Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/924542
102 PCB007 MAGAZINE I JANUARY 2018 terms of IPC keeping strong relationships with congressional leadership. From time to time, we also issue Member Alerts, asking our members to call or write their elected representatives on issues of ur- gent concern. Not only do we have to keep policymakers informed of our views, but we also work to ed- ucate and inform our members about the pol- icy changes coming down the road. In 2018, we'll continue to post frequent articles in the IPC Blog and IPC Global Insight e-newsletter; publish a quarterly e-newsletter on our advo- cacy work specifically; and host informational webinar and workshops on challenging policy compliance issues like taxes and environmen- tal regulations. Members in the United States can take their ad- vocacy to another level by getting involved in the IPC Political Action Committee (IPC PAC) [1] . Po- litical action committees are transparent, regu- lated entities in which U.S. citizens and "green card" holders can join together to support po- litical candidates with financial contributions to their political campaigns. The IPC PAC sup- ports pro-manufacturing candidates in both parties who are sympathetic to IPC's policy po- sitions. All together, these advocacy efforts help our industry have an advantage in an increasingly competitive global economy. How do electronics companies benefit from this work? One example is the 2015 PATH Act enacted by the U.S. Congress. This bill revived more than 50 tax provisions that had expired in 2014 and made the research and development tax credit permanent. Many of the provisions in the PATH Act were IPC lobbying objectives for many years; dozens of IPC members communi - cated with their lawmakers on this issue. Another example is conflict minerals. IPC has been a persistent voice regarding the cost and unintended results of conflict minerals leg- islation, both in the United States and the Eu- ropean Union. While IPC members are deeply concerned by the human rights violations that have occurred in central Africa, where min- erals mining revenues have fueled local con- flicts, we have supported an approach that is part of our mission to help ensure our mem- bers' success in the global economy, IPC maintains an active, multi-faceted government relations (GR) program. For example, one of the traditional ways we communicate with government officials is through formal corre- spondence and sometimes face-to-face meet- ings where they work. IPC members and our policy experts are occasionally invited to tes- tify before government bodies on important issues. We also host annual "fly-ins" which bring C- level executives from our member companies to world capitals for meaningful discussions of the issues. During IMPACT Washington, D.C. 2017, we facilitated meetings with more than 30 government officials. Within the last two years, IPC opened a new office in Brussels and held two IMPACT conferences there. Another way we work to educate and influ- ence government officials is through our "Meet the Policymakers" program, which invites leg- islators to tour our members' facilities and in- teract with the people who work there. In re- cent years, we have organized dozens of these visits, creating goodwill and a higher aware- ness of IPC and our policy priorities. On one such occasion, a member site visit by Congressman Paul Ryan occurred just weeks before he was unexpectedly elevated to the po- sition of Speaker of the U.S. House of Repre- sentatives, making it a very well-timed visit in Another way we work to educate and influence government officials is through our "Meet the Policymakers" program, which invites legislators to tour our members' facilities and interact with the people who work there.