MCAA Government Affairs Update for the Week of January 12, 2026: 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, January 12, 2026 MCAA Lobbying Firm, Longbow Public Policy Group provided the following information:

Trump Administration

• As the MCAA continues to engage the Trump Administration on its plans for implementation of President Trump’s Executive Order on “Preparing Americans for High-Paying Skilled Trade Jobs of the Future,” to create one million new active apprentices nationally, we wanted to make members aware that last week the Labor Department (DOL) made its largest financial commitment to date towards this goal. Last Tuesday, DOL announced the upcoming availability of $145 million in new funding to expand Registered Apprenticeships through a pay-for-performance incentive program. DOL’s Employment and Training Administration plans to use this money to award no more than five cooperative agreements of between $10 million and $40 million for a four-year period of performance, focusing on the nationwide expansion of newly developed Registered Apprenticeships, as well as the nationwide growth of existing programs, with an “emphasis on apprenticeships tied to: (1) nuclear energy and artificial intelligence infrastructure; (2) shipbuilding and the defense industrial base; and (3) transportation. Applicants eligible for these awards include: (1) registered apprenticeship and workforce intermediary organizations; (2) national industry groups and associations; (3) national labor management organizations; (4) national economic development entities; (5) state agencies and Territories; (6) professional consulting organizations; and (7) consortia led by one or more eligible entities. All applicants must include as required partners of at least one national industry association or regional industry associations and/or multi-regional or national employers. DOL feels that including an industry association not only demonstrates broad industry buy-in but also shows that the applicant will be able to leverage broader business partnerships once funded. Applications are due at 11:59 PM on March 20, 2026, and awardees will be expected to begin performance on July 1, 2026.

• While the MCAA continues its engagement with the Trump Administration and the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) to preserve the Biden-era, MCAA-supported 2023 final rule updating the Davis-Bacon Act regulations, we learned that last Tuesday, the WHD issued six new opinion letters clarifying the application of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Four of the letters address the FLSA, including one concluding that a union and an employer may not use a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) to exclude a mandatory 15-minute pre-shift “roll call” for emergency dispatch workers from compensable time for overtime purposes. WHD determined that such roll calls must be counted as hours worked when calculating FLSA overtime eligibility. Notably, the letter provides detailed guidance on the partial overtime exemptions available to employees working under qualifying CBAs and explains how the employer and the union subject to the opinion letter could revise their CBA language to satisfy those requirements. A second FLSA opinion letter held that performance-based incentive bonuses paid to non-exempt employees under pre-established criteria—such as punctuality, attendance, safety compliance, and performance efficiency—are non-discretionary and therefore must be included in the regular rate of pay when calculating FLSA overtime. Two additional opinion letters address application of the FMLA, including guidance clarifying that employees may use FMLA leave for travel time to and from medical appointments related to their own or a family member’s serious health condition, and that medical certifications need not include travel-time estimates to be valid.

• As the MCAA continues to monitor developments tied to the Trump Administration’s efforts to revive U.S. shipbuilding, the past week underscored both the scale of the Administration’s ambitions and the tensions emerging around how that expansion will be financed and executed. On the positive side, last Thursday the Labor Department awarded nearly $14 million through its Bureau of International Labor Affairs to Delaware County Community College ($8 million) and the Massachusetts Maritime Academy ($5.8 million) to build hands-on training pipelines for the next generation of U.S. shipbuilders. The grants will support development of a specialized, internationally recognized shipbuilding curriculum, expand Registered Apprenticeship opportunities with U.S. shipyards, and promote innovation in areas such as modular construction and icebreaker technology. These workforce investments came alongside broader signals of increased defense spending with President Trump last Wednesday calling on Congress to raise the Pentagon’s budget to a record high $1.5 trillion to support a military buildup, including construction of a new “Trump class” of battleships.

• While the Administration is proposing a record defense budget, it is also signaling a tougher stance towards defense contractors. In an executive order President Trump signed last Thursday, the President directed the Defense Department to curb stock buybacks and excessive corporate distributions by publicly-traded defense companies during periods the Pentagon deems to reflect underperformance or non-compliance with contractual obligations, or insufficient investment in production capacity. The executive order also instructs the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to reconsider the ability of publicly-traded defense contractors that fail to satisfy the Pentagon to avail themselves of safe-harbor protections under federal securities laws allowing share buybacks and repurchases.
  

