to ask questions
I thought I had some great questions, but I could have had even more. Develop a series of at least 10 questions that you can ask if there’s a break in the conversation. You might not ask all of them, but you’ll be ready if you need them.
Be able to tell a brief story
Storytelling is a great way to communicate about the steel tank or steel fabricators industry. Create a brief story that a staff member or congressional representative can easily understand.
Educate yourself on all issues affecting the industry
Learn about all the STI/SPFA issues even the ones that don’t necessarily affect your directly, so that you can communicate on all issues affecting our industry.
Conclusion
I enjoyed the experience more than I thought I would. The schedule was great and everything was simple and easy. Once I got over my first-meeting nerves, the experience was enjoyable. Every staff person we met was respectful and attentive. I was happy to see public servants treat constituents with respect.
Best of all, I feel I was able to contribute to achieving STI/SPFA’s Capitol Hill Day goal–to hold an information exchange and educate Capitol Hill about the association is, and the challenges the steel tank and steel fabricators industry is facing.
