WASHINGTON —Newly elected lawmakers will have their hands full tackling the abysmal economy, making it unlikely that any of the industry’s favored issues will be addressed in the near term, predicted Washington insiders during the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators conference.
Given the enormity of the financial crisis, operators should expect that it will consume the attention of the new administration and Congress for a good chunk of 2009, if not longer, pushing such critical issues as immigration and health care reform to the side, said panelists during “Politics & Foodservice: What’s the Right Mix?” —Newly elected lawmakers will have their hands full tackling the abysmal economy, making it unlikely that any of the industry’s favored issues will be addressed in the near term, predicted Washington insiders during the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators conference.
“I liken it to right after 9/11 when the focus was on Homeland Security,” said Scott Vinson, director of government relations for the National Council of Chain Restaurants. —Newly elected lawmakers will have their hands full tackling the abysmal economy, making it unlikely that any of the industry’s favored issues will be addressed in the near term, predicted Washington insiders during the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators conference.
In addition, the large price tags tied to the Wall Street bailout and the government’s plan to nationalize several banks will mean that there will be little money to direct toward other initiatives, lobbyists said. —Newly elected lawmakers will have their hands full tackling the abysmal economy, making it unlikely that any of the industry’s favored issues will be addressed in the near term, predicted Washington insiders during the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators conference.
The upside of the lack of money will be that lawmakers are not likely to raise taxes too much because they won’t want to further cripple the economy, said John Gay, senior vice president, government affairs and public policy for the National Restaurant Association. The downside is that they need to address issues like health care, but there will be no money to do it. —Newly elected lawmakers will have their hands full tackling the abysmal economy, making it unlikely that any of the industry’s favored issues will be addressed in the near term, predicted Washington insiders during the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators conference.
“We’re at a critical juncture,” said Edward R. Tinsley III, owner of the 19-unit K-Bob’s Steakhouse chain in Santa Fe, N.M., and the Republican nominee for New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District, pointing to the numerous pressing issues the government needs to address. “The administration and Congress need to look at energy policy, health care and tax policy…all of these affect disposable income.” —Newly elected lawmakers will have their hands full tackling the abysmal economy, making it unlikely that any of the industry’s favored issues will be addressed in the near term, predicted Washington insiders during the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators conference.
Tinsley noted that high gas prices, which have negatively impacted restaurant sales, have made it important that more domestic crude oil reserves be found. Americans need to get over their “environmental guilt complex,” he said. —Newly elected lawmakers will have their hands full tackling the abysmal economy, making it unlikely that any of the industry’s favored issues will be addressed in the near term, predicted Washington insiders during the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators conference.
Gay and Vinson also called for a change in biofuel policy, which in its current state has driven up corn prices. —Newly elected lawmakers will have their hands full tackling the abysmal economy, making it unlikely that any of the industry’s favored issues will be addressed in the near term, predicted Washington insiders during the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators conference.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to burn our food for fuel,” Gay said. —Newly elected lawmakers will have their hands full tackling the abysmal economy, making it unlikely that any of the industry’s favored issues will be addressed in the near term, predicted Washington insiders during the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators conference.
Tinsley, a 32-year industry veteran told the crowd that his frustration and anger at the disconnect lawmakers appear to have with what’s happening in the real world had prompted him to run for Congress. He reminded attendees that they should acknowledge their clout as a recognized “job juggernaut.” —Newly elected lawmakers will have their hands full tackling the abysmal economy, making it unlikely that any of the industry’s favored issues will be addressed in the near term, predicted Washington insiders during the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators conference.
“We need to shift our mentality,” he said. “Government doesn’t have the answers. You have the answers.” —Newly elected lawmakers will have their hands full tackling the abysmal economy, making it unlikely that any of the industry’s favored issues will be addressed in the near term, predicted Washington insiders during the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators conference.
Operators need to make a case for reformulating the tax policy, Tinsley continued, adding, “We have to remind them that tax cuts help small businesses.” —Newly elected lawmakers will have their hands full tackling the abysmal economy, making it unlikely that any of the industry’s favored issues will be addressed in the near term, predicted Washington insiders during the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators conference.
Still, Vinson said, in the current economic climate asking Congress for concessions that are not revenue neutral, such increased meal deductibility, won’t fly. Nor will immigration reform. —Newly elected lawmakers will have their hands full tackling the abysmal economy, making it unlikely that any of the industry’s favored issues will be addressed in the near term, predicted Washington insiders during the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators conference.
“I’m less optimistic than I was a month ago about immigration reform,” Vinson said. Yet the issue of labor “is a problem that is not going away. We have a demographic problem—more people are retiring than working.” —Newly elected lawmakers will have their hands full tackling the abysmal economy, making it unlikely that any of the industry’s favored issues will be addressed in the near term, predicted Washington insiders during the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators conference.
On the bright side, the recent Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 includes a 15-year depreciation schedule for improvements made to restaurant buildings in 2008 and 2009, and for new restaurant construction in 2009, the NRA’s Gay said. —Newly elected lawmakers will have their hands full tackling the abysmal economy, making it unlikely that any of the industry’s favored issues will be addressed in the near term, predicted Washington insiders during the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators conference.
Panelists were uncertain what sort of traction the so-called Labeling Education and Nutrition, or LEAN, Act of 2008—which would establish a federal standard for nutrition disclosure—would have under the current economic circumstance. But they allowed that if Congress is Democratically controlled, the proposed law would stand a better chance. —Newly elected lawmakers will have their hands full tackling the abysmal economy, making it unlikely that any of the industry’s favored issues will be addressed in the near term, predicted Washington insiders during the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators conference.
Democratic control of Congress and the White House also could pave the way for the Employee Free Choice Act, or the so-called card check legislation, which would abolish secret ballots when employees are voting on whether or not to unionize, panelists said. The act is the No. 1 issue for unions, which will come calling for their payback as Democrats take office. —Newly elected lawmakers will have their hands full tackling the abysmal economy, making it unlikely that any of the industry’s favored issues will be addressed in the near term, predicted Washington insiders during the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators conference.
The panelists also noted that it’s not an easy time to be a lobbyist on Capital Hill. Vinson pointed out that Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., is refusing money from individual lobbyists in his presidential bid. —Newly elected lawmakers will have their hands full tackling the abysmal economy, making it unlikely that any of the industry’s favored issues will be addressed in the near term, predicted Washington insiders during the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators conference.
“We need to get your faces in front of lawmakers,” Vinson said. —Newly elected lawmakers will have their hands full tackling the abysmal economy, making it unlikely that any of the industry’s favored issues will be addressed in the near term, predicted Washington insiders during the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators conference.
The panel was moderated by Peter Romeo, executive editor of NRN Online. —Newly elected lawmakers will have their hands full tackling the abysmal economy, making it unlikely that any of the industry’s favored issues will be addressed in the near term, predicted Washington insiders during the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators conference.
Economy, politics take center stage at confab —Newly elected lawmakers will have their hands full tackling the abysmal economy, making it unlikely that any of the industry’s favored issues will be addressed in the near term, predicted Washington insiders during the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators conference.