MCAA Government Affairs Update for July 14, 2025: The Latest Developments Impacting Our Industry

As part of its ongoing commitment to protecting your livelihood and setting the stage for a bright future, MCAA has secured the services of Longbow Public Policy Group to advise our MCAA Government Affairs Committee (GAC). GAC Chair, Jim Gaffney will be passing along information relative to our industry on a regular basis.

On Monday, July 14, 2025 MCAA Lobbying Firm, Longbow Public Policy Group provided the following information:

MCAA Issues and Interests

Budget Reconciliation

Reconciliation Bill Signed into Law with MCAA Priorities

On July 4^th, President Trump signed the GOP reconciliation bill, known as the “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act” (H.R. 1), into law. The MCAA spent months ensuring this seminal legislation retained the tax regime of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) with some improvements. MCAA also significantly mitigated cuts to Inflation Reduction Act clean energy tax credits that were identified as most important to the MCAA after the House initially proposed the rapid elimination of them. We also succeeded in preventing Congress from paying for this legislation with offsets that would have been disastrous for our industry. 

On the tax front, MCAA lobbied with an array of organizations to maintain the corporate and individual tax rates from the TCJA. We also secured improvements, such as permanently extending the Section 199A 20% passthrough deduction, permanently extending the Section 168 100% bonus depreciation for new and used equipment and machinery, and increasing the limitation amount for the Section 179 immediate expensing of qualified property from $1 million to $2.5 million (which will be reduced by the amount that the cost of the qualifying property exceeds $4 million). 

MCAA’s greatest contribution to the bill, however, was our successful advocacy to extend the life of Inflation Reduction Act clean energy tax credits that the Government Affairs Committee identified as priorities for our industry. This became an intense fight after the House initially proposed drastically accelerated phaseouts. 

The first iteration of the reconciliation bill as released by the House Budget Committee would have: (1) accelerated the phaseout for the Section 45Y “Clean Electricity Production Credit,” the Section 48E “Clean Electricity Investment Credit,” and Section 45U “Zero-Emission Nuclear Power Production Credit” based on the date a facility is placed into service, reducing the credits by 20% starting in 2029 before eliminating them completely by 2031; (2) terminated the Section 45X “Advanced Manufacturing Tax Credit” on December 31, 2031; (3) terminated the Section 45V “Credit for Production of Clean Hydrogen” on January 1, 2026; and (4) repealed the transferability of the Section 45Q “Carbon Oxide Sequestration Credit” for projects that begin construction after two years of enactment of the reconciliation bill. 

Following release of the House Budget Committee reconciliation text, MCAA worked with lawmakers to improve provisions in the bill related to nuclear energy in two important ways before the House Rules Committee released the bill text on which the House would vote. First, the revised Rules Committee bill text that the House sent to the Senate eliminated the Budget Committee’s phaseouts of the Section 45Y and 48E credits as they applied to nuclear power. We also succeeded in persuading the Rules Committee to exempt nuclear power from a requirement disallowing these tax credits to facilities beginning construction more than 60 days after the bill’s date of enactment or placed into service after December 31, 2028. Instead, the Rules Committee text allowed advanced nuclear projects to get these credits if they begin construction by December 31, 2028. Additionally, we successfully advocated for changes that eliminated the phaseouts for the Section 45U Nuclear Power Production credit, allowing project sponsors to claim the full credit until December 31, 2031. 

Even before the bill passed the House, MCAA was lobbying the Senate for additional changes to our clean energy tax credit priorities that it was clear we would not get fixed in the House. MCAA secured several important improvements in the Senate bill that was ultimately signed into law over the language the House sent to the Senate. These included: (1) extending the Section 45Y and 48E credits through 2035, with phaseouts allowing for 75% of the credits for facilities that begin construction in 2034 and 50% for facilities that begin construction in 2035, before terminating for facilities that begin construction after 2035; (2) extending the full Section 45U credit for an additional year from December 31, 2031 to December 31, 2032; (3) extending the Section 45X credit for two additional years from December 31, 2031 to December 31, 2033, with a gradual phaseout of 25% each year beginning in 2031 before being fully eliminated at the end of 2033; (4) extending the Section 45V credit for two years from January 1, 2026 to January 1, 2028; and (5) securing the elimination of the transferability restrictions on the Section 45Q credit. We also helped to secure provisions in the Senate bill to increase the CHIPS and Science Act’s advanced manufacturing investment credit from 25% to 30% to incentivize chipmakers to spend more on new chip facilities in the U.S.