• As the MCAA continues advocating policies that support nuclear energy deployment and the build-out of the nuclear supply chain we were pleased to learn that the U.S. Department of Energy awarded American Centrifuge Operating, General Matter, and Orano Federal Services $900 million each to expand domestic uranium enrichment capacity over the next decade. The award is part of the broader effort to reduce U.S. reliance on Russian nuclear fuel to strengthen U.S. energy security and the reliability of the U.S. nuclear industry. The awards support enrichment services for both low-enriched uranium used in the nation’s 94 existing reactors and high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) needed for advanced and small modular reactors. This investment is a cornerstone of a domestic nuclear supply chain necessary to encourage future deployment of next generation reactors.

• Following the Trump Administration’s move to cap National Institutes of Health (NIH) “indirect cost” reimbursements at 15% regardless of institutions’ actual expenses, the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals last Tuesday upheld a lower court ruling blocking the policy, agreeing that the change would have unlawfully cut billions in research support for universities, medical centers, and other recipients. The court concluded that the Trump Administration’s approach conflicted with congressional intent by bypassing the long-standing requirement that indirect cost rates be negotiated case-by-case with the NIH. The 15% cap had threatened to significantly curtail facility renovation and maintenance activities at universities and other research facilities that provide work for MCAA members.

• As the MCAA continues working to prevent the rescission of President Biden’s MCAA-supported PLA executive order and the regulations implementing the order, we won a small battle just before the Christmas holiday when the Department of Transportation released its $1.5 billion Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the fiscal year 2026 Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant program established by President Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The NOFO outlines several key evaluation criteria for grant awards. Our ongoing advocacy of PLAs appears to have had an effect, as DOT on page 38 of the NOFO states it will consider in selecting grant recipients whether projects include union participation or project labor agreements. The agency will also assess the extent to which projects advance the nation’s domestic energy sector, consistent with Executive Order 14154, Unleashing American Energy, and help revitalize and restore domestic maritime industries pursuant to Executive Order 14269, Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance. The inclusion of PLA language in this end of year NOFO is significant because as discussed during the government affairs presentation at Longboat Key last month, MCAA has been battling a campaign by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Advocacy and Associated Builders and Contractors urging the joint Justice Department/Federal Trade Commission Task Force on anticompetitive regulations to designate both the PLA executive order and the regulations implementing it as anticompetitive to justify eliminating them (see page 6 and 7 of SBA Office of Advocacy Comment Letter from June). This fight is far from over and this small victory seems likely to only renew the determination of our opponents in the New Year.

Congress

• As Congress returned last week following the two-week holiday recess, the MCAA continued full-court press on permitting reform. In the New Year we are focused on sustaining the momentum garnered from the House passage last month of the MCAA-advocated Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act (H.R. 4776). We are now lobbying to move this bill and other permitting reform efforts in the Senate. Ahead of meetings with congressional offices this week, MCAA sent a letter last Wednesday to Republican and Democratic leadership of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committees urging lawmakers to support permitting reform and advance the SPEED Act to the floor. The letter explains how ongoing permitting delays are stalling energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, and data-center projects while undermining energy independence, AI deployment, and efforts to develop the infrastructure to reshore manufacturing. There are some significant obstacles to overcome in the Senate. Most notably, Senate EPW Ranking Member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) publicly threatened on January 2 to stall all permitting reform legislation, the surface transportation reauthorization, and the Water Resources Development Act unless the Trump Administration lifts its recent pause on offshore wind leasing. These political headwinds have been compounded by the growing grassroots opposition to data centers that recently prompted Energy Secretary Chris Wright to warn data center developers that they are “losing control of the narrative.” Grid operators such as PJM Interconnection are also adding to concerns about data center development, warning that the grid is not yet equipped to absorb surging data center demand and suggesting that data centers have on-site backup generators or accept temporary shutdowns during peak demand to avoid blackouts for existing power customers.

• Last week, the House Republican majority shrank following the January 5^th resignation of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R) in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District and the death of Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R), who represented California’s 1st Congressional District. These losses reduce the GOP margin to 218–213. House Republicans can now lose just two members on party-line votes. The House GOP majority faced an additional threat this week after Rep. Jim Baird (R-IN) was hospitalized following a car accident. Baird is out of the hospital, but it is unclear when he will return to Washington.

