Organization: MCAA

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, August 5, 2024 MCAA Lobbying Firm, Longbow Public Policy Group provided the following information:

MCAA Issues and Interests 

Registered Apprenticeship

MCAA Helps to Ensure Legislation Barring Educational Requirements in Federal Contract Solicitations Do Not Impact Apprenticeship Utilization Requirements 

Last week, the MCAA policy team was busy working with our allies in the Construction Employers of America to address concerns with the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee regarding provisions in the Allowing Contractors to Choose Employees for Select Skills (ACCESS) Act (S. 4631) that was marked up in the Committee on Wednesday. The ACCESS Act would prohibit federal agency contract solicitations from requiring minimum educational requirements for federal contractor personnel—including on federal construction projects. The MCAA successfully advocated with its allies to secure changes in a manager’s amendment clarifying that language in the bill prohibiting the inclusion of minimum experience or educational requirements did not impact registered apprenticeship utilization requirements, such as those MCAA supported in the Inflation Reduction Act. Following unanimous adoption of the manager’s amendment, the Committee voted 10-1 to advance the bill to the full Senate for consideration. During the August recess, we will be advocating for the House of Representatives to adopt the Senate-passed version of this bill instead of trying to move the original text that MCAA and its allies opposed. 

Project Labor Agreements and Davis-Bacon Prevailing Wage

Last week, the MCAA policy team also continued our outreach to oppose Congressional Review Act resolutions to rescind the MCAA-supported rulemakings on project labor agreements from the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council and Davis-Bacon prevailing wage from the Labor Department. We plan to use the opportunity on Capitol Hill with lawmakers out of town for the August recess to continue this outreach with Congressional staff. As the days left on the legislative calendar continue to dwindle and the November elections loom, we remain confident that we may be able to prevent a legislative reversal of these rulemakings but are continuing our outreach efforts to leave no stone unturned. On Thursday, a recount confirmed that one of our leading opponents on these issues in the House of Representatives, House Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good (R-VA) lost his Republican primary for Virginia’s 5^th Congressional District to state Sen. John McGuire by 374 votes. Good is expected to resign as Chair of the conservative House Freedom Caucus following the recount, but he is expected to keep working to undermine PLAs and Davis-Bacon for the remainder of this Congress from his post as Chair of the House Education and Workforce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions. 

Pension Reform

Senate Fails to Invoke Cloture on Smith-Wyden Tax Bill 

MCAA’s effort to add two-pool withdrawal liability authorization suffered a setback as Senate Democratic leadership elected not to include this language in a proposed revision  to H.R. 7024, the House-passed “Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act,” also known as the “Smith-Wyden tax deal.” On Thursday, the Senate voted 48-44 against invoking cloture on the modified version of this $79 billion tax package. As discussions around this vote developed over the course of last week, it was clear that this was not a substantive legislative effort, but rather a messaging vote ahead of the August recess by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to reinforce the message that Republicans are “anti-family” and against the middle class because they voted against a tax cut bill that would have expanded the Child Tax Credit. Given this dynamic, not even our best allies on pension issues felt it was worth the effort to press for inclusion of our two-pool withdrawal liability. There may be a run at actually passing some tax legislation to address expiring provisions when Congress returns in September and MCAA plans to use the August recess to assess the prospects for attaching two-pool withdrawal liability to any discrete tax measures that may move before Congress breaks for the elections at the end of September. 

Foxx Expands Investigation into Pensions Leveraging Funds to Support Organized Labor

Following up on an item discussed in our May 24^th Government Affairs report, on July 29^th, House Education and the Workforce Committee Chair Virginia Foxx (R-NC) announced the expansion of her investigation into the Biden Administration’s attempts to leverage pension assets to support organized labor by sending a letter to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Daniel Werfel and California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) President and Vice Chair of Investment Theresa Taylor demanding answers regarding CalPERS’s commitments to divert pension holdings for the benefit of organized labor. Foxx previously sent similar letters back in May to Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU), the National Electrical Benefit Fund, the AFL-CIO, the International Association of Fire Fighters, and the National Education Association seeking information about an April 2024 White House meeting launching an initiative encouraging pension funds to leverage their investments to advance fair pay, apprenticeship utilization, and basic labor standards. 

In the July 29^th letter Chair Foxx sent to the IRS this week, she said the Agency “has an obligation to enforce the provisions of the [Internal Revenue] Code to ensure that taxpayers are not improperly subsidizing a retirement plan that does not comply with the Code’s exclusive benefit requirement. To the extent that CalPERS is using plan assets for the benefit of social or political causes, the plan’s tax status is no longer valid.” The letter to IRS Commissioner Werfel is available here and the letter to CalPERS President Taylor is available here. MCAA is closely monitoring Chair Foxx’s ongoing fishing expedition and conducting education intended to minimize the prospect of MCAA-affiliated plans being caught up in this investigation.

Decarbonization

EPA Sends Final Rule Regarding Phasedown of HFCs to White House for Review

As we continue engaging on decarbonization issues for MCAA, we wanted to be sure MCAA members were aware that last Wednesday, the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) concluded its review of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final rule entitled, “Phasedown of Hydrofluorocarbons: Correction to Address Vacated Provisions.” This final rule is intended to comply with a 2023 ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit which concluded that the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act did not give the EPA the authority to ban disposable HFC cylinders. Consistent with the court’s decision, this impending final rule removes regulatory provisions at 40 CFR part 84 prohibiting the use of disposable cylinders, implements a cylinder tracking system, and creates auditing obligations related to the cylinder tracking system. The conclusion of OIRA review is typically the final step before an item is published in the Federal Register, so we expect this final rule to issue soon, correcting the EPA’s overreach. 

FBI Warns Malicious Actors May Seek to Disrupt the Renewable Energy Industry

This week a new challenge related to decarbonization and promotion of “clean energy” surfaced as public notice increased of a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warning to energy companies and alternative energy developers that “malicious cyber actors may seek to disrupt power generating operations, steal intellectual property, or ransom information critical for normal functionality to advance geopolitical motives or financial gain within the U.S. renewable energy industry.” The FBI added that “with federal and local legislatures advocating for renewable energies, the industry will expand to keep pace, providing opportunities and targets for malicious cyber actors.”  While the examples of such malicious activity provided in the Notice mainly pertain to solar power, the Notice broadly urges “current and former employees of companies within the renewable industry to report cyber intrusions targeting either themselves or their organization, as well suspected elicitation attempts by foreign nationals outside of the organization.” The FBI also says that “[p]rivate industry partners can contact their local FBI office to report security concerns and request threat briefings.”  

