When it comes to floral industry supporters on Capitol Hill, who came out on top, and who will be leaving Washington? How will the Biden administration tackle issues such as infrastructure, climate change, immigration, and health care? And, what would a divided Congress prioritize in 2021? These are some of the questions SAF Now editors recently put in front of industry experts on the heels of last week’s congressional and presidential elections.

This week, we reached out to Joe Bischoff, the Society of American Florists’ senior lobbyist, and Charlie Hall, Ph.D., Professor & Ellison Chair in the Department of Horticultural Sciences at Texas A&M University, for perspective on election results and evolving races through a floral industry lens.

A caveat offered by both Bischoff and Hall: At press time, President Trump had not conceded the presidential election, some key congressional races had yet to be called, and two Senate seat runoff races still must take place in Georgia this January. Still, some signs are emerging of how changes in the White House and Congress might affect industry businesses.

From Candidate to President

President-elect Joe Biden is no stranger to Washington or the White House, and the Democratic platform he ran on offers some clues to how the former vice president and longtime senator might act upon taking the country’s office, Hall said.

“There are a number of policies in Biden’s platform that could affect the floral industry,” Hall explained. “He has a number of spending proposals and tax policies, for example, but also those related to combating climate change and rebuilding infrastructure, among many others.”

Bischoff agreed. “We are is still a lot of unpacking to do and we’ll be looking for signals of administration priorities,” he said. “Some of those signals could be directly offered (e.g., climate change) but others we might be able to pick up on based on who Biden picks to lead agencies. I’m specifically thinking about the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, Commerce and Labor and the possible appointment of a climate and energy czar.”

Bischoff said it’s likely that President-elect Joe Biden “will work closely with the 117th Congress to achieve many of the agriculture policy priorities he outlined during his campaign,” including  investment in research and development, expanding farmworker protection through changes to the H-2A visa program and providing wage and union protections, and an additional $20 billion investment to expand rural broadband and network deployment.

While Biden’s trade priorities are less defined, Bischoff added, “U.S. relations with China will remain a top priority, including fulfillment of the Phase One trade deal, albeit Biden’s approach and process on confronting China will shift to seek coordination with U.S. allies.” 

The View in Congress

Both Bischoff and Hall agreed that results in congressional races could play a major role in what a Biden administration prioritizes next year.

“Platforms are one thing; policy changes that must approved by Congress are another,” Hall said. “A divided Congress could act as backstop against bold policy changes, and regardless of the final outcome, Congress and the White House will have to find common ground to pass significant legislation.” 

Bischoff predicted that, because “this wasn’t a wave election and Republicans have held onto the Senate, there will be significant limits on what a Biden Administration can do. For instance, we don’t expect to see legislation that deviates from the Trump Administration tax cuts and Democrats won’t be able to claw back regulations through the Congressional Review Act, which was utilized by the Republican controlled House and Senate to undo some Obama-era regulations in the early months of the Trump Administration.”

In terms of industry support on Capitol Hill, Bischoff said 95 percent of the candidates supported by SAFPAC, SAF’s political action committee, won re-election this year. Some of the strongest champions of key issues, including Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Washington), who has advocated for increased funding for industry research, are returning to Washington to continue their work, he added.

Issues to Watch

The best opportunities for legislative compromise, particularly in the first half of 2021, will be on investments in infrastructure and immigration, Bischoff predicted.

For his part, Hall said a focus on infrastructure would be welcome. “There is some infrastructure spending that both parties have been interested in but haven’t acted on,” he said. “That’s something I’m hoping for, as it’s an investment that’s badly needed in our country and has been for a long time — and a significant amount of infrastructure spending could end up directly benefiting our industry — particularly green infrastructure-related projects.”

As far the economy, Hall said it’s important to remember, “The economy affects presidential elections more than elections affect the economy.”

“If you look at the history of elections in this country, you’ll find people who are happy with the results and people who are not,” he added. “Regardless, people keep consuming.”

The biggest threat to the economy is still the coronavirus, he added — and it’s a significant one. With cases on the rise in many parts of the country, many Americans out of work or unable to work and GDP still down year over year, Hall said the road to recovery is long and winding.

“Some of the numbers we’ve seen in the third quarters and projections for the holidays are positive, but growth has slowed,” he said. “We aren’t back to where we were at the close of 2019.”

One of the major milestones the country needs to move forward is an effective vaccine, which not only needs to be developed, tested and manufactured but then distributed (and accepted by the public) in a broad way. “There is a lot of work still to do,” Hall said.

You don’t have to travel to Washington, D.C. to make sure members of Congress hear from you! Congressional Action Days is going virtual for 2021, giving more SAF members the opportunity to participate in the event. Mark your calendars for March 2-3 and stay tuned to safnow.org for more details.

Mary Westbrook is the editor in chief of Floral Management.