The resolution of the tumultuous presidential race may prove to be a happy beginning for the supermarket industry, association executives told SN last week.
Industry trade groups said they expect President-elect Bush to garner bipartisan support on issues important to them, and added that they can be more aggressive with their agendas under a Republican-controlled White House and Congress.
They also said they were relieved to have been spared a Gore presidency and what they perceived to be continued and/or additional trouble with labor, legal and tax issues.
"For our industry, the difference between the two candidates was the difference between day and night," Tim Hammonds, president and chief executive officer of the Food Marketing Institute, Washington, told SN. "A Gore presidency would have been dramatically worse for the food industry, largely because of his support among labor unions and trial attorneys, which affect our objectives in ergonomics and tort reform."
Simply put, Bush is in step with the legislative objectives of the supermarket industry and Gore was not, said Kevin Burke, vice president, government relations for Food Distributors International, Falls Church, Va.
"George Bush is going to be a good president for the food industry. It's what the doctor ordered," Burke told SN. "Had Gore won, our objectives wouldn't change but it would be a whole different dynamic."
Of prime importance to industry leaders is repeal of the estate tax, a measure numerous groups have lobbied for in the past only to see it die in White House vetoes. Bush has said he would seek legislation to repeal the tax; Gore said he would retain the tax but increase some exemptions.
Hammonds said he felt repeal of the estate tax could be one of the first "significant wins" of the new administration. A repeal, which has popular support and requires bipartisan agreement, would echo themes Bush spoke of in his long-awaited acceptance speech last week, he added. "It's a wonderful chance for an early victory," Hammonds said.
Along with the repeal of the estate tax, trade groups said they will push the new administration and Congress to examine the economic impacts of labor standards recently enacted by the Clinton administration. These standards would require employers to monitor workers for ailments and injuries stemming from the performance of their jobs.
They say the new standards -- which would take effect next fall -- have the potential to require companies to do everything from rebuild warehouses to discontinue providing bagging service at the checkout line.
There are also concerns about how fairly the new standards would be enforced. "There are big, big questions about this," Bob Gatty, a spokesman for FDI, told SN.
Bush has taken no public stance on the standards but has said he preferred a "go-slow" approach to federal regulations. Gore, with the backing of labor unions, strongly supports the new measures.
"I think there is a reasonable chance that with the new OSHA [Occupational Safety and Health Administration] in place, the Bush administration will be willing to take a closer look at what these regulations mean," Gatty said.
Industry leaders also said they felt more comfortable with Bush's ability to deal with ideological divisions.
"A Bush presidency presents an opportunity to go more on the offensive in our attempts to get policy passed," Tom Wenning, senior vice president and general counsel for the National Grocers Association, Reston, Va., told SN. "But I think after the last five weeks, everyone agrees with Vice President Gore and Bush when they said now is the time for bipartisan efforts."
Peter Cleary, spokesman for the Grocery Manufacturers of America, told SN that the GMA was "prepared to work with Gore or Bush," and added that many of the memberships' legislative concerns -- national uniformity in food labeling chief among them -- have bipartisan support.
"There's not a lot of sunshine between [Bush and Gore] on these issues," Cleary said. "We think that Bush has a good opportunity to make broad, bipartisan accomplishments in the next year or two that can really benefit the entire food chain. We're looking forward to working with him."