Throughout this process, the MCAA policy team also successfully fended off efforts to include problematic offsets in the bill, including a cap on the deductibility of employer-provided health insurance. Other problematic offsets the MCAA team helped keep out of the bill were changes to the tax treatment of municipal bonds, and a cap on the corporate state and local tax deduction. Now that H.R. 1 has been signed into law, the MCAA policy team is working with the Trump Administration on implementation of the provisions we lobbied for in the bill. 

Registered Apprenticeship

DOL Publishes Proposed Rule Rescinding Regulations Covering the EEO Obligations of Sponsors of Registered Apprenticeship Programs

As the policy team advocated on the reconciliation bill, we were also busy digesting and distilling for MCAA  a long-anticipated proposed rule from the Labor Department’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) on July 2^nd that effectively rescinds the current regulations governing the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) obligations of sponsors of registered apprenticeship programs. We have known this proposed rule was coming since our engagement with the Department of Labor (DOL) in the first quarter about its plans to implement the President’s executive orders on DEI [Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion] and what that might mean for registered apprenticeship.

In general, the proposed rule is what we expected. It reduces an apprenticeship program sponsor’s EEO obligations to complying with “all applicable federal and state laws governing nondiscrimination in the workplace.” The proposed rule states that for EEO, it is “not necessary” for DOL to have “a separate oversight, investigative, and enforcement framework specific to registered apprenticeship.” The proposal eliminates the requirements for apprenticeship programs with five or more apprentices to prepare Affirmative Action Plans. It also eliminates the standards on nondiscriminatory methods for selection of apprentices, making it so that registered apprenticeship programs do not have to undertake any selection procedures for apprentices beyond those used to hire regular employees. Under the proposed rule, the DOL will only deregister an apprenticeship program for EEO violations “if a competent enforcement agency or court issues a final determination of unlawful discrimination” against it. Finally, to ensure uniformity across states, the proposed rule mandates that within one year of the effective date of a final rule, all State Apprenticeship Agencies seeking to obtain or maintain recognition to certify registered apprenticeship under current 29 CFR Part 29 must “ensure that their apprenticeship laws, regulations, policies, and procedures exclusively pertaining to nondiscrimination and equality of opportunity for apprentices conform only to the requirements” of this proposed rule. They will no longer be able to impose requirements above the floor DOL is setting in this rulemaking.

The MCAA policy team sent a detailed memorandum on the proposed rule to MCAA leadership the day it issued and that was included in government affairs team’s weekly regulatory report submitted last week. Comments on the proposed rule are due September 2, 2025.

DOL Issues Guidance to Restrict Undocumented Immigrants from Accessing Federal Workforce Development Programs funded by WIOA

As we continue engaging with the Labor Department on regulatory issues, including registered apprenticeship, we learned that last Thursday, as part of Trump Administration-wide efforts across federal agencies to prevent undocumented immigrants from getting taxpayer funded benefits, the Labor Department’s Employment and Training Administration issued new guidance to ensure undocumented immigrants are not allowed to access federal workforce development and training programs. This includes programs funded under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and allotments of WIOA funds received by state and local workforce boards. This extends to Title I Adult, Dislocated Worker, Youth programs (including statewide employment and training services funded by governors’ reserves), WIOA National Dislocated Worker Grants, Wagner-Peyser Act Employment Service, Reentry Employment Opportunities and other programs authorized under Section 169 of WIOA, YouthBuild, and other, similar programs. Under this new guidance, all grantees funded through WIOA and related programs must verify an individual’s valid work authorization before providing participant-level services. The guidance also directs the public workforce development system to update all policies and procedures to verify work authorization and maintain proper documentation in participant case files. 

DOL Announces Nearly $84 Million to Expand Registered Apprenticeships

As part of the Administration’s effort to reach its goal of 1 million active participants in registered apprenticeship programs, on June 30^th DOL awarded nearly $84 million in State Apprenticeship Expansion Formula Grant Funding to 50 states and territories to support the implementation of President Trump’s Executive Orders related to enhancing and expanding the National Apprenticeship to advance President Trump’s Executive Actions on “Preparing Americans for High-Paying Skilled Trade Jobs of the Future,” “Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth,” “Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance,” and “Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base.” States can use this funding to advance “the expansion of Registered Apprenticeships in both traditional and emerging industries.” MCAA affiliates may wish to confer with their relevant state apprenticeship authority to ascertain how they intend to use their allotment of these funds.

