Senate RV Caucus Reception Wraps Up A Successful RVs Move America Week

Jun 10, 2019 RV Industry Association Staff

When RVs Move America Week began in Washington, DC on Monday, June 3, the humidity was low, the RVs Move America National Economic Impact Study had yet to be released and more than 150 representatives had yet to storm Capitol Hill and federal agencies for advocacy efforts aimed at strengthening the RV industry’s position on legislative and regulatory issues.

By Wednesday evening, June 5, the trademark DC humidity was not the only thing that had spiked. Evidenced by the remarks of three US Senators attending the Senate RV Caucus Reception, the “official DC” awareness of the RV industry’s economic impact on the US had also grown dramatically.

The new RVs Move America Economic Impact Study, released last week, shows that the RV industry has an overall economic impact to the US economy of $114 billion, supporting nearly 600,000 jobs, contributing more than $32 billion in wages, and paying over $12 billion in federal, state, and local taxes. 

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US Senators Mike Braun and Todd Young of Indiana, along with Joni Ernst of Iowa, all spoke at the reception and each of them cited numbers from the new study, just as several US House members had done at the House RV Caucus Breakfast that morning.

“The fact that each of these three elected officials reeled off numbers from the RVs Move America study in their remarks was extremely gratifying,” said RV Industry Association Vice President of Government Affairs Jay Landers. “It was a great way to celebrate two successful days on Capitol Hill moving the RV industry policy agenda forward, and it was great way to reinforce how Senate RV Caucus members are truly our RV champions on the Hill.”

In addition to the three US senators, there were dozens of Senate staff members at the reception, which featured an array of posters citing facts and figures from the study, as well as a bountiful buffet and busy beverage stations.

Board members worked the room on behalf of the industry, as did members of the association team. Many board and staff members pointed out the enthusiasm for the industry that they had heard all day long in their visits to House and Senate offices and, in particular, how bipartisan that support was. The reception ended as the sun set on a very successful DC advocacy event for the RV industry.