Page 5 - Index

The 116th Congress is well un- derway, working on a host of legislative priorities. Although many pundits have focused on the partisan gridlock that has
gripped the nation’s capital, we at United Fresh see a very different story. Work is un- derway on a host of issues important to the produce industry, including immigration, trade, nutrition and transportation.
With a Democratic House of Represen- tatives and a Republican controlled Senate and White House, many trade associations have suggested that we are at an impasse — that is not necessarily the case. In fact, in the House of Representatives, only two bills have passed along strictly partisan lines. Democrats and Republicans are working together across the aisle to pass legislation, and even more work is being done behind the scenes to tackle seemingly “impossible” issues relating to key issues such as immigration reform and a new trade agreement with Mexico and Canada. Both issues are being worked on by members of both parties at a fevered pitch, and there is hope that both will nd their way to the House oor in the near future.
On the immigration front, negotiations are ongoing between the House Demo- cratic and Republican caucuses. Impor- tantly, leadership on both sides of the aisle is encouraging members to work on key immigration issues that have and continue to impact the full swath of the produce industry. This bipartisan spirit also has found its way to the other side of the Capitol where Republicans control the Senate’s agenda. In fact, key Republican Senators already have begun talks with House Democrats about legislation that may be considered in the coming months.
Similarly, on the issue of trade, we at United remain optimistic. Although there
What’s Next For The 116th Congress?
BY JOHN HOLLAY, SENIOR DIRECTOR, GOVERNMENT RELATIONS AND PUBLIC POLICY, UNITED FRESH PRODUCE ASSOCIATION
are concerns by many in the majority Demo- cratic caucus about certain aspects of the proposed U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has indicated that she is committed to moving something forward in the House of Repre- sentatives, again, in a bipartisan manner. It will be important to ensure this new agree- ment addresses some of the challenges that exist under NAFTA, but the threat of regressing to the old bilateral agreements with two of our most important trading partners is untenable, and that thought is not lost on industry or elected of cials.
The same bipartisan spirit being shown on the issues of immigration and trade is also true for the issue of child nutri- tion as readers of this publication saw in last month’s article. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow already have indicated they expect to have legis- lation soon to reauthorize the school food programs.
Similarly, there have been hearings in the House and Senate on transportation and infrastructure that address the regu-
latory pressures businesses face today. These hearings demonstrated that there exists bipartisan support to move legislation forward and was built on the momentum created by the meeting with President Donald Trump, Speaker Pelosi and House Leader Chuck Schumer in which the parties agreed that a signi cant investment in trans- portation and infrastructure was needed. Various bills have been introduced in the House — including the DRIVE Safe Act — that address lowering the Commercial Driver’s License age limit to 18, and the Agriculture Business Electronic Logging Device Exemp- tion Act that would exempt certain motor carriers engaged in agricultural business from ELD requirements.
So, while partisanship has been the story of the day in many news publications, United Fresh is working with Republicans and Democrats in Congress and in the administration to bridge the divide that has gripped the nation and the nightly news. Sometimes the day-to-day work that goes on in the nation’s capital gets ignored, but it is reaping bene ts for the produce industry daily.
PRODUCE BUSINESS / AUGUST 2019 / 5