DOL Announces $5 Million WANTO Grant Funding to Attract and Retain Women in Registered Apprenticeship Programs in Construction

Relatedly, last Wednesday, Labor Secretary Chavez-DeRemer announced a $5 million funding opportunity for up to 14 Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) grants administered jointly through DOL’s Women’s Bureau and Employment and Training Administration to attract and retain more women in registered apprenticeship programs and high-growth industries like construction, manufacturing, and cybersecurity. Grant awards will total between $350,000 and $750,000 each. Applications are due by August 8, 2025 and can be submitted through Grants.gov here. 

This grant announcement is notable for a couple of reasons. First, the President’s fiscal year 2026 budget request calls for the elimination of the DOL Women’s Bureau. Second, the grant announcement comes as the Trump Administration is engaged in litigation with WANTO grantee Chicago Women in Trades in a lawsuit over whether the Administration can freeze the organization’s existing WANTO grant focused on bringing Black and Latina women into the trades because their focus on minorities violates President Trump’s January 20, 2025 executive order calling for the termination of “DEI” and “equity-related” efforts in federal programs, including grants. 

Tariffs

President Trump Announces Copper Tariffs as He Sets New August 1 Deadline for Imposition of Reciprocal Tariffs

Last Tuesday, copper prices hit a record high as President Trump said he will impose a 50% tariff on copper imports. MCAA health plans should also be aware that the President also said he will soon announce tariffs “at a very, very high rate, like 200%,” on pharmaceutical imports. This announcement followed a Monday executive order formally delaying until August 1, 2025, the previously-delayed implementation of his “Liberation Day” reciprocal tariff rates that were set to expire on July 9^th. The order was accompanied by letters to various countries informing them of the tariff rates that will now take effect on August 1. In social media posts overnight last Monday and during the day last Tuesday, President Trump insisted that there will be “no extensions” of this latest August 1 deadline. Notably, the new August 1^st deadline falls between the July 21^st deadline the Trump Administration set for the U.S. and Canada to conclude a trade deal and the August 12^th deadline when the Administration’s 90-day trade truce with China expires. As of the end of last week, President Trump was threatening to impose 35% tariffs on Canada effective August 1^st if a trade deal is not reached. This threat seems to include an implicit delay of the July 21^st deadline for the U.S. and Canada to conclude a trade deal. These developments come as the Trump Administration is reportedly closing in on a trade deal with the European Union (EU) that would entail a modest 10% baseline tariff on all EU goods, with some exceptions for sensitive sectors such as aircraft and spirits.

Project Labor Agreements and Davis-Bacon Prevailing Wage

As noted above, with reconciliation in the rear-view mirror, the MCAA policy team has turned to the fiscal year 2026 funding deliberations with a focus on our annual goal of defeating all efforts to introduce anti-Davis-Bacon and anti-project labor agreement (PLA) provisions into the annual appropriations bills. This is a time consuming process that involves proactive outreach to lawmakers to try to identify these provisions in time to advocate against them, because, as we have seen in the past, anti-Davis-Bacon and PLA lawmakers usually keep their plans close to the chest and spring their amendments without notice during committee markups of the appropriations bills.

Independent Contractors and Misclassification of Workers 

House Education and the Workforce Could Markup Misclassification Bills Ahead of August Recess

As the MCAA policy team continues engaging policymakers on misclassification in the construction industry, we are anticipating that the House Education and the Workforce Committee could hold a markup before the upcoming August recess on two misclassification bills from Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA). The first bill, the Modern Worker Empowerment Act (H.R. 1319) would redefine the employment tests under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the National Labor Relations Act to a very narrow “significant control” test. 

The second bill, the Modern Worker Security Act (H.R. 1320) prohibits federal agencies and courts, when determining employment status under federal law, from taking into consideration whether an employer voluntarily provides a worker a “portable benefit.” “Portable benefits” include any of the usual list of benefits traditionally associated with employment as well as “skills training, professional development…income security, and short-term saving.” The benefit would be “portable” if provided in “a manner that allows the individual to maintain the benefits without regard to whether the [worker] continues to perform work for [the putative employer].”

