Big Grower January 2022 - 8

THE LEGISLATIVE FRONT
THE ROAD AHEAD:
Advocacy
in
The horticulture industry has a lot on its plate in 2022 when it comes to legislative issues. AmericanHort's
Advocacy Team is helping the industry tackle the issues and navigate through the risks and opportunities.
BY TAL COLEY, EVAN LEE AND CRAIG REGELBRUGGE
E
lection years historically offer advocates a narrow window of
productivity in Congress before lawmakers' attention shifts to their
home front. In the November midterm election, all 435 House
seats and 34 Senate seats will appear on ballots across the country -
incumbents seeking another term would rather visit constituents back
home than be bogged down in legislative sessions.
A notable exception to the rule was 2020, when the global pandemic
spurred emergency relief amid a presidential election. Like many
workplaces, Congress too adapted how they conduct business, which
also contributed to the increased output - both chambers held remote
committee meetings to advance legislation and House members could
vote in absentia via proxy. Barring unforeseen events, however, we
expect 2022 legislative activity to regress toward the mean for evennumbered
years.
In December, lawmakers punted the Fiscal Year 2022 budget debate
into February, opting to keep government open through the holidays
under a temporary spending measure. Emergence of the omicron
coronavirus variant also sparked talks on Capitol Hill of additional
emergency spending to bolster our national response. The two near-term
opportunities aside, the second session of the 117th Congress appears ontrend
in terms of limited legislative activity to influence.
8 JANUARY 2022
Meanwhile, we as an advocacy team will turn much of our attention
to the Executive Branch, where the gears of government turn slowly, but
inexorably. We expect to be active on a wide range of regulatory actions,
offer technical assistance to policymakers, and leverage our grassroots
strength to give horticulture and our members a voice in decision-making.
As we seek to shape outcomes in Washington, we also will help
members anticipate the shifting policy landscape and optimize their
business practices for success. AmericanHort members can expect to
learn more details this year, but let's briefly consider a few policy areas on
which we expect to work.
WORKFORCE
The H-2A program is growing by leaps and bounds, despite its
challenges. Last year, a record 317,619 job opportunities were certified by
the Department of Labor (DOL) to be filled by an H-2A worker. Yet, the
challenges are real and growing, too.
We are seeing more and more hostile actions by DOL questioning
applicants' seasonal need and to limit experience requirements in job
orders, among other concerns. Plus, storm clouds on the wage front, as
we're looking at steep H-2A wage increases in many states, and a new
rule that could be finalized late in 2022 specifying even higher wages for

Big Grower January 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Big Grower January 2022