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From Home Furnishing Business

AHFA Leaders Convene in D.C.

May 23, 2014  by in Industry, Legal   

At the top of the agenda for members of the AHFA Board of Directors were the EPA’s proposed rules for implementing the federal formaldehyde emission standard and the NLRB’s re-issuance of the so-called “ambush election rule.”

Jim Jones, assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, told the group on Tuesday that his tour of a North Carolina furniture factory in March, along with comments submitted by AHFA, helped the agency shift its thinking on how laminated products will be handled in the formaldehyde rules.

“AHFA staff and key member executives have been engaged on this issue since the proposed rules were released by the EPA last May,” said AHFA CEO Andy Counts. “We have mobilized teams to meet with lawmakers in Washington, submitted technical comments and participated in public hearings on behalf of the industry. We were gratified to hear from Mr. Jones that our message is being heard.”

During the two-day meeting on Capitol Hill, executives also met with eight different lawmakers, including Senators Ron Johnson (R-WI), Kay Hagan (D-NC) and Richard Burr (R-NC), as well as Representatives Gregg Harper (R-MS), Bob Latta (R-OH), Lee Terry (R-NE), Richard Hudson (R-NC) and Virginia Foxx (R-NC).

Attendees, in addition to AHFA staff, included executives from American Leather, A.R.T., Ashley, Century, Craftmaster, DMI, Gat Creek, Flexsteel, Home Meridian International, Hooker, Johnston Casuals, Klaussner, Magnussen, Riverside, Sauder Woodworking, Universal, Vanguard, Vaughan-Bassett and Veneman.

To learn more about the AHFA’s legislative and regulatory priorities and how the entire industry benefits from these efforts, visit the AHFA Web site.