Senate companions to these bills were also introduced last week, but we currently believe that the House versions will move first.

Decarbonization

MCAA Recognized for Work to Pass Law Rescinding Biden-era Rule on Gas-fired Instantaneous Water Heaters

As you know, the MCAA had a leading role in enacting a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution (H.J. Res. 20) from Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL) that nullified a Biden-era Energy Department final rule on “Energy Conservation Standards for Consumer Gas-fired Instantaneous Water Heaters.” This rule had established more stringent standards on energy used by consumer gas-fired instantaneous water heaters that had potential to drastically increase prices and essentially eliminate non-condensing tankless water heaters from the market. In recognition of MCAA’s effective lobbying that helped to enacting this CRA into law, Rep. Palmer signed a redline presentation of the signature page of the public law version of the measure as signed by President Trump. This redline was given to the MCAA lobbying team and has been presented to MCAA CEO Tim Brink as a memento of the MCAA’s effective advocacy on this important decarbonization priority. 

Energy Department Grid Reliability Study Makes Case for More Oil, Natural Gas, Coal, and Nuclear Power Generation 

Last Monday, the Energy Department (DOE) released its “Report on Evaluating U.S. Grid Reliability and Security,” fulfilling the directive established in President Trump’s April 8, 2025 Executive Order on “Strengthening the Reliability and Security of the United States Grid.” This Executive Order requires the Secretary of Energy to develop a uniform methodology for analyzing current and anticipated reserve margins for all regions of the bulk power system regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The report reveals that existing generation requirements and delays in adding new firm capacity will lead to a surge in power outages and a growing mismatch between electricity demand and supply, particularly from artificial intelligence (AI)-driven data center growth. The report makes clear that the Administration can be expected to continue acting to prevent the closure of baseload, dispatchable power, such as from coal, oil and gas, and nuclear, because of the need for these generation sources to maintain the grid. A fact sheet on the report is available here.

EPA Intends to Update 2024 Effluent Limitations Guidelines for Steam Electric Power Generating Units

As we continue to engage the Trump Administration on decarbonization issues, we wanted you to be aware that on June 30^th, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the agency’s intent to revise the Biden-era 2024 Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELGs) for Steam Electric Power Generating Units. The EPA says this initial rulemaking will propose extending compliance deadlines for many of the zero-discharge requirements in the 2024 Rule and the deadline for facilities to decide whether to submit a Notice of Planned Participation. The forthcoming rulemaking will also seek additional information on zero-discharge technologies, including cost and performance data, to help EPA determine whether to move forward with a second rulemaking to address zero-discharge technologies and other flexibilities and alternatives to compliance with the Biden-era 2024 rule.

Permitting Reform

As part of the Trump Administration’s broader effort to expedite energy infrastructure for oil, gas, nuclear that are part of its energy dominance strategy, several agencies announced updates to permitting regulations under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Of interest to the MCAA, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced a new interim final rule and revised National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) guidance to fix “the broken permitting process” and “deliver on President Trump’s pledge to unleash American energy dominance and accelerate critical energy infrastructure” as “part of a government-wide effort to restore common sense to permitting.” Major changes to DOE NEPA permitting include: (1) reducing the time for environmental assessments from three years to two years; (2) ensuring designation of a “lead agency” empowered to clarify permitting and review responsibilities of all parties, require coordination amongst the agencies, and ensure agencies develop a single environmental document; (3) implementing strict deadlines and page limits for review; (4) limiting review to considering only verified scientific studies that already exist; and (5) applying the recent Supreme Court decision in Seven County, which limits requirements for agencies to analyze upstream and downstream greenhouse gas effects and “curtails radical climate change analysis associated with activities outside agency jurisdiction.” DOE is also excluding from NEPA review authorizations to export natural gas to free-trade agreement countries. 

Separately, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced that his department is updating and partially rescinding parts of its regulations on implementation of NEPA to expedite infrastructure development permitting and to reduce the costs of permitting projects. Finally, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) voted unanimously to revise its regulations on the implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and issued a staff manual outlining the revised procedures to speed FERC permitting of energy projects.