Other Interesting Things Since Our Last Report 

Thursday, August 1^st

• House Education and the Workforce Committee Chair Virginia Foxx (R-NC) called on Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to reconsider the Biden Administration’s pending proposed rules on mental health parity about which the multiemployer plan community has expressed significant concerns, along with the larger health insurance community. In her letter, Chair Foxx said that following the Supreme Court’s reversal of Chevron deference in “Loper Bright, the [departments] do not have the authority to create new tests for Non-Quantitative Treatment Limitations that Congress did not intend” and that “the proposed rule’s requirement that plans measure outcomes and vary reimbursement rates are without basis in law.” Foxx urged the department heads to work with Congress to ensure any mental health parity rules are workable, improve patient care, and do not result in employers ceasing to offer mental health benefits. 

• The General Services Administration’s (GSA) Green Proving Ground (GPG) program released a request for information (RFI) seeking “innovative, emerging, and sustainable technologies that enable energy efficiency and decarbonization in commercial buildings and contribute to a more efficient electric infrastructure.” The RFI is focused on the following issues related to decarbonization of commercial buildings: (1) Deep Energy Retrofits (renovations to reduce site energy use by at least 40%); (2) All-Electric Buildings and All-Electric Vehicle Fleets; (3) Healthy and Resilient Buildings; (4) Low-Embodied Carbon Building Materials; (5) Net-Zero Operations; and (6) Packages of Emerging and Sustainable Technology Solutions. Technologies selected for the GPG program will be piloted in one or more federal buildings and/or private sector facilities and evaluated by Biden Energy Department National Labs. The comment period on the RFI is open until September 13, 2024.  The agency will also host an informational webinar at 1pm ET on August 22, 2024 through Zoom, for which participants must register here.

• The House Financial Services Committee Republicans’ Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Working Group—led by Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Bill Huizenga—released its final staff report entitled “The Failure of ESG: An Examination of Environmental, Social, and Governance Factors in the American Boardroom and Needed Reforms.” The report focuses on GOP concerns about the use of the shareholder proposal process by a small group of activists—especially climate activists—to advance political and social objectives at the expense of other investors. It explores how these actors allegedly use undue influence on shareholder voting exerted by proxy advisory firms and federal policies and regulations that facilitate their efforts. The Working Group specifically raised concerns about the SEC exceeding its statutory authority by mandating non-material climate-related regulations and making harmful changes to the proxy process that facilitate exploitation by climate activists. Key priorities identified in the staff report to address House Republicans’ concerns include: (1) reforming the proxy voting system to safeguard the interests of retail investors; (2) promoting transparency, accountability, and accuracy in the proxy advisory system; (3) enhancing accountability in shareholder voting by aligning voting decisions with the economic interests of shareholders; (4) increasing transparency and oversight of large asset managers to ensure their practices reflect the pecuniary interest of retail investors; (5) improving ESG rating agency accountability and transparency to safeguard retail shareholders; (6) strengthening oversight and conduct thorough investigations into federal regulatory efforts that would contort our financial system into a vehicle to implement climate policy; (7) demanding transparency, responsibility, and adherence to statutory limits from financial and consumer regulatory agencies; and (8) protecting U.S. companies from burdensome European Union regulations and safeguarding American interests in global markets. 

Wednesday, July 31^st

• The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted 15-4 to advance the “compromise” bipartisan energy permitting legislation from Committee Chair Joe Manchin (I-WV) and Ranking Member John Barrasso (R-WY) that would, among other things, require the Interior Department to hold at least one offshore wind lease sale and one offshore oil and gas lease sale annually from 2025 through 2029, override the Biden Administration’s pause on liquefied natural gas exports, and open up electricity transmission development. 

• During a Senate Banking Committee hearing entitled, “Long-Term Economic Benefits and Impacts from Federal Infrastructure and Public Transportation investments,” Committee Chair Sherrod Brown (D-OH) hailed passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and CHIPS and Science Act, noting that “every state is benefiting” from “more than 60,000 infrastructure projects already underway across the country” that have “added 670,000 construction jobs to the U.S. economy.” Brown also said that the CHIPS and Science Act is “allowing [the U.S.] to build a new generation of chip facilities…around the country.”

• The Energy Department (DOE) announced $41 million for 14 projects that develop Renewables-to-Liquids (RtL) systems that operate at a renewable energy production site and use its electricity, carbon dioxide, and water to create liquids that can be used as renewable fuels or drop-in replacements for conventional fuels. Currently, low-carbon fuels are expensive at around $10 per gallon, so producers who use cheaper electricity sources like wind and solar independent from the grid to create these fuels can achieve lower overall costs. DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), will manage these projects through its Grid-free Renewable Energy Enabling New Ways to Economical Liquids and Long-term Storage (GREENWELLS) program, which aims to economically store at least 50% of incoming intermittent electrical energy in carbon-containing liquids. Projects funded under the announcement include: (1) $2 million to the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta to work on an electrochemical reactor that responds quickly to dynamic changes in renewable energy to work with direct air capture systems that produce syngas for hydrocarbon production; (2) a $2.3 million grant to Emvolon in Woburn, Massachusetts to repurpose automotive engines as chemical reactors to convert renewable power and greenhouse gas emissions to liquid clean fuels; and (3) a $4 million award to Washington State University in Pullman, WA to develop a carbon dioxide hydrogenation process that converts carbon dioxide and hydrogen into liquid hydrocarbons using renewable energy sources. A full list of the grant awards is available here.
  
• President Joe Biden issued a National Security Memorandum to the heads of the Departments of the Treasury, Homeland Security, Justice, and other federal agencies directing a coordinated, whole-of-government approach for disrupting the supply chain for fentanyl and synthetic opioids that will be overseen by the National Security Council. Specifically, the memo directs federal agencies to “engage collectively and collaboratively, employing all available tools, in support of the shared goal of materially and sustainably disrupting the illicit fentanyl supply chain.” The Biden Administration also called on Congress to pass legislation to permanently schedule fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs and give law enforcement at the border “the tools they need to more effectively track and target the millions of small-dollar shipments that cross our borders every day.”

Tuesday, July 30^th

• A new poll from Data for Progress found that 90% of respondents said they either strongly or somewhat support the Biden Labor Department’s proposed rule addressing heat injury and illness in indoor and outdoor work settings. Democrats were more likely than independents or Republicans to “strongly” support the rule, with 78% of self-identified Democrats supporting it, compared to 63% of independents and 56% of Republicans. However, when those who “strongly” or “somewhat” supported the rule were combined, more than 80% of all three groups supported it, including 96% of Democrats and 86% each of independents and Republicans.

• The Energy Department (DOE) announced that applications are open for $36 million in Enhancement & Innovation (E&I) competitive grants, which aim to expedite the shift to clean energy through demonstration projects for residential homes. Complementary to the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), which offers formula funding to state entities, the E&I program offers competitive funding and flexibility to allow a broader range of innovative weatherization activities, including the installation of renewable energy technologies, electrification, comprehensive workforce development, and more expansive health and safety measures. For example, a proposal could offer on-the-job weatherization training where trainees learn how to replace old wiring or repair a leaky roof. Additionally, the program encourages weatherization providers to hire, train, and retain employees within their local communities. An optional information webinar for potential applicants will take place on August 6, 2024 at 2pm ET and registration is required. Applications are due by September 27, 2024. DOE intends to announce E&I selections in late February 2025.

