Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/688506
June 2016 • The PCB Magazine 63 back in the United States. It's not like they want to get rid of it. When you can point out cer- tain things that are hurting U.S. manufacturers, they're going to listen and they're going to see what they can do to fix that. Goldman: That's good. Naik: We had a great talk about that, and we had a great talk on TSCA. One very concern- ing topic that will affect all the PWB guys is the changes in regulations that are being proposed by the EPA. They're trying to get us to docu- ment all recycled material. The way the EPA has proposed the regulation, they are actually dis- incentivizing the PCB shop to recycle product. It would be cheaper for us to go send our waste streams to the landfills. This is totally counter- productive. Obviously, recycling is the best way to do things, but the way it's being written and the way it's being proposed by the regulators right now will actually be a disadvantage. Again, this is a great conversation to share with the senators and congressman and say, "Wait a minute, that doesn't make sense. Why are we doing this?" Goldman: How far along is that? How critical is it to get that message out right now? Naik: I believe it's something that is going to come up within the next few months. The EPA is close to the end of writing their regulations. It's something that all the board shops need to be aware of or else we will just be creating more work. Goldman: They all should at least be calling their congressmen right now. Naik: Without a doubt. The chal- lenge is exactly that. If we don't bring it to their attention, then they don't know how to fix it. Then all of the sudden you've got the EPA who just goes and creates all this stuff. If you want change, you have to be a part of the change. Goldman: You've got to have the answers for them. Naik: Absolutely. From that point on, the IPC does a fantastic job, with Fern Abrams and the whole team that John Hasselmann has here. They've got a hand on all the issues affecting us as an industry, so they can give you that feed- back and answers. But at the end of the day, the congressmen don't want to listen to IPC staff. They want to hear from their constituents. The constituents have to show up. Actually, they can even just make a call. Even if they call the congressman, that's a huge thing. One interest- ing thing we learned today was even just a hun- dred call-ins about a particular topic will actu- ally change the needle and may even change the direction a congressman would go. We do have to get active if we want to have change. Goldman: I imagine face-to-faces are even more persuasive. If a number of people get in touch with the representative in their district and get a face to face with them, that's got to have even more sway. Naik: A face to face is totally worth it. If a con- gressman is having a town hall meeting in your district and you go see them, it makes a huge difference. Especially if they hear the same mes- sage a couple of times, they are going to come back to D.C. and talk to the legislative assistant and say, "Okay, this is what I heard back in the district, so what are we doing about this?" Your voice is heard, but you've got to speak up. Goldman: What are you expecting for tomorrow? Naik: I'm looking forward to see- ing Congressman Johnson tomor- row and possibly Senator Cornyn. I'm looking forward to both of those meetings. Again, just see if we can further the message and continue asking for their support. Goldman: Excellent. Thank you so much, Nilesh. Naik: You're welcome. PCB