Federal Contracting

DOL Publishes Rules to Implement President Trump’s EO “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity”

On July 1^st, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued two new rulemakings as part of its implementation of President Trump’s January 21, 2025 Executive Order (EO) 14173 on “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” of which MCAA members who are government contractors should be aware. The first proposed rule from DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) implements EO 14173’s repeal of the Lyndon Johnson-era Executive Order 11246 “Equal Employment Opportunity,” by rescinding the regulations that implemented the obligations for federal contractors and subcontractors to avoid discrimination by, among other things, taking affirmative action to ensure that job applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin. OFCCP already ceased enforcing these regulations after President Trump rescinded EO 11246. Comments on the proposed rule are due September 2, 2025 and can be submitted through the federal eRulemaking portal using Docket No. OFCCP-2025-0001. 

The second proposed rule from DOL implements President Trump’s EO 14713 by removing regulations implementing the nondiscrimination and equal opportunity provisions of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) that require direct and indirect recipients of financial assistance under Title I of WIOA to engage in affirmative outreach to groups based on race, sex, national origin, and other characteristics not required by statute. Comments on this proposed rule are due by July 31, 2025 and can be submitted through the federal eRulemaking portal here using RIN 1291-AA47. 

Other Interesting Things Since Our Last Report 

July 10, 2025

• The Trump Administration ratcheted up its campaign to pressure Federal Reserve Chair Powell to lower interest rates, with White House OMB Director Russell Vought accusing Powell of “grossly” mismanaging the Fed and misleading Congress about a pricey renovation to the Federal Reserve’s headquarters. The letter raises the specter that Trump is building a case to remove Powell for cause. The letter comes as President Trump again railed against “Too Late” Powell for not lowering the Federal Reserve’s benchmark rate. Taking to Truth Social, Trump said, “Tech Stocks, Industrial Stocks, & NASDAQ HIT ALL-TIME RECORD HIGHS! CRYPTO, ‘Through the Roof.’ NVIDIA IS UP 47% SINCE TRUMP TARIFFS. USA is taking in Hundreds of Billions of Dollars in Tariffs. Country is now ‘back.’ A great credit! Fed should rapidly lower rate to reflect this strength. USA should be at the ‘top of the list.’ no INFLATION!!! ‘Too Late’ DEMEANS THE GREAT CREDIT OF THE USA.” 

• CNBC released its latest list of the top states for business. At the top of the list is North Carolina, followed by Texas, Florida, Virginia, and Ohio rounding out the top 5.  Massachusetts had the most improved ranking, jumping 18 spots to number 20.  The five states at the bottom of the list were Louisiana, Rhode Island, Montana, Hawaii, and Alaska ranked last.  

July 9, 2025

• The Senate voted 54-43 to confirm Preston Wells Griffith III to serve as Undersecretary of the Department of Energy, with Sen. Angus King (I-ME) joining all Republicans in voting for confirmation. Also on Wednesday, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee unanimously advanced to the full Senate David Wright’s nomination to be a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

• The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee announced a confirmation hearing on Wednesday, July 16, 2025 at 10am to consider the nominations of Crystal Carey—a management-side labor lawyer at Morgan Lewis—to be General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board and Brittany Panuccio to be a member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

• The House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Workforce Protections announced a hearing on Wednesday, July 16, 2025 at 10:15 am entitled, “Safe Workplaces, Stronger Partnerships: The Future of OSHA Compliance Assistance.” The hearing will focus on encouraging employers to voluntarily comply with health and safety standards instead of focusing on enforcement actions by OSHA to ensure compliance. The witnesses for the hearing are not yet available.

• The Transportation Department (DOT) announced that it sent letters to all DOT funding recipients saying that the Trump Administration is releasing them of “their obligations to comply with” diversity, equity, and inclusion, climate change, and other commitments that the Biden Administration required as conditions of their awards. This includes “all orders, directives, rules, regulations, notices, guidance documents, funding agreements, programs, and policy statements, or portions thereof, which were authorized, adopted, or approved between noon on January 20, 2021 and noon on January 20, 2025, and which reference or relate in any way to climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, racial equity, gender identity, diversity equity and inclusion goals, environmental justice, or the Justice 40 Initiative.

