A common voice: with issues like prescription drug benefits, COOL and ergonomic standards on the table, industry trade groups are hard at work lobbying in our nation's capital.

It may be a presidential election year, but that has not stopped the grocery industry's key trade associations from ensuring critical issues affecting supermarkets remain top of mind with government officials. For some associations, however, lobbying in 2004 is proving to be a challenge. Come election time this November, there's a chance that any change in leadership could result in some or all issues being put on hold for another year.

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Nonetheless, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, Food Marketing Institute, National Grocers Association and Grocery Manufacturers of America are hard at work making their members' voices heard in Congress and at the regulatory agencies in Washington.

Here is a brief look at some of the issues for which each association is lobbying.

NACDS 

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According to Lee Verstandig, senior vice president of government affairs, NACDS is lobbying at the state and federal levels on a number of fronts. Understanding that this could be a slow year of congressional achievements because of the presidential election, Verstandig says his group made a decision to remain at the table this year on issues like Medicare, Medicaid, improving access to generic drugs and regulating Internet pharmacy sales. "We think there is a chance not much will be done this year, but that does not mean we do not have to monitor the situation and make sure we stay on Washington's radar screen. These are ongoing issues that can take months, sometimes years, to resolve," he says.

The Medicare Modernization Act, also known as the Medicare Reform Bill, was signed in December, expanding benefits for many people. But there are still parts of this bill that need to be addressed. For example, if the Medicare Enhancement for Needed Drugs Act is passed, it would instruct the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to negotiate lower prices with drug manufacturers and penalize companies that did not make an effort to keep costs down.

NACDS officials are working with representatives in the House and Senate to clarify the intent and language of the rule that states that chain drugstores must have a 90-day supply of drugs available to a patient. Some pharmacy benefit managers' (PBMs) policies require participants to use mail order for their prescriptions. Some have policies that only allow a 30-day supply of prescription drugs to be filled at a pharmacy. NACDS wants the same rules to apply to chains and PBMs so consumers can choose where to get their prescriptions filled.

"Having everyone follow the same rule would enable seniors to have the same options at their local pharmacy for a 90-day need as might be provided by a PBM, mail order or insurance company," notes Verstandig. "It was clearly the intent of Congress to provide that level playing field. Our efforts have been to go back to the proponents of that 90-day rule in Congress and both reaffirm the intent of Congress and get Congress to reiterate that intent to Health and Human Services, which is responsible for promulgating regulations set forth in the Medicare legislation."

NACDS is also lobbying the House Committee on Government Reform to curb illegal Internet pharmacies. The committee has been holding hearings in regard to the Internet Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 3880). In addition to seeking certification and standards for Internet pharmacies, NACDS wants to make sure traditional pharmacies that have an Internet presence are clearly distinguished from unlicensed Internet-only pharmacies that facilitate the ordering and dispensing of prescription medications without a valid patient-provider relationship.

GMA 

While there are many issues for which GMA is lobbying this year, including supporting a voluntary country-of-origin labeling rule, none stands out more than the trade group's stand on the obesity issue. "The food and beverage industry is committed to helping reverse this growing issue," GMA president and CEO C. Manly Molpus testified at a Senate hearing in March. "Our industry provides safe, nutritious, affordable foods, and we are working with the government and other stakeholders to tackle this important health challenge."

Improving the nutritional profile of existing products and providing improved products that combine taste, convenience and nutrition are some of the grocery industry's efforts to help combat obesity and enhance consumer health, noted Molpus. He said the industry is also actively researching consumer opinions about food labels, including single-serve packaging and calorie content.

The industry is also promoting programs and policies to improve nutritional education and increase regular physical activity for families, schools and communities. "The challenge for America's food and beverage companies is to provide and promote the products that make eating not only healthy but enjoyable. Consumers can expect to see more of these products in the months ahead," stated Molpus.

GMA is also advocating creating consistent standards for dietary guidelines. The group has been meeting with the FDA to discuss the need for these standards and for a pre-market notification system for approving qualified health claims. GMA believes consumers would develop a better understanding of how nutrients can help prevent certain health problems with such a system.

