California State Floral AssociationJanuary 20, 2012
In This Issue
CSFA LEGISLATIVE ACTION DAY
2012 or 2013 for Farm Bill?
Design Workshop
Federal Government Consolidation Authority Sought by Obama
New Highway Program Reauthorization Package Expected by February

 

 

 

Visit our website:  

www.calstatefloral.com  

 

 

 

SAVE THE DATE

 

CSFA LEGISLATIVE ACTION DAY

 

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21ST

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2012 or 2013 for Farm Bill?

With just about every association executive and lobbyist in town having declared there will be no Farm Bill enacted in 2012, the chairs of the respective agriculture committees continue to contend they'll try, but they can't guarantee it won't be 2013 before new omnibus farm legislation is signed by the President. Members of the House Agriculture Committee are predicting a one-year extension will be passed to move the Farm Bill past elections to spare it from becoming another victim of spending cuts and deficit reduction.  

 

Others say there isn't enough political cooperation to get the bill past the committee stage, and this week Chuck Connor, president of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives (NCFC), who was the deputy secretary of agriculture under President Bush, said another big reason why there won't be a Farm Bill this year is because the various groups with a stake in the rewrite of direct farm program payments can't decide what they want. House Ag Committee Chair Frank Lucas (R, OK) added fuel to the fire this week when he said June was the drop-dead point for having a bill ready for floor action. "I do think any time from June on it becomes extremely hard to get anything done," he said. Ignoring those who say it can't politically be done this year, retiring Sen. Kent Conrad (D, ND), chair of the Senate Budget Committee and a senior member of the Agriculture Committee, said the political and fiscal climate in 2013 could be worse than this year, adding he wants to see a new bill in 2012.  

 

Conrad confirmed he intends to introduce a bill shortly that "is less complex, more defensible and will provide a more effective safety net for farmers...the new program I'm proposing will complement crop insurance without undermining it by providing some protection from shallow losses that crop insurance does not typically cover."

 

 

Design Workshop
 

CALIFORNIA STATE FLORAL ASSOCIATION TOGETHER WITH ROP CAMARILLO   

Present a Floral Design Workshop

March 31, 2012

 

Floral Architectonics: the Art of Incorporating Architectural Elements into Dynamic Floral Designs

Instruction by Tony Alvarez AIFD, CCF & Debbie Alvarez AIFD, CCF

Place: ROP Camarillo, 465 Horizon Circle, Camarillo, CA 93010

Time: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

 

In this class we will explore a number of architectural elements developed since man first began building shelters right up to the modern age of towering steel structures and modern conceptual theories in architecture. We will integrate these architectural elements in our design constructions using assorted building materials, plant materials, flowers and branches as well as decorative wire and glassware.  

 

Come spend a day with friends and learn new ways to add interest, value, drama and innovation to everyday designs!

Class fee: $125.00

 

Click here for full details 

 

Federal Government Consolidation Authority Sought by Obama

President Obama announced January 13 he wants to regain congressional authority - repealed during the Reagan Administration - to consolidate six federal agencies under the U.S. Department of Commerce's banner. The White House plan to seek authority to reinvent the administrative side of the federal government has fueled speculation over additional agency consolidation moves, including media reports indicating the Administration will move to combine the food safety inspection and regulatory functions of USDA and FDA if Congress approves the President's request, as well as the possibility of a consolidation of the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).  

 

The President will press the need for new authority in his State of the Union message January 24, as part of the overall spending/deficit reduction platform. The commerce/trade function consolidation plan would roll together Commerce Department core business development and trade functions, along with the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR); the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corp. (OPIC), and the U.S. Trade & Development Agency (USTDA). However, critics contend each of these entities has responsibilities that go well beyond trade promotion, and the functions of some actually conflict. Several individual organization letters opposing the trade office consolidation have been sent to the White House, including opposition from the National Cattlemen's Beef Assn. (NCBA) and the American Soybean Assn. (ASA), with at least another group letter expected. There are also those who point to the lingering unpleasant memories connected with creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which pulled agencies and program functions from across the federal government, and which many argue still functions inefficiently. If consolidation authority is granted,  

 

Congress would be required to give each submitted plan a straight up-or-down vote within 90 days of White House submission. However, getting Congress to grant the authority to move forward will be a major task, given a GOP-controlled House, even though Republican presidential candidates are making federal government downsizing a central plank in their party's platform. In the case of a USDA-FDA food safety consolidation, such a move would likely have to go beyond the two major food safety regulators as there are 14 separate federal entities with some oversight of U.S. food safety. If the White House were to only consolidate regulatory authority over meat slaughter, processing, labeling and retailing, it could be argued limited efficiencies would be gained. The call for a single federal food safety agency is not new. Legislation has been introduced in the last several Congresses to achieve this goal, but none of the bills saw action. All of the legislative proposals, however, envision all federal food safety programs being consolidated in either USDA or FDA, or as an independent, cabinet-level agency. The White House has posted a "Government Reorganization Fact Sheet" at

www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/01/13/government-reorganization-fact-sheet.

 

 

New Highway Program Reauthorization Package Expected by February

 

A six-year $400-500-billion reauthorization of federal highway spending programs is expected to be released by the first of February by the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure, a bill House GOP members will likely embrace as their "jobs bill" in response to President Obama's push for job creation legislation. House Speaker John Boehner (R, OH) said if the committee can approve the package, he'll have it on the House floor before February 20. Last month, over 100 members of Congress sent President Obama a letter urging his support for the six-year package that would be a "fully funded and paid-for reauthorization with investment above current funding." Existing programs, which fund federal highway, bridge, infrastructure and urban commuter projects, have not been fully reauthorized since 2009, and the current temporary extension expires March 31.  

 

While the full committee has not released details of its package, members of the committee see revenues from federal permitting of expanded oil and gas exploration as the likely source of funds to supplement federal fuel taxes to offset the cost of the package. The Senate last year passed a two-year extension of federal highway programs, but also approved the short-term extension of the current package. At the end of January, the Coalition for Transportation Productivity - a broad coalition of companies and associations pushing for congressional approval of language to give states the option to allow 97,000-lb. trucks on interstate highways as long as the trucks are fitted with an additional axle and increased braking power - will descend on Washington to push for the reauthorization package. Currently, U.S. interstate highways have a weight limit of 80,000 lbs. Both Canada and Mexico allow the heavier trucks.