Erin Brown leads marketing strategy for the Specialty Equipment Division at Great American Insurance Group, a service provider dedicated to driving excellence within the equipment finance community. She has 20 years of B2B financial services marketing experience across banks, broker-dealers, wire houses, independent life insurance organizations, and most recently, equipment finance companies. She specializes in go-to-market planning, thought leadership strategies, and creating great customer experiences for embedded insurance solutions in the equipment finance space.
A first-time advocate discovers the power of showing up, as a day at ELFA’s Capitol Connections reveals the vital role equipment finance plays in the U.S. economy and why its future depends on every voice being heard.
As a newcomer to the equipment finance industry, it’s been a top priority to learn the business, understand what drives it and its impact on the economy. While I’ve experienced many valuable learning opportunities, a recent advocacy event opened my eyes to the deep connection of this industry, its quiet but mighty impact and the promise for its future.
In early June, I spent the day advocating on Capitol Hill with 100-plus other equipment finance professionals during the ELFA’s Capitol Connections event. An infectious energy quickly spread across my advocacy team of both industry veterans and newbies as we ventured out to meet with members of Congress regarding important issues affecting our industry.
I’ve curated takeaways from the day, plus reasons to be excited (and hopeful!) for the future of the regulatory landscape and its impact on the equipment finance community.
Advocacy is critical, and so was our timing.
Equipment finance is a $1.3 trillion industry that drives growth in the U.S. economy.[1] From construction equipment to wind turbines, to life saving medical devices, this industry is the backbone of the U.S. economy, and any policies that potentially restrict its growth are of grave concern. That’s why advocating to protect its interests is so important.
Repealing Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act topped the list of issues. While not a new issue, it was a timely discussion given the passing of the presidential and congressional batons earlier this year to the Republican party. And we should see lots of active discussion in the Senate this summer related to the points we raised during our advocacy meetings.
Telling our story and directly articulating impacts really resonated.
Traversing Capitol Hill with veteran equipment finance leaders gave me a front row seat to the danger certain issues pose if enacted into law.
Armed with information from the ELFA, these leaders shared that equipment finance enables nearly 80% of U.S. businesses to acquire the tools they need to operate,[2] and Section 1071 threatens this access with red tape and costs that potentially stifle innovation and growth, especially with small and mid-size lenders.
We also discussed tax issues, and asked Congress to permanently reinstate:
If left unaddressed, these issues pose negative business impacts to our industry and consequentially the U.S. economy at large. I was pleased to see the Congressional teams with whom we met really engage, ask good questions and vow to carry our concerns forward in policy discussions.
Advocacy is for everyone.
In the midst of numerous global challenges, our voices can sometimes seem inconsequential, which sometimes keeps people from advocating in the first place. But this experience taught me that advocacy truly is for everyone. You should not wait for someone seemingly smarter, wiser or braver to do it. You do not need deep expertise on every issue or process. It just takes passion for change, curiosity and a willingness to learn. With this, anyone can demonstrate self-leadership, advocacy and action.
My advocacy team met with employees from a variety of Congressional offices, many of whom were early career, front-line legislative assistants. In this way, the front line of our industry truly met the front line of Capitol Hill to keep equipment finance priorities at the forefront of policy maker minds.
The policy outlook is good, but we cannot let our guards down.
Positivity and excitement surrounded my time on Capitol Hill. I spoke with several people who feel the regulatory atmosphere may get better. But I also felt the need to not let up. The conversations about permanency of tax provisions and easing of regulatory requirements to support stability in the equipment finance community remain critical and timely.
As I look ahead, I’m thankful for this advocacy experience. I am filled with optimism and hope for the forward movement of industry priorities, and I look forward to tracking the policy progress this year.
[1] https://www.leasefoundation.org/industry-research/horizon-report/
[2] https://www.elfaonline.org/docs/default-source/about/pdf/2020aboutelfa.pdf?sfvrsn=2843600c_0
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