NPA Announces 2024 Fly-In Day to Washington DC: May 22, 2024

The Natural Products Association (NPA) has announced the 2024 D.C. Fly-In Day for Wednesday, May 22, 2024.

This is an annual gathering where the NPA schedules meetings on Capitol Hill for industry representatives to meet with members of Congress and other policymakers. In these meetings, our industry’s advocates can explain how public policy decisions impact dietary supplements and the health and safety of this nation.

No group in the supplement space organizes a better “lobby day” than the NPA, which is the nation’s largest and oldest nonprofit organization dedicated to the natural products industry.

NPA D.C. Fly-In Day 2024: May 22, 2024

This year’s fly-in day is open to all active NPA members. The NPA’s leadership will schedule meetings with your representatives and their staffers, host advocacy training, and plan social events to bring everyone together. All industry stakeholders across the country — from brands to manufacturers to suppliers to consultants — are invited to make an impact.

Visitors will have to handle their travel and hotel expenses, but NPA members have no additional cost to attend. See the links below for the 2024 NPA Fly-In Day Event, and then let’s get into some details of what to expect this year:

What’s Hot in 2024

Each year, key talking points are circulated by the NPA, but if there are pressing matters for your business in your state, you’re free to discuss them as well.

The finalized talking point memos are still being hashed out, but here are some we expect to see:

1. HSA / FSA Funds for Supplements

   

   Last October, Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) introduced S.3172 – A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to include certain over-the-counter dietary supplement products and foods for special dietary uses as qualified medical expenses (in HSA/FSA funds).^[1]

   Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL) introduced a similar one in the House of Representatives, H.R.4794 – Dietary Supplements Access Act.^[2]

   We ask that members of Congress move forward on this very common sense regulation to help make dietary supplements more affordable for Americans.

2. FDA accountability and proper enforcement of laws

   As we’ve seen with NOW Foods’ ongoing third-party lab testing of supplements (most recently, the failed berberine lab tests from Amazon), the FDA is not enforcing their own laws on good manufacturing practices, and too many importers and contract manufacturers are enabling brands to put untested and dangerous goods on the market.

   We ask that the FDA be held accountable and do its police work — and that means more contract manufacturing audits, not just playing “whack a mole” with small brands.

3. Support for the industry in the ongoing NMN dispute with the FDA

   

   We’ve been staying atop the NMN situation with the FDA, but need help from more members of Congress like Rep. Jeff Duncan!

   As covered in our article on the battle for NMN with the FDA, the Agency is attempting to subvert laws that Congress wrote, by “un-acknowledging” a dietary supplement ingredient named NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide, a form of Vitamin B3), which the FDA had already previously acknowledged as an ingredient.

   Per the law signed by Congress (DSHEA 1994), the FDA has no permissible right to undertake such action unless there’s an adulteration and/or safety concern, and there are none for NMN.

   We ask that Congress hold public meetings with FDA over this matter, push them to meet their timelines in responding to the Citizen’s Petitions they’ve received, and get them back on track with enforcing laws instead of attempting to legislate their own.

4. Ongoing state laws that are attempting to supercede federal law

   Several states are attempting to regulate and restrict dietary supplements in unconstitutional ways that would supersede the Food, Drug, & Cosmetic Act. The NPA has sued the state of New York over one such law, and is likely to continue to do so in other states that attempt to similarly restrict access.

   

   The NPA has sued the State of New York (specifically attorney general Letitia James, not pictured here) over the state’s unconstitutional restrictive dietary supplement law

   We ask that the federal government and its legislators remain aware of states’ attempt to pre-empt their laws, which would remove nutrition from their constituents.

5. Getting clarity on CBD

   The circus on CBD has gone on long enough, and the FDA still has not provided clarity as to whether or not it’s a dietary supplement, a drug, or more reasonably both. Much of the issue was made by the 2018 farm bill, which sadly enabled harmful substances such as Delta-8 to enter the marketplace.

   We ask that congress pass a farm bill that fixes the loopholes created in 2018, and pushes FDA to make a public decision on CBD while keeping harmful intoxicants off the market.

Content from 2023 Fly-In Day

2023 was Team PricePlow’s first time at a Fly-In event, and it was an incredible learning experience. We were able to meet congressmen from New Jersey (Ben’s home state) and have a lengthy meeting with Senator Markwayne Mullin in Oklahoma (Mike’s home).

One of the many highlights of the trip was podcasting with Dr. Daniel Fabricant, CEO of NPA, in Episode #100 of the PricePlow Podcast, titled “Why You Need to Show Up in Washington DC“. You can also watch on YouTube in the video below:

Images from 2023 Fly-In Day are also above and below – join the NPA and come get your picture taken with us this year!

You can also read my LinkedIn post from last year, discussing the extraordinary experience.

Daniel Fabricant, President and CEO of the NPA, left the following quote:

“Engagement matters; I cannot stress enough how important 2024 is for this industry. If you want a bright future for the natural products industry this is a must attend event. With razor-thin margins in the House and Senate, an important election this November, and monumental issues for the industry such as FDA’s reorganization, it is of the utmost importance that industry stakeholders attend this Fly-In.”

— Daniel Fabricant, NPA President and CEO

Coming Up Next: Lessons Learned from Fly-in Day 2023

In our next article, we’ll detail our tips and lessons learned from the 2023 Fly-In Day, where we’ll discuss how to make the most out of your meetings with your representatives in Congress. As a hint, you’ll notice that we’ve included our “ask” in each of the talking points above. This is one of a few things you’ll want to be prepared with.

Get involved and sign up for PricePlow’s NPA Alerts!

Until then, see the links below for the NPA’s 2023 Fly-In Day:

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