FMI Making a Difference: The Value of Government Relations

By: Jennifer Hatcher, Senior Vice President, Public and Government Affairs, Food Marketing Institute 

FMI recently released our Making a Difference annual report on government relations. The report illustrates the value of FMI’s government relations work, highlighting our legislative, regulatory and political achievements and efforts on behalf of the industry in2014.  Our achievements are not always high-profile legislative wins; they also include behind-the-scene efforts critical for future victories or formulating an effective defense to prevent the imposition of unnecessary burdens on the industry.  With 8,908 bills introduced during the last session of the 113^th Congress, and only a fraction of which were signed into law, 2014 was a year of developing relationships and forming new strategies for the months ahead.

Most importantly, our most valuable resource is our membership.  We enlisted many of you last year to contribute to our government relations outreach, including phone calls, grassroots letters, hosting store visits and participating in Capitol Hill visits with Senate and House offices.  Thank you for your support, your anecdotes and your overall expertise to help project the industry’s voice in Washington, D.C.

We look forward to working with you in 2015 to reaffirm our efforts to “Make a Difference” with new leadership in Congress, new rulemakings from the regulatory agencies and new priorities for the industry.