Another year, another standstill in Washington, D.C.? Not by a long shot.
It may seem like nothing ever gets done in Washington. In their own lives, floral industry business owners expect results: a particular marketing effort leads to a precise increase in sales or seeds planted at a certain time of year yield a specific number of flowers.
This is not how things work in Washington. The news is filled with stories about gridlock, petty bickering among elected officials, and charges about who is to blame for the mess. Those articles are in the press so often it seems the same stories can be reprinted once a week in an endless loop. All without any result.
But as one year ends and another approaches, the Society of American Florists and the groups we regularly partner with see reason for hope and optimism in 2016 — the result, no doubt, of the persistence and dedication of individual industry members who have made advocating for their businesses and the industry at large a priority. As we say farewell to 2015 (and gear up for SAF’s Congressional Action Days in March) here are some of the highlights from the year in Government Relations, along with signals for how key issues might play out in the coming year.
Immigration Reform
The Challenge: While there’s universal agreement that the current system is broken and needs to be reformed, no one agrees on what “reform” means. The news is filled with stories about some people accusing others of wanting to throw our borders open so that cheap labor can flood into the country, while the other side accuses its opponents of wanting to create a Fortress America based on xenophobia. Recent terrorist attacks abroad and at home have added another intense dimension to that seemingly intractable debate. In the meantime, it goes on being broken, at the expense of flower growers and their workers. The Success: SAF remains more committed than ever to making immigration reform happen. SAF members will continue to tell lawmakers about how the lack of workers is curtailing business growth.
STARS Act
The Challenge: Like immigration reform, legislation that would modify the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been controversial. Generally, Democrats see any effort to amend the law as an attempt to undermine it, and Republicans insist on repealing it root and branch and oppose any effort to improve it. When the SAF-supported STARS Act was introduced in the last Congress, it attracted 43 co-sponsors in the House. In the Senate, no co-sponsors were willing to join Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H) in fighting for the bill, which would clarify key definitions in the law and make it easier for business owners to comply with it. The Success: Since last year, SAF has lobbied extensively on the Hill and SAF members have spoken directly to their members of Congress about the bill. As a result, the STARS Act now has 70 co-sponsors in this Congress and was introduced on a bipartisan basis in the Senate. In addition, it is seen as a bipartisan, noncontroversial technical correction. When SAF visits House and Senate offices, staff and members of Congress are already familiar with the bill. Many insiders see STARS as one of the few ACA-related bills that could pass.
ACA Definition of Full-Time Work
The Challenge: The ACA currently defines full-time as 30 hours per week and requires employers of 50 or more to offer health insurance to their full-time workers. That definition, of course, is at odds with how just about every business defines full-time employment. The Success: This year, after taking the issue to Capitol Hill during CAD, the House passed legislation that would redefine full-time as 40 hours per week. The Senate has not scheduled action on the bill.
Farm Bill
The Challenge: Ensuring that federal research dollars for the floriculture and nursery industry are used for important projects that address the industry’s needs is an ongoing effort. The Success: Leading up to passage of the 2014 Farm Bill, SAF and AmericanHort led the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance in a successful and controversial fight to include a new provision mandating industry review of research proposals, to ensure that industry priorities are actually addressed. Just this fall, SAF and AmericanHort asked key industry growers to serve on “relevancy panels.” These panels’ recommendations will play a key role in the final decisions on which research projects will be funded next year.
Are these success stories landmark wins for the floral industry? Maybe not, but they do represent the kind of incremental progress that stands at the center of our democracy. Change may not always be immediate, but with persistence and patience, results will happen.
Jo Buttram, AAF, AMF, PCF, of Shirley’s Flowers & Gifts (shown with aides of Sen. Tom Cotton).
Members in Action
Three of the four issues listed above were brought to Congress during SAF’s Congressional Action Days in 2015. It’s no coincidence that when a constituent makes personal contact with their elected officials, the issue gets noticed. After the two-day event drew to a close, many attendees kept in contact with the lawmakers they met, to great (and real world) effect.
