MCAA Government Affairs Update for the Week of March 16, 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, March 16, 2026 MCAA Lobbying Firm, Longbow Public Policy Group provided the following information:

Trump Administration

• Last Friday, President Trump issued two executive orders aimed at reducing housing costs by addressing both housing supply and access to financing. The first order entitled, “Removing Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Home Construction,” directs federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Transportation, Department of Energy, Department of Agriculture, and Federal Housing Finance Agency to review and, where appropriate, revise federal requirements affecting residential development, such as Clean Water Act permitting standards, stormwater and environmental review processes, energy efficiency and water use rules, and federal grant and infrastructure programs tied to housing development. The order also calls for new federal guidance encouraging state and local governments to adopt practices such as streamlined permitting timelines, expanded use of manufactured housing, and fewer regulatory constraints on suburban and exurban residential growth. A fact sheet on the order is available here. The second order “Promoting Access to Mortgage Credit,” directs federal financial regulators to consider potential changes intended to expand mortgage credit availability, particularly through community and smaller banks. The order highlights possible revisions to ability-to-repay and qualified mortgage requirements, mortgage disclosure and appraisal rules, capital and liquidity standards applicable to residential lending, supervisory treatment of construction and servicing activities, and broader adoption of digital mortgage processes such as electronic closings and remote notarization. A fact sheet on the order is available here.

• As the MCAA continues to track the fallout from the Supreme Court’s decision invaliding President Trump’s global tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), we wanted to make MCAA members aware that last week, the Administration announced two new Section 301 tariff investigations targeting foreign trade practices. The first investigation focuses on industrial overcapacity in export-reliant economies that U.S. officials say use subsidies to undercut American producers and could lead to higher tariffs on major trading partners including China, India, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and the European Union. An “illustrative list” of covered sectors includes energy products, steel, aluminum, autos, batteries, chemicals, electronics, machinery, semiconductors, and other transportation and industrial goods. A fact sheet on this investigation is available here. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) will publish a Federal Register notice seeking public comments by April 15, 2026 and USTR plans to hold a public hearing on May 5, 2026. The second investigation will examine 60 economies, including China, Canada, India, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam over alleged failures to combat forced labor and could result in additional tariffs on goods from nations determined to have inadequate policies or practices related to the importation of goods produced with forced labor. A forthcoming Federal Register notice on this investigation is available here and USTR plans to a public hold hearing on April 28, 2026, with written comments and requests to appear due by April 15, 2026. Although Section 301 proceedings often take months or years, U.S. Trade Representative Greer said the Administration aims to complete both reviews by mid-July, when the 10% tariffs imposed under Section 122 following the Supreme Court’s recent ruling are set to expire.

• As the conflict with Iran continues, developments in the Strait of Hormuz have intensified concerns about disruptions to global energy markets. Last week, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned the conflict is contributing to one of the largest oil disruptions in history. Oil prices have risen roughly 40% since the war began and remain volatile despite IEA member countries agreeing to release a record 400 million barrels of oil, including 172 million barrels from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Iranian forces have expanded attacks on oil tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz to pressure the U.S. and its allies, and Tehran is warning the world to “get ready for oil to be $200 a barrel.” The Trump Administration acknowledged limits to its ability to stabilize oil prices as U.S. military assets remain focused on strike operations and are not ready to escort commercial vessels through the Strait. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said naval escorts would begin as soon as “militarily possible.” Iranian threats have deterred many non-Iranian vessels from transiting the chokepoint, even as Iran exports more of its own oil than before the conflict began.

• As surging electricity demand and interconnection constraints continue to shape timelines for large data center, industrial, and energy projects, the Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity last Thursday announced a $1.9 billion funding opportunity under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Speed to Power through Accelerated Reconductoring and other Key Advanced Transmission Technology Upgrades (SPARK) program to accelerate modernization of the nation’s power grid and address rising electricity demand. DOE will prioritize funding for projects in three areas: (1) grid reliability and resilience improvements; (2) deployment of smart grid technologies to enhance efficiency, monitoring, and operational flexibility; and (3) large multi-jurisdictional transmission demonstrations intended to facilitate development of new large electricity loads. Concept papers are due April 2, 2026, with full applications due May 20, 2026. DOE expects to announce selections this August, and an informational webinar will be posted on the Office of Electricity website by March 19, 2026.

• Staff in charge of compliance risk and mitigation at MCAA member companies should be aware of the U.S. Justice Department’s new “Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy” (CEP) released last week. It establishes a single framework for resolving corporate criminal cases. Under the policy, companies that promptly self-report previously unknown misconduct, fully cooperate with investigators, and undertake timely remediation may avoid federal prosecution and penalties, although they would still be required to pay restitution and forfeit illicit gains. Companies that do not qualify for full voluntary self-disclosure or whose misconduct involves aggravating factors may still receive non-prosecution agreements and reduced penalties (50 to 75% below the lower end of the federal sentencing guidelines), shorter resolution terms, and avoid having to hire outside compliance monitors. The CEP applies across most Justice Department components handling criminal matters and is intended to shape how companies conduct internal investigations, evaluate the timing of disclosures, and negotiate enforcement outcomes.