• The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) released guidance providing updates to its permitting process for electric transmission facilities, which focuses on some of the basic concerns of landowners, tribal communities, environmental justice communities and other stakeholders as outlined in FERC’s Order No. 1977, which was issued in May 2024 to update the Commission’s regulations on applications for permits to site electric transmission facilities. The guidance is available here.

Monday, July 29^th

• House Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA) introduced the Labor Enforcement to Securely (LET’S) Protect Workers Act, legislation to: (1) increase civil monetary penalties for violations of minimum wage and overtime, worker health and safety, child labor and farmworker protection standards; (2) create new penalties for violations of the National Labor Relations Act, consistent with the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act; (3) set new penalties for retaliation against workers who exercise their family and medical leave rights; (4) close loopholes that allow employers to escape penalties for failing to keep records of workplace injuries if the Occupational Safety and Health Administration does not detect the violation within six months; (5) strengthen enforcement of mental health parity requirements for employer-sponsored health plans; and (6) improve mine safety and reliable funding of black lung benefits through new and increased civil monetary penalties and the option to shut down scofflaw operators. The bill text is available here, a fact sheet is available here, and the section-by-section is available here.

• The Energy Department (DOE) announced $24 million in funding from the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for 21 projects in Washington State, Idaho, California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, Ohio, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island to bolster development of clean energy workforce training programs—with a focus on jobs that do not require four-year college degrees—within union training programs, community colleges, and trade schools. Over 40% of the announced funding will directly support union job training. The selected projects will expand the DOE’s existing Industrial Training and Assessment Centers (ITAC), a network that trains energy-efficiency workers to help small- and medium-sized manufacturers reduce their carbon emissions and energy costs. A full list of the ITAC expansion selectees is available here.

• The Transportation Department’s (DOT) Office of the Inspector General announced that it is initiating an audit of the Federal Highway Administration’s Advanced Transportation Technologies and Innovative Mobility Deployment program, which is authorized to receive $60 million per year from fiscal year 2022 through 2026 to deploy, install, and operate advanced transportation technologies. Grant funds through the program may be used for workforce development, planning, construction, equipment and materials for funding activities, which include installing advanced transportation and congestion management technologies for public transportation systems, integrating corridor management systems, and technology for tolling and congestion pricing.

• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a joint project with the U.S. Army to conduct sampling and testing of private drinking water wells located near Army installations for the presence of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The joint EPA-Army sampling and testing project, which is being implemented nationally, has identified a priority list of nine installations in Alabama, California, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and Oklahoma. As initial work is completed, the EPA and the Army will evaluate additional installations for expansion of the pilot at the rest of the 235 locations. 

• The White House posted a fact sheet on new private sector investments in American maritime industries, including plans to support U.S. jobs in the shipbuilding sector and U.S. shipbuilding competitiveness. This includes Bollinger Shipyards’ plan to build three new polar icebreakers for the U.S. Coast Guard, a “major investment” in a U.S. shipyard by David Shipbuilding to expand capacity and plans by Konecranes to establish a consortium of U.S. partners to build ship-to-shore cranes in the U.S. for North American ports.

• Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) announced the 13 members of the Bipartisan House Task Force to investigate the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. The seven Republicans on the Committee are: Chairman Mike Kelly (PA-16); Rep. Mark Green (TN-7); Rep. David Joyce (OH-14); Rep. Laurel Lee (FL-15); Rep. Michael Waltz (FL-6); Rep. Clay Higgins (LA-3); and Rep. Pat Fallon (TX-4). The Democrats are: Ranking Member Rep. Jason Crow (CO-6); Rep. Lou Correa (CA-46); Rep. Madeleine Dean (PA-4); Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (PA-6); Rep. Glenn Ivey (MD-4); and Rep. Jared Moskowitz (FL-23).

• The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement has an “active and ongoing” investigation of NuScale Power, the first company to have its small modular reactors certified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. NuScale’s stock was down as much as 15% Monday following the news.

Friday, July 26^th

• The Transportation Department (DOT) announced more than $374 million in funding through the third round of grants from the Airport Improvement Program (AIP), which funds a variety of projects including the construction of new and improved air facilities, repairs to runways and taxiways, maintenance of airfield lighting and signage, and purchasing equipment needed to operate and maintain airports. Grant funding from this announcement includes: (1) $6.9 million to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in Alabama for rehabilitation and reconstruction of several taxiways; (2) $12.8 million to Huntsville International-Carl T. Jones Field in Alabama to shift a taxiway 200 feet and rehabilitate pavement and lighting on a runway; (3) $4.6 million to Miami International Airport in Florida to reconstruct the existing Central Terminal building to increase capacity; and (4) $7.2 million to Stillwater Regional Airport in Oklahoma for construction of a new terminal building to accommodate additional passengers. A full list of the grants through today’s announcement is available here, and an interactive map of AIP grant funding is available here.

Around the Country 

Northeast 

• On August 1^st, the Labor Department (DOL) announced the award of $24,030,695 to expand apprenticeship programs in Maryland through DOL’s Apprenticeship Building America grant program. The money is intended to provide more high-quality workforce training and a direct pipeline to in-demand jobs in Maryland’s growth sectors, including transportation, health care, and technology. Awards went to the following recipients across the state of Maryland: (1) $8,000,000 for the Amalgamated Transit Union to develop a national public transit registered apprenticeship ecosystem that connects frontline workers with 6,680 trainees enrolled in registered apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships for occupations in public transit; (2) $3,990,486, for the Asian American Center of Frederick, MD to expand their training program to increase and diversify the healthcare workforce through pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships for immigrants and other under-resourced populations; (3) $3,882,946 for the Baltimore Alliance for Careers in Healthcare, Inc. to establish a Registered Apprenticeship Hub to expand access to high-quality apprenticeship programs in the healthcare industry, with a focus on promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility; (4) $3,947,276 to the University of Maryland Global Campus in Adelphi, MD to develop and implement a replicable national model for increasing employment in high-demand information technology fields that consists of pre-apprenticeship, apprenticeship, higher education and job placement programs; (5) $3,117,812 to Joe’s Movement Emporium, Mount Rainier, MD to grow sustainable, living wage jobs in media and creative technologies across multiple sectors, building opportunities for both small business owners and trainees; and (6) $1,092,175 to the Maryland Governor’s Workforce Investment Board, Baltimore, MD to increase staffing for the “Apprenticeship 2030: Maryland’s Workforce Future” program.

• On July 30^th, Rep. Bill Pascrell’s (D-NJ) office said that while Pascrell remains hospitalized, he is no longer receiving breathing assistance and that “his doctors are very encouraged by his progress, have begun to discuss discharge plans, and continue to anticipate a full recovery.” Pascrell has been hospitalized since July 14^th after going to the hospital with a fever. 

