NGA saw great success in our advocacy efforts as we brought our members and their powerful stories front and center to lawmakers in and outside of the

beltway. Of the greatest strides made were those to restore a level playing field through enforcement of the Robinson-Patman Act. NGA cultivated relationships with key policymakers in Congress, the Federal Trade Commission and in the Administration to push for antitrust enforcement. We filed comments, provided Committee testimony, and participated in hearings and roundtables at every opportunity engaging members directly whenever possible.

NGA hosted its inaugural Fly-in For Fair Competition, where retailers and wholesalers from across the nation came to Capitol Hill, participating in nearly 100 meetings with Members of Congress to urge restoration of the Robinson-Patman Act, a 1936 law intended to enable small businesses to compete by prohibiting price discrimination.

We also saw victories with the defeat of a harmful minimum wage increase and ill-conceived labor policies that would decrease job creation and limit career opportunities. We helped block a number of detrimental tax policies against small businesses. We also moved the needle for independent grocers by ending retroactive pharmacy DIR fees, making permanent Summer EBT , and advancing credit and debit card reforms.

From rising costs and sustained supply chain disruptions to the anticompetitive tactics of power buyers, independent grocers continued to face a variety of challenges that impacted their day-to-day operations and their ability to serve their communities.Members of Congress hearing directly from their business owners in the communities they represent is NGA’s edge for winning on Capitol Hill.

That is why we emphasized store tours as a key part of NGA’s advocacy strategy. The Government Relations team worked with Congressional offices and NGA member companies to set up store and warehouse tours throughout the year while members of the House and Senate were home for scheduled district work weeks. Thanks to the overwhelming response from our members, we were able to hold a record number of store tours in 2022!

As we carry many priorities into the next Congress, NGA put itself in an excellent position ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. The NGA Grocers PAC raised a record amount of money

and had an all-time high of a 99% victory rate among supported candidates during the midterm elections. A total of 58 candidates were backed by the Grocers PAC – 12 U.S. Senate candidates and 46 U.S. House of

Representative candidates – with 57 victorious candidates on election day, helping to bring champions for the independent supermarket.