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03/23/11In the District● Appointees to senior staff positions, both on the Hill and within the Administration, are often key to policy outcomes. It helps to have a personal relationship with such mandarins. This does not mean they will uncritically accept your views, but it does mean trust already exists and messages will be returned. Two friends emerged this week with significant new jobs: Autumn Veazey, who once worked at the United Fresh Produce Association, has been named by Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas, the ranking member of the minority, to the staff of the U.S. Senate’s Agriculture Committee. She will be responsible for specialty crops, food safety, organics, and market orders. Meanwhile, Sharon Bomer Lauritsen, most recently with a biotechnology association, rejoins the Office of the United... |
03/16/11ItemsThe White House is in the midst of a ninety-day study of ways to reorganize the federal government’s export and trade apparatus. USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service and USTR are targets of some who would like all such efforts located under the umbrella of the Commerce Department. You can take it as a given that agricultural interests in our country will fight any such recommendation. When a Commerce bureaucrat stationed overseas has a choice between working on a billion-dollar manufacturing sale or a technical one involving, say, fresh pears, where will that person’s effort be placed?This past week, I hit the trifecta of produce food safety when I met, with varying numbers of other people, on Tuesday with Kristian Moeller of GlobalGAP North America in Wenatchee;... |
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03/03/11We Bring Good Things to Light● The Northwest Horticultural Council wrote USDA Secretary Vilsack on Monday urging him to reject Petition 10-161-01p now before the United States Department of Agriculture for nonregulated status for two genetically engineered (GE) varieties of apples, both developed by Okanagan Specialty Fruits, Inc., of Summerland, British Columbia, Canada. Our position was taken not due to any human food safety issues with the GE non-browning apples, but because of potential consumer marketing problems. The general issue of how to deal with GE food crops is very heated in Washington, D.C. Proponents of the technology often favor unrestricted commercial release once human safety is established. Extreme opponents despise the technology and do not want any GE products released into the ecosphere.... |
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02/24/11Travel to the Capital● I returned home this past Saturday from my fourth trip this year to Washington, D.C. Various national boards, committees, and coalitions affiliated with the produce industry tend to have their meetings at the start of new sessions of Congress. Last week I was fortunate in that I could attend meetings of four different groups in one fell swoop: United Fresh Produce Association’s Government Relations Council; Canadian Produce Marketing Association’s North American Trade Committee; Crop Protection Coalition; and, Minor Crop Farmer Alliance. (Others making the same trek with me outbound last Monday morning from Seattle on an Alaska Boeing 737, were U.S. Representative Jay Inslee, Tony Williams of the lobbying firm Washington2 Advocates, Chris Voigt of the Washington Potato... |
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02/10/11Money* As the 112th Congress settles into a rhythm of business after the hoopla of new member swearing-ins, the scramble for office space, and President Obama’s State of the Union Address, it is clear that the number one legislative issue is money. Or, the lack thereof. Yesterday the House’s Appropriations Committee released a list of 70 spending cuts to the Continuing Resolution (CR) for this fiscal year. Included within the total proposal for $74 billion were such reductions as $246 million for agricultural research and $220 million for the Food and Drug Administration. Some members want more even reductions, others are calling this level of cuts unwise and destructive to the public good. Of great interest in this high-stakes debate will be the President’s own budget... |
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01/26/11State of the Union● President Obama’s State of the Union Address, beyond the general issues of taxes, the budget, medical reform, education, foreign policy, etc., touched on some points I found of special interest to our work at the Northwest Horticultural Council. The president supports (1) a renewed effort at comprehensive immigration reform (my evaluation of chance for success this year: improbable); (2) passage of the Free Trade Agreement with Korea (probable); and (3) agency reform and consolidation (less than probable).● In terms of federal agency reform, President Obama used the example of salmon. If in salt water, recovery is overseen by NOAA, an agency of the Department of Commerce. If in fresh water, recovery is overseen by NMFS, an agency of the Department of Interior. Currently the... |
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01/20/11Who's on First?● This week, the president of the People’s Republic of China, Hu Jintao, is in Washington, D.C. Last night’s state dinner at the White House started with a “D ‘Anjou Pear Salad with Goat Cheese, Fennel, Back Walnuts, and White Balsamic” and ended with “Old Fashioned Apple Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream.” Among the invited guests were the governor of Washington state, Christine Gregoire, the past governor of Washington state and current U.S. secretary of commerce, Gary Locke, and Oregon congressman, David Wu.● The New York Times reports today that Walmart is working with First Lady Michelle Obama to promote healthy foods. There will be a five-year plan “to make thousands of its packaged foods lower in unhealthy salts, fats, and... Posted at 04:30 PM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
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01/18/11Quiet Flows the Potomac● Last week while I was in Washington, D. C., members of the 112th Congress, still in the midst of getting organized under a new majority, were chilled both by the cold winter temperatures and the attack in Arizona on one of their colleagues. While I think the use of reckless, incendiary language will be tamped down for some time, spirited partisan arguments over important policy issues will not be stilled. The atmosphere on Capitol Hill will warm, quickly re-heated (but I hope not over-heated) by such friction, which is at the heart of a healthy, functioning democracy.● With international trade policy being important to the tree fruit industry, it was good to see Congressman Dave Reichert (Washington/R) appointed to the Trade Subcommittee of the House of Representatives’... |
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01/03/11Starting Afresh● The 112th Congress officially convenes on Wednesday, allowing for the official swearing-in of members and other ceremonial functions this week. Reducing the size and cost of government will be the primary aim over the next two years of the new majority in the House of Representatives, led by Speaker John Boehner of Ohio. Look for March 4 to be an important early date in the budget-cutting process, this being the deadline for passing a new spending bill to keep the federal government running—an issue kicked down the road during last month’s Lame Duck session.● Likely areas of work in 2011 for those of us who represent tree fruit growers and packers on federal policy issues will include trade (Mexico’s retaliatory tariffs and various pending free-trade agreements,... |
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12/21/10The Lame Duck VIThe 111th Congress relentlessly continues its final legislative dance.● Of main interest to our growers and shippers is today’s passage by the House of Representatives of the “FDA Food Safety Modernization Act.” It now goes directly to President Obama for his certain signature. We are now past the time of wondering about amendments, exemptions, and the tortuous legislative path of this controversial bill. It is now time to start work on this new federal law’s proper implementation. The NHC will work with the Pacific Northwest Food Safety Committee on a deciduous tree fruit industry approach to science-based food safety standards for both orchards and packinghouses.● This past Saturday, an immigration measure, known as the DREAM Act, failed in the U.S. Senate.... |