July 8, 2025

• GOP-aligned super PAC The Senate Leadership Fund announced it brought in $85 million during the first half of 2025—more than doubling its previous record for the first half of an off-year. The group has $83 million in cash on hand and is planning to begin running ads well before the traditional blast after Labor Day of an election year. The group has already started spending in Georgia, North Carolina, Maine, Alaska and Nebraska. It also says it is preparing an ad buy in Texas for Senator Cornyn. The announcement comes as House GOP-aligned super PACs are spending millions trying to figure out how to get Trump voters who tend not to vote when President Trump is not on the ballot to turn out and support Republican Congressional candidates in the 2026 midterm elections. They view going on the offense to sell the recently enacted reconciliation bill as key to this effort.

• The advocacy group Protect Our Jobs has started airing ads attacking vulnerable House Republicans, like Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), for supporting the reconciliation bill and specifically targeting GOP members over the bill’s cuts to clean energy tax credits. 

July 7, 2025 

• The Interior Department (DOI) proposed updates to Bureau of Land Management oil and gas regulations that would allow commingling (e.g., combining production from multiple leases) when leases have different mineral ownership, royalty rates, and revenue distribution. Currently, commingling leases can only happen when these conditions are identical. DOI explains that these updates could result in as much as $1.8 billion in industry savings annually.

• The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced that its first national ad buy of the 2026 election cycles will target 35 House Republicans and focus on the impact of the reconciliation bill on Medicaid and rural hospitals. 

July 5, 2025

• Elon Musk announced that he will form a new, third political party in the U.S. called the America Party, but neither Musk nor his advisers have filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to establish the new party. The name of the party is similar to the political action committee Musk helped launch, America PAC, which spent close to $300 million in 2024 helping to elect President Trump and other Republicans. President Trump criticized Musk’s plans to create a third party as “ridiculous,” and characterized the tech billionaire as having gone “completely off the rails.”

July 2, 2025

• MCAA-affiliated health plans should be aware that the Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the establishment of a joint DOJ-HHS False Claims Act Working Group. Membership in the Working Group will include leadership from the HHS Office of General Counsel, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Center for Program Integrity, the Office of Counsel to the HHS Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), and DOJ’s Civil Division, with designees representing U.S. Attorneys’ Offices. The group will be jointly led by the HHS General Counsel, Chief Counsel to HHS-OIG, and the Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Commercial Litigation Branch. As part of the Working Group’s coordination work, HHS shall make referrals to DOJ of potential violations of the FCA that reflect the Working Group priorities: (1) Medicare Advantage; (2) drug, device or biologics pricing; (3) barriers to patient care;  (4) kickbacks related to drugs, medical devices, durable medical equipment; (5) materially defective medical devices; and (6) manipulation of electronic health record systems to drive inappropriate utilization of Medicare-covered products and services.

July 1, 2025

• The White House sent several nominees to the Senate, including: (1) Rosario Palmieri to be Assistant Secretary of Labor for Policy; and (2) Lee Beaman, Mitch Graves, Jeff Hagood, and Randall Jones to be members of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority.

June 30, 2025

• The White House published a presidential memorandum to spur energy development. It orders the Departments of Energy, Treasury, Defense, Interior, Agriculture, Transportation, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Small Business Administration, to speed energy development by sharing “information with one another and the White House when providing funding to energy infrastructure and critical mineral and material projects.” The agencies are also directed to, within six months, develop a common application for federal funding opportunities related to energy infrastructure or critical mineral or material-related projects “that enables applicants to apply simultaneously to multiple federal government funding programs using one common application. The common application shall include any legal terms, including consents, necessary to facilitate the information sharing requirements” mandated by the memorandum. A fact sheet on this presidential memorandum is available here.

• A bipartisan group of 21 lawmakers wrote to the leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee with a series of policy changes designed to speed up and reduce the cost of transportation projects that they wanted included in the next surface transportation bill—including the construction of more multifamily housing near transit projects. The letter highlights that currently, an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a project “takes an average of 1,793 days to complete” and that “25% of projects take over six years to get through the [environmental review] process.” The letter also explains that in “the 1970s, the average EIS was just a few pages long. Today, the average EIS is a staggering 1,703 pages.” The lawmakers say its proposals “will limit unnecessary process, reform overly burdensome environmental review, cut excessive red tape, and remove barriers to housing construction” near transportation projects.  

