How Cut Flowers Might Be Included in a Fiscal Spending Bill

Tucked away in a draft fiscal 2022 spending bill is a gift for the U.S. cut flower industry: language that calls for “an American-grown policy for cut flowers and greens” in displays at the White House. The language, while not necessarily binding, is still a gesture of senators’ affection for an industry battling imports and economics.

But for Camron King, the CEO and ambassador of Certified American Grown, the mention in the report shows his industry has not been forgotten.

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“The White House is the exemplary place to show support for American citizens and the farms and the products that we are producing. If we are able to have the White House adopt a policy for displaying American-grown cut flowers and greens, we think that that sends a signal to the rest of the country that they should be supporting our homegrown farms as well,” King said in an interview with Roll Call.

The cut flower industry doesn’t know who authored the appropriations note. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, was considered a possibility, but her office said it wasn’t her. The Congressional Cut Flower Caucus includes lawmakers from California, Oregon, and Washington.

Democratic Sens. Feinstein, Jeff Merkley and Patty Murray come from those states and are on the Appropriations panel. But the nation’s flower region stretches to Alaska, where peonies are a top crop, and Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski is also an appropriator.

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Sen. Dan Sullivan and Rep. Don Young, both Alaska Republicans, are trying to outdo the appropriators. They have different versions of legislation that would prod not only the White House but also the Defense and State departments to use domestic products. Sullivan’s bill would require them to buy only U.S. flowers and greens for display, while Young’s bill says they must source their displays in public areas from domestic producers. The bills are still pending before the respective committees of jurisdiction.

Continue reading the Roll Call story here.

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