ALEXANDRIA, Va. – America’s beer distributors and brewers are gearing up for the 16th Annual NBWA/BREWERS Joint Legislative Conference taking place May 8-11 in Washington, D.C., at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill. This event provides the beer industry with a premier opportunity to sit down with members of Congress and their staffs and discuss industry policy goals and responsibility initiatives.

“The Annual Legislative Conference gives beer distributors a chance to educate lawmakers about the uniqueness of beer as a product and the important roles that distributors play in the marketplace,” said NBWA President Craig Purser. “On top of advocating for the entire beer industry, NBWA members will champion their livelihood and direct the attention of government officials to issues that specifically impact beer distributors’ bottom line.”

Distributors and brewers will meet with their U.S. Representatives and Senate leaders to discuss legislative goals and issues including:

• Strengthening the federal/state partnership in controlling malt beverages and preventing underage drinking;
• Rolling back the 1991 federal excise tax increase on beer;
• Providing small business owners with permanent death tax relief; and
• Blocking efforts to depict a false “standard serving” size graphic on alcohol beverage labels.

“I think attendees will be pleasantly surprised by the main topics of discussion at this year’s conference. Certainly death tax relief and excise taxes will continue to be part of the dialog, but this industry is facing new challenges that have the ability to impact distributors’ bottom lines,” said Purser. “We have to address these major issues like regaining beers sophisticated side and providing states with the tools to fight direct to consumer and direct to retail challenges in their legislatures.

To help facilitate the registration process, NBWA has provided online registration for its beer distributor members via its Web site at www.nbwa.org. NBWA is also providing complimentary registration for beverage industry press representatives who choose to cover the event in their publications.