• On July 30^th, a new poll found that Vice President Harris leads Trump in Pennsylvania 47% to 43%. The poll also found Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) leading his Republican challenger Dave McCormick 47% to 42%. 

• On July 29^th, the Interior Department’s (DOI) Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced the availability of its final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for U.S. Wind’s proposed wind project offshore Maryland and Delaware. The project proposes to install up to 114 turbines, up to four offshore substation platforms, one meteorological tower, and up to four corridors for offshore export cables. BOEM estimates that the development and construction phases of the project, if approved, could support 2,679 jobs annually over seven years.

West

• On August 1^st, the Agriculture Department (USDA) announced a $400 million investment in at least 18 irrigation districts to help farmers across the West deploy innovative water saving technologies and farming practices. The funding is expected to help conserve up to 50,000 acre-feet in water use across 250,000 acres of irrigated land in production, while expanding and creating new, sustainable market opportunities. The preliminary selected districts (list available here) may receive up to $15 million each in the awards and will enter into sub-agreements with the producers participating within the district. USDA is working to finalize agreements with the preliminarily selected districts, which will include the details of each individual district’s water-saving strategies, commodities to be produced, and specific budgets. Following the finalization of those awards, producers within the participating districts will work directly through their irrigation districts to participate.

• On August 1^st, northern California’s Panattoni Development launched a new team that will build and operate data centers across North America with the goal of developing a gigawatt of data-center capacity over the next five years—the equivalent of what it takes to power about 876,000 homes. 

• On July 29^th, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo announced the appointment of Christy Kwon as the Regional Director of the Region 32-Oakland, CA office. Kwon began her career as an NRLB Field Attorney in Los Angeles (Region 31) and was appointed Regional Attorney of the NLRB’s Oakland office in 2019. 

Northwest 

• On August 1^st, ProPublica released a new report detailing how Washington State and other U.S. states are trying to address both facilitating the growth of data centers in their states and the power and water demands they create that threaten efforts to eliminate carbon emissions from electricity generation.

Midwest

• On August 1^st, a new poll found incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) leading his Republican Senate opponent Bernie Moreno by four points (46%-42%).

• On July 29^th, Democrats’ House Majority PAC announced $24 million in additional spending to target the House seats occupied by Reps. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), Bryan Steil (R-WI), and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA).

Southeast

• On August 1^st, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the selection of West Virginia University Research Corporation (WVU) to receive $2,486,224 to support efforts to report and reduce climate pollution from the manufacturing of construction materials. WVU is one of 38 selectees across the country that were announced on July 16, 2024, as part of a $160 million grant rollout. WVU will provide technical assistance to construction material manufacturers in the region to develop environmental product declarations (EPDs). Their project will support businesses to create comprehensive life cycle assessments that show environmental impacts and enhance their competitiveness in supplying products for federal and institutional construction projects.

• On August 1^st, a recount in Virginia’s 5^th Congressional District confirmed that House Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good (R-VA) lost his GOP primary to Trump-backed Virginia state senator John McGuire (R) by 374 votes. Rep. Good is rabidly anti-union and has been the lead sponsor of H.R. 720 the “Davis-Bacon Repeal Act.

• On August 1^st, Tennessee state Rep. Gloria Johnson won Tennessee’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary and will face incumbent Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) in November. 

• On August 1^st, Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) defeated Nashville Metro Councilmember Courtney Johnston in the Republican primary for Nashville’s 5^th Congressional District. 

• On July 29^th, a new poll found progressive Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) trailing her Democratic primary challenger Wesley Bell 48%-42% in the race for Missouri’s 1^st Congressional District.

Southwest

• On July 30^th, Kari Lake won the Arizona GOP Senate primary and will face Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego (AZ) in the November general election. 

• On July 30^th, Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) won the Republican primary in Arizona’s 2^nd Congressional District against Yavapai County Board of Supervisors member Jack Smith, who had the support of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).

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 Friday, July 26, 2024 MCAA Lobbying Firm, Longbow Public Policy Group provided the following information:

MCAA Issues and Interests 

Registered Apprenticeship

Raising Concerns with Congress Regarding the ACCESS Act 

The MCAA policy team was busy this week working with the Construction Employers of America (CEA) and North America’s Building Trades Unions to quickly educate members of Congress about H.R. 7887, the “Allowing Contractors to Choose Employees for Select Skills (ACCESS) Act” introduced by Reps. Nancy Mace (R-SC) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL). While this legislation is intended to prevent the federal government from imposing college degree requirements on employees of federal contractors, it was written much more broadly and could be read to preclude apprenticeship utilization requirements in federal contracts. 

The bill was scheduled for a vote on Monday through suspension of the rules (which requires a 2/3 majority vote for passage), but MCAA and its allies convinced lawmakers to delay the vote to give us time to continue discussions about problematic portions of this bill. Pushing the bill to Tuesday ultimately led to us defeating the bill on the House floor by a vote of 178-234. We are pleased that our contribution to the outreach on this bill convinced enough members to vote “no” to send a clear message about our concerns with the legislation.

The Senate companion bill was also scheduled for a markup in the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee on Wednesday, but the bill was pushed to next week. The delay has given our coalition time to conduct outreach to senators regarding the problematic provisions in the bill in advance of the mark up and these efforts will continue through the weekend.

DOL Apprenticeship Rule

MCAA continues advocating for the changes requested to the U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed apprenticeship rule in joint comments we filed with the UA this spring. The battle over the ACCESS Act described above served as a helpful illustration of the importance of ensuring tight and clear language around anything having to do with registered apprenticeship. We are sensing that there will be some significant changes to the proposed rule when it is finalized, but feel far from secure that all our concerns will be addressed. So we are continuing to press our case.

Project Labor Agreements and Davis-Bacon Prevailing Wage

This week, the MCAA policy team continued our outreach to oppose Congressional Review Act resolutions to rescind the MCAA-supported rulemakings on project labor agreements from the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council and Davis-Bacon Prevailing Wage from the Labor Department. These rules are subject to litigation and our lobbying has taken on increased importance in light of the Supreme Court’s reversal of the Chevron doctrine last month in Loper Bright Enterprises. With the upcoming August and October recesses shortening the legislative calendar, we are growing confident that we may be able to prevent a legislative reversal of these rules, but we are continuing to monitor the progress of litigation as we are less certain the rules can survive judicial challenges in a post-Chevron world. 

