GOVERNMENT RELATIONS SPECIAL REPORT
During a luncheon before the June 11, 2014 IBWA Capitol Hill visits, Rep. Renee Ellmers (second from left) spoke to members about the Bottled Water Quality Information Act. Also pictured, IBWA Chairman Breck Speed (far left), IBWA President Joe Doss (third from left), and IBWA Board Member and PAC Treasurer Shayron Barnes-Selby (right).
Companies throughout the United States face increasing uncertainty due to a patchwork of laws that vary from state to state. This legislation will ensure that we have one, national, uniform standard for bottled water quality reports. It will also allow the public to obtain the information they need regarding the safety and quality of the bottled water they consume. This is an important step to providing these businesses with a less burdensome process, while also making consumers lives’ easier.
– U.S. Representative Renee Ellmers (R-NC)
Ready for Our Close Up It’s no secret that water and consumer product issues are very much top-ofmind for the media today—and we expect our critics to continue taking their complaints to the press. That’s why IBWA ensured we were prepared for the media attention. Thanks to the investment members and staff have made in spreading bottled water facts through traditional and social media, IBWA was poised to meet and extinguish any negative bottled water comments by our opponents. In addition, IBWA composed talking points and staff was well-equipped to counter our critics and set the record straight. The BWQIA stands as an excellent example of the effective deployment of
tools a trade association must exercise to serve the interests of its members: consensus building, professional lobbying, political fundraising, relationship building with elected officials, and grassroots mobilization and communications. I greatly appreciate joining the IBWA advocacy team and look forward to the continuing investment and trust our members have placed in us to advocate on behalf of your interests. I’m equally proud of the return IBWA has been able to deliver on that investment, both in the short and long term, in providing consumers with important information about the bottled water products they buy. When IBWA members and staff continue to combine our forces and work together, we will carry the day.
WHAT YOU CAN DO IBWA encourages members to use the “Take Action” feature on www.bottledwatermatters.org to write, email, or call your members of Congress to ask them to support the Bottled Water Quality Information Act (BWQIA). In addition, members are invited to travel to Washington, DC, and take part in the remaining 2014 Capitol Hill advocacy days as IBWA continues to educate elected officials about the BWQIA, BPA, and other issues important to the bottled water industry: • September 9 • November 19 • December 9
Kristin Pearson Wilcox is IBWA’s vice president of government relations. Contact her for more information: kwilcox@ bottledwater.org / 703.647.4618.
SEP/OCT 2014
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