On April 21st and 22nd, vinyl industry leaders visited Washington, D.C. to participate in the Vinyl Institute’s annual Congressional Fly-In. This event always provides an excellent opportunity for our organization’s members to share their firsthand experiences and concerns with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. This year, a record 51 attendees representing 20 states spoke with 65 Congressional offices about our industry’s most pressing issues. We also presented our annual Congressional Champion awards to two members of the House of Representatives for their bipartisan work on HR 7567, The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026. Keep reading for an overview of the noteworthy events that took place during the vinyl industry Congressional Fly-In!
Representatives Josh Riley (D-NY-19) and Mike Lawler (R-NY-17) are the VI’s Congressional Champions for 2026
The two legislators received this award due to their work on advocating for the House Farm Bill, which includes language from the LEAPS Act. The bill includes practical, farmer-focused provisions to help control costs. This bill includes an amendment by Congressman Riley based on the bi-partisan bill that he and Representative Lawler had introduced earlier, called the LEAPS Act (Leveraging Efficiency Awareness for Pumping Systems). The measure recognizes modern, energy-efficient irrigation and pumping systems, including plastic pipe, as infrastructure options eligible for existing USDA programs. This allows farmers to use cost-saving, efficient materials that reduce energy and maintenance costs and improve water efficiency without imposing new mandates or regulations. Plastic pipe (like PVC) has a smooth, non-corrosive interior that makes it ideal for agriculture. These properties make it the most efficient pipe material to pump water through, which saves energy and money. The Cadeo Group has estimated that modernizing and updating the U.S.’s irrigation and pumping infrastructure could eliminate up to 10 million metric tons of carbon emissions, as well as save farmers $2.8 billion and 2.5x the annual flow of the Colorado River in terms of water conservation.
Vinyl Institute Hosts Fourth Annual Vinyl Record Reception on Capitol Hill
This year, we paired our Congressional Fly-In with The Vinyl Record Reception and had another amazing evening in the Rayburn building on Capitol Hill with over 400 visitors. The historic Gold Room provided members and guests with the opportunity to learn about the many facets of the vinyl industry. The event was once again organized in conjunction with the Congressional Fly-In and aimed to provide Congressional staffers with the benefits and applications of vinyl while listening to a DJ and perusing hundreds of records. Attendees even had the chance to take a record home with them (in accordance with the House rules)! Since the event started in 2023, we have heard more than a few attendees express surprise at learning that vinyl and PVC are the same material. This event has been instrumental in educating legislators and their staff about the various uses of vinyl, such as in healthcare, water infrastructure, electric vehicle charging stations, and construction.
Advocating for Issues
On the day following the reception, we broke into groups to advocate for the entire vinyl industry. We started and finished every meeting by explaining the myriad of invaluable roles PVC plays in modern life, as well as answering any questions members or staff may have had about PVC based on bad or faulty information.
A primary focus of our meetings was TSCA modernization. After hearing from Representative Gary Palmer (R-AL), the primary sponsor of the House draft bill to modernize TSCA, we went to the Hill to make our case. We urged Members of Congress to support targeted clarifications to TSCA that would ensure EPA risk evaluations are limited to reasonably foreseeable uses. We also asked them to ensure EPA works with other federal agencies, such as OSHA, which has long standing and successful safety rules in place in order to avoid duplicating regulations.
We also encouraged offices to support the House‑passed Housing for the 21st Century Act as Congress works to address the nation’s housing shortage. We noted concerns with Senate amendments that could restrict Build‑to‑Rent development and emphasized the importance of policies that expand housing supply.
We highlighted recent progress on the House Farm Bill (which passed on April 30th!), thanking House leaders for adopting Representative Josh Riley’s LEAPS Amendment, which explicitly recognizes the benefits of plastic pipe. We urged Members to ensure this language is maintained as the Farm Bill moves forward (it did!), including in the Senate.
Finally, we shared concerns regarding the proposed Union Pacific–Norfolk Southern rail merger, engaging with offices on the potential cost and service impacts for manufacturers and rail customers, and underscoring the importance of thorough review as the merger process moves ahead.
It was yet another great year for the vinyl industry Congressional fly-in. Participating in these meetings is the best way for a member of our industry to make their voice heard by elected officials, and we want to thank everyone who came to D.C. to participate in such an important event. Thanks to everyone who participated, and we can’t wait to make our industry’s voices heard once again next year.
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.
