[View Point] Why You Need to Hit the Hill

Next month, hundreds of PMPs will travel to Washington, D.C., to take part in NPMA’s annual Legislative Day events. Legislative Day is the industry’s formal opportunity to meet with U.S. senators and representatives to discuss issues affecting their livelihood.

This year, PMPs will focus their efforts on three topics: the PESTT Act, whose focus is to limit USDA-Wildlife Services’ competition with the private sector for rodent, nuisance bird and wildlife work; sulfuryl fluoride (SF) food-use issues, which deals with how SF uses may be cancelled in food-processing facilities; and paperless reporting — asking federal lawmakers to support legislation that would permit PCOs to convey and retain pesticide use reports and related information electronically (some states still require hard copies). (See page 32.)

PCT recently fielded a survey asking its readers the most significant challenge facing NPMA. The No. 1 answer was addressing federal/state/local governments and regulations, which means 35 percent of our readers think NPMA must continue to pound the pavement and build relationships in Washington and across the U.S. that will help the industry.

NPMA does that. But that doesn’t mean PCT’s readers aren’t right in that NPMA needs to keep the pressure on. With new bills, regulations and laws coming into effect daily, it’s more than a full-time job monitoring everything that could possibly affect a pest management business. NPMA’s government affairs team, Gene Harrington and Bob Rosenberg, do an exceptional job keeping tabs on federal, state and local issues affecting PMPs. They work with legislators, EPA and like-minded association executives to ensure laws and regulations are in the best interest of our industry. It’s hard work that often isn’t as appreciated as it should be.
 

PCT recently interviewed Rosenberg, a 24-year NPMA veteran, about his new role as the association’s executive vice president. We asked him a range of questions, including how much, if at all, he would continue to be involved in regulatory issues. Readers familiar with his work as senior vice president of government affairs will be pleased to hear he’s staying engaged with that work. “A lot of what Gene Harrington and I do is based on our knowledge of the issues and the relationships we’ve developed over time, so it wouldn’t be a good investment by NPMA to take me totally out of that role,” he said. “If anything we’re going to beef up the Government Affairs Department in the months ahead. It’s also not uncommon for trade associations in Washington, D.C., to have a chief executive officer that is actively involved in regulatory and public affairs, so I’m going to stay involved.”

Stay tuned for the March issue, which will feature more of our Q&A with Rosenberg. To learn more about Legislative Day, to be held March 17-19, visit www.npmapestworld.org.

The author is editor of PCT magazine.