Around the Country

Northeast (ME, NH, CT, MA, RI, VT, NY, NJ, PA, DE, DC)

• On July 10^th, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted 15-14 in favor of an amendment from Sen. Van Hollen (D-MD) to the Commerce-Justice-State appropriations bill that would block President Trump from using any appropriated funds to build a new FBI headquarters anywhere other than the Greenbelt, MD location selected by the General Services Administration in 2023. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) joined with the Committee’s Democrats in favor of the amendment. This followed a July 1^st announcement from the General Services Administration and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that they selected the Ronald Reagan Building complex in Washington, D.C. as the next FBI headquarters in lieu of the Greenbelt, MD site announced in 2023.

• On July 9^th, Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA) announced he will run for re-election and not seek the Republican nomination for governor of Pennsylvania, despite having President Trump’s recent promise of support if he were to run. 

• On July 7^th, it was reported that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is teaming with Related Cos. to build a 1,200-foot Manhattan skyscraper one block from Central Park, which the developer and the Saudis purchased last year for more than $600 million. Related Cos. initially planned a mixed-use project at the site with residential, retail, and a hotel. But more recently the developer said it has been considering an office building instead to take advantage of the strong demand among businesses for top-quality space in the city. The project is the latest sign that foreign investors are flocking back to New York’s rapidly recovering real-estate market. 

• On June 30^th, Rep. Dwight Evans (D-PA) announced he will not seek re-election to Pennsylvania’s 2^nd Congressional District in 2026.

West (CA, NV, UT, CO, WY)

• On July 10^th, it was reported that as California attempts to respond to provisions curtailing clean energy in the GOP reconciliation bill, officials are considering slashing environmental permitting further to keep clean energy projects in the state on track. Clean energy groups say it will be impossible for the state to replace clean energy incentives slashed by Congress and are instead pushing state lawmakers to cut red tape and allow projects to get shovels in the ground faster.

• On July 7^th, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) partially approved a petition to modify a 2022 final consent order involving the acquisition of EP Energy, LLC (EP Energy) by a subsidiary of EnCap Capital Fund XI, LP and EnCap Investments LP (together, EnCap). The 2022 consent order settled charges that the acquisition would harm competition for the sale of Uinta Basin waxy crude oil to Salt Lake City, Utah-area refiners. The consent order required the divestiture of EP Energy’s entire business and assets in Utah and required EnCap and its subsidiaries Verdun Oil Company II LLC (Verdun) and XCL Resources Holdings, LLC (XCL) to obtain prior approval from the FTC before engaging in certain acquisitions in the seven Utah counties comprising the Uinta Basin. The FTC’s new order modifying the petition removes the prior-approval requirement for any reentry into the market by EnCap, Verdun, or XCL, as requested by the parties, and replaces the prior-approval requirement with a prior-notice requirement for any subsequent transaction involving oil- or gas-producing assets in the Uinta Basin area.

• On July 2^nd, a new poll from the University of California, Irvine found that, by a 2-1 margin, Californians say their state is on the “wrong track,” and former Vice President Harris led the pack of identified candidates for California governor with 24%. Harris was well ahead of the second place candidate, Rick Caruso, who has 9%. But 41% of those polled said they are “not sure yet” who they want. 

Northwest (OR, WA, ID, MT)

• On July 11^th, Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) confirmed he will run for a fourth term next year after some speculation that he may retire.

• On July 1^st, the White House issued a presidential permit to Junction Pipeline Company, LLC to construct, connect, operate, and maintain pipeline border facilities at the international border of the U.S. and Canada at Toole County, Montana, for the import of crude oil and petroleum products including, but not limited to, naphtha, liquefied petroleum gas, natural gas liquids, jet fuel, gasoline, kerosene, and diesel (but not including natural gas subject to section 3 of the Natural Gas Act).

Midwest (ND, SD, NE, KS, MN, IA, WI, IL, IN, OH, MI)

• On July 10^th, Michigan State University professor Josh Cowen announced a Democratic bid in Michigan’s 7^th Congressional District represented by incumbent Rep. Tom Barrett (R).  

• On July 9^th, defense contractor Anduril Industries was awarded a $310 million grant from Ohio’s job creation office as the company prepares to build a massive advanced manufacturing facility near Columbus, Ohio. The grant is conditioned on Anduril creating 4,008 new jobs and more than $530 million in new payroll and making at least $910.5 million in capital investment within the next 10 years to receive the funds. The company must then maintain those commitments over the ensuing two decades under the plan.

