Tracking Horticulture Priorities on the Eve of Budget Deadline

By Evan Lee|November 25, 2022

As we enter a period of divided government with slim majorities in Congress, legislative gridlock will become the rule over the next two years leading up to the 2024 presidential election. A couple exceptions to the rule, however, probably include bills important to growers, including the 2023 Farm Bill re-write and a new Water Resources Development Act. Attention meanwhile will turn to the Biden Administration, where the pace of new regulations will increase as the President seeks policy wins through rulemaking that cannot be obtained through legislation.

But before Congress swears in a new class on Jan. 3, 2023, it must check off a lengthy to-do list, atop which sits a Fiscal Year 2023 budget agreement. Before leaving town for election day, Congress self-imposed a deadline of Dec. 16, 2022, to either extend government funding or enact a new full year spending bill. Between the House and Senate version of the spending bill introduced earlier in 2022, several horticulture priorities remain in play.

In spring, AmericanHort advocated to increase funding for the Floriculture and Nursery Research Initiative, our sector’s dedicated research program. The House proposed a 20% increase, while the Senate proposed a 28% increase. The House and Senate also proposed different funding levels for the IR-4 Project, another industry priority line-item which funds data development to support registration of crop protection tools for our growers. Also in play is H-2B cap relief, with both the House and Senate proposals enabling the release of supplemental visas, though the House bill includes streamlining language to make additional visas available earlier in the season. Favorable reconciliation of these proposals is a focus of advocacy efforts over the next several weeks.

An omnibus spending bill or other budget agreement is likely the last train leaving the station before year-end, meaning Congress may attach several other legislative priorities. Possible riders include additional agricultural disaster relief for 2022, which would help nursery and floriculture growers hit hard by Hurricane Ian, and a revised version of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, pivotal House-passed H-2A and workforce stabilization reform for which a Senate compromise is under development by Sens. Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Michael Bennet (D-CO).

As a political realignment takes place in Washington, DC, opportunities still exist to advance public policy that helps our industry perform better, grow faster, and prepare for the future. What can you expect from Congress and the Administration through end-of-year and beyond? Download AmericanHort’s State of the Industry Report and get the latest updates and projections from our AmericanHort team of experts on how the economy and political landscape might impact our industry, and your business, in 2023. You can download the white paper at AmericanHort.info/state-of-the-industry-2022.