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Caucus Day Recap. September 23, 2026. The Price of Prosperity: Family Business Strategies for Battling All Taxes on Success
Thank you to all who joined us for Caucus Day September 23 2026 in Dirksen Senate Building in Washington DC.
Our Third Meeting of 2026 focused on the theme The Price of Prosperity Family Business Strategies for Battling All Taxes on Success.
The day began at 8:00am with welcome remarks from Tim Schultz CEO of Family Enterprise USA and Family Enterprise USA Action. Presentations included:
- Election Analysis and Policy Agenda for 2027 with Bart Reising former Policy Director for Majority Leader Scalise and Nadeam Elshami Chief of Staff for former Speaker Pelosi.
- What Taxes Does the Federal Government Collect with Russ Sullivan, Brownstein
- The Cumulative Tax Burden with Dianne Mehany, EY, Private National Tax Leader walking through how income estate gift and transaction taxes stack across generations
- Keynote remarks from Dr Frank Luntz
We held our Members of the Congressional Family Business Caucus meeting moderated by John Gugliada and Tim Schultz with panelists Jeff Ahola, Ahola Corporation, George Gleason II, Bank OZK, John Paul Lake, Rain for Rent, and Casey Roscoe, Gerking Ranch
Panel discussion drew on FEUSA 2026 Annual Family-Owned Business Survey findings including income taxes as top concern at 57 percent up from 47 percent last year, estate taxes at 19 percent, wealth tax concern doubled from 5 percent to 10 percent, and worry about taxation of assets and wealth rising from 6 percent to 22.5 percent.
We were honored to have Rep. Jimmy Panetta, member of the Ways and Means Committee, and Rep. David Kustoff stop by during the Caucus meeting.
After lunch participants conducted Hill visits in teams visiting offices of members of Congress.
Thank you to everyone who made this Caucus Day possible and who continues to support family-owned businesses nationwide.
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The need for fact-based reporting of issues important to family owned businesses and protecting a lifetime of savings has never been greater. Now more than ever, successful families and family owned businesses are under fire. That's why Family Enterprise USA is passionately working to increase the awareness of issues important to family owned businesses built on hard work, while continuing to strengthen our presence on Capitol Hill. The issues we fight for or against with Congress in Washington DC include high income tax rates, possible elimination of valuation discounts, increase in capital gains tax, enactment of a wealth tax, and the continued burden of the gift tax, estate tax and generation skipping tax.
Family Enterprise USA promotes generationally owned family business creation, growth, viability, and sustainability by advocating for family businesses and their lifetime of savings with Congress in Washington DC. Since 2007, Family Enterprise USA has represented and celebrated all sizes, professions and industries of family-owned enterprises and multi-generational employers. It is a bi-partisan 501.c3 organization. Family foundations can donate.