Washington Update: Congress Adjourns for the Year; NLBMDA Reflects on 2025

As NLBMDA closes out its 108th year serving as the federal advocacy arm of the lumber and building materials industry, 2025 reflected a shifting policy environment in Washington. Through sustained engagement on Capitol Hill and beyond, NLBMDA worked to advance priorities essential to the industry’s long-term strength.

Last week, Congress adjourned for the year, capping a year defined by a sweeping tax and spending package, a record-breaking government shutdown, and renewed attention to housing supply and affordability. 

This Year on Capitol Hill:

Central to the year’s legislative activity was passage of H.R.1, The One, Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which reshaped federal tax policy and included several priorities championed by NLBMDA. Through permanently restoring 100 percent bonus depreciation, the law allows businesses to immediately deduct the full cost of qualified capital investments, improving cash flow and encouraging reinvestment in equipment, facilities, and expansion. Making the Section 199A pass-through deduction permanent provides continued tax parity for LBM dealers structured as pass-through entities.



OBBBA also addressed housing supply and workforce constraints. A permanent expansion of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and a lower bond financing threshold are projected to support the construction of more than one million new affordable homes. Raising the SALT deduction cap provides meaningful relief for business owners in high-tax states, and expanded use of 529 plans for skilled-trade training will help to strengthen the workforce pipeline needed to translate tax and housing incentives into real construction activity.

NLBMDA’s work advancing this tax bill was a result of continuous advocacy since the previous tax bill, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, was signed into law. Through timely legislative fly-ins over the years and strategic engagement with our coalition partners, as lawmakers shaped the final tax package, a majority of NLBMDA’s legislative priorities were included and advanced into the final package.

Early in the year, NLBMDA prioritized outreach to the more than 60 new members of Congress entering the House and Senate, building relationships with a new class of lawmakers. Looking ahead, NLBMDA will build on these relationships to advance policy priorities that support the industry’s long-term growth, competitiveness, and ability to meet the nation’s housing and construction needs. 

Navigating Tariff Uncertainties



Since the start of the new administration, the White House has pursued an aggressive trade agenda aimed at reshoring manufacturing and reducing trade deficits with the United States’ largest trading partners. Evidenced by numerous NLBMDA member surveys, these policy changes have had short and long-term impacts on your business operations. Throughout these shifts, NLBMDA remained focused on keeping members informed of changes to the tariff landscape. NLBMDA submitted multiple letters and held meetings with administration officials to advocate for trade policies that provide long-term predictability and price stability. This fall, NLBMDA represented the lumber and building materials industry by filing comments ahead of the expected trilateral review of the U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA). Looking ahead to next year, NLBMDA will remain actively engaged to ensure the industry’s interests are considered as potential changes to the agreement are evaluated. 

Changing Regulatory Landscape:

At the onset of the new administration, NLBMDA has been working to ensure that the White House’s deregulatory agenda gives consideration to regulations at the federal level that are burdensome and unwarranted for LBM dealers. Through timely engagement, NLBMDA worked to successfully secure a rulemaking by the Treasury Department that greatly reduced the scope of the Corporate Transparency Act, a law which would have required new reporting requirements for nearly 33 million small businesses.

Under the Biden Administration, OSHA advanced a proposed heat illness prevention rule that would require businesses with 10 or more employees to implement a federally mandated heat injury and illness prevention plan. The proposal would impose a rigid, one-size-fits-all regulatory framework and introduce significant new recordkeeping and compliance requirements for employers, regardless of differences in industry, workplace conditions, or regional climate. In response, NLBMDA submitted formal comments on behalf of the lumber and building materials industry outlining multiple areas of concern. Throughout the year we have continued to raise these issues through engagement with officials across the Administration, including the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy. In parallel, NLBMDA is working with Congress to advance legislation that would require OSHA to restart the rulemaking process and meaningfully solicit input from the LBM industry.

As new proposals are introduced and existing regulations are revised, NLBMDA remains committed to maintaining an active and vigilant presence across all federal regulatory arenas to ensure that rulemakings put forward do not negatively impact the industry.

Looking Ahead:

2026 is expected to once again be an active legislative year, as lawmakers have signaled commitments to advance legislation addressing the nation’s housing affordability crisis, pass a new long-term infrastructure bill, and pursue a range of other priorities ahead of a high-stakes midterm election season.

With gratitude to our membership, whose volunteered time, insights, and resources help ensure NLBMDA remains equipped to serve and represent the industry at the federal level, NLBMDA looks forward to another year advocating on behalf of the LBM industry, ensuring its voice is heard throughout the halls of Congress and that the industry maintains a seat at the table as key policy decisions are made.

For more information on NLBMDA's 2025 accomplishments, please view our Year In Review document.

For questions, please reach out to NLBMDA’s Government Affairs Coordinator, Matthew Delaney at mdelaney@dealer.org