This week, the U.S. House passed a bill from a Kentucky Republican and a Florida Democrat to give the concrete masonry industry more flexibility when it comes to researching and promoting its products.
The House passed U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie’s, R-Ky., “Concrete Masonry Products Research, Education, and Promotion Act” this week on a 355 - 38 vote. U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., was the chief co-sponsor and 20 other members of the Florida delegation also signed on as co-sponsors. Thirty seven Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Curt Clawson, R-Fla., voted against the proposal. Three members of the Florida delegation--Republican U.S. Reps. Ron DeSantis and Rich Nugent and Democrat U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson--did not vote.
According to Guthrie’s office, the bill “will allow the industry to create a commodity check-off program that would allow for nationwide cooperation and accelerated job growth in almost every congressional district" and “by allowing concrete block producers to pool their resources, manufacturers and the communities they serve will benefit from greater energy efficiency, increased safety, and additional marketing options.”
Guthrie took to the House floor to explain why the bill was needed.
“Because of the nature of concrete products and the difficulty of transporting them, concrete masonry businesses tend to be small, local, and deeply entwined in their communities,” Guthrie said. “Often, these small businesses do not have the resources needed for research and development of safer and more durable products to use in building construction.
“Two dozen similar industries have benefited from similar programs, which allow commodity industries to pool resources for research, education, and promotion of their non-branded products,” Guthrie said. “You may be familiar with the ‘Got Milk?’ and ‘Pork, the Other White Meat’ campaigns – the result of commodity check-off programs. These programs, which are enormously helpful to individual industries, require congressional approval.
“H.R. 985, however, is different from previous check-off programs,” Guthrie added. “The bill mandates transparency and accountability through many layers of auditing and reporting, as well as giving every producer – no matter their size – an equal vote in the referendum. We have incorporated a number of changes to further improve the bill, including an update from CBO that ensures the bill will result in absolutely no cost to taxpayers. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R.985, which will have a positive impact in every congressional district.”
On Wednesday, Castor insisted the bill would help the Tampa Bay region.
“Local manufacturers and many across Florida worked diligently with me to boost jobs in the concrete masonry industry through this legislation,” Castor said. “If signed into law, businesses will have the ability to pool resources for research and to develop safer, more durable and more efficient products which would be a boon for building construction. This bill supports an industry made up of primarily small, local businesses that create local jobs in the competitive construction market.
“Buildings made of structurally-strong materials, such as concrete block, are vital to reduce the impacts of property insurance losses as the climate changes and Florida experiences more extreme weather events,” Castor continued. “Producers also will be able to develop durable, energy-efficient and affordable products that are better able to withstand volatile weather conditions in their particular regions, such as seismic events in the West or extreme weather in the Southeast.
“This legislation is win for jobs and our local manufacturers,” Castor concluded. “Nationwide, construction workers average higher wages and this legislation will bolster Florida’s construction employment made up of nearly half-million workers – which is already up by 6 percent over last year and outpacing the nation’s 3 percent increase. Our numerous small manufacturers across the state can now seek to develop more resilient and more energy efficient building materials, remain competitive and most importantly create local manufacturing and construction jobs.”
The bill now heads to the Senate where U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., is the chief backer and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., is an original co-sponsor.
