Anti-landscapes bill defeated

By Craig Regelbrugge, AmericanHort

So there’s good news out of Washington. Yes, really! The House of Representatives just approved a multi-year transportation bill, and the House and Senate are proceeding with a process to iron out their differences. (This is called “going to conference,” something we have not seen too often in recent years!).

And there is good news within the good news. During the debate, Reps. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO) and Richard Hudson (R-NC) offered an amendment that would have broadly prohibited federal transportation funds from being used for vegetative enhancements, also and often known as landscaping. AmericanHort, the American Society of Landscape Architects, and others mobilized to successfully defeat this amendment, on a vote of 255 nays to 172 yeas.

Yes, this was a critical victory for horticulture. But let’s unpack it and think about what it means. At its core, the fact that two Republicans (who are friendly to our industry on many other issues) even offered this amendment means that we’ve got a lot of work to do. And, roughly two-thirds of their Republican colleagues voted with them. The amendment failed because 71 Republicans joined every single Democrat to vote it down. How did your Representative vote?

Clearly, the vote underscores that many still see landscape enhancements as pretty but non-essential. Yet we know that functioning landscapes stabilize and protect the soil. They filter air and water pollution. They contribute to property values and create a sense of well-being. They sustain pollinators and wildlife. We made these points to Rep. Hartzler and her staff, but she was unmoved.

Think politics don’t matter and that individuals can’t influence them? With short notice, AmericanHort and the Lighthouse Program grassroots network generated 500 individual messages to Congress to tell our story. That’s the best grassroots response in a while.

Click here to read more.

Capitol Building photo: Dreamstime.com