We are also closely tracking congressional legislative responses to the reversal of Chevron as both parties signal what they may do on this issue if they secure unified control of the federal government in the November elections. The GOP’s vision for a congressional response to the end of Chevron deference in embodied in Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Ranking Member Cassidy’s (R-LA) recently introduced bill, the Upholding Standards of Accountability (USA) Act. This bill would: (1) require the head of a federal agency signing a major rule to testify about the rule before the committee of jurisdiction within 30 days of the rule being published; (2) require each person nominated to a Senate-confirmed position to testify before the committee of jurisdiction prior to Senate confirmation; (3) require federal agencies to conduct retrospective reviews of cost-benefit analyses for major rulemakings within five years of each rule’s effective date; (4) clarify that federal agencies are permitted to communicate with Congress at all times regarding proposed rules; and (5) require timely, substantive responses to congressional oversight from federal agencies. By contrast, the Democratic response is illustrated in a bill introduced this week by Sen. Warren (D-MA) and several Democrats called the “Stop Corporate Capture Act,” which would codify the Chevron doctrine. The bill would also revise the federal regulatory process through measures such as streamlining White House review of agency regulations, authorizing agencies to reinstate rules rescinded under the Congressional Review Act, and requiring all rulemaking participants to disclose industry-funded research or other related conflicts of interest.

Independent Contractors and Misclassification of Workers 

NLRB Withdraws Appeal of Joint Employer Rule Injunction 

MCAA strongly supported the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)’s joint employer rule dating to when it was proposed in September 2022. The rule reversed a 2020 regulation that curtailed the circumstances in which a higher level contractor could be deemed a joint employer of a subcontractor, such that it was jointly liable for labor law violations, such as unfair labor practices under the National Labor Relations Act. The 2022 proposal finalized in 2023 returned to a longstanding set of rules that removed some of the legal insulation higher level contractors gained by their subcontractors misclassifying their workers as independent contractors. Unfortunately, after the 2023 rule took effect, it was challenged in court and enjoined by a federal judge in Texas.

Last Friday, July 19^th, the NLRB voluntarily dismissed its appeal of the Texas federal judge’s decision enjoining this final rule, telling the Fifth Circuit that it would “like the opportunity to further consider the issues identified in the district court’s opinion” and that dismissal would “allow it to consider options for addressing the outstanding joint employer matters before it.” The NLRB also said that it “remains of the opinion” that the joint employer rule is lawful. As a result of the dismissal, the final joint employer rule remains effectively blocked. The Board’s action leaves open the question of the extent to which the NLRB can pursue a similar definition of joint employment through case adjudication.

California Supreme Court Ruling Encourages Proponents of the Independent Contractor Business Model

This week, opponents of the MCAA-supported Department of Labor final rule on the classification of workers as independent contractors made a renewed push to kill the Labor Department Rule that makes it harder to treat workers as contractors under federal wage and hour law. The renewed push came from the victory gig companies got this week from the California Supreme Court upholding the independent contractor status of Uber and Lyft drivers under California’s Prop 22. While the case only involved independent contractor classification under California state law, it is being used in Washington, D.C. as a rallying cry for the legitimacy of the independent business contractor model more generally. MCAA is countering this renewed push to kill the Labor Department Rule, hoping to run out the clock on pending Congressional Review Act resolutions to reverse it.

This week, we were also able to highlight our concerns about misclassification in our industry by sharing with legislators the news that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recovered over $1.5 million in back wages and damages for 430 technicians employed by C&G HVAC after a Wage and Hour Division investigation determined that this heating, ventilation and air conditioning company operating in Dallas, Texas misclassified its workers as independent contractors.

Pension Reform

PBGC Releases Fiscal Year 2023 Projections Report 

As we continue to engage with the prospects for pension reform in the coming 2025 tax debate related to the impending expiration of the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017, we wanted to be sure that you saw that on July 19^th, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) released its Fiscal Year 2023 Projections Report showing an improved financial outlook for the Multiemployer Defined Benefit Pension insurance program. The new projections indicate that the Multiemployer Insurance Program, which covers about 11 million participants in about 1,360 plans, is now likely to remain financially sound for more than 40 years thanks to the MCAA-supported Special Financial Assistance Program. The PBGC notes that projected outcomes in this year’s report slightly improved compared to last year because of strong 2023 investment performance.

Decarbonization

Palmer Introduces CRAs on DOE Clean Energy Loan Rule and Energy Conservation Standards 

On Friday July 19^th, Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL) introduced two separate Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions to rescind Energy Department (DOE) decarbonization rulemakings. The first CRA, H.J. Res. 191, seeks to overturn DOE’s final rule entitled, “Loan Guarantees for Clean Energy Projects.” The second CRA, H. J. Res. 189, seeks to overturn DOE’s final rule entitled, “Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Air-Cooled Commercial Package Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps.” Neither CRA currently has any cosponsors. But similar efforts to repeal decarbonization rulemakings from the Energy Department and the EPA also found their way into the text of several pending House Appropriations bills. While these bills remain stalled, they are indicators of policy priorities that could move if Republicans gain unified control of Congress in November. 

Fiscal Hawks Question Decarbonization Incentives

As we engage Congress on concerns about the unintended consequences of certain decarbonization efforts, we are hearing growing concern among fiscal hawks in Congress about the EPA’s frantic race to meet a September 30, 2024 deadline for distributing the $27 billion in Inflation Reduction Act funds for climate friendly grants through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. There have been several EPA Inspector General reports about inadequate management of the massive program and the fact that the 35-person team overseeing this unprecedented grantmaking and awards process is just too small to ensure program integrity and avoid a repeat of fraud akin to what happened with certain government programs during COVID.

McKinsey Survey Finds Early Adopting EV Owners Want to Switch Back to Gas-Powered Cars

Something else that made a splash in Washington, D.C. on the decarbonization front was a July 25^th survey from McKinsey and Company finding that 46% of electric vehicle owners claimed they were likely to switch back to internal combustion engines. The McKinsey survey reinforced a recent Gallup poll finding that fewer owners of traditional internal combustion engine vehicles in the U.S. are considering an electric vehicle purchase. These datapoints are causing even many moderates in Congress to begin questioning decarbonization through electrification incentives. We are trying to parlay these concerns into deeper reflection about mandating electric water heaters and similar energy efficiency efforts that raise issues for our industry.

NLRB Issues Final Rule on 9(a) Recognition and Other Union Election Issues 

Today, The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued its final rule on “Fair Choice—Employee Voice,” which restores three NLRB policies facilitating union organizing—including the NLRB’s policy on voluntary recognition in the construction industry. First, the final rule revives the NLRB’s prior approach to voluntary recognition in the construction industry, as reflected in case law. This would include restoring a six-month limitations period for election petitions challenging a construction employer’s voluntary recognition of a union under Section 9(a) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), as established in Casale Industries. It would also include the principle established in Staunton Fuel that sufficiently detailed language in a collective bargaining agreement can serve as sufficient evidence that voluntary recognition was based on Section 9(a) of the Act.

Second, the final rule reinstates the Board’s long-established “blocking charge” policy as most recently reflected in a 2014 rule. Under this approach, when unfair labor practice charges are filed while an election petition is pending, a Regional Director may delay the election if the conduct alleged threatens to interfere with employee free choice.

Finally, this new rule eliminates the required notice-and-election procedure triggered by an employer’s voluntary recognition of a union based on a showing of majority support among employees. The final rule is effective on September 30, 2024 and will only be applied to cases filed after the effective date.

