The Delaware Valley Associated Equipment Distributors (DVAED) held its fall meeting Oct. 28 at Eagle Power & Equipment in Montgomeryville, Pa.

Representatives from local businesses attended the quarterly meeting during which Daniel Fisher, AED senior director of government affairs, presented a rundown of upcoming legislative issues facing the soon-to-be lame duck Congress as well as the new House and Senate beginning in January 2015.

Among the topics discussed were the Highway Trust Fund, which is set to run out in May 2015, and the prospects of a long-term funding bill; raising the motor fuels tax (currently 18.4 cents a gallon, but has not been increased since 1993); water infrastructure funding; deprecation bonus and Section 179 levels, which Fisher believes will be restored to its previous levels at $500K/$2M for Section 179 and 50 percent depreciation; energy policy, including the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline and AED efforts to fight state fracking bans; and regulatory overreach, such as the “Waters of the U.S.” proposal, which many believe would give the EPA too much jurisdiction over the nation’s waterways, thus thwarting and/or delaying many development projects.

A catered dinner was provided during the evening event. Next up for the DVAED is the annual Christmas Party, which will be held December 4 in Blue Bell, Pa.