Washington D.C. – Retail members from the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and the National Grocers Association (NGA), which include supermarket retailers, wholesalers, and food industry state association executives, will participate over the next two days in nearly 200 meetings with Members of Congress and their staff during “Day In Washington,” the annual supermarket industry fly-in.
Grocers and food industry executives will advocate for bipartisan support on “Restoring Investment in Improvements Act” (H.R. 1869 and S. 803), the importance of tax rate reductions and making them permanent, as well as the need to make the payments marketplace more competitive and secure for consumers, merchants, issuing banks and the economy. Attendees will also hear remarks from Deputy Secretary of Treasury, Justin Muzinich, who advised the Secretary on the recent tax reform legislation.
“The single most effective means for educating new and established congressional offices about challenges grocers face with payments and the crucial need for tax reform corrections is for our members to meet face to face with their representatives and directly relay their firsthand experiences,” said Leslie G. Sarasin, FMI president and CEO. “Nothing compares to the power of grocers authentically sharing how policy decisions affect their business operations, their 4.8 million employees and their customers.”
“With a new Majority in Congress and important issues such as payment security and the retail glitch likely to come up for debate, it’s vital that Main Street grocers engage in the political process,” said Peter Larkin, President and CEO of NGA. “I thank everyone who took time to leave their businesses and come to Washington, D.C., to take part in face-to-face conversations with their elected officials. By taking part in the legislative process, grocers can ensure their voices have been heard and their members of Congress have a better understanding of how their actions impact the bottom line.”
About FMI
Food Marketing Institute proudly advocates on behalf of the food retail industry, which employs nearly 5 million workers and represents a combined annual sales volume of almost $800 billion. FMI member companies operate nearly 33,000 retail food stores and 12,000 pharmacies. FMI membership includes the entire spectrum of food retail venues; single owner grocery stores, large multi-store supermarket chains, pharmacies, online and mixed retail stores. Through programs in public affairs, food safety, research, education, health and wellness and industry relations, FMI offers resources and provides valuable benefits to almost 1,000 food retail and wholesale member companies and serves 85 international retail member companies. In addition, FMI has almost 500 associate member companies that provide products and services to the food retail industry. For more information, visit www.fmi.org and for information regarding the FMI Foundation, visit www.fmifoundation.org.
About NGA
The National Grocers Association (NGA) is the national trade association representing the retail and wholesale grocers that comprise the independent sector of the food distribution industry. An independent retailer is a privately owned or controlled food retail company operating a variety of formats. The independent grocery sector is accountable for close to one percent of the nation’s overall economy and is responsible for generating $131 billion in sales, 944,000 jobs, $30 billion in wages, and $27 billion in taxes. NGA members include retail and wholesale grocers, state grocers associations, as well as manufacturers and service suppliers. For more information about NGA, visit www.nationalgrocers.org.
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