Other Interesting Things Since Our Last Report 

Thursday, July 25^th

• The Commerce Department reported that U.S. economic activity was considerably stronger than expected during the second quarter, boosted by a strong consumer and government spending. Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased at a 2.8% annualized pace adjusted for seasonality and inflation. This blew past economists’ expectations for growth of 2.1% following a 1.4% rise in the first quarter. 

• There was detailed reporting this week about expectations that former President Trump is expected to draw heavily from the Senate GOP conference to fill his Cabinet if he wins a second term, including: (1) Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) as a potential Treasury Secretary; (2) Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) as either CIA Director, Director of National Intelligence, or Secretary of State; (3) Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) as Defense Secretary; (4) Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) as Education Secretary; (5) Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) as Health and Human Services Secretary or Housing and Urban Development Secretary; and (6) Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) as Attorney General. Notably, all these Senators hail from states that currently have Republican governors, which presumably reduces concerns that their departures could affect the post-election partisan balance of power in the Senate. But the departure of these members would still scramble the politics for senior posts on important Senate Committees and require quick adjustments and relationship development. 

• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced over $325 million in funding from the President’s Inflation Reduction Act through the Community Change Grants Program (CCPG) for 21 projects that reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience, and build community capacity. These projects are the first selected applications under the CCPG program’s rolling application process, which is still accepting applications through November 21, 2024. Grants in this announcement include funds for water infrastructure, installation of electric vehicle chargers and solar systems, retrofitting public buildings with HVAC and solar systems, and other such projects including: (1) $20 million to the Coalition for Responsible Community Development and Los Angeles Trade-Technical College to build environmental justice workforce development trainings for lead abatement, welding, hybrid and electric vehicle maintenance, home weatherization, and residential energy audits; (2) over $14 million to Texas A&M University and the Black Belt Unincorporated Wastewater Program to install onsite wastewater treatment systems throughout 17 Black Belt counties in Alabama; (3) roughly $14 million to the Pittsburgh Conservation Corps and PowerCorpsPHL to expand workforce programs around urban forestry and wood waste reduction; and (4) nearly $20 million to the Midwest Tribal Energy Resources Association (MTERA) and Grid Alternatives to install home weatherization and energy efficiency upgrades across 35 tribes in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

Wednesday, July 24^th

• The Energy Department (DOE) awarded $371 million for 20 projects across 16 states through the President’s Inflation Reduction Act’s Transmission Siting and Economic Development (TSED) grant program. The TSED grant program provides funding to advance transmission projects by accelerating siting and permitting while supporting economic development efforts in communities impacted by transmission construction and operation. The program includes two distinct grants: (1) grants for siting and permitting activities; and (2) grants for economic development activities. The awards include: (1) $35 million to the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity for specialized education and training through electric utility apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs, as well as training for electric vehicle infrastructure construction and installation; (2) $50 million to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority for renewable transmission infrastructure, pre-apprenticeship, and apprenticeship training opportunities for electrical careers in partnership with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local Union 400, and to build new bike trails along transmission rights-of-way; (3) $50 million to Guymon Public Schools to construct a workforce development center that will provide general workforce trainings and classes for adults, and a new junior high school that will include an outdoor environmental science classroom and a specialized STEM lab; (4) $42.3 million to the Massachusetts Department of Energy to install a renewable energy-powered microgrid at the Barnstable High School and Intermediate School Complex that will support electric vehicle charging; (5) $15 million to the Northeast Oregon Economic Development District to fund economic development projects focused on workforce, infrastructure, housing, and business development; and (6) $8.38 million to the Virginia Department of Energy, through the Hampton Roads Energy Workforce Development Initiative, to provide training opportunities and job prospects to 350 people in the clean energy sector to serve the Hampton Roads area.

• The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2024-60 providing initial guidance on the credit for the sequestration of carbon oxide as amended by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA). The notice describes information that must be included in a written report known as the lifecycle analysis (LCA) report and provides the procedures a taxpayer must follow to submit the report along with required supporting information to the IRS and the Biden Energy Department for review. Before the IRS allows a carbon sequestration credit, it must approve the analysis of greenhouse gas emissions documented in the LCA with respect to carbon capture property placed in service on or after February 18, 2018.  

• The Interior Department (DOI) announced more than $20.4 million from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to support jobs in coal communities with abandoned mine lands by investing in projects that close dangerous mine shafts, reclaim unstable slopes, improve water quality by treating acid mine drainage, and restore water supplies damaged by mining. Awards can also enable economic revitalization by reclaiming hazardous land for recreational facilities and other redevelopment, such as advanced manufacturing and renewable energy deployment.
  
• The CEO of NextEra Energy said that renewable energy demand will triple over the next seven years as data center growth accelerates to facilitate the proliferation of artificial intelligence. NextEra has added 3,000 megawatts of renewable and storage projects to its order backlog in the second quarter. Of those, 860 megawatts (28%) come from agreements with Google to power data centers.

Tuesday, July 23^rd

• During a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing on pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), Chair James Comer (R-KY) explained that an investigation by his Committee found that PBMs have devised formulas of preferred medicines that encouraged use of higher-priced drugs over lower-priced alternatives. Comer also said Committee investigators found that PBMs made patients pay more to use their local pharmacy rather than a mail-order pharmacy affiliated with the PBM. Chairman Comer said bluntly: “There’s a credibility issue with the PBMs. There’s a transparency issue with the PBMs. You have anticompetitive policies.” Among other things, the 51-page House Oversight Committee report released ahead of Tuesday’s hearing confirmed that PBMs often favor brand-name medicines, with higher prices and likely heftier rebates that can benefit the PBM, over lower-cost alternatives, costing patients, PBM clients and taxpayers money. The report is the product of a months-long investigation work by Republican Oversight Committee staff. Notably, the report cites favorably to the Biden-appointed Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) report on PBMs that prompted the FTC to sue the largest PBMs for anticompetitive practices in drug pricing. 
  
• A Biden-appointed federal judge in Philadelphia, Kelley Hodge, refused to enjoin the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) final rule banning noncompetition agreements. Judge Hodge disagreed with a decision earlier this month by a federal judge in Texas enjoining the FTC from enforcing the rule against a coalition of business groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the country’s largest business lobby, and tax service firm Ryan while they pursue legal challenges. Judge Hodge reasoned that the FTC has the power to ban practices that it deems anticompetitive, including the use of so-called noncompete agreements that curb competition for labor. Not long after Judge Hodge’s ruling, The Senate Banking Subcommittee on Economic Policy noticed a hearing next Tuesday, July 30^th at 2:30PM, on “Banning Noncompete Agreements: Benefits for Workers, Businesses, and the Economy,” with witnesses: (1) Dr. Heidi Shierholz, PhD, President, Economic Policy Institute; and (2) R. James Toussaint, MD FAAOS, an orthopedic surgeon.
  
