Inside the Beltway

Narrowing Our Priorities

JENNIFER HATCHER

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS, FOOD MARKETING INSTITUTE

FMI is developing a new public policy plan for action in 2021.

“One thing we have learned this year is the importance of remembering our priorities.”

A year ago, none of us envisioned that Covid-19 would be part of our everyday vocabulary, much less driving the public policy agenda. One thing we have learned this year is the importance of remembering our priorities. In an industry as diverse as ours, and with a profit margin as tight as ours, focusing on areas where we can make a difference is key. It is perhaps not as exciting or as anticipated as perhaps some of the other 2021 lists, but below is our compilation of those top eight items worthy of our focus in the public policy world during this Covid-19 emergency. These issues provide a glance at the industry’s COVID-related priorities, but this list will remain dynamic as new themes emerge and new events occur.

Top Covid-19 related policy issues:

Vaccine Distribution: FMI will continue to advocate for supermarket pharmacies to play an expanded role and reinforce the need to prioritize food industry essential workers to preserve the supply chain. Liability Relief: FMI pressed for action in the last Congress for limited liability relief for those who have followed government guidance to be included in the final COVID package. Ultimately, limited liability relief was paired with money for state and local governments and both provisions were removed from the final legislation. With the change in control of the U.S. Senate, the opportunity for a federal legislative solution on this issue is unlikely, but we will remain engaged with Senate and House leadership on both sides of the aisle. There has been robust activity in a number of states that has resulted in strong protections in those areas. FMI’s state liability relief tracker is linked on FMI’s state affairs website.

iStock Economic Recovery: FMI remains committed to working with Congress on potential stimulus packages to ensure the legislation provides more good policy than burden to our associates, communities and stores.

Supply Chain: FMI will continue to work with agencies and Congress to provide recommendations for actions to put in place now to smooth potential supply chain disruptions should another health emergency or similar national emergency impact occur in the future.

Workplace Safety and Staffing: President Biden called on OSHA to determine whether an “Emergency Temporary Standard” is needed. An ETS would establish enforceable workplace safety requirements for employers, potentially far exceeding the scope of existing guidance. FMI will push for a standard that reflects existing government guidance.

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“These issues provide a glance at the industry’s

COVID-related priorities, but this list will remain dynamic as new themes emerge and new events occur.”

Labor and Wage Policy: In the current Covid-19 relief bill, Democrats originally signaled they intended to include a $15/hour minimum wage provision that would also eliminate subminimum wages. President Biden recently said it may not be included in the final version. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) had already voiced publicly his opposition to such a high wage rate as other Democrats have done privately. Previous legal thought is such a provision would violate Senate rules. We will continue to see efforts to implement labor and wage policies tied to the coronavirus pandemic. For example, there are currently at least nine states and 13 local governments considering mandating premium pay for grocery store workers and five jurisdictions already have passed mandates. FMI will continue to track these measures, provide support and resources to impacted state associations, as well as explore broader legal and communications resources on behalf of the industry. Tax Policy: Congressional Democratic leadership, including the Chairmen of the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee, have indicated they are also interested in rolling back significant portions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to fund infrastructure and climate change proposals. FMI believes the corporate tax rate, pass-through deduction, and changes to the estate tax and LIFO will be on the table for the next two years, and we intend to engage in opposition to these changes.

Feeding Assistance Programs: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other federal feeding programs have been leveraged to respond to the rapidly growing need over the past year. FMI’s work to ensure SNAP and WIC continue to function well in-store and evolve to meet consumer needs will focus both on the regulatory and legislative front. We hope you will join us to lobby Congress on these issues on April 21 at our annual Day in Washington – the Virtual Edition. ■