WASHINGTON -- The National Grocers Association and Food Distributors International held separate events here late last month for members to meet with legislators, rather than holding a joint event with Food Marketing Institute as they have done for the last three years.
During those years, the three associations have held a Public Affairs Assembly as a joint event. However, FMI pulled out of the assembly earlier this year, and the other associations opted to hold their own events separate from each other.
NGA hosted its Washington Conference and Grocers Care Celebration on June 23 to 25; it was cosponsored by the Food Industry Association Executives. FDI held its "Day in Washington" on June 26 and 27, in conjunction with its annual Thomas Jefferson Awards program.
Thomas K. Zaucha, president and chief executive officer of NGA, said his association had held its own separate Washington Conference for 20 years prior to the joint event, "and when FMI chose not to participate and FDI opted to have its own meeting, we decided to hold our conference but in the same time frame as FDI so some of our members who are also FDI members could attend both events."
John C. Block, president and CEO of FDI, said his association decided against having a single, large event in favor of having several, smaller meetings several times a year "so we can spread out our impact over a longer period of time. If everyone from the food industry comes to town on one day, then the legislators might forget about us. But if people come by every two or three weeks, it keeps our issues on the front burner."
Only about 12 FDI members attended the Day in Washington, Block noted. However, he said the small turnout did not distress him "since our goal is to spread our effort out over a longer period, and we plan to have other smaller groups make additional legislative visits."
FMI told SN it decided earlier this year to cancel the Public Affairs Assembly "because we thought the timing of events going into an election year would make it difficult to schedule," Karen Brown, vice president, communications, told SN. "As it turned out, some issues that were a priority this year, such as the estate tax and country-of-origin labeling, were already over and done with by late June."
Brown said FMI will decide how to proceed next year "as we talk about our merger with FDI over the next couple of months."
NGA said its Washington Conference, attended by 100 retailers, wholesalers and state association executives, included meetings with members of Congress to lobby on key legislative issues, encompassing support for permanent repeal of the estate tax, and opposition to a proposed Medicare drug plan, a national bottle bill, an increase in the minimum wage and proposed 401(k) reforms.
A highlight of the meeting was a talk by Sen. Jon Kyl, who said permanent repeal of the estate tax is still a possibility and could come up for a revote later this year. Kyl, an Arizona Republican, is a member of the Senate Finance Committee and a leading advocate in the effort to win permanent repeal of the estate tax, or "death tax."
Although the Senate voted last month against a permanent repeal, Kyl encouraged retailers to keep up the fight, saying there could be a re-vote later this year -- and if the tax is not repealed this year, it will be repealed in the future, he said.
During a special White House briefing during the conference, Glenn Hubbard, chairman of the Economic Council of Advisors, urged NGA members to remind their congressmen and senators that estate taxes are a reality for the industry.
At the end of the conference NGA held a Grocers Care celebration dinner, which acknowledged retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers whose civic, community and charitable contributions have made a significant impact through the years.
In a speech at the dinner, Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo., urged retailers to let their representatives know they oppose the Republican leadership's Medicare prescription drug plan for seniors, which excludes supermarket pharmacies from participating. Noting that the Republican proposal does not deal with pricing, Emerson said, "We're talking about coverage issues in Congress, but what we really need to be talking about is affordability."
FDI tied its Day in Washington event to its Thomas Jefferson Awards dinner, at which it singles out members of the House of Representatives for voting with the industry. This year's winners were Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Rep. Anne Meagher Northup, R-Ky. -- the first joint winners in FDI history. (See separate story.)
The FDI event also included talks on upcoming Senate races by Mitch Bainwol, executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and on Congressional policy by Rep. Tim Reynolds, R-N.Y.