Following a CAD visit, for instance, Rep. Steve Womack (R-Arkansas) contacted Jo Buttram, AAF, AMF, PCF, of Shirley’s Flowers & Gifts in Rogers, Arkansas, to arrange for an in-shop tour. He visited Buttram and her daughter, Shelby Shy, AAF, at their business and, days later, became a co-sponsor of the STARS Act.
“Wow!” Buttram wrote to SAF after receiving the news that Womack would sign on to the bill. “I feel so empowered.”
Like Buttram, Sue Palazzo of City Line Florist in Trumbull, Connecticut, attended CAD and talked to her members of Congress. She also was contacted by her member of Congress, Rep. Jim Himes (D-Connecticut), after CAD to schedule a visit to her business.
“I hope I picked up a new customer, but I know I formed a friendship and was informative about running a small business,” Palazzo said. “I hope when I come back next March , he sees me personally and helps support the floral industry.”
During his 90-minute visit to Shirley’s Flowers & Gifts in Rogers, Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.) discussed substantive policy issues with Jo Buttram, AAF, AMF, PCF and toured the business.
The relationships that SAF and florists have with members of Congress are strong and growing. When the House Committee on Education and the Workforce organized a hearing on the ACA, it reached out to SAF to provide a witness who could testify about the law’s impacts on small business. SAF suggested that Skip Paal, AAF, of Rutland Beard Floral Group in Baltimore, Maryland, would be an excellent witness. The committee agreed and Paal provided insightful information that was a great help to Congress.
“I’ve testified a number of times in court cases, but never anything like this,” said Paal, who admitted to some nerves associated with the “unknown variable” of speaking for the first time to Congress. “The nice part was, there was no wrong answer. I just had to talk about what’s going on in my business.”
Although federal regulations can create challenges for even the most progressive floral industry business owner, SAF grower Troy Lucht from Malmborg’s Inc. in Rogers, Minnesota, walked away from a November meeting with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on pest and disease issues feeling upbeat.
Commenting on his participation at an annual Nursery Sector Strategic Planning Meeting with the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the garden center owner said he has come to see APHIS as a valued partner.
“APHIS is definitely on our side, even though it can’t always do what the industry wants,” said Lucht. “We have the same goal — to make U.S. agriculture profitable and safe.”
Meanwhile, longtime retail flower shop and SAF member Tim Galea is at the forefront of a new effort to encourage more Americans to save for retirement.
On Nov. 23, Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.), center, spent about 30 minutes visiting Flowers By Addalia in Toms River, New Jersey. From left: Tom Addalia, Skip Paal,AAF, Linda Leonard, Tony Rullis, Kim Currie, Kathy Steinbaugh, Sharon Zaccagna and Gerald Hakim.
Billed as a “starter account” to encourage retirement saving, the program lets workers automatically deduct money from their paychecks. (myRA is short for My Retirement Account.) They also can contribute to the accounts directly, using electronic transfers from a checking or savings account. Making the program even more attractive to low-wage earners, no minimum deposit is required, no fees are charged, and depositors have no risk of losing money.
Florists have made a great impression on members of Congress on a personal level, too. When SAF was speaking recently to Sen. Ayotte, she immediately said that she greatly enjoyed the tour in 2014 she received from Doug Cole of his business, D.S. Cole Growers in Loudon, New Hampshire, and noted she sees Cole often.
Recently, SAF was speaking to Sen. Tim Scott (R-South Carolina) who exclaimed that he “loved” SAF member Tiger Lily Florist in Charleston, South Carolina, and that he buys flowers “all the time” from the shop, whose owners, Manny and Clara Gonzales have long been dedicated to SAF’s Government Relations efforts.
Between the persistent advocacy by SAF in Washington and florists back home, small, steady gains are being made in Washington on issues of importance to the floral industry. It may not get headlines, but it will get results.
