At a pre-election briefing, the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association (SMACNA) said it plans to pursue indoor air quality (IAQ) legislation in the next Congress while continuing to press lawmakers on apprenticeship policy and federal funding issues. Association leaders said those priorities will remain regardless of which party controls Washington.
IAQ Legislation Tops Post-Election Agenda
SMACNA plans to renew its push for school IAQ legislation and tax incentives for commercial-building IAQ assessments and improvements, said Stan Kolbe, the association’s executive director of government and political affairs.
“We have a meeting right after the election,” Kolbe said, adding that SMACNA plans to work with lawmakers to reintroduce the measures at the start of the next Congress. He described the legislative package as bipartisan.
SMACNA CEO Frank Wall recently made the case for stronger school IAQ policies in his DC Journal opinion column, “How Healthy Is the Air in Schools?” Citing a Government Accountability Office review, Wall wrote that 36% of school districts reported isolated ventilation or poor IAQ problems in at least one school during the 2024-25 school year, while another 13% reported chronic problems.
Wall endorsed the bipartisan Indoor Air Quality and Healthy Schools Act of 2025, which would establish science-based, voluntary guidelines for indoor contaminants and expand the Environmental Protection Agency’s school IAQ efforts through assessments, technical assistance, and guidance.
“Parents shouldn’t have to wonder whether a child’s classroom provides a healthy learning environment,” Wall wrote.
Workforce and Funding Concerns
Jared Karbowsky, SMACNA’s director of government and political affairs, outlined the association’s response to proposed apprenticeship changes. He said SMACNA worked with training and labor partners to submit comments questioning how revised federal requirements would align with state standards and existing apprenticeship programs.
Karbowsky also expressed concern about changes that would give political appointees a larger role in competitive federal grant decisions. He said additional political review could disrupt projects after contractors have already committed financing, labor, and design resources.
He noted that those concerns apply primarily to competitive grant programs and are distinct from formula-funded programs and funding required by statute.
State Priorities
Denise Murphy McGraw, SMACNA’s special assistant for political affairs, said the association’s state-level agenda includes IAQ, prompt-payment measures, apprenticeships, workforce policy, and capital funding.
Murphy McGraw said SMACNA will evaluate election results to determine how they could affect legislative priorities across individual states.
“We see these issues on the state level first,” she said.
According to Murphy McGraw, state legislative efforts often serve as testing grounds for future federal initiatives, providing examples of both successful approaches and policies that may need adjustment before being pursued nationally.
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