ARLINGTON, VA – National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD) President and CEO Eric R. Byer issued a statement expressing concern about provisions included in the U.S. House of Representatives’ Budget Reconciliation Package. In his statement, Byer asked the House to “reconsider this performative play.”

“Last month, both chambers of Congress passed a resolution outlining the budget and instructing key committees to draft the $3.5 trillion plan for new spending. Now, as details of the House version of the Reconciliation Package emerge, NACD has serious cause for concern. The Committee on Ways and Means has proposed more than 40 separate tax increases, collectively worth more than $2 trillion, representing the largest tax increase in decades. In a move that seems irrelevant to the budget discussion, the House package also greatly increases civil penalties for National Labor Relations Act violations while simultaneously eliminating or prohibiting tools employers can utilize during organizing campaigns and labor disputes,” Byer said.

Byer then went on to say that the provisions in the Reconciliation Package hurt businesses and the people who support them. In terms of chemical distributors, Byer said in his statement, “Chemical distributors are an integral part of the chemical sector and the entire U.S. manufacturing supply chain because of the essential services and products they provide. While chemical distribution is big business, the majority of NACD members are small businesses, many of which are still feeling the effects of the economic downturn from the pandemic and its aftershocks on the supply chain. They can ill afford more fees, fines, taxes, and turbulence.”

Byer concluded his statement by saying that the country is “in desperate need of a physical infrastructure plan,” and he urged the House to reconsider the Reconciliation Package.