Milling & Baking News - September 2, 2014 - 17

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Bakers looking to make a
statement on Capitol Hill
WASHINGTON - It seems Democrats and Republicans or conservatives and liberals can't agree on anything. But no matter what your political persuasion, most Americans
share the common perception that
little - or nothing for that matter -
seems to be happening in Washington these days.
In the end, however, that might
not necessarily be a bad thing.
"In many ways, a stalemate can be
a good thing for our industry," especially if Congress is trying to pass
legislation that is detrimental to the
baking industry, noted Morgan Murphy, assistant vice-president of sales,
Mother Murphy's, Greensboro, N.C.
So why head over to the nation's
capital to participate in the American Bakers Association's Executive
Leadership Development Committee (E.L.D.C.) Public Policy Forum,
which runs from Sept. 17-19? The
committee has been organizing visits to decision makers on Capitol Hill
for about 20 years, and the forum allows the entire industry to view the
work being done on its behalf.
Mr. Murphy, who serves as
E.L.D.C. co-chair with Jesse Amoroso, vice-president, Amoroso's
Baking Co., Philadelphia, acknowledged that many people may feel
disheartened by the lack of progress in the nation's capital, but sitting back and being a do-nothing
bystander would probably be the
worse of two evils.
"If the policy makers don't have
the baker's insight, then the ripple
effect is so huge because of the total dollars that the baking industry
represents," Mr. Murphy said. "It's
like the saying, 'If you're not at the
dinner table, you might be on the
menu.' We have to be involved, or
they'll put us on the menu."
The allied trades have a stake in
this, too. Mr. Amoroso suggested
that it's not only important for bakers but also for vendors to the industry to have a voice in Washington.
He acknowledged, however, it may
not always seem that way.
"I feel a lot of frustration - I hear
about it and have it as well - it
seems there is a lot of double talking on the Hill," Mr. Amoroso said.
"There is the push to create jobs and
invigorate the workplace, and at the
same time, a lot of the regulations
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

and decisions being made on the
Hill make it difficult for employers
to hire and to implement many of
the positive things that government
is preaching."
Mr. Amoroso noted
that talking the talk
is one thing; walking
the walk is another.
Getting lawmakers to
understand how decisions - as few as they
Murphy
are - made in Washington can have a dramatic impact in a bakery's operations.
"Even if key decision
makers on the Hill do
have the information,
maybe they don't realAmoroso
ize how their decisions
affect bakeries on the ground floor,"
Mr. Amoroso said. "It's easy to put
pen to paper, but it's another thing
to make things happen in the real

Washington

world and, especially, on the production floor."
He added many decisions made in
Washington touch not only bakers
but also consumers.
"There is only so much bakers and
vendors can absorb before they have
to pass on those costs to the American consumer," Mr. Amoroso noted.
"We have to be mindful on how these
decisions affect people on a ground
level. It's one thing to have a great
theory or mindset about something;
it's another thing to make it happen.
Hopefully, we can make (Congress)
realize how their decisions affect us
and put us in certain predicaments."
Mr. Murphy observed that he got
involved in E.L.D.C. to understand
the political landscape, and how everything in Washington influences
his family's business on several different levels. For his part, Mr. Amoroso said E.L.D.C. provides networking opportunities and the chance to
learn from both senior executives
and peers in the industry.
For more information on the event,
visit www.americanbakers.org. MBN

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Milling & Baking News September 2, 2014 / 17

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Milling & Baking News - September 2, 2014

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