Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-GA, addressed the board members of the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association (ARMA) at a board luncheon on November 5, 2009. He spoke about his push for bipartisan legislation to renew the first-time homebuyer’s tax credit (an $8,000 credit that was to expire Nov. 30) as well as climate change, health care and other key issues facing the roofing industry.
As a member of Senate committees that include Commerce, Science and Transportation, and Education, Labor and Pensions, where he is the Ranking Member of its Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety, which has jurisdiction over OSHA, Senator Isakson has a unique vantage point on economic and workforce policies. “Senator Isakson spoke about issues that are vital to our industry,” said Sheree Bargabos, President of ARMA. “We look forward to working with him to promote bipartisan legislation that will lead to advances in our industry and the nation in the years ahead.”
A former real estate executive, Senator Isakson shared his insights regarding the critical importance of the housing industry to the economy stating, “The key to returning stability to the economy lies with the housing market, and we have crafted a meaningful credit that will create a strong foundation for our future growth and make a measurable difference over the next seven months in our economy.”
(An extension and expansion of the first-time homebuyer’s tax credit was signed into law by President Obama on Nov. 6, the day after Senator Isakson spoke to ARMA’s board.)
In a lighter moment during his presentation, Senator Isakson revealed that he had recently put a new roof made by an ARMA member on his home in Georgia. When asked what he thought of proposals by some in Congress and the administration that all roofs should be white, he told the ARMA board that he liked his brown roof just fine.
Senator Isakson was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1999 for the first of three terms before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004. Previously he served 17 years in the Georgia Legislature and three years as Chairman of the Georgia Board of Education. Senator Isakson has a business background, having served as president of a realty firm for 20 years.
About the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association
The Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association (ARMA) is the North American trade association representing the manufacturers and suppliers of bituminous-based residential and commercial fiberglass and organic asphalt shingle roofing products, roll roofing, built-up (BUR) roofing systems, and modified bitumen roofing systems. For additional information, contact ARMA or visit: www.asphaltroofing.org.
