NCA’s John Downs and management team feature in The Hill’s Top 100 lobbyists

The president and CEO of the National Confectioners Association, John Downs, has been named alongside senior colleagues on a key list of leading national industry lobbyists, reports Neill Barston.

He is joined by the NCA’s Brian McKeon, senior vice president of public policy,  and Dan Shorts, vice president for governmental affairs for the trade group in making The Hill’s top 100 most influential people across all sectors who have made a real difference for their respective markets.

As John Downs (pictured at this year’s State of the Industry Conference), has previously explained to Confectionery Production, engaging with policy at a national level on Capitol Hill has been of crucial importance for the industry, as it grapples with a number of major policy concerns.

Consequently, as reported, the NCA has maintained a positive relationship with the White House in Washington, having just completed its annual engagement with its members supplying candy and decor for Joe Biden’s final Christmas in office before stepping down next month.

The NCA has been instrumental in working to support key legislation due before the US Senate and Congress, including the much-anticipated Farm Bill which despite considerable effort, appears unlikely to now be resolved before the new administration takes office in the New Year.

This has been particularly important to the confectionery sector as it contains key sugar trade policy that has been negatively impacting the confectionery sector in particular, with the NCA advocating for greater domestic product levels to ensure that prices are reduced for manufacturers with the candy market.

For its part, The Hill, which has retained its position as a major US political website, has named leading individuals across the US business and governmental sectors in its latest top 100 listings. This has spanned everything from major corporations such as FedEx, Paramount and the Ford Motor Company, through to a number of trade associations including the NCA within its assessment of influential industry leaders.