The National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA) announced a slate of four expert-led sessions to help define the policy agenda for its 2022 Fly-In & Advocacy Summit July 18-19 in Washington, D.C. They include:
Back to the Workplace: As policymakers look to lure workers back to work in downtown and business center office buildings, a panel of experts will discuss how the convenience services industry can help – and the NAMA policy initiatives to make it happen.
Eliminating Food Deserts: Leaders at all levels of government, in urban and rural areas alike, are searching for solutions to the growing problem of food insecurity. A panel of experts will explore an emerging national strategy to eliminate food deserts and how NAMA is positioning the convenience services industry's “last foot” distribution network to play a role.
Keeping it Cool: NAMA has long been on the front lines in the phaseout of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants, pushing for a workable timeframe and to ensure a viable and sustainable alternative, such as R-290. This session will explore the Biden administration’s energy efficiency goals and offer expert insight on the status of the NAMA Foundation’s Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratories and discuss NAMA’s constructive solution to help operators upgrade equipment.
Infrastructure Spending Incentives: The $1.8 trillion infrastructure spending package passed by Congress last summer includes financial incentives that convenience services operators can potentially access.
“When convenience services operators come to the nation’s capital each year for this event, they make a difference,” Mike Goscinski, NAMA senior director of external affairs, said in the announcement. “This year, we are promoting legislation to equip and enable operators.”
NAMA will promote several legislative items during the 2022 Fly-In & Advocacy Summit, including:
- Enabling the acceptance of federal Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP/WIC)
- Providing financial offsets for purchase of equipment using R-290 refrigerants
- Adoption of the PARTS Act to deter catalytic converter theft
- Reinstatement of 2021 Q4 access to the Employee Retention Tax Credit
The 2022 event will feature special guest speaker A.B. Stoddard, an associate editor and columnist with the political news site and polling data aggregator RealClearPolitics, and a contributor and guest host for SiriusXM’s POTUS channel.
The NAMA Fly-In & Advocacy Summit will be held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., with transportation provided to Capitol Hill for visits with members of Congress.
NAMA members can attend at no charge. Registration is $25 for nonmembers. For more information and to register, visit www.namanow.org/voice/2022-fly-in-advocacy-summit.
