Fresh Cut Flowers and Fresh Cut Greens Promotion and Information Act of 1993 : hearing before the Subcommittee on Specialty Crops and Natural Resources of the Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives, One Hundred Third Congress, first session, o

166 Pages·1993·5 MB·English

by  United States. Congress. House. Committee on Agriculture. Subcommittee on Specialty Crops and Natural Resources

FKESH CUT FLOWERS AND FRESH CUT GREENS
, yj
^ PROMOTION AND INFORMATION ACT OF 1993
Y 4. AS 8/1:103-17
Fresh Cut Flouers and Fresh Cut Cre... SlRINGt
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON SPECIALTY CROPS
AND NATURAL RESOURCES
.
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED THIRD CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
ON
H.R. 1738
MAY 12, 1993
Serial No. 103-17
Printed for the use of the Committee on Agriculture
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
70-550 WASHINGTON : 1993
ForsalebytheU.S.GovernmentPrintingOttice
SuperintendentofDocuments.CongressionalSalesOffice.Washington,DC 20402
ISBN 0-16-041297-8

V
FRESH CUT FLOWERS AND FRESH CUT GREENS
PROMOTION AND INFORMATION ACT OF 1993
4. AG 8/1:103-17
^RING
esh Cut Flouers and Fresh Cut 9re.
. .
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON SPECIALTY CROPS
AND NATURAL RESOURCES
.
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATR^S
ONE HUNDRED THIRD CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
ON
H.R. 1738
MAY 12, 1993
Serial No. 103-17
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13
Fri'^
Printed for the use of the Committee on Agriculture
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
70-550 WASHINGTON : 1993
ForsalebytheU.S.GovernmentPrintingOffice
SuperintendentofDocuments.CongressionalSalesOffice.Washington,DC 20402
ISBN 0-16-041297-8
COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
E (KIKA) DE LA GARZA, Texas, Chairman
GEORGE E. BROWN, Jr., California, PAT ROBERTS, Kansas,
Vice Chairman Ranking Minority Member
CHARLIE ROSE, North Carolina BILL EMERSON, Missouri
GLENN ENGLISH, Oklahoma STEVE GUNDERSON, Wisconsin
DAN GLICKMAN, Kansas TOM LEWIS, Florida
CHARLES W. STENHOLM, Texas ROBERT F. (BOB) SMITH, Oregon
HAROLD L. VOLKMER, Missouri LARRY COMBEST, Texas
TIMOTHYJ. PENNY, Minnesota WAYNE ALLARD, Colorado
TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota BILL BARRETT, Nebraska
BILL SARPALIUS, Texas JIM NUSSLE, Iowa
JILL L. LONG, Indiana JOHN A. BOEHNER, Ohio
GARYA. CONDIT, California THOMAS W. EWING, Illinois
COLLIN C. PETERSON, Minnesota JOHN T. DOOLITTLE, California
CALVIN M. DOOLEY, California JACK KINGSTON. Georgia
EVA M. CLAYTON, North Carolina BOB GOODLATTE, Virginia
DAVID MINGE, Minnesota JAY DICKEY, Arkansas
EARL F. HILLIARD, Alabama RICHARD W. POMBO, California
JAY INSLEE, Washington CHARLES T. CANADY, Florida
THOMAS BARLOW
J. III, Kentucky
EARL POMEROY, North Dakota
TIM HOLDEN, Pennsylvania
CYNTHIA A. McKINNEY, Georgia
SCOTTY BAESLER, Kentucky
KAREN L. THURMAN, Florida
SANFORD D. BISHOP, Jr., Georgia
PAT WILLIAMS, Montana
BLANCHE M. LAMBERT, Arkansas
Professional Staff
DiANNE Powell, StaffDirector
Vernie Hubert, ChiefCounsel and Legislative Director
Gary R. Mitchell, Minority StaffDirector
James A. Davis, Press Secretary
Subcommittee on Specialty Crops and Natural Resources
CHARLIE ROSE, North Carolina, Chairman
SCOTTY BAESLER, Kentucky, TOM LEWIS, Florida
Vice Chairman BILL EMERSON, Missouri
SANFORD D. bishop, Jr., Georgia JOHN T. DOOLITTLE, California
GEORGE E. BROWN, Jr., California JACK KINGSTON, Georgia
GARY A. CONDIT, California BOB GOODLATTE, Virginia
EVAM. CLAYTON, North Carolina JAY DICKEY, Arkansas
KAREN L. THURMAN, Florida RICHARD W. POMBO, California
DAVID MINGE, Minnesota
JAY INSLEE, Washington
EARL POMEROY, North Dakota
GLENN ENGLISH, Oklahoma
CHARLES W. STENHOLM, Texas
COLLIN C. PETERSON, Minnesota
(II)
CONTENTS
Page
H.R. 1738, a bill to authorize the establishment of a fresh cut flowers and
fresh cut greens promotion and consumer information program for the
benefit ofthe floricultural industry and others, and forotherpurposes 2
Lewis, Hon. Tom, a Representative in Congress from the State of Florida,
opening statement 57
Rose, Hon. Charlie, a Representative in Congress from the State of North
Carolina, prepared statement 56
Witnesses
Brothers, Jeff, president, Monterey Bay Bouquet, Inc 79
Prepared statement 154
Clayton, Kenneth C, Deputy Administrator, Marketing Programs, Agricul-
tural Marketing Service, U.S. DepartmentofAgriculture 58
Prepared statement 90
Euser, Bob, president, Concerned Domestic Flower Growers and Handlers 65
Prepared statement 99
Haight, Dwight, on behalfofthe Association ofFloral Importers ofFlorida 77
Prepared statement 152
Kremp, Charles, on behalfofthe Society ofAmerican Florists and the Amer-
ican Floral Marketing Council 80
Prepared statement 157
Mears, Dave, on behalf of the Wholesale Florists and Floral Suppliers of
America 75
Prepared statement 148
Ninomiya, David, secretary. Concerned Domestic Flower Growers and Han-
dlers 68
Prepared statement Ill
Stewart, Terence P., special counsel. Floral Trade Council 68
Prepared statement 136
(III)

