•HRES 245 IH 
Whereas consumers spend more than $25,000,000,000 each 
year on floral products, including garden plants, bedding, 
indoor plants, and cut flowers; 
Whereas 30 percent of households in the United States pur-
chase fresh cut flowers and greens from more than 
16,000 florists and floral establishments each year; 
Whereas the people of the United States increasingly want to 
support domestically produced foods and agricultural 
products, yet 74 percent of the people of the United 
States do not know where the flowers they purchase are 
grown, and 58 percent would prefer to buy locally grown 
flowers given the choice; 
Whereas in response to increased demand, the ‘‘Certified 
American Grown Flowers’’ logo was created in July 
2014, in order to educate and empower consumers to 
purchase flowers from domestic producers; 
Whereas, as of April 2015, millions of stems of domestically 
grown flowers are now Certified American Grown; 
Whereas domestic flower farmers produce thousands of vari-
eties of flowers across the United States, such as peonies 
in Alaska, Gerbera daisies in California, lupines in 
Maine, tulips in Washington, lilies in Oregon, and lark-
spur in Texas; 
Whereas the 5 flower varieties with the highest United States 
production are tulips, Gerbera daisies, lilies, irises, and 
gladiolas; 
Whereas people in every State have access to domestically 
grown flowers, yet only 1 of 5 flowers sold in the United 
States is domestically grown; 
Whereas the domestic cut flower industry creates almost 
$42,000,000 in economic impact daily and supports hun-
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•HRES 245 IH 
dreds of growers, thousands of small businesses, and tens 
of thousands of jobs in the United States; 
Whereas more people in the United States are expressing in-
terest in growing flowers locally, which has resulted in an 
approximately 20-percent increase in the number of do-
mestic cut flower farms since 2007; 
Whereas most domestic cut flowers and greens are sold in the 
United States within 24 to 48 hours after harvest and 
last longer than flowers shipped longer distances; 
Whereas in 2014, President Barack Obama and First Lady 
Michelle Obama highlighted their support for domesti-
cally grown flowers at the White House State Dinner 
with French President Franc¸ois Hollande, the only White 
House State Dinner that year; 
Whereas the 2014 White House State Dinner featured quince 
branch from Mississippi, weeping willow from New Jer-
sey, Scotch broom from Virginia, iris from California, 
and alocasia, equisetum, nandina, and green liriope from 
Florida; 
Whereas flower-giving has been a holiday tradition in the 
United States for generations; 
Whereas Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day are 2 of the 3 
top flower-giving holidays in the United States; 
Whereas 38 percent of the people in the United States, 
spending more than $2,000,000,000, buy flowers on Val-
entine’s Day; and 
Whereas flowers are even more popular on Mother’s Day 
than on Valentine’s Day, and in 2014, 2⁄3 of people in the 
United States celebrating Mother’s Day purchased flow-
ers, spending more than $2,300,000,000: Now, therefore, 
be it 
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Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that— 
(1) purchasing flowers grown in the United 
States supports the farmers, small businesses, jobs, 
and economy of the United States; 
(2) flowers and greens grown in the United 
States are a vital and integral part of the agricul-
tural industry of the United States; 
(3) flowers grown in the United States enhance 
the ability of Americans to honor their mothers on 
Mother’s Day; and 
(4) the White House should strive to showcase 
flowers and greens grown in the United States to 
show support for the flower breeders, farmers, proc-
essors, and distributors of the United States. 
Æ 
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