• The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced a virtual workshop on August 7, 2024 entitled, “Legal Updates and Pregnant Workers Fairness Act FAQs with EEOC Legal Counsel Carol Miaskoff.” During the workshop, Miaskoff will break down recent significant court rulings, pivotal EEOC litigation, and recent filings. The workshop will also address questions about the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and the newly issued regulations that went into effect on June 18, 2024. Some of the top FAQs that will be discussed at the workshop include: (1) documentation that is necessary under the PWFA; (2) which post-pregnancy conditions are covered; and (3) how the PWFA and the Family and Medical Leave Act regulations relate to each other. The workshop will be held on August 7, 2024 from 1pm to 3pm ET and there is a $275/person fee to attend. Those interested in participating in the workshop should register here in advance. 

• President Biden announced the nomination of Matthew Marzano to serve as a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Marzano is currently an Idaho National Laboratory detailee on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee where he advises the Committee on matters related to clean air, climate, and energy.

• Twenty-five Republican-led states sent a petition to the Supreme Court arguing that the Biden Administration’s final rule to limit greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants should be stayed following the D.C. Circuit Court’s decision to allow the rule to remain in force as legal challenges continue.

Monday, July 22^nd

• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded $4.3 billion to 25 applicants that will fund projects in 30 states to cut pollution in various sectors, such as buildings, industry, electric power, transportation, agriculture lands, and waste and materials management. The funds are provided through the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) Program, which is part of the $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund established by the President’s Inflation Reduction Act. The awards include: (1) $1.06 billion for Green Buildings, including incentives for energy efficiency measures in nearly 700,000 residences, such as deploying an estimated 580,000 electric heat pumps, as well as energy efficiency measures and improvements in 50 million square feet of commercial buildings and in 250 public buildings; (2) $372 million for Clean Electric Power Projects, including incentives to start deployment of up to 19,000 megawatts of solar and wind generation by 2030 and re-development of brownfields and landfills to support renewable energy; (3) $1.18 billion for transportation projects, including charging infrastructure for zero-emission freight trucks along the nation’s busiest freight traffic corridors, as well as incentives to deploy light-duty electric vehicles, electric trucks, electric chargers, electric locomotives, and bikeshares and electric bikes; (4) $636 million to address industrial pollution, including $500 million for state-level grants to fund projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions from industrial facilities and measures to reduce methane emissions from coal mines and oil and gas production; and (5) $121 million to address waste and materials management, including as many as 100 projects to capture methane from landfills and reduce emissions equivalent to approximately 4 million metric tons of CO₂ through 2030. The full list of recipients is available here. 

• The House passed H.R. 8812, the MCAA-supported Water Resources Development Act of 2024 (WRDA), by a strong, bipartisan vote of 359-13. The bill provides approximately $10 billion for 12 projects along coasts throughout the U.S. for flood control, navigation, hurricane and storm damage risk reduction, and ecosystem restoration. It also directs the Army Corps of Engineers to conduct 161 feasibility studies of potential water resources projects with an emphasis on drought resilience and water conservation efforts. The House-passed bill will now have to be reconciled with the Senate version (S. 4367) advanced in May by the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee. EPW Chair Tom Carper (D-DE) and Ranking Member Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) filed their bill as an amendment to the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (S. 4368), which is pending floor action in the Senate, but given the bipartisan support for WRDA, the Senate bill could also come to the floor as a stand-alone measure.

• Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Joe Manchin (I-WV) and Ranking Member John Barrasso (R-WY) reached an agreement on a permitting reform bill entitled, The Energy Permitting Reform Act, which is intended to speed up the buildout of both renewable and fossil fuel energy sources. Among other provisions, the bill sets a deadline for the Biden Energy Department to make decisions about whether to approve or reject a gas export project—effectively ending President Biden’s pause on gas export approvals. It also seeks to make it easier to extract oil and gas from public lands and to build renewable projects there. The bill would also require the federal government to give companies at least one opportunity each year to bid on changes to drill offshore and to bid on changes to build offshore wind farms between the years 2025 and 2029. This provision would expand offshore drilling beyond the Biden Administration’s current plans to offer up to three chances to bid on offshore drilling rights during that period. 

• In a bet on growing global demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG), Australia’s largest oil and gas company, Woodside Energy Group, Ltd., agreed to buy troubled U.S. liquefied natural gas export project developer Tellurian Inc. for $900 million, including the proposed U.S. Gulf Coast Driftwood LNG project.

Friday, July 19^th

• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that they have extended the comment period – from July 22, 2024 to September 20, 2024 – for a May 23, 2024 joint Request for Information (RFI) to gather public feedback on serial acquisitions and roll-up strategies (i.e., corporate consolidation by buying smaller firms in the same or similar sectors or industries) in all sectors and industries, including but not limited to housing, construction, agriculture, professional service markets, and distribution business. This RFI complements a parallel government inquiry that seeks to understand how certain health care market transactions by private equity firms and other corporations may increase consolidation and generate profits while threatening patients’ health, workers’ safety, quality of care, and affordable health care for patients and taxpayers. Text of the RFI is available here.

• In its 2025 Mid-Session Review, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) predicted that the cumulative deficit will be about $1.2 trillion higher over the next decade than it estimated in its FY 2025 budget request in March, due in part to higher Medicaid spending, greater use of premium tax credits and cost-sharing reductions in the Affordable Care Act, and higher spending on veterans compensation and pensions.

Thursday, July 18^th

• The Labor Department announced the availability of $99 million in funding through the YouthBuild Program to support the delivery of pre-apprenticeships in high-demand industries including construction, infrastructure, clean energy, and healthcare. The YouthBuild Program grants provide occupational skills training, employment services, and academic support to individuals aged 16-24 in communities where they face persistent barriers to career skills and academic development. Administered through DOL’s Employment and Training Administration, the YouthBuild Program will fund individual grants for approximately 75 projects, with each grant ranging from $700,000 to $1.5 million.

Wednesday, July 17^th 

• Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) published an op-ed in “Compact Magazine” entitled, “The Promise of Pro-Labor Conservatism,” that applauded Teamster President Sean O’Brien’s speech at the RNC on Monday and accuses the “C-Suite” of selling out the United States, “shuttering factories in the homeland and gutting American jobs, while using the profits to push diversity, equity, and inclusion and the religion of the trans flag.” Hawley goes on to argue that “thanks to Donald Trump, there is much that Republicans and labor can already agree on” including that “China is ripping us off and strong tariffs must be maintained and expanded.” Hawley also advocated for Republicans to get to work on bipartisan labor reform saying that “thousands of Americans have voted to unionize in elections but can never get a contract done, often due to corporate tricks.” Hawley ended by saying he will “make sure that Republicans in Congress get to work in 2025” so maybe in a few years, a Teamsters president speaking at the RNC won’t be such a surprise.

