Join Us for Fly-In Season

Late spring and early summer typically mark a busy legislative period on Capitol Hill. This is especially true in 2026. 

Because it is an election year, pressure is on legislators to complete as much work as possible on legislative priorities before the rancor of campaign season bogs down efforts to advance bipartisan negotiations.

Accordingly, Congress is in the midst of activity on budget bills, permitting reform, tariff debates, and the now-usual battles du jour between the White House and the Democrats in Congress.

Inside-the-beltway folks—industry, advocacy, and lobbying groups—understand these dynamics well and plan advocacy activities accordingly. This means that this limited-time legislative window is also a key “fly-in” season for Washington, D.C. 

While the specific goals for organizations vary, these “fly-in” groups are all trying to ensure the best possible legislative action—or sometimes inaction—on priority issues. 

The value of fly-ins 

The reason is clear why organizations, including the Flexible Packaging Association (FPA), conduct fly-ins. They are one of the best ways to achieve high-impact, high-visibility advocacy. 

For FPA, the fly-ins provide a great opportunity to increase the visibility for our industry. They have strengthened and grown our relationships with key Congressional offices, positioned our industry to shape legislation and policy proposals, and provided an opportunity for FPA’s members to directly meet with Congress members and their staffs. 

This last point is probably the most salient aspect because legislators want to hear directly from their constituents. 

The FPA lobbying team can deliver educational briefings on an issue, but sitting face-to-face with a constituent provides the vital connection that can often make the difference between action and inaction in a Congressional office. 

FPA’s FlexFly-In 

Hopefully, you or someone from your company has already signed up to join us June 10–11 for the 2026 FlexFly-In. Representation from our members is vital to the success of the event.

This year’s event will provide opportunities to hear from key administration officials on regulatory and policy issues affecting our member companies, as well as a full Hill Day of meetings where we will educate legislators and their staff members on the merits of flexible packaging and the regulatory and legislative threats to our industry. 

What’s next? 

The timing of the fly-in is deliberate. 

Once Congress heads into the July 4 recess, election season will be in full force, and everything will be about campaigning until the November elections. 

This does not mean that our advocacy work on Capitol Hill will cease. 

There will continue to be hearings, bill markups, budget showdowns, and other developments, but the focus will shift to facility visits and promotional events, such as highlighting Manufacturing Day in October and America Recycles Day in November, until Congress returns to must-do legislation after the November elections.