• The chances of avoiding a government shutdown improved last week after the House voted 397–28 to pass a three-bill minibus appropriations package containing the fiscal year 2026 Energy-Water, Interior-Environment, and Commerce-Justice-Science spending bills—an important de-escalation that, if followed by the Senate, would result in lawmakers having enacted six of the twelve annual appropriations bills for the fiscal year. The House-passed Energy-Water spending bill includes: (1) $1.785 billion for nuclear energy at the Department of Energy; (2) $3.473 billion for the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund; (3) $1.95 billion for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the Department of Energy (a $1.5 billion decrease from FY2025); (4) $1.47 billion for the Bureau of Water Reclamation’s Water and Related Resources Account; and (5) $396.8 million to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for construction projects on the inland waterways system. Additionally, the Interior-Environment spending bill includes: (1) a $7.4 million increase at the Bureau of Land Management for onshore oil and gas development; (2) an $11.2 million increase at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for offshore energy development; and (3) a $21.2 million reduction for renewable energy development. Despite this progress, several pitfalls remain that could complicate efforts to keep the government funded past the January 30^th deadline, including moves by House appropriators to tighten restrictions on the Department of Homeland Security’s ability to reprogram funds between accounts amid concerns about the Trump Administration’s aggressive use of that authority, an issue that has taken on added political significance following last week’s shooting of a woman by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. Another friction point is the unresolved negotiations over expired enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits—which were a central factor in triggering the most recent government shutdown. Last week the House voted 230-196 to extend the expired subsidies for three years while bipartisan Senate talks continue over a potential two-year extension package that could include new income caps, minimum monthly premiums, expanded access to health savings accounts, additional cost-sharing reduction provisions, and a longer open-enrollment period, even as some Republicans question whether such a deal can clear the Senate outside of a partisan budget reconciliation process. Separately, the Senate voted 52-47 along bipartisan lines to advance legislation requiring President Trump to seek congressional approval before initiating any new military action in Venezuela following the January 3 operation to apprehend Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, prompting veto threats from the White House and injecting another point of contention into broader negotiations over the spending bills as Democrats look to limit the Administration’s ability to use appropriated funds for such actions in the future without first obtaining congressional approval.

• Next week we expect to be busy on issues related to independent contractors and ERISA following the House Rules Committee’s announcement of a meeting scheduled for today, January 12, 2026, to develop a rule governing floor consideration of multiple bills reported by the House Education and Workforce Committee. Among the measures expected to be considered is the Save Local Business Act (H.R. 4366), which would amend both the National Labor Relations Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act to significantly narrow the circumstances under which a company may be deemed a joint employer with respect to another entity’s employees, such as those of a subcontractor, effectively limiting liability for worker misclassification and other labor law violations. Lawmakers are also expected to consider the Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act (H.R. 2988), which would amend ERISA to rescind the MCAA-supported Biden-era Prudence and Loyalty rule that restored ERISA fiduciaries to a long-standing framework for evaluating investments with comparable risk and return characteristics and explicitly allowed plan trustees to consider, as a relevant financial factor, whether an investment would generate union work hours that result in contributions to the plan.

• These congressional developments on the independent contractor issue come as the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division last Wednesday sent its long-anticipated proposed rule rescinding the Biden-era, MCAA-supported independent contractor rule that made it harder to misclassify construction workers as independent contractors to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs for review (a step that typically precedes publication in the Federal Register). The impending rulemaking is of limited impact, however because DOL ceased enforcing the Biden-era rule in May, limiting the immediate practical impact of the rescission. At the same time, WHD emphasized that it is maintaining robust wage-and-hour enforcement, announcing last Thursday that it recovered more than $259 million in back wages for nearly 177,000 workers in fiscal year 2025—the highest total since 2019—an average of $1,465 per worker, which the agency attributed to stepped-up enforcement alongside expanded compliance assistance efforts, including updated Fair Labor Standards Act guidance, revived opinion letters, and the Payroll Audit Independent Determination program allowing employers to self-report violations and pay reduced penalties.

• There were some developments in races for the U.S. Senate last week. Last Tuesday, it was revealed that former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) is interviewing potential campaign managers and taking other concrete steps to challenge incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK). Last Monday, news broke that Senate Democratic Steering and Policy Committee Chair Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) is considering a run for Minnesota governor following incumbent Gov. Tim Walz’s (D-MN) announcement that he will not seek a third term. Last Monday, Rep. Raja Krisnamoorthi (D-IL) announced he was stepping down as Ranking Member on the House Select Committee on Competition with China to focus on his race to succeed retiring Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL).

