ICSC mobilizes grassroots in tax reform debate

ICSC’s grassroots efforts regarding tax reform began several months ago. 

“We knew that President Trump and Republicans in Congress are determined to achieve tax reform at some point early in this Presidency; we just weren’t sure exactly when and how much opportunity for input there would be,” said Michael Garrison, ICSC Director of Grassroots.  “Since April, nearly every Congressional meeting or engagement that has taken place with an ICSC Member has revolved around our key legislative issues, with tax reform as the highest priority.”

In preparation for the tax reform legislation that was released, ICSC took aggressive steps to ensure that the concerns of commercial real estate industry were heard by key decision makers on Capitol Hill. 

ICSC members responded to an ICSC Legislative Action Center Alert on tax reform by sending more than 2,200 emails to Congress.  An ICSC Key Contact “Call to Action” was sent to mobilize the newly-developed Key Contacts Program, asking the elite group to make direct contact with their Member of Congress via personal call, email or in person meeting. Early indications are that nearly half the House Ways and Means Committee Members were contacted by their ICSC Key Contact as were dozens of other influential members of the House and the Senate. 

Simultaneously, the ICSC Global Public Policy Team orchestrated a small targeted fly-in on Capitol Hill so our members could discuss the real world implications of tax reform with decision-makers.

“We hosted in Washington a handful of strategically significant ICSC Members from distinctly different regions within the U.S. to meet with more than a dozen Members of Congress over a two day period,” Garrison said. “Eight of those meetings were with members who serve on either the House Ways and Means Committee or Senate Finance Committee.”

In addition to formal meetings, ICSC fly-in participants attended PAC events along with an ICSC staff member.  This afforded ICSC an opportunity to meet with a Member of Congress in a less formal environment and encourage them to continue to support our industry throughout the process. 

As the legislation heads to committee and to the floor of the U.S. House Representatives and through the U.S. Senate ICSC will continue to be asking our grassroots team to speak up for the retail real estate industry. 

For more information on how you can get involved in advocacy on tax reform and ICSC’s legislative agenda, please contact Michael Garrison at mgarrison@icsc.org or 202-626-1412.