Issue link: http://palletcentral.uberflip.com/i/860755
INSIDE NWPCA 10 PalletCentral • July-August 2017 palletcentral.com A s I place my fingers on my keyboard this day of July 6, 2017 at 10:43 a.m., President Donald Trump will have been President of the United States for 166 days, 21 hours, and 56 minutes and some spare change in seconds. This is calculated on the fact that he was sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts on January 20, 2017 at 11:45 Eastern Time. At this time, July 4th has come and gone, but not forgotten. We celebrated 241 years to commemorate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. We live in a great country, something I tell all my friends and colleagues. It's good to take a step back every now and then to reflect and be thankful for the opportunities we have in the United States of America. In the spirit of taking a step back, and given that this is the "Capitol Hill Corner," let's look at what President Donald Trump has accomplished in his 166 days in office. You may agree or disagree on what has been done, but it is a predictor for you and your business on what to expect in the coming months and years. • Regulatory Relief: The President has ordered agency heads to eliminate two existing rules for each new one finalized. NWPCA confirms that this has affected federal agencies. It has been mentioned frequently in NWPCA meetings with career federal regulators. • Regulatory Review Act: Enforcement of the Congressional Review Act, which makes it easier for Congress and the President to overturn federal regulations. • Health Care: Signed Executive Order which directs the Treasury Department to stop collecting penalties related to not having health insurance. • Keystone Pipeline XL and Dakota Access Pipeline – Approved • Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch – Approved It is still early in the presidency and Congress, but there are major hurdles to clear and overcome before the passage of key legislation. The repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act, immigration, and substantive tax policy reform. The House successfully passed legislation on May 4th to repeal and replace major parts of the Affordable Care Act. However, at the time of this article, the Senate has hit a significant log jam, with bipartisan opposition to the Senate version of the bill. As a business, you will face uncertainty on what health care will look like for 2017 and 2018, with implementation late 2018 or 2019 at the earliest. I would venture to say as far as tax policy, I wouldn't expect much in terms of the 2018 tax season, but with potential changes in 2019. If there are substantive changes, it should be expected to be beneficial to small businesses because of a Republican led House, Senate, and White House. A consistent theme with this President and Congress is for less regulation. PC Capitol Hill Corner By Patrick Atagi, Vice President, Advocacy & External Affairs NWPCA members meeting with U.S. Representative Glenn "G.T." Thompson, Pennsylvania's 5th Congressional district, in the House Agriculture Committee Hearing Room during the recent Fly-In.