Thank you to Ellen Hornig for her reasoned and articulate summary. Here are some other things to think about. 1. If small importers and private consumers were able to work through agents who could batch orders and enjoy the same response time with inspectors as large importers do, it would add to the cost for the small/private importers but might make the system work more efficiently. 2. Many of the plants being imported actually are present in the United States already, but the importers don't know it. Better sharing of information, particularly about plants held in very small nurseries or private collections that are willing to trade, might make some importation unnecessary. This is the motive behind my own annual bulb surplus sale (which will move to a commercial nursery in a couple of years), where people can obtain plants they would otherwise be buying from Paul Christian in the UK or other overseas suppliers. 3. Particularly of importance to bulb enthusiasts, we should encourage the importation of seeds rather than bulbs. This drastically reduces the chances of importing pathogens and pests, and it also allows US growers to raise diverse clones and select those most suited to their particular environmental conditions. Seeds can withstand delays at inspection stations better than plants and bulbs can, and they are less expensive. Jane McGary Northwestern Oregon, USA