GCSAA works with a number of issue-based coalitions as part of its advocacy efforts in Washington. This helps amplify our voice with industries and decision-makers that are unfamiliar with the impact regulations and legislation have on golf course management.

GCSAA works with the H-2B Workforce Coalition, for example, to ensure the implementation of language included in the recently-passed FY18 Omnibus that would increase the number of workers available under the H-2B program. More than 81,000 workers were requested for season starting April 1, which is greater than the amount available for the entire year.

Congress included language in the recently passed omnibus that would provide the Department of Homeland Security with the authority to raise the H-2B cap after first determining that there is an economic need. This could lead to as many as 129,547 visas in FY18, almost double the 66,000 cap. After the omnibus was signed into law, GCSAA worked with the H-2B Workforce Coalition to help make sure that the Departments of Labor and Homeland Security heard from Congress on the importance of expediting these visas. One hundred and twenty-two senators and representatives signed bipartisan letters urging the administration to expedite the processing of additional H-2B visa applications.

Additionally, GCSAA has recently co-signed a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, in support of the Agriculture Creates Real Employment (ACRE) Act. The ACRE Act includes language prohibiting the Environmental Protection Agency from requiring additional permits under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) for a pesticide application, as long as the application is already approved under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). GCSAA has long argued that the duplicative environmental permitting under NPDES adversely impacts golf course management while doing nothing to protect public health or the environment. We have worked closely on this issue with the Pesticide Policy Coalition (PPC) as well as the NPDES coalition, which was responsible for this letter.

GCSAA also joined the PPC on a letter to the House and Senate regarding the pesticide registration process and the intersection of FIFRA and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). FIFRA's registration decisions are federal actions that may require the EPA to consult with the Fish and Wildlife and Marine Fisheries Services under section 7 of the ESA. The EPA and the Services have never been able to agree how these consultations should be conducted, resulting in wasteful duplication of complicated study reviews, inefficient use of federal and private resources, and delays getting new, beneficial products to market, with no additional benefit to species and endless litigation. The letter urged members of Congress to work with industries impacted, including golf, to bring a much-needed resolution to this issue.

Finally, we continue to work with the Waters Advocacy Coalition on efforts to replace the 2015 Clean Water Rule (also known as WOTUS) with one that protects water quality without causing confusion and uncertainty for small businesses such as golf. As previously noted, language that would have helped facilitate the ongoing re-write of the rule did not make it into the 2018 Omnibus. However, GCSAA continues its efforts on the re-write of the rule and will work to make sure golf's voice is heard.

Coalitions are another tool in our advocacy toolkit and is a way to make sure golf gains another seat at the table.