Small Brewers Caucus re-established
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-3rd, of Butler along with Reps. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., and Richard Neal, D-Mass., on Tuesday announced the House Small Brewers Caucus has been re-established.
Founded by DeFazio and Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., in 2007, this bipartisan group is interested in issues affecting America’s small brewers. It has 143 members of the House.
Kelly, who is a co-chairman, said small brewers contribute to local economies.
“In Pennsylvania alone, craft breweries add to the commonwealth’s economy by nearly $2 billion. I look forward to making sure national policy allows them to keep brewing, growing and creating more American jobs,” Kelly said in a statement.
The caucus backs legislation that would reduce the excise taxes on the sale of the first two million barrels of beer sold by small brewers each year.
The Small Brewer Reinvestment and Expanding Workforce (BREW) Act would allow small brewers to use the savings to buy more equipment and hire more workers, boosting local economies in communities across the country.
In the U.S., craft brewing is a $34 billion industry that supports 115,000 jobs.