• There were several developments in races for the U.S. House last week. In Maryland, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the longest-serving Democrat in Congress, announced he will retire at the end of his term, creating an open seat in Maryland’s 5^th Congressional District. In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) said he will call a special legislative session in April to redraw the state’s congressional districts, citing a pending Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais that could affect how Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is applied. In Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) scheduled a March 10, 2026, special election to replace Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) in Georgia’s 14^th Congressional District. In New York, former Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) announced he will not seek a rematch against Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) in New York’s 17^th Congressional District, while Trump critic George Conway announced he is running as a Democrat for retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler’s seat in New York’s 10^th Congressional District. And former union organizer and current New York State Assemblymember Claire Valdez (D) launched a bid for retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez’s seat in New York’s 7th Congressional District.

Around the Country

• Following the MCAA’s successful advocacy to turn back efforts to cut geothermal energy tax credits in the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, we wanted to be sure members were aware that last Wednesday, the Energy Department’s Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) launched the Geothermal Power Accelerator, a collaboration between 13 states, GTO, and the private sector and led by the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) to expand the use of geothermal power on the U.S. power grid. Participating State Energy Offices include Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, and West Virginia. Through the Accelerator, states will collaborate with federal agencies and geothermal developers to set statewide geothermal goals, strengthen resource mapping, and advance policies and programs that reduce project costs and address regulatory barriers. The initiative will begin with a series of strategy sessions and “state of the industry and policy” discussions with federal leaders and private-sector experts to inform specific state actions in 2026. More information and relevant resources regarding the Accelerator are available on the NASEO website.

• As Congress continues to debate the path forward on permitting reform, state and local resistance to large-scale energy and data center projects is intensifying—highlighting the practical challenges developers face on the ground. Last Tuesday, it was revealed that the recent approval of Eagle Rock Partners’ massive data center project in Twiggs County, Georgia, has sparked a legal challenge over the County Commission’s effort to fast-track the project without first completing a state-required regional impact review. County residents, citing concerns that the rezoning was rushed without sufficient information about the project’s energy and water demands, filed suit seeking to overturn the approval. Meanwhile, in Maryland, a growing pipeline of proposed data center projects that prompted warnings from the regional grid operator about system strain has lawmakers  giving renewed attention to regulating data centers in the upcoming General Assembly session. While last year’s legislature folded some data center provisions into a broader energy reform package, including new utility rate structures for large-load customers, additional legislation could impose new approval requirements, energy-use conditions, or cost-allocation rules that developers will need to factor into project planning and timelines.

• Reflecting the mounting pressure on regional grids to secure reliable, dispatchable power amid rapid load growth, last Tuesday, Vistra Corp. agreed to acquire Cogentrix Energy for approximately $4 billion, adding 10 modern natural gas–fired power plants totaling 5.5 gigawatts of capacity across three major U.S. power markets. The portfolio includes five facilities on PJM’s grid, which spans much of the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest from New Jersey to Illinois, four combined-cycle plants in ISO New England’s grid, and one cogeneration facility in ERCOT, which serves most of Texas. The deal—priced at roughly $730 per kilowatt after tax benefits—underscores the growing premium on flexible gas generation as load growth from data centers and electrification accelerates and grid operators seek reliable capacity to maintain system stability.

• Last Wednesday, the Justice Department sued the California cities of Morgan Hill and Petaluma in federal court, arguing that their local bans on natural gas infrastructure in new buildings are preempted by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, which gives the federal government exclusive authority over energy-use standards for covered appliances. The complaint, filed in the Northern District of California, contends that the ordinances effectively prohibit natural gas piping and the use of federally regulated appliances and therefore conflict with federal law. The Justice Department is seeking a court declaration invalidating the bans and a permanent injunction against their enforcement, following similar federal action opposing New York City’s natural gas ban.

• In a ruling over the scope of the withdrawal liability exemption for multiemployer plans in the construction industry, last Monday, the Ninth Circuit issued a decision in Walker Specialty Construction, Inc. v. Board of Trustees of the Construction Industry and Laborers Pension Fund for Southern Nevada. The case focused on interpreting the definition of the term “building and construction industry” for purposes of the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act (MPPAA) exemption from withdrawal liability. The Ninth Circuit agreed with a U.S. District Court that Walker Specialty was exempt from withdrawal liability because its asbestos abatement work fell within the MPPAA’s building and construction industry exemption. In reaching this decision, the Court concluded that for purposes of the MPPAA, the term “building and construction industry” has the same meaning the National Labor Relations Board assigned to this term under the Labor Management Relations Act.

• Last Monday, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA), which represents pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), sued California over a state law requiring PBMs to act in their clients’ interests and disclose all commissions and conflicts of interest. The law was enacted in October 2025 and applies to self-insured employer plans regulated under ERISA. PCMA argues that California’s law is preempted by ERISA because it affects who is considered a plan fiduciary.