From April 14-18, NFDA hosted its 2026 Advocacy Summit in Washington, D.C. The Montana Funeral Directors Association was represented by Executive Director Terri James, incoming President Rick Walters, and me, as Montana’s representative to the NFDA. We had the privilege of traveling to our nation’s capital to advocate for MFDA to our members of Congress. Both the weather and political climate in D.C. were hot! We arrived past the peak of the cherry blossoms, but late spring weather was in full effect. Construction was everywhere, and the city was busy! On Wednesday, the 15th, we enjoyed coffee and a photo opportunity with the Montana delegation. There were many people from Montana there to see our congresspeople, and we enjoyed the brief time we spent with them. On Thursday, the 16th, we hit Capitol Hill to advocate with our legislative members and their staff on the issues our profession is facing today. Across the whirlwind of meetings and tours of the various buildings and offices, we must have walked miles, but it was well worth the effort. We met with the staff of Sens. Daines and Sheehy and Rep. Downing to discuss various issues and to express our appreciation for their work in Congress on behalf of Montana. We discussed various veteran-related bills pending in Congress, along with a proposal to add funeral expenses to Health Savings Accounts as covered expenses for beneficiaries of those accounts when someone passes. Another issue we discussed is the Death Tax Repeal Act, which would repeal the federal estate tax and the generation-skipping transfer tax, provide certainty for long-term succession planning, and protect local, small-business ownership. The Consensual Donation and Research Integrity Act, which would regulate full-body donations for medical research/education, is still pending, despite the surprising lack of federal regulations in this field. Lastly, the IRIS Act, legislation concerning formaldehyde manufacturing and use, aims to limit the EPA’s use of Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) chemical assessments in regulations. It seeks to block IRIS data as a “tier 1” source, which proponents of the Act view as flawed scientific data and as an overreach in formaldehyde studies for funeral professionals and manufacturers. The discussions were productive, and we were warmly welcomed by everyone we met with, who were very receptive to the issues we raised. On Friday, we had the opportunity to witness NFDA lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and to see the changing of the guard. It was an emotional and profound experience for all. All in all, our trip to D.C. was a great success. Over 200 morticians spent the day on Capitol Hill to advocate for funeral services. We will keep everyone posted as these issues continue to evolve, and we look forward to attending the Advocacy Summit again in 2027. 2026 NFDA Advocacy Summit Report Advocating for Montana Funeral Directors in Washington, D.C. By Chris Holt, Montana State Representative, NFDA DIRECTORS DIGEST | 17
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