• On July 8^th, a new lawsuit was filed seeking to redraw Wisconsin’s congressional district boundary lines, less than two weeks after the state Supreme Court declined to hear a pair of lawsuits seeking redistricting before the 2026 election. The Wisconsin Business Leaders for Democracy argue in the lawsuit that Wisconsin’s congressional maps are unconstitutional because they are an anti-competitive gerrymander. The lawsuit notes that the median margin of victory for candidates in the eight districts since the maps were enacted is close to 30%.

• On July 8^th, Independent candidate Dan Osborn announced a run for U.S. Senate against incumbent Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE). Osborn gained name recognition in the state after he came within single digits of defeating Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) in 2024.

• On July 7^th, it was revealed that former Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL) is quietly exploring a comeback bid in Illinois’ 2^nd Congressional District after more than a decade out of office—including a two-year prison term.

• On July 2^nd, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) signed a pair of bipartisan bills designed to bolster nuclear power in Wisconsin. One bill orders a $2 million study to find the best locations for a nuclear fusion plant in the state. The other creates a new board to advance nuclear power and fusion technology in the state and host a summit in 2028. 

• On June 30^th, Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) announced he would run for governor of South Dakota instead of running for re-election to South Dakota’s at-large Congressional District.

• On June 30^th, President Trump signed a presidential permit authorizing South Bow LP to operate and maintain pipeline border facilities at the international border of the U.S. and Canada at Cavalier County, North Dakota for the transport between the U.S. and Canada of “all hydrocarbons and petroleum products of every description, refined or unrefined (inclusive of, but not limited to, crude oil, naphtha, liquefied petroleum gas, natural gas liquids, jet fuel, gasoline, kerosene, and diesel), but not including natural gas subject to section 3 of the Natural Gas Act.” Trump also signed a separate presidential permit authorizing Steel Reef US Pipelines LLC to operate and maintain existing pipeline border facilities at the international border of the U.S. and Canada at Burke County, North Dakota for the export of natural gas liquids from the U.S. to Canada.

Southeast (WV, MD, VA, NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, MS, TN, KY, AR, LA, MO)

• On July 10^th, the Energy Department announced that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) accepted a construction permit application for review from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to build one of the nation’s first small modular reactors (SMR) at its Clinch River Site near Oak Ridge, Tennessee. TVA is the first utility applying to build GE Vernova Hitachi’s BWRX-300 design in the United States and the project could pave the way for other utilities looking to deploy the same technology. The next step is a full safety review of the reactor design before it is cleared for construction.

• On July 7^th, it was revealed that Rep. Don Davis (D-NC) is exploring a run for the North Carolina U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC). 

• On July 1^st, it was revealed that former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) is leaning towards a U.S. Senate run in North Carolina following Sen. Thom Tillis’ (R-NC) retirement announcement on June 29^th.

• On June 30^th, Google announced a deal to buy 200 megawatts of fusion power to meet the growing demands of artificial intelligence (AI) from Commonwealth Fusion Systems, which is building its first commercial plant in Virginia to bring 400 megawatts of power online starting in the early 2030s. 

• On June 30^th, Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) announced his official resignation from Congress, which will take effect on July 20, 2025. Green is returning to the private sector to start his own business but did not provide additional details. Republicans are lining up to succeed Green, with state Rep. Jody Barrett, state Rep. Jay Reedy, Montgomery County Commissioner Jason Knight, Army veteran John Thorpe, and former state General Services Commissioner Matt Van Epps all announcing their campaigns for the Republican primary. 

Southwest (AZ, NM, OK, TX)

• This week’s Democratic primary for the special election to fill the seat of the late-Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) features five Democrats who “appear to encapsulate the generational and ideological schisms that have split the party since its sweeping losses in 2024,” including a former state legislator and a 25-year-old social media influencer and activist.

• On July 10^th, Texas Gov. Abbott (R) directed state lawmakers to redraw the state’s congressional districts during a special legislative session later this month in an effort to help House Republicans maintain the majority next year. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) blasted the move, saying Abbott is “conspiring with Donald Trump and House Republicans to try to rig the election and disenfranchise millions of voters.”

• On July 2^nd, former Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) announced a Democratic U.S. Senate run against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). In 2024, Allred challenged Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), losing by about 8 points.