NGA

The repeal of the estate tax continues to be one of NGA's key government relations objectives. Under President Bush's tax cut plan approved in 2001, the estate tax will be eliminated over 10 years but will be brought back in the 11th year. As such, several major trade groups, including NGA and FMI, are pushing to have the estate tax permanently repealed. This measure is significant to NGA members because the industry is about 60% privately held, and current law requires owners to pay as much as 45% of their company's worth in estate taxes.

Companies that plan well can significantly reduce their exposure, notes NGA, but that process costs millions of dollars each year that could be better spent investing in the company. As a result, a growing number of companies are finding it is easier to sell the business and pay capital gains taxes rather than pay estate taxes when the principal dies, a fact some feel has contributed to consolidation in the grocery industry. NGA president Thomas K. Zaucha agrees the ruling gives family-owned companies a greater incentive to invest and grow the business, but says he would like to see it last beyond the decade.

NGA has also been working with the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration to ensure the agency's voluntary guidelines will not become a mandatory standard. NGA officials are concerned that if such a standard passed, it would undermine the industry's ongoing and successful ergonomics efforts. NGA wants to pursue a collaborative effort with the industry to reduce ergonomic injuries rather than take a punitive or confrontational approach. As a result, NGA is recommending the agency make changes to the document, including eliminating the sections that deal with peripheral departments such as bakery, meat and produce, noting the advice offered by OSHA in these sections is not warranted by any scientific or statistical analysis.

NGA officials feel that voluntary, industry-specific ergonomics guidelines developed through close cooperation between OSHA and the private sector are a far better approach to addressing potential causes of musculoskeletal disorders than mandatory standards or punitive enforcement, notes Tom Wenning, NGA's senior vice president and general counsel. "NGA believes the best course is to work with OSHA to develop solutions to safety concerns based on sound science," he says.

FMI

While there are many issues the Washington-based association is pursuing, John Motley, senior vice president of government and public affairs for FMI, says COOL, pension reform, estate taxes, minimum wage, Internet pharmacies, reimportation of prescription drugs and the Women, Infants and Children program are his top priorities.

The COOL law passed in the 2002 Farm Bill, but implementation of the $373 billion omnibus spending bill was postponed for two years for every covered commodity but fish. With that delay in place, a broad coalition (including meatpacking, distribution and retail groups) has come together to discuss the possibility of a consensual, voluntary market-driven program. If the respective parties reach a joint agreement, they will suggest to key members of Congress that they pass it to replace the current law. Two dozen companies, retailers and trade associations are part of the coalition. "We are meeting and making good progress. With a few notable exceptions, the majority of our members believe there is a better and less expensive way to provide consumers with the information they want," says Motley.

FMI officials believe that if policing is left at the state level, the industry will see a range of enforcement from vigorous to none at all. Given this and the additional costs to implement this program, Motley says suppliers and retailers will end up absorbing the costs. "Many of the smaller, local farmers and ranchers will not only find it difficult to comply with the law, they may even go out of business because of the cost to implement it," he says. The group anticipated a rough proposal would be ready at the end of March.

Several pension bills passed both houses of Congress, and officials are now waiting to go to a conference to work out the differences between the two. They deal with all the pension plans offered by the companies operating in this industry. In the case of single-employer defined benefit plans, the formula that determines whether that plan is funded is based on the 30-year Treasury Bill rate, which no longer exists. A stop-gap rate was put in place as Congress decided what to do and, beginning at the end of the first quarter, all these plans will not have a return-on-investment interest rate to use. Multi-employer plans, generally used by unionized companies, are in a similar situation. The funding formula is based on the performance of the stock market over 15 years. "We are suggesting that average should get extended over 20 or 25 years so that the payout is the same, but the impact to the company is lessened," says Motley, who adds that this capital can then be used to invest in the stores. "There is a partisan gridlock right now, and if a decision can't be made soon, there is a chance these employers will have to pay out large sums this spring."

A bill put forward by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) will increase the minimum wage $1.50 an hour over 14 months. This is a critical issue for many of FMI's members, particularly for smaller, non-urban retailers. Republicans are expected to offer an alternative plan that will include a smaller increase over a longer period of time. "Unless the president vetoes an increase, which I don't think he will do, we will see an increase by year's end," says Motley.