IPC Impact Day Recap With Rich Cappetto

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

The importance of government advocacy for our business interests is not lost on anyone these days. Parallel efforts are occurring in the United States and Europe to secure the electronics supply chain for defense and security, as well as for our national economies.

Toward that effort, IPC has hosted its annual IPC Impact Day in Washington, D.C., for at least the past decade, with the first event taking place in the 1990s. This popular and important advocacy tool allows an industry segment to meet their local congresspeople, educate them on important issues, and influence new or existing legislation to support their interests.

We spoke with Rich Cappetto, senior director of North American government relations at IPC, about the importance of the event and what it means for the greater PCB industry. He also highlighted an important change: There will be several IPC Impact Days throughout the year to allow smaller groups of industry professionals to visit Washington more often with a more targeted message. This magnifies their communication and impact, eliciting a constant drumbeat marching toward achieving their legislative initiatives.

Marcy LaRont: Rich, what is the genesis and history of IPC Impact Day?

Rich Cappetto: Impact Days are a fundamental way for industries to engage with their policymakers. Many industry groups hold fly-in days where members of their industry come in and advocate on the Hill. The strength of any public policy advocacy effort is in the number and intensity of its members. Impact Day is one good way for IPC members to get directly involved. We help to facilitate their engagement with policymakers, which is an important part of advocacy. 

LaRont: Take me through an average Impact Day. What's the agenda and flow?

Cappetto: The IPC event has typically lasted two to three days. Members arrive in Washington, gather for breakfast or lunch, and network with each other. Discussions center on the most important topics to advocate for. We spend the rest of the time meeting with members of the House and Senate and members of the administration to discuss those topics.

In the past, IMPACT D.C. was a multi-day event with many lunches and dinners, almost like a conference. This year, we made a goal of making IMPACT more agile so we could get members on the Hill more frequently. To that end, we hosted a more pared-down, direct, and focused one-day Impact Day. Our plan is to bring people in multiple times throughout the year for these single-day focused efforts around one key issue.

That's what we did this year on May 15th. Members flew in, and we spent a day advocating on the Hill for the Defense Production Act (DPA) and for H.R.3249, the Protecting Circuit Boards and Substrates Act. We hit 14 congressional offices. Members got to meet with their local representatives, and with senior leadership including the office of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. We did, of course, network and compare ideas over happy hour and dinner as well. We’re planning more of these events throughout the rest of this year in keeping with our goal of continuous, focused advocacy on the Hill. That said, we are also planning a more traditional, large event early next year, likely the first or second week of February. It will be important to be on the Hill in force early in the new Congress, in an important year for tax policy.

Nolan Johnson:Multiple Impact Days throughout the year give more members the opportunity to participate. How does meeting with Congress more often keep it fresh?

Cappetto: Because it serves to focus our message when we're on the Hill, as opposed to coming into town one day a year and trying to talk about every issue under the sun. We come in on one day with one message, which is timely based on what Congress is dealing with at that point. We hit it hard, and multiple opportunities allow us to be a constant drumbeat for the industry.

LaRont: Speaking of the May 15 event, what were the high points and takeaways? What did you accomplish?

Cappetto: It was a great day, and in keeping with our vision for this year, it was a small group. Six member companies joined us, and we interacted with 14 Congressional offices. Our group included companies from across the value chain including printed circuit board fabrication, a thermal substrate manufacturer, an EMS provider, and even a chemical supplier. We enjoyed the opportunity to network with those members who attended the event. In fact, it was nice to represent the “silicon-to-systems” ecosystem live and in person. It was a great way to illustrate that to policymakers with each company as we sat around the table.

We advocated for funding the DPA in the FY2025 budget, pushed for H.R.3249, and connected companies with representations from their state and district.

Several of the congressional offices we visited have already followed up with our members to schedule tours of their facilities. A congressman from Wisconsin, with whom we had previously done outreach and who had come for a tour afterward, joined as a cosponsor of H.R.3249. Getting cosponsors for bills is important. We were pleased with the engagement from the congressional offices. They all said they could see the importance of our issues, and they want to be kept informed, so we plan to follow up with their offices.

LaRont: How did you prepare the industry member participants for this Impact Day before they arrived in Washington?

Cappetto: Before any event on the Hill, we look at where we are in the legislative calendar? What’s happening with appropriations requests? What impact can we make with our time on the Hill?

Then, we select the issues that we want to advocate for with our members, and we craft talking points. We preview that on several calls with our members, down to what we'll talk about and how we’ll say it.

This allows our members to be very prepared. We give them briefs on the members of Congress and staff that we visit. We know where they're from, what they care about, and what committees they sit on, so the industry members know how their message should land with the members of Congress. Then, we share the talking points and the other prep material.

For example, we may prompt them with suggestions like, “This congressman really cares about veterans. Why don't you highlight a veteran who works in your facility or employment opportunities for veterans in your company?” We try to prepare them on a more personal level so they not only make a good first impression but make a good connection. Those conversations flow much better. We are with them in every meeting to help support them in their conversations in any way that might be helpful.

One thing that helped was some members brought samples of the boards or product they're making and explained the importance to national security when producing these boards.

Johnson: Rich, the list of offices you visited looks well balanced, with eight Democrats and six Republicans. Does this feel like an equally bipartisan issue?

Cappetto: Yes. There are differences between the parties on what type of policies they favor to address the problem, but both parties have been receptive to the fact that building a domestic electronics manufacturing industry is of national importance. It's critical to our national security and our economic competitiveness. So, they're interested and want to hear from us on how to solve that problem. Of course, you have to bridge the different party interests in terms of whether they want to do that with tax credits, grant programs, or addressing the workforce. Those are the details that take a lot of back and forth to settle on and can change depending on the politics of the moment.

LaRont: IPC and PCBAA have worked so hard at finessing the messaging. What resonates the most with members of Congress?

Cappetto: I would say the two biggest issues that resonate are how fragile the supply chain is, and anything related to the workforce. We really get their attention when they realize that we will not be able to maintain or manufacture certain items that we all rely on if there were ever to be a disruption in trade with certain parts of the world.

Every member of Congress represents a district of about 700,000 people. They want to ensure that they're doing what they can in Washington to create jobs back home and ensure that their constituents have economic opportunities. Anytime we can talk about building jobs, how to put people into good careers, and how to get them upskilled, policymakers want to have that conversation.

LaRont: When you have these conversations, are members of Congress generally in agreement? Do they understand or are they surprised once you educate them?

Cappetto: It depends. A handful of congressional members have been engaged on this for several years and they know the issues. We met with the staff of Congressman Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill). He knew the issue, and he’s a supporter of the bill. He reaffirmed his support and reassured us that he wants to stay involved. On the other hand, we met with freshmen members of Congress who had no idea that this was in their district and how important it is to the economy.

LaRont: What were the significant takeaways from this first Impact Day of 2024?

Cappetto: The biggest takeaway was that we continued to build relationships with key congressional offices. That helps our industry right now as Congress is negotiating NDAA, defense appropriations, potential additional CHIPS funding, workforce policy, and trade. But there is much work still to be done on these issues. We look forward to our next IPC Impact Day to continue building relationships between industry and policymakers, and to make sure the interests of the electronics industry are represented well.

LaRont: Rich, thanks for speaking with us today. It sounds like a lot of progress is being made. Please keep us informed of any new developments that help the cause of the industry.

Cappetto: Will do, Marcy. Thank you for the opportunity to share our message.