For some participants, these meetings are a familiar part of doing business in Washington. For others, it will be their first time walking the halls of Congress.
And almost every first-time attendee asks some version of the same question:
Does this really make a difference?
The answer is yes—perhaps more today than ever before.
Congressional offices are overwhelmed with information. Every day they receive emails, reports, social media campaigns, issue briefs, petitions and requests from organizations competing for attention. Lawmakers are expected to make decisions on an enormous range of issues, often with limited time and limited expertise.
In that environment, facts matter. Data matter. But neither is enough by itself.
What lawmakers remember are conversations. They remember stories. They remember the people who took the time to show up.
That is why direct engagement remains one of the most effective advocacy tools available.
When a Member of Congress hears directly from a business leader in their district—someone creating jobs, investing in innovation, serving consumers and contributing to the local economy—the discussion changes. Policy stops being theoretical. It becomes personal. It becomes real.
There is no substitute for sitting across the table from a policymaker and explaining what your company does, who depends on your products and what happens when government gets policy right—or wrong.
That is particularly important for the dietary supplement industry.
Three-quarters of Americans use dietary supplements. Millions rely on these products to support their health, fill nutritional gaps and pursue wellness goals. At the same time, our industry supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, contributes billions of dollars to the economy and continues to drive innovation in nutrition and preventive health.
Yet too often, policymakers hear about dietary supplements only when there is a controversy, a sensational headline, or a bad actor making news.
If responsible companies are not in the room telling our story, someone else will tell it for us.
An important moment
This year’s Day on the Hill comes at a particularly important moment.
Congress and the Administration are increasingly focused on prevention, consumer wellness, chronic disease and helping Americans take greater responsibility for their health. Those conversations create real opportunities for our industry to make America healthier—but only if policymakers understand the role dietary supplements can play.
CRN members will discuss proposals to allow consumers to use Health Savings Accounts and Flexible Spending Accounts to purchase dietary supplements. We will continue advocating for a mandatory product registry that provides greater transparency and helps regulators identify bad actors more efficiently. We will address trade and tariff issues that affect supply chains, ingredient availability and product costs. And we will discuss science-based regulatory policies that support innovation, reduce duplicative or inconsistent state laws, and reward responsible manufacturers.
These are important issues. But what makes CRN’s Day on the Hill so effective is not the briefing materials, it is the people delivering the message.
Antony Talalay of Brassica Protection Products offered a perspective that many first-time attendees may appreciate. He admitted being initially skeptical about the value of participating, but he came away with a much deeper appreciation for both the legislative process and the importance of helping policymakers understand complex issues.
Andrew Shao of Niagen Bioscience, a longtime participant, recently described Day on the Hill as an opportunity for responsible companies to present a unified voice amid an increasingly noisy policy environment. He also noted that for companies without their own government affairs teams, the event provides access and relationships that might otherwise be difficult to develop.
Barry Ritz of Nestlé Health Science sees another benefit. He regularly encourages colleagues who have never participated in advocacy efforts to attend because it provides a firsthand understanding of how public policy is actually made. Participants leave with a better understanding of the political process and new relationships with their industry colleagues from the shared experience of advocating for the industry.
Part of a larger effort
Effective advocacy is rarely about a single meeting. It is about building long-term relationships based on trust, credibility and education. It is about ensuring that when policymakers confront issues affecting dietary supplements, they already know who to call for accurate information.
That is why CRN engages Congress year-round. Day on the Hill is an important milestone, but it is only one part of a larger effort to ensure policymakers understand the science, economics and public health value of our industry.
As we prepare for this year’s event, I am encouraged by the growing bipartisan interest in policies that empower consumers to take a more active role in managing their health. These discussions create opportunities for lawmakers to hear directly from the people who know our industry best.
That is what Day on the Hill is ultimately about.
Not simply policy arguments, “leave-behind” fact sheets or industry stats.
It is about making sure responsible companies have a seat at the table when decisions are made. It is about helping policymakers understand the people, products and principles behind our industry. And it is about ensuring that consumers continue to have access to safe, beneficial, science-backed nutrition products.
In Washington, showing up still matters. There is still no substitute for being in the room.
