PHCC Legislative Conference: Collaboration on Capitol Hill

FALLS CHURCH, VA — The Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors–National Association (PHCC) welcomed PHCC members, chapter executives, and corporate partners to Washington, DC, May 21-22, to meet with lawmakers and educate them on energy, economic, and workforce policies that are important to the industry and consumers.

Keynote

Before heading to Capitol Hill as industry experts, members first heard from political experts: former US Congressmen Tom Davis (R-VA) and Martin Frost (D-TX). These two keynote speakers co-authored the book The Partisan Divide: Congress in Crisis. Their presentation offered an objective view of the political landscape in order to help contractors better understand the political dynamics driving the policy process on today’s Capitol Hill.

The Chuck and Mark Show

The keynote set the stage for the Chuck and Mark Show, PHCC’s signature policy briefing tailored exclusively for PHCC members to help them prepare for their day of legislative meetings. The Chuck and Mark Show hosted subsequent panel discussions on policy and advocacy that included PHCC’s Chuck White offering the contractor perspective, Bradford White’s Bob Wolfer offering the manufacturer’s perspective, plus lobbyists from the commercial electrical contracting community and other construction stakeholders with extensive government backgrounds in the US Congress and past presidential administrations.

Cross-Industry Networking

PHCC’s Legislative Conference coincided with Air-conditioning Heating and Refrigeration Institute’s (AHRI) Policy Forum and Heating Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International’s (HARDI) Congressional fly-in. This was the second consecutive year the entire industry was present in Washington, where a joint reception was held in the historic House Caucus Room in the Cannon House Office Building. Members of Congress stopped by to network with members of PHCC and these other industry groups. PHCC is thrilled to be able to continue this collaboration between all three organizations during the three groups’ legislative events in 2025.

New to the schedule this year was a session specifically geared towards PHCC state and local executives. “Advocacy Development and Enhancement for PHCC Chapter Executives” featured advice and best practices for state and local PHCC leaders looking to build an effective advocacy program within their chapter in order to make a real impact with legislators in their state capitols. The session provided a unique forum for chapter executives to exchange ideas that could contribute to successful state-level advocacy.

Day 2

Day 2 kicked off with breakfast, another Washington insider panel, and a picture on the Capitol steps before folks headed to their respective meetings. In total, over 100 PHCC members from 27 states and the District of Columbia had over 120 meetings with elected officials and their staffs. At a closing roof-top reception that evening, members spoke in-depth about how much they valued the in-person meetings on Capitol Hill, in addition to getting to participate in the rest of the sessions as a part of this two-day event.

Sponsors, Partners and Guests

The conference was sponsored by PHCC Corporate Partner Federated Insurance and PHCC Strategic Partner Bradford White. Special guests included Patrick Cunningham of Federated Insurance as well as Brady Kroll, who will be representing the United States at the 2024 WorldSkills Competition in Lyon, France.