Bigger than red and blue

By Emma Peterson. 

Diving into how the NRCA advocates for the betterment of the roofing industry and our country, regardless of party lines. 

The National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA)’s mission focuses on finding ways to support the success of roofing professionals across the United States. And one of the biggest ways they achieve this mission is by acting as a unified voice for the industry in relation to advocacy efforts. To learn more about NRCA’s advocating efforts, we brought Brad Stine (NRCA’s director of federal affairs), Duane Musser (NRCA’s vice president of government relations) and Will Lorenz (president of General Coatings) together for a Roofing Road Trips® episode. 

Affordable housing 

One of the examples of NRCA’s advocacy efforts is their work to make housing more affordable. Brad spoke about why this topic is so important to them, “You want to talk about timely things that are bipartisan, look no further than affordability. And of all the issues related to affordability, housing is one of the biggest ones.” 

So, how is NRCA working to advocate for solutions to this bipartisan housing affordability issue? Brad explained:  

There are two specific bills we are currently advocating for. The first one is the Revitalizing Downtowns And Main Streets Act (H.R. 2410). This bill aims to establish a federal tax credit to facilitate the conversion of older, underutilized commercial buildings to residential housing. And the other is the bicameral Neighborhood Homes Investment Act (H.R. 2854 and S.B. 1686). This one is a federal tax credit that incentivizes the building of new or repairing residential homes in certain rural and urban areas around the US. 

Immigration and labor 

Another roofing-related issue that NRCA is putting advocacy efforts behind is immigration. Duane explained, "Immigration is often a controversial topic. But the way we approach it at NRCA is centered on advocating and uplifting legal, bipartisan policies that are focused on solving very real issues – like labor shortage.” 

A great example of this is the NRCA’s support of the Dignity Act, which was one of their biggest talking points at their annual advocacy day in April 2026. What is the Dignity Act? Duane explained:  

The Dignity Act has support from Democrats and Republicans. It’s a piece of legislation, that deals with the many immigrants who are here with under temporary protected work status that might be at risk of losing that. This legislation works to give those individuals the opportunity to earn permanent legal status, not citizenship, that would stabilize workforces for industries like roofing.  

Conclusion 

Oftentimes, when we hear the term political advocacy, we think about party politics and advocacy related to getting politicians elected. But that’s not the type of advocacy NRCA participates in. As Brad, Duane and Will highlighted in this podcast, NRCA is all about advocacy that crosses party lines. Will put it best, “Government and democracy is not an exact science. It gets things right many times. And then it fails and has to reset and figure it out again. And what we are talking about today are issues that really affect a lot of people... It’s not about red or blue, it’s about growth and success and helping people.” 

Want to learn more? Listen to the whole episode or Watch the recording.