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June 2016 • SMT Magazine 55 tional Network for Manufacturing Innovation) that the White House was big on, getting that properly funded and through Congress. That was a big push and it's been a big success. Goldman: Do you think this is directly attributed to IPC and its members being here in Washington? Turpin: Absolutely, yes. The IPC are tying up and spending member dollars doing this and they've got a local lobbying group that helps them with setting up. As part of that, they're making sure that they're getting back their bucks. Every year we talk about what are we going for, and what progress to aim for. The Government Affairs Committee orders routine board calls and committee calls to find out what we're working on, what outcomes to ex- pect and what kind of progress. Goldman: You've seen real progress? Turpin: There has been real progress. Absolute- ly. There's always something new. Goldman: I assume there is always something you have to worry about and work on. Turpin: Congress is always trying to come up with new ways… Goldman: New ways to mess it up [Laughs]. What do you particularly want to get out of this session? Turpin: The sessions have a number of differ- ent purposes. One is that it's good to get IPC members together. They tend to bring in CEOs for this event. It's good to do the networking and to find out what other people are faced with separate from the regulatory issues. It's also good for the CEOs that come to this to un- derstand what the regulatory climate is like and what those issues are. Because I know when I first started coming, I really didn't understand all the issues that IPC was going to bat to Con- gress for in terms of representing their constitu- ents within the IPC. I enjoy that aspect of it. For me personally this year, I'm taking a more active role in helping get across the mes- sage in terms of the new Department of Labor regulations that are being proposed—as related to exempt and non-exempt status and raising the baseline salary level of those who can be considered non-exempt. Goldman: Anything else you would like to say about this? Turpin: I would say the only other thing is that anybody who is reading this article and is aware of the IPC, or some of the events the IPC does, whether it's APEX or whether it's IMPACT or another event, if they're a CEO, it's worthwhile to get involved and to help out. It helps them personally and it helps the industry as a whole. Goldman: Some people would probably say it's expensive to come here, like paying for the hotel, travel and that kind of stuff. How do you feel about the money end of that? Turpin: Everything has a cost. You could cer- tainly argue that not participating also has a cost. I personally think that it's worthwhile and that on the whole the cost is definitely worth the benefit to people individually and to mem- bers as a whole. Goldman: Thank you, it's nice to talk with you. Turpin: Thank you. SMT " Every year we talk about what are we going for, and what progress to aim for. The Government Affairs Committee orders routine board calls and committee calls to find out what we're working on, what outcomes to expect and what kind of progress. "