During their December meeting, ASLA’s Executive Committee endorsed the final Federal Priorities Agenda for the 118th Congress just in time to kick off the new Congress in January 2023. With an emphasis on climate change, resilience and biodiversity, and a focus on equity and environmental justice, ASLA will advocate for 3 key underlying policy areas in the 118th Congress:

1. Parks and Recreation
2. Transportation Planning and Design
3. Water and Stormwater Management

The ASLA government affairs team began the nearly year-long process for determining the Society’s federal priorities for the next two years in May 2022 when they surveyed the entire ASLA membership on federal and state issues members believed the Society should include in its upcoming agendas.

The ASLA government affairs team and the Government Affairs Advisory Committee (GAAC) reviewed, vetted, and analyzed the results of the survey and formulated a set of recommended legislative issues for the 2023-2024 legislative session. The ASLA government team presented the recommendations to the Executive Committee during their summer 2022 meeting. Based on the input by the Executive Committee and the GAAC, the team presented this set of federal priorities for discussion with the Board of Trustees at their fall 2022 meeting, then moving to the Executive Committee for the final review process in December.

ASLA team members and the GAAC used the following elements to develop an effective federal policy agenda. To make the most strategic decisions regarding priority issues, these filters should be applied. It is unlikely that any issue will satisfy every condition; however, greater priority should be given to those meeting multiple ones. The four filters are:

1. Landscape Architecture Expertise – landscape architects must have expertise that will allow ASLA and its members to play a leadership role on the issue.
2. Member Relevancy – the issue must be relevant to a broad swath of ASLA’s membership.
3. Federal Nexus – the issue must be one over which Congress or a federal department/agency has jurisdiction.
4. Timeliness – there must be reason to believe that the issue is likely to be on the congressional or administration’s agenda in 2023-2024.

For the first time, this year’s survey respondents identified biodiversity as an issue important to them and their professional endeavors. Additionally, climate change and resilience, equity and environmental justice continue to be a priority for survey respondents. Water and stormwater policies and projects continue to be most critical to the work of landscape architects, with parks and recreation, and transportation projects rounding out the list. Survey respondents also identified key federal program they access to plan and design projects, including Community Development Block Grants; the Land and Water Conservation Fund; Recreational Trails Program, Safe Routes to Schools; and RAISE Grants as the top 5 programs. ASLA advocacy efforts will specifically hone in on these key programs responsible for creating more opportunities for the profession.

Last Congress, ASLA’s federal priorities agenda positioned the organization to address critical infrastructure and climate issues with legislators and the administration, resulting in victories for the profession in the landmark Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and in the Inflation Reduction Act that included the nation’s largest investment in climate action. This year’s federal agenda will not only allow ASLA to continue to secure important policies and funding to help landscape architects continue their important climate and infrastructure work, but will also allow the Society to obtain new opportunities in the biodiversity arena.