• As we previously noted, the MCAA has been anticipating more activity on implementation of President Trump’s April 2025 Executive Order on Preparing Americans for High-Paying Skilled Trade Jobs of the Future following the confirmation of Henry Mack to lead the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration at the end of last year. It began in earnest last Monday when the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Apprenticeship (OA) released three circulars and one bulletin revising guidelines for Registered Apprenticeship Programs and the standards governing the sponsors of apprenticeship programs, State Apprenticeship Agencies (SAA), and State Apprenticeship Councils (SAC).
  
  Circular 2026-01 revises program design requirements for registered apprenticeship programs (RAPs) by eliminating the 12-month on-the-job learning requirement for competency-based RAPs, removing caps on allowable training-hour variation in hybrid and time-based RAPs, and lifting the 50% limit on credit for prior work experience for all types of RAPs. The guidance also encourages use of end-point assessments to verify apprentice competency and reiterates safety oversight expectations for RAPs in high-risk industries, such as construction, transportation, and mining.
  
  Circular 2026-02 clarifies that SAAs must retain authority over core RAP registration, administration, and oversight functions. SAAs are prohibited from formally or informally delegating responsibilities such as determining apprenticeable occupations, approving program standards, or suspending programs to SACs. The guidance directs states to amend any laws, regulations, and practices that allow SACs to exercise such powers and warns that DOL may approve programs directly in SAA states if state processes create inappropriate barriers or delays.
  
  Circular 2026-03 establishes a standardized methodology for calculating apprenticeship completion rates based on defined participant cohorts and expected completion timelines. It launches a new public data portal on Apprenticeship.gov displaying national and state completion and cancellation rates by industry.
  
  Bulletin 2026-35 commits DOL OA to issuing program registration determinations within 30 days and introduces a public “shot clock” website tracking registration timelines and monthly approvals for applications submitted to DOL OA. While SAAs are encouraged to adopt similar benchmarks, the 30-day standard does not apply to SAAs.
  
  The Employment and Training Administration will host a public webinar on March 27, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. ET (register here) to discuss the new guidance documents and their implications for RAP sponsors, prospective applicants, SAAs, and SACs and plans to release additional training modules through the Registered Apprenticeship Academy following the webinar.

• Also on Monday, the Department of Education published a proposed rule to implement changes to the federal Pell Grant program implementing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s creation of “Workforce Pell Grants.” As proposed, Workforce Pell Grants would allow eligible students to receive aid for short-term workforce training programs lasting roughly 8 to 15 weeks and between 150 and 599 clock hours (or equivalent credit hours). Programs serving as the classroom or formal training part of a registered apprenticeship program would be treated as meeting key eligibility criteria, including alignment with high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand occupations and employer hiring needs. Under the rule, students could receive Pell assistance only for these programs. They would be ineligible if non-federal grants or scholarships cover their full cost of participation. The proposal establishes detailed approval and accountability requirements for eligible workforce programs, including certification by state governors in consultation with workforce development boards and review by the Department of Education. Programs would be required to meet completion and job placement thresholds and comply with a new “value-added earnings” standard under which graduates’ median earnings must exceed program tuition and fees. Programs that fail to meet these benchmarks or lose state approval could lose eligibility for Workforce Pell Grants. The Education Department will be coordinating with the U.S. Department of Labor on guidance for programs connected to registered apprenticeships. Comments on the proposed rule are due April 8, 2026.

• As Congress continues debating changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program, last week, the Department of Justice announced a settlement with Chevron U.S.A. Inc. under which the company agreed to pay a civil penalty of just over $1 million for violations of the existing RFS program. In June 2023, Chevron disclosed that between January and August 2022 it had invalidly generated more than 2.2 million advanced biofuel credits, known as Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs), on renewable diesel volumes that had already been used for RIN generation and were subsequently sold to third parties. To remediate the violation, Chevron retired valid RIN credits valued at approximately $3.6 million prior to executing the settlement. The agreement was filed by the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division in federal district court in Texas and is intended to reinforce compliance and integrity in the RFS credit market.

