Government Affairs
To move America toward our Vision, it is imperative that The ESOP Association play a strong advocacy role in communities and cities across the country, and in our nation’s capital.
This advocacy role is directed toward creating an army of employee owners who interact continuously with elected officials to prove that pro-active positions for employee ownership and ESOP laws will improve America’s economy in a way that is fair to all wage earners.
As to be expected, at certain times there are different “hot” issues that have activated our grassroots lobbying capacity. And, as is standard, the intensity of the grassroots work, backed up by years and years of professional experience in Washington, DC, will depend on the scope of the opportunity or threat, to ESOP companies and employees. (One United States Senator, who got on the wrong side of a pro-ESOP position and had to back down, called The ESOP Association’s lobbying activities “the lightning lobby.”)
For example, in the 109th Congress, (2005-2006) ESOP advocates urged Representatives and Senators to sponsor H.R. 3111, H.R. 2969, and S. 1319. These legislative proposals would have expanded S corporation ESOP tax benefits and C corporation tax benefits.
The work of The ESOP Association and employee ownership advocates pays off time and time again. Without going into details, the fact is, since 1996, Congress has enacted several positive ESOP laws for C and S corporations, and the regulatory climate has improved greatly.
But despite improvements in ESOP law and regulations the past decade, certain evidence shows many leaders in our nation remain cynical about the power of employee ownership through ESOPs. For example, in late 2005, the Presidential Panel on Federal Tax Reform issued recommendations for tax law reform that if enacted into law would eliminate ESOPs. Testifying before the Senate Committee on Finance, one Panel member declared the section that would eliminate ESOPs as one of the Panel’s most important recommendations. And while President Bush continued to talk and urge the U.S. to be an “Ownership Society,” he and his top economic policy advisors excluded employee ownership from their dialogues. A prominent U.S. Senator has written his constituents proclaiming ESOP law needs to be reformed. And, the 2006 general election results mean many supporters of ESOPs in prior Congresses will NOT serve in the 2007-2008 Congress.
So it is important, now more than ever, that the ESOP community be united with the advocacy work of The ESOP Association.
The ESOP Association’s advocacy style is aggressive. While we recognize that reasonable men and women may differ on certain public policy issues, we measure proposals by the criteria of “Will it increase employee ownership or will it decrease employee ownership?” When the measure is “decrease,” more often than not, ESOP advocates protest long and loud.
Does the ESOP community “win” each fight? No, but we win our fair share and we believe we do because of our unified Vision for America, and our strong presence in Washington, DC.
If you wish to protect and promote ESOPs and employee ownership, you need to be part of our Team. Join today.