NAW Launches Legal Policy Center

The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors has launched the NAW Legal Policy Center (LPC) in an initiative that the group said will empower distributors to contest federal regulations.

Led by Karen Harned as Director of Litigation and Legal Policy, the LPC is an extension of NAW’s Government Relations Department. In a July 2 news release, the association stated that the LPC will serve as a voice for the wholesale distribution industry in pursuit of precedent-setting litigation that defends free enterprise.

“Our member companies are focused on keeping the supply chain moving and rely on us to have their backs,” NAW President and CEO Eric Hoplin said in the release. “With Congress mired in ineffective gridlock, policymaking is increasingly shaped by the emboldened executive and judicial branches who don’t have business interests in mind. The Legal Policy Center enables NAW to expand on our policy leadership and aggressively defend the American supply chain against activist regulators.”

NAW detailed that the LPC will employ many of the same strategies that have been effective in impacting Congress, hiring skilled advocates, building colations, drafting innovative policy ideas and “aggressively leading into free market capitalism.”

“The policy battlefield has shifted in recent years,” added Brian Wild, NAW’s Chief Government Affairs Officer. “As the leading trade association for the supply chain, NAW must engage where policy is made. The Center is particularly dedicated to supporting small businesses, who often lack the time and resources to continuously contest federal regulations while they focus on running their operations, creating jobs, and serving their communities.”

NAW noted that the LPC launch comes on the heels of the Supreme Court’s June 28 overturn of the 1984 Chevron deference ruling, which figures to curtail the power of federal agencies to regulate environmental, public health, workplace safety and consumer protections.

The association said that the overturn means NAW “now has greater opportunities to challenge regulations, push back against poorly-written laws and rein in agency overreach.”

Harned — who is President of Harned Strategies LLC — has over 27 years of experience in legal policy and public affairs, including over 20 years serving as Executive Director of the National Federation of Independent Business’ (NFIB) Small Business Legal Center.

There, Harned led two precedent-setting cases before the U.S. Supreme Court: NFIB vs. Sebelius, which challenged the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act; and NFIB v. DOL, which contested President Biden’s vaccine mandate.

NAW detailed that the LPC has already taken action on several federal regulation issues, which include: filing an amicus brief against the SEC’s climate-risk disclosure rule; Suing the DoL over its labor overtime rule; joining a lawsuit against OSHA’s worker walkaround rule; and filing an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit challenging the FTC’s non-compete ban.