• As MCAA monitors the newly confirmed General Counsel and members of the NLRB, we wanted to be sure members were aware that on Friday March 6^th, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) exceeded its authority in issuing the 2023 Cemex decision. Cemex allowed the Board to impose bargaining orders when employers commit unfair labor practices during union election campaigns. The ruling arose from a dispute at Brown-Forman’s Woodford Reserve distillery in Kentucky, where the NLRB had ordered the company to bargain with a Teamsters affiliate after finding the company attempted to undermine union support during an organizing campaign by offering wage increases and other benefits ahead of a representation election the union ultimately lost. While the court upheld the findings that Brown-Forman committed unfair labor practices, it vacated the NLRB’s bargaining order issued under the Cemex framework and sent the case back to the Board.

Congress

• Last Thursday, the Senate voted 89–10 to pass the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, legislation aimed at lowering housing costs by increasing supply, streamlining environmental review, and limiting certain corporate home-buying practices. The MCAA has been engaged on this legislation watching for proposals that would curtail the application of federal prevailing wage or the use of project labor agreements (PLAs) on federally-funded or federally-assisted multi-family housing projects. A Trump-backed provision in the bill restricting large institutional investors from purchasing certain single-family homes has drawn opposition from House conservatives, who argue the policy unfairly constrains private investment and conflicts with elements of the House-passed housing package focused on deregulating smaller financial institutions. House GOP leadership is also concerned about the Senate version of the bill. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told members that major policy differences remain between the House and Senate as Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Financial Services Chair French Hill (R-AR) indicated the legislation could require a formal conference to resolve disputes. MCAA will be on guard throughout any House-Senate conference process to ensure problematic language impacting prevailing wage and PLAs does not get added.

• Last week, MCAA saw some meaningful movement related to its advocacy in the U.S. Senate on federal permitting reform. Last Thursday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said the chamber could turn to legislation on federal permitting reform for energy and infrastructure projects after next week’s debate on the SAVE Act, a bill to require voter ID and proof of U.S. citizenship to vote in federal elections. Thune described permitting reform as an economic and energy policy priority that could advance if lawmakers show a willingness to cooperate. His comments came as key Senate Democrats started reengaging on permitting reform negotiations after the Trump Administration quietly began allowing renewable energy projects to go forward following court decisions invalidating the Administration’s efforts to halt offshore wind projects. But it is unclear if divisions emerging among congressional Democrats over how to address rising electricity costs tied to data center growth will impede progress on permitting reform. A small but vocal group of progressive lawmakers—including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Maxwell Frost (D-FL), and Hank Johnson (D-GA)—are urging a federal moratorium on new data center construction over concerns about energy use, water demand, and community impacts. While the data center moratorium has drawn bipartisan opposition, powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY) has expressed interest in addressing localized impacts from data center development without endorsing a nationwide pause.

• Despite the razor-thin House Republican majority, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) last Tuesday said he hopes to move another reconciliation bill focused on reducing costs for Americans by addressing waste, fraud, and abuse, citing the types of fraud Republicans say is occurring in Democratic states like Minnesota, which was the subject of recent Congressional hearings. House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-TX) suggested using reconciliation to revisit proposals to reduce Medicaid spending that were excluded from last year’s reconciliation package due to the Senate’s “Byrd Rule,” while also identifying potential Pentagon spending cuts to offset new defense investments sought by President Trump after Speaker Johnson said that a supplemental funding package for the Iran conflict is “inevitable.” But as last week ended, the prospects for a second reconciliation bill were uncertain because President Trump made no mention of a second reconciliation bill when he spoke at the House Republican Caucus retreat. He told House Republicans their top priority should be enacting the SAVE Act requiring proof of U.S. citizenship to vote. Without Trump working to unify the GOP, as he did for the first reconciliation bill that became the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, it will be difficult for House leadership to garner the near unanimous support within their caucus required move another reconciliation package.

• Administrators of MCAA health plans should be aware that addressing issues with Medicare Advantage (MA) took on a new urgency last week after the release of a bipartisan report from the Congressional Joint Economic Committee finding that unscrupulous diagnostic billing and coding practices in MA insurance plans resulted in Medicare Part B premiums being 10% higher on average in 2025. The concerns about the practices of MA insurers were reinforced last Wednesday when the Justice Department announced that Aetna Inc. agreed to pay nearly $118 million to resolve allegations that it submitted inaccurate diagnosis data to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to inflate payments under its Medicare Advantage plans. These developments are lending intensity to concerns about fraud and waste in Medicare.

• There were a handful of developments in races for the U.S. Senate last week. In Maine, Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner received an endorsement from Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM). It was Platner’s third endorsement by a sitting U.S. Senator in his primary race against Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME). In Oklahoma, House Republican Policy Committee Chair Kevin Hern (R-OK) announced he will run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), who was nominated to lead the Department of Homeland Security. And a growing number of independent candidates including Seth Bodnar in Montana, Dan Osborn in Nebraska, Brian Bengs in South Dakota, and Todd Achilles in Idaho are launching Senate campaigns in deep-red states, arguing they may be more competitive than Democrats in traditionally Republican territory. The Democratic parties in most of these states, however, are refusing to step aside, raising concerns that competing Democratic and Independent candidates could split the anti-GOP vote.