Tuesday, July 16^th

• National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo sent a memo to all NLRB field offices reaffirming her commitment to seeking Section 10(j) injunctions after the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Starbucks Corp. v. McKinney, which set a uniform four-part test applicable to all Section 10(j) injunction petitions. General Counsel Abruzzo explained that, while the Supreme Court’s decision in Starbucks Corp. provides a uniform standard to be applied in all Section 10(j) injunctions nationwide, adoption of this standard will not have a significant impact on the NLRB’s Section 10(j) program as the agency has ample experience litigating injunctions under that standard and has a high rate of success in obtaining injunctions under the four-part test—a success rate equivalent to or higher than the success rate in circuit courts that applied the two-part test. 

• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the award of nearly $160 million to 38 grant recipients to support efforts to report and reduce climate pollution from the manufacturing of construction materials and products. The grants will support the Federal Buy Clean Initiative, which leverages the federal government’s purchasing power to catalyze demand for clean construction materials used in federal buildings, highways, and infrastructure projects. The grant selections include a diverse range of projects to help measure and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For example: (1) several projects will support workforce development to grow the number of sustainable construction professionals available to support the use of clean construction materials; (2) a project in Maine will help a company that manufactures insulation made from wood fiber track the quantity of energy and raw materials used in each of their processes; (3) a project in Illinois will help a nonprofit organization that sells reused architectural materials measure how much the salvaged materials reduce carbon emissions; (4) a large insulation manufacturer based in Indiana will use grant funding to measure and report greenhouse gas emissions for their full product portfolio; (5) a major university will use grant funds to research and document carbon emissions savings from reusing structural steel; and (6) a company in Georgia will receive funding to report the emissions savings gained by switching from higher-carbon components in cement and concrete to recycled and innovative materials. Summaries of the proposed grantee projects are available here. 

Monday, July 15^th

• The Department of Labor announced a final rule updating eligibility requirements for current and former nuclear weapons workers seeking to file claims related to beryllium sensitivity and making benefits available to people once deemed ineligible. Specifically, the final rule revises regulations governing the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Act (EEOICPA), which provides lump sum compensation and medical benefits to current and former nuclear weapons workers whose illness is the result of working in the nuclear weapons industry. In December 2023, the National Defense Authorization Act changed the eligibility requirements for those filing claims for beryllium sensitivity to allow previously ineligible claimants to obtain benefits under EEOICPA. Before the update, a claimant could only establish beryllium sensitivity by presenting one abnormal (i.e., the cells show a clear, significant reaction to beryllium) beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test performed on blood or lung lavage cells. Under the final rule, beryllium sensitivity can now also be established by submitting three borderline (i.e., the cells show a reaction to beryllium, but a less significant reaction than the abnormal test) beryllium lymphocyte proliferation tests of blood cells in the three-year period.

Around the Country 

Northeast 

• On July 24^th, the Transportation Department’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced final agency actions with respect to a project to rebuild the I-695 (Baltimore Beltway) Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Patapsco River in Baltimore, MD. As you are aware, the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed on March 26, 2024 following a collision with the container ship Dali. Specifically, the FHWA has issued a Categorical Exclusion (CE) classification and NEPA approval for the I-695 Francis Scott Key Bridge Rebuild Project, noting that because the replacement Key Bridge will be within the former bridge’s right-of-way and have the same capacity of four travel lanes, it is not anticipated to significantly impact community, natural, or cultural resources beyond what previously existed. Relatedly, the Maryland Department of Transportation announced that it has released a Request for Proposals inviting consultant teams to submit proposals for the $75 million General Engineering Consultant contract as part of the Francis Scott Key Bridge Rebuild. Interested bidders can access the Request for Proposals on the eMaryland Marketplace Advantage website. The General Engineering Consultant proposals are due by August 19, 2024. The Maryland Department of Transportation expects to award the contract in February 2025, which will have a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise goal of 31.5%.

• On July 16^th, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) was found guilty of bribery, acting as a foreign agent, and a slew of other charges in his federal corruption case. His sentencing in the case has been scheduled for October 29, 2024. On July 23^rd, Menendez announced he would resign from the Senate, effective August 20^th. Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ) must appoint a replacement to fill the remainder of Menendez’s term, which ends January 3, 2025. Murphy has said he would appoint a caretaker to the seat and possible candidates include: Lt. Governor Tahesha Way, former NJ Secretary of State Nina Mitchell Wells, and U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas.

West

• On July 22^nd, the Interior Department (DOI) announced a request for applications (RFA) for $450 million in funding under the President’s Inflation Reduction Act for ecosystem and habitat restoration projects in the Upper Colorado River Basin that address impacts from drought. The RFA is available here. Monday’s announcement addresses the “Bucket 2 Environmental Drought Mitigation” (B2E Component) of this funding opportunity, which provides funding to public entities and tribes for projects that provide general environmental benefits or ecosystem/habitat restoration benefits that address issues directly caused by drought. The other component of this funding opportunity, “Bucket 2 Water Conservation” (B2W Component) aims to identify and fund projects that achieve verifiable, multi-year reductions in use of or demand for water supplies. The B2W component is still in development and a funding opportunity is expected to be announced later this year. 

• On July 17^th, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) opened a public comment period regarding the sale of 20 acres of public land to Clark County, Nevada for below market value at just $100 an acre, which the county estimates will enable the development of nearly 150 affordable homes for households making less than 80% of area median income. Comments will be accepted until September 3, 2024 and can be submitted by mail to BLM Las Vegas Field Office, Assistant Field Manager, Division of Lands, 4701 North Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89130. BLM is also considering an additional 562.5 acres of public land that have been identified by local governments in Southern Nevada that are appropriate for affordable housing in the Las Vegas Valley. The 562.5 acres could support the building of up to 15,000 or more additional affordable rental and homeownership units in Nevada. 

Midwest 

• On July 25^th, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a partnership with the City of North Chicago to accelerate the replacement of local lead water pipes through the Get the Lead Out Initiative, a program funded entirely by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help move the nation towards achieving 100% lead service line replacement.

• On July 22^nd, to increase America’s nuclear submarine force, the White House announced the Michigan Maritime Manufacturing (M3) initiative, a joint effort between the U.S. Navy and the state of Michigan to “build skilled workforce pipelines and programs to help meet our nation’s demand for over a hundred thousand new workers in the submarine and maritime industries over the next decade”. The initiative includes $16 million to implement an accelerated welding and computer numerical controlled (CNC) machining training program, up to $10.75 million over five years to increase the national hub-and-spoke network of advanced machining training centers, and $2 million in educational outreach to inspire interest in manufacturing jobs and maritime careers.

Southwest

• On July 23^rd, Rep. Austin Pfluger (R-TX) jumped into the race to lead the Republican Study Committee—the largest ideological caucus in Congress of either party—and will face Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA), a House Freedom Caucus member. 

• On July 19^th, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee’s (D-TX) family announced that she passed away following a pancreatic cancer diagnosis two months ago.