119th Congress Legislative Priorities
Supply Chain & Workforce Development
LICENSE Act
Urge your Members of Congress to address the nation’s supply chain crisis and increase the number of available truck drivers by cosponsoring and passing the Licensing Individual Commercial Exam-takers Now Safely and Efficiently (LICENSE) Act (H.R. 623 / S. 191).
CONSTRUCTS Act
Contact your Member of Congress to call for legislation that would support the residential construction sector through the creation of a new competitive grant program that would bolster the workforce and address the shortage of skilled trades workers. Creating Opportunities for New Skills Training at Rural or Underserved Colleges and Trade Schools (CONSTRUCTS) Act of 2025 (H.R. 1055 / S.189)
Housing Construction Incentive Legislation
Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025
Urge your Members of Congress to address the nation’s shortage of affordable housing by cosponsoring and passing the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (H.R.2725, S.1515).
Neighborhood Homes Investment Act of 2025
Call your Member of Congress and encourage them to cosponsor the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act (NHIA). NHIA would establish a new tax incentive that is forecasted to drive the construction of more than 500,000 single-family homes over a ten-year period (H.R. 2854).
UNLOCK Housing Act
The Utilizing National Land for Opportunities and Community Key Housing Act would grant the Department of Interior the authority to sell or lease land to local governments for the purpose of developing housing.
Trade
Canadian Softwood Lumber
Since January, NLBMDA has sent letters to the White House and U.S. Trade Office urging the administration to adopt a trade policy which offers the industry long-term stability and price certainty
Small Business Growth
Credit Card Competition Act of 2025
The Credit Card Competition Act of 2025 (CCCA) is a bipartisan bill that addresses excessive credit card swipe fees for small businesses by allowing access to more credit card payment network options. This bill requires big banks to allow any credit cards they issue to be processed over at least two unaffiliated networks – Visa or Mastercard plus a competitor like NYCE, Star, Shazam or Discover. NLBMDA is asking House and Senate lawmakers to cosponsor and pass the Credit Card Competition Act upon its imminent reintroduction to protect America’s small businesses against excessive credit card fees.
100% Bonus Depreciation
Also known as full expensing, is a tax provision that allows businesses to immediately deduct the full cost of qualifying capital assets in the year they are purchased and placed into service. The provision was introduced in TCJA and began a five-year phase down period starting in 2023. Repeated studies have shown that full expensing permanence eliminates a structural tax bias against capital investment, allowing businesses to plan for long-term growth. In January 2025, the ALIGN Act (H.R. 574) was reintroduced by Congressman Jodey Arrington (R-TX). The legislation would permanently extend full expensing.
Section 199A of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Introduced as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), Section 199A provides a 20 percent deduction on qualified income for pass-through businesses, which account for 95 percent of all businesses and employ 63 percent of all private sector workers. This provision was designed to promote equity in America’s tax code by leveling the playing field between small businesses and larger corporations. Section 199A is estimated to have supported 2.6 million jobs, contributes $161 billion to employee compensation, and adds $325 billion to the national economy. Congress has the opportunity to permanently enact Section 199A by including the Main Street Tax Certainty Act (H.R. 703) in the tax reconciliation package.
The Death Tax Repeal Act of 2025
The Death Tax Repeal Act of 2025 (H.R. 1301 / S. 587) seeks to permanently repeal the estate tax. The Tax Foundation estimates eliminating the tax would generate 150,000 jobs in the U.S. economy. Under TCJA, the estate tax exemption was doubled, providing more relief to family-run small businesses. However, if Congress does not act, this temporary increase in the exemption will expire on January 1, 2026, and the exemption will return to pre-TCJA levels. The repeal of the estate tax would alleviate the burden on families and businesses, helping them preserve wealth and reinvest in their future.
Forestry
Fix Our Forests Act
As evidenced by the recent wildfires in Southern California, there is an urgent need for federal policy reforms that would allow federal agencies to effectively collaborate to reduce wildfire risk. The Fix our Forests Act (H.R. 471) has bipartisan support and passed through the House of Representatives earlier this year. Contact your Senator and urge the Senate to take action.
Disaster Reforestation Act
The current tax code disadvantages forest landowners by restricting their ability to claim loss from destroyed timber, harming their ability to reforest lands. Timber typically takes 20 to 80 years to yield profit for the forester, making it extremely difficult to recover after a catastrophic loss. By providing for the equitable tax treatment of casualty loss of their timber crop when disaster strikes, this bill will foster stability and growth for foresters and in turn supports a robust timber industry in the United States.
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