• There were several developments in races for the U.S. House this week. In Georgia, Trump-endorsed Republican Clay Fuller and Democrat Shawn Harris advanced to an April 7^th runoff in the special election for Georgia’s 14^th Congressional District to fill Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) seat. In Kentucky, President Trump held a campaign rally backing Republican Ed Gallrein’s primary challenge to incumbent GOP Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) in the state’s 4th Congressional District. The President called Massie “the worst person,” adding that “there is something wrong with him,” and accusing Massie of being “disloyal.” In South Carolina, Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) announced he will seek an 18^th term in South Carolina’s 6^th Congressional District. In New York, former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg is preparing to spend millions in New York’s 12^th Congressional district to support former aide Micah Lasher in the Democratic primary for Rep. Jarold Nadler’s (D-NY) seat. In Minnesota, Julie Le announced a Democratic primary bid against Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) in the state’s 5^th Congressional District. In Virginia, former Virginia First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe announced she will run in Virginia’s newly redrawn 7^th Congressional District pending voter approval of a constitutional amendment on April 21^st redrawing the state’s congressional districts. In California, incumbent GOP Rep. Kevin Kiley (CA) changed his party affiliation to Independent but will continue to caucus with Republicans as he prepares to run in California’s Democratic-leaning 6th District. And as the midterms approach, Mississippi officials removed about 50,000 voters from the registration rolls using unverified Experian credit data to see if people moved out of the state, marking a departure from the verified government data sources that Mississippi and most other states have traditionally used to track voter moves.

Around the Country

• MCAA members operating in Texas should be aware that last Wednesday, President Trump announced on social media that America First Refining will build the first new U.S. oil refinery in 50 years in Brownsville, Texas. The project is being funded through a $300 million investment from privately-held Reliance Industries, an Indian company that owns the world’s largest oil refinery in Jamnagar, India. The new refinery will be designed to process 100% American shale oil.

• As the war in Iran continues to drive up oil prices, last Wednesday, President Trump said he plans to invoke the Defense Production Act (DPA) to override California environmental laws that are preventing Houston-based Sable Offshore from restarting oil drilling from offshore platforms along the California coast. The White House says invocation of the DPA is part of efforts to stabilize gasoline prices and strengthen domestic fuel availability in response to events in the Middle East. Environmental groups are suing the Administration, claiming that the effort to “fast track” renewed offshore drilling is being done in bad faith and got a judge to order the Trump Interior Department to disclose internal deliberative materials as well as emails, texts, and other chats with the company and other federal agencies regarding the oil spill risk from restarting the offshore drilling operations. The fight over drilling off the California coast comes as the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management last Monday released its 2026 National Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources, estimating that the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf contains approximately 65.1 billion barrels of undiscovered, recoverable oil and 218.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. A fact sheet on the report is available here.

• At an infrastructure summit last Tuesday, Open AI CEO Sam Altman and North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) President Sean McGarvey announced a collaboration aimed at expanding training pathways into the skilled construction trades as demand grows for infrastructure supporting advanced artificial intelligence. The partnership is intended to help ensure construction of AI-related facilities supports union careers, strengthens union-registered apprenticeship programs, and creates economic opportunity in communities where projects are built. The organizations said the collaboration will focus on engagement related to workforce development, labor standards, project safety, and policy considerations affecting infrastructure expansion. As part of the initiative, OpenAI committed to supporting NABTU’s TradesFutures nonprofit effort to expand recruitment and pre-apprenticeship preparation for construction careers.

• MCAA members operating in Mississippi should be aware that last Tuesday, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, won a contested permit from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) to build a power plant with 41 natural gas-burning turbines in the town of Southaven, MS to power its nearby data center. The NAACP and other civil rights and environmental advocates tried to get the meeting delayed, arguing that it would conflict with some residents’ efforts to vote in the state’s primary elections, being held on the same day

• MCAA members in New York should be aware that U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) held a press conference to call on New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) to rebuild and restart the Indian Point nuclear power plant on the Hudson River roughly 25 miles north of New York City. Rep. Lawler and Secretary Wright stressed that reviving the facility could help address rising electricity demand and high energy costs in the greater New York area. Before it was shuttered in 2021, the nuclear plant provided roughly 25% of New York City’s electricity. Holtec International is currently overseeing decommissioning activities at Indian Point. Rep. Lawler and Secretary Wright said the site should redeveloped as part of a broader “nuclear renaissance.” Holtec believes the facility could be rebuilt with updated safety systems while potentially increasing generation capacity by up to 10%.