Fruit and Vegetable Growers Hope to Harvest More From Farm Bill

Fruits and vegetables could be very good for the farm bill's health.

Shhh! This Conversation Is Private

The members and senior staffers of the Senate Finance Committee, one of Congress's most potent panels, have been hosting private discussions with influential people. With no press or public allowed, think of these sessions as the capital's most exclusive salon.

On April 17, a large bipartisan group of committee members and aides listened for 90 minutes as Thomas J. Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and John J. Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, debated topics such as health care and trade.

The event was held in the committee's anteroom, which is behind the committee's wood-paneled hearing room, where public meetings are usually convened.

Earlier in the year, several Cabinet officers including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also appeared there in secret. So did Pascal Lamy, director general of the World Trade Organization.

Participants call the practice an excellent way for lawmakers to ask tough questions without worrying about the consequences.

Others are not so certain. "It seems wrong," said Melanie Sloan of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. "Why wouldn't they have an open hearing? It sounds like they are trying to avoid public disclosure."

Another Hurdle for Immigration Bill

President Bush is excited about the prospect of devising and passing a comprehensive immigration bill this year. The conventional wisdom is that he will have to partner with a broad swath of Democrats-in-charge on Capitol Hill to find a workable compromise.

In fact, a large number of Democrats are likely to resist. Why? Labor unions, a fundamental constituency of the Democratic Party, are deeply divided on the topic.

Two sizable unions -- the Service Employees International Union and Unite Here -- are eager to include a program that would allow foreigners to work temporarily in this country and eventually win citizenship -- a plan similar to one that Bush has advanced in the past. These unions, which tend to represent lower-paid workers, foresee a lot of future members in that expanding pool.

But most other unions, including the AFL-CIO, go the other way. They oppose a guest-worker program, worrying that the additional foreign workers might take American jobs, including those their members hold.

How are Democratic lawmakers to choose? Some will go with the president; others will go with the majority of unions. That surely will complicate immigration reform.

Moonlighting Lobbyist of the Week

Michael Gessel has been enchanted by L. Frank Baum, the creator of the Wizard of Oz, since third grade. And that was not yesterday.

Gessel is a 52-year-old lobbyist for the Dayton, Ohio, region. He is also vice president of the International Wizard of Oz Club and a former editor of the club's official publication, the Baum Bugle.

As editor for five years, Gessel featured stories about the first Oz-themed amusement park (Chicago, 1905), the geography of Oz and the late actor John Ritter's portrayal of Baum in a 1990 NBC movie about the author's peripatetic life.

In 2000, Gessel helped the Library of Congress with its exhibit celebrating the 100th anniversary of the publication of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz." He lent items from his large collection of Baum memorabilia.

These days, Gessel does not spend as much time on Oz. "A rather intense job and three small children have strictly limited my journeys over the rainbow lately," he said. "But being familiar with the fantasy land of Oz does help in my understanding of Washington."

If you know of another lobbyist with an interesting sideline, let me know.

Please send e-mail to kstreet@washpost.com.