Happy summer. I hope everyone is finally enjoying some good weather and time outdoors.

After a hiatus of three years, we were finally able to attend an Advocacy Summit Fly In, held in Washington, D.C. The NFDA set up hotel arrangements and opportunities for meetings with Congress. MFDA President T.J. Stevenson, his wife, myself and my wife, in addition to MFDA Assistant Terri James and MFDA Executive Director Jim Brown, were able to go and represent the MFDA and its members.

Terri James and Jim Brown were able to set up meetings with Rep. Matt Rosendale, Rep. Ryan Zinke, Sen. Steve Daines, and Sen. John Tester’s offices for us. We flew in on Tuesday, April 18 and were able to see some sights. On Wednesday, April 19, the Montana Delegation hosted a meet-and-greet coffee at the Hart Senate Office Building. There, we were able to meet the whole delegation and had an opportunity for a photo shoot. It seems like the Montana Delegation is one of a few or the only one that does this to meet with their constituents on a weekly basis. It was a very nice event to kickstart the week.

The NFDA provided us with four main issues to talk about to our delegation. The first being FTC’s proposed changes to the Funeral Rule in an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the Funeral Rule. The FTC is considering different areas to expand the current Rule. As a State Association with the NFDA, we are strongly against any changes to the rule as unnecessary and unwarranted. The FTC has not met the burden established by Congress and the Court necessary to revise and expand the Rule. Please contact our Montana Delegation expressing our opposition to any changes to the current Rule.

The second issue was the EPA and formaldehyde risk assessment. The EPA periodically conducts risk assessments on particular uses of chemicals and the effects on human health and the environment. NFDA’s data shows, in a recent study, that trained funeral professionals can effectively manage exposure to formaldehyde to well-below current acceptable levels and no need is shown to limit this vital tool in our profession. This is an issue to keep on Congress’s radar.

Third is Health Savings Accounts. This one is simple. The NFDA is proposing a change in the current law allowing beneficiaries to use the money in a decedent’s HSA for funeral expenses. Now that is not allowed. The NFDA is seeking legislation to amend what is allowed, including funeral expenses, to ease the financial burden if a decedent has an HSA at the time of passing.

Lastly, the legislation introduced the Consensual Donation and Research Integrity Act of 2023. The NFDA is fully behind this introduced legislation that will provide oversight and authority to the Secretary of HHS to oversee facilities that receive donated human bodies and body parts for education and research. To date, there is no regulation in this area, which is a huge issue for us as a profession and for families who choose body donation. Learn more at https://www.nfda.org/BodyBrokerBill.

Please contact our Montana Delegation showing our support for these issues.

If you have not gone to Washington D.C., you should try — what a city. The weather was phenomenal, and the city was HUGE. All the monuments, history, architecture of the buildings and the enormity of the Federal Buildings are awe-inspiring. I had never been, so this was a treat. There is so much to do and see and experience and not enough hours in the day to take it all in. The monuments were awesome, the memorials were sobering, and the enormity of the Federal Government is mind-boggling. Of course, we had to see the White House, the first stop on our tour — it seems smaller in person than on TV. I encourage anyone to take a trip and see D.C.; it is well worth it.

A great big “Thank you” to Terri James and Jim Brown for all their hard work, to MFDA President T.J. Stevenson, and to our lovely wives for their assistance. Thank you to all our members of the MFDA and your hard work. I look forward to representing Montana with the NFDA Advocacy and making sure Montana is heard. God Bless and have a great summer.