March 10, 2020
LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR FEDERAL AID TO ASSOCIATIONS & TAX EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS
| The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Speaker United States House of Representatives 1236 Longworth House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 |
The Honorable Mitch McConnell, Leader United States Senate 317 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 |
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| The Honorable Kevin McCarthy, Leader United States House of Representatives 2468 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 |
The Honorable Charles Schumer, Leader United States Senate 322 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 |
RE: Potential Aid for Industries Impacted by Coronavirus
Dear Speaker Pelosi and Leaders McConnell, McCarthy and Schumer:
The Congress of Chiropractic State Associations represents State Chiropractic Associations across the US and in Puerto Rico with approximately 35,000 members. Our state associations are responsible for providing continuing education to Doctors of Chiropractic through seminars, conventions and other events where doctors travel within their home state or to other states in order to maintain their licenses. When these events are disrupted, there is a real financial impact to both the association and members.
I write regarding prospective federal intervention to support the airline, travel and other targeted industries impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic. ChiroCongress urges you to also include associations, nonprofits and other tax-exempt organizations within any federal aid packages or supplemental appropriations measures, as many have been and will be harmed by event cancellations and reduced meeting attendance as a result of COVID-19.
According to the Events Industry Council’s 2018 Economic Significant Study conducted by Oxford Economics1, more than 1.9 million meetings occur in the United States each year – with more than 250 million attendees. These meetings contribute more than $446 billion to U.S. gross domestic product and directly support 5.9 million jobs nationwide.
As you are no doubt aware, the fast-spreading COVID-19 epidemic has prompted the cancellation of dozens of major meetings and events in the U.S. and forced other event sponsors to consider cancelling or postponing innumerable other events dependent on in-person attendance at convention centers, hotels and other event facilities. Many of these meetings and events also attract international participants, who generate 11.5 percent (about $38 billion) of direct spending during their visits to the U.S. International travel to the U.S. has dropped sharply during the COVID-19 outbreak and signs point to this trend growing until the virus is brought under control. The U.S. Travel Association forecasts international flights to the U.S. will plummet six percent over the next three months alone, which would be the largest decline since the 2008 economic crisis.
Additionally, many associations operate similarly to small businesses and are greatly impacted if employees are forced to take sick leave or are quarantined as a result of COVID-19 interaction. We are aware the Trump Administration and Congress are considering measures for small businesses that may require cash flow assistance amid the outbreak, and urge that tax-exempt entities be included in any temporary aid designed to stem the economic fallout resulting from COVID-19.
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1Events Industry Council. Economic Significance of Meetings to the US Economy. February 2018. https://dev- meetingsmeanbusiness.pantheonsite.io/sites/default/files/Economic%20Significance%20of%20Meetings%20to%20t he%20US%20Economy.pdf
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Klein
Executive Director
Congress of Chiropractic State Associations
CC:
The Honorable Richard Neal, Chairman
United States House of Representatives Committee on Ways & Means
1102 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
The Honorable Kevin Brady, Ranking Member
United States House of Representatives Committee on Ways & Means
1102 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Chuck Grassley, Chairman
United States Senate Committee on Finance
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
The Honorable Ron Wyden, Ranking Member
United States Senate Committee on Finance
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Nita Lowey, Chairwoman
United States House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations
H-307 The Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515
The Honorable Kay Granger, Ranking Member
United States House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations
H-307 The Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515
The Honorable Richard Shelby, Chair
United States Senate Committee on Appropriations
S-128 the Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Patrick Leahy, Vice Chairman
United States Senate Committee on Appropriations
S-128 the Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20510
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