FRESH CUT FLOWERS AND FRESH CUT
GREENS PROMOTION AND INFORMATION
ACT OF
1993
WEDNESDAY, MAY 12, 1993
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Specialty Crops
AND Natural Resources,
Committee on Agriculture,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 1:10 p.m., in room
1302, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Charlie Rose (chair-
man ofthe subcommittee) presiding.
Present: Representatives Baesler, Thurman, Stenholm, Peterson,
Lewis, Kingston, Goodlatte, and Pombo.
Also present: Representative E (Kika) de la Garza, chairman of
the committee.
Staff present: Glenda L. Temple, clerk; Keith Pitts, Xavier
Equihua, and Stacy Steinitz.
Mr. Rose. The Subcommittee on Specialty Crops and Natural Re-
sources will please come to order.
The purpose of this hearing is to consider H.R. 1738, the Fresh
Cut Flowers and Fresh Cut Greens Promotion and Information Act.
The bill was introduced by the ranking minority member of this
subcommittee, the gentleman from Florida, Mr. Lewis, and before
I make my opening remarks, I'll give him an opportunity to say
anything he'd like to say.
[The prepared statement ofMr. Rose and H.R. 1738 follow:]
(1)
103d congress H.R.1738
1st Session
To authorize the estabhshment of a fresh cut flowers and fresh cut greens
promotion and consumer information program for the benefit of the
floricultural industrj^and others, and forotherpurposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 20, 1993
Mr. Lewis of Florida (for himself, Mr. Stenholm, Mr. DE la Garza, Mr.
Payne of New Jersey, Mr. Hastert, Mr. HOUGHTON, Mr. English of
Oklahoma, Ms. Danner, Mr. Kopetski, Mr. Cuxmkgilui, Mr. Peter-
son ofMinnesota, Mr. Canady, Mr. Allard, and Mr. Boehner) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agri-
culture
A
BILL
To authorize the estabhshment of a fresh cut flowers and
fresh cut greens promotion and consumer information pro-
gram for the benefit of the floricultural industiy and
others, and for other purposes.
1 Be it enacted by tJie Senate and House ofRepresenta-
2 tives oftfie United States ofAmenca in Congress assembled,
3 SECTION 1. SHORTTITLE.
4 This Act may be cited as the "Fresh Cut Flowers
5 and Fresh Cut Greens Promotion and Information Act of
6 1993".
2
1 SEC. 2. FINDINGSAND DECLARATION OF POLICY.
— —
2 (a) Findings. Congress finds tliat
3 (1) fresh cut flowers and fresh cut greens are
4 an integral part of Hfe in the United States, are en-
5 joyed by milhons of persons everj^ year for a mul-
6 titude of special purposes (especially important per-
7 sonal events), and contribute a natural and beautiful
8 element to the human environment;
9 (2) cut flowers and cut gi-eens are produced by
10 many individual producers throughout the United
11 States as well as in other countries, and are handled
12 and marketed by thousands of small-sized and me-
13 dium-sized businesses, and such production, han-
14 dling, and marketing constitute a key segment of the
15 United States horticultural industi^^ and thus a sig-
16 nificant part of the Nation's overall agi'icultural
17 economy;
18 (3) handlers play a vital role in the marketing
19 of cut flowers and cut greens in that they purchase
20 most of the cut flowers and cut greens marketed by
21 producers, prepare the cut flowers and cut greens
22 for retail consumption, serve as intermediary' be-
23 tween source of product and retailer, otherwise fa-
24 cilitate the entrj^ of cut flowers and cut greens into
25 the current of domestic commerce, and add effi-
26 ciencies to the market process that ensure the avail-
HR 1738 IH
3
1 ability of a much gi-eater variety of product to retail-
2 ers and consumers;
3 (4) it is widely recognized that it is in the pub-
4 lie interest and important to the Nation's agi'icul-
5 tural economy to provide an adequate, steady supply
6 of cut flowers and cut greens at reasonable prices to
7 the consumers of the Nation;
8 (5) cut flowers and cut gi'eens move in inter-
9 state and foreign commerce, and cut flowers and cut
10 greens that do not move in such channels of com-
11 merce but only in intrastate commerce directly affect
12 interstate commerce in these articles;
13 (6) the maintenance and expansion of existing
14 markets and the development of new or improved
15 markets or uses for cut flowers and cut gi-eens are
16 needed to presei've and strengthen the economic via-
17 bility of the domestic cut flowers and cut gi-eens in-
18 dustry for the benefit of producers, handlers, retail-
19 ers, and the entire floral industiy;
20 (7) generic programs of promotion and
21 consumer information can be effective in maintain-
22 ing and developing markets for cut flowers and cut
23 greens, and have the advantage of equally enhancing
24 the market position for all cut flowers and cut
25
gi'eens marketed;
BR 1738 IH