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 Friday, May 3, 2024 MCAA Lobbying Firm, Longbow Public Policy Group provided the following information:

This week, as Congress returned from the one-week Passover recess, the focus in the House was on whether Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) would force a vote on her motion to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-GA) following passage of a foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and U.S. allies in Asia. On Tuesday, House Democrats announced they will vote to table any motion to remove Johnson from the Speakership, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries saying it was “time to turn the page on this chapter of Pro-Putin Republican obstruction.” Despite Democrats’ announcement, however, Greene said on Wednesday that she will move next week to oust Johnson. Notably, Greene said she was moving forward despite Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley, who was handpicked by former President Trump, personally asking Greene not to move forward with her motion to vacate. Once Greene makes her motion “privileged,” the House will have two legislative days to hold a vote on the motion or a vote to table it. Speaker Johnson responded to Greene’s announcement saying he did not think she was proving to be a serious lawmaker. Depending on what day Greene makes good on her threat, it may complicate the House schedule during the CEA National Issues Conference and the Hill meetings MCAA members are supposed to have while in D.C. Another interesting new dynamic around the CEA National Issues Conference is that Texas Democrat Henry Cuellar, who was invited to speak at our conference on Tuesday, was indicted today along with his wife on charges of taking more than $600,000 in bribes from two foreign entities. MCAA did not invite Cuellar, and at this we have not heard that he is cancelling his appearance, although the association that invited him has not been able to confer with anyone in his office about this late Friday development. We are making plans to cover any gap in the schedule if Rep. Cuellar ends up not coming on Tuesday. 

As to more substantive matters, the MCAA lobbying team was busy this week rallying opposition to a recently introduced Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to nullify the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council’s MCAA-supported file rule implementing President Biden’s Executive Order on Project Labor Agreements, as discussed in more detail below. We were also busy on the House side with Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su’s appearance before the House Education and the Workforce Committee to testify on President Biden’s fiscal year 2025 budget request for the Labor Department. We also continued fighting the CRA resolutions to nullify the Department of Labor’s final rules on Davis-Bacon and Independent Contractor status.

On the Senate side, Senate lawmakers this week labored to pass the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization ahead of a May 10^th expiration. Advancing the legislation has been a slog, however, as Senators argue over whether to include certain non-germane amendments to the must-pass legislation, including provisions related to cannabis banking, cryptocurrency, compensation for Cold War-ear nuclear worker exposed to radiation, and more. On Wednesday, the Senate voted 89-10 to begin consideration of the bill and is expected to resume consideration of the bill when Senators return to D.C. next week. Among the issues of interest to MCAA in this bill is continued authorization for billions of dollars in funds to modernize airport terminals that was initially included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

On the regulatory front, we were busy following up with DOL about our concerns over the recently proposed apprenticeship rule and getting some answers to our questions about the final FTC rule banning non-competition agreements.

MCAA Issues and Interests 

Project Labor Agreements

MCAA Letter Opposing Resolution Seeking to Nullify PLA Final Rule 

As Congress returned this week, Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) introduced a new Congressional Review Act resolution (H.J. Res. 132) to nullify the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council’s MCAA-supported final rule on project labor agreements (PLAs). Consistent with the plans laid with GAC Chair Gaffney on Wednesday, the MCAA lobbying team submitted a letter signed by Chair Gaffney to the leadership of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee opposing the CRA. The letter highlighted points from Independent Project Analysis (IPA) study that the Mechanical Contractors Association Fund commissioned and that MCAA cited at length in its comments supporting this final rule. MCAA’s rapid and substantive letter was appreciated by Ranking Member Jamie Raskin’s (D-MD) staff, who reached out to discuss the CRA. In these discussions we learned that Rep. Higgins is currently attempting to add his CRA resolution to the agenda for an upcoming Committee mark-up. The staff was also very interested in the IPA study and believed it would help them to argue against nullifying this final rule. Having shared our arguments with the relevant committee, we then began reaching out to other members to make the case against this CRA resolution. 

NLRB Joint Employer Rule

Today, President Biden finally made good on his promise to veto the CRA resolution to nullify the MCAA-supported NLRB Joint Employer Rule. MCAA has been lobbying to get the President to fulfill his pledge early this year to veto this CRA and we are pleased that he has made good on it. The President and his team seem comfortable rejecting CRA resolutions on high-profile labor issues, which is helpful if we cannot bottle up other pending CRAs we are currently fighting on Capitol Hill. White House staff did, however, make clear that unions and their employer partners need to “fight the good fight” and not take White House vetoes for granted. It certainly helped that this CRA passed by the narrowest of margins in the Senate. So we need to ensure we keep votes on future CRAs close to encourage White House engagement should it be required.

Davis-Bacon

Continuing to Fight CRA Resolution to Rescind Davis-Bacon Rule

In addition to advocating against the PLA CRA above, the MCAA policy team was busy this week following up on our advocacy to defeat the CRA to rescind the Department of Labor’s recent MCAA-supported Davis-Bacon rule. We continue to feel confident that we can defeat this effort.

Independent Contractor

This week we continued our lobbying against the CRA resolution to nullify the independent contractor rule. We view this as a harder fight than the CRAs on Davis-Bacon and PLAs. We continue meetings and still feel we have a fighting chance to prevail on this even if we are not as confident as we are on other CRA fights.

Acting Labor Secretary Su Testifies on DOL’s FY2025 Budget Request 

Heading into Wednesday, the MCAA lobbying team laid the groundwork to push back on attacks we knew would be made against Labor Department Rules we support during the House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing on the Department of Labor’s fiscal year 2025 budget at which Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su testified. As anticipated, at the hearing, Republicans criticized the President’s DOL budget for requesting funds to implement the MCAA-supported independent contractor rule and the MCAA-supported Davis-Bacon rule. MCAA did not disagree with all of the Republican grievances aired at the hearing. Specifically, Republicans attacked the DOL’s proposed rule on “National Apprenticeship System Enhancements,” albeit for reasons different from the ones MCAA and the UA raised in joint comments on the rule in March and in subsequent lobbying on the rule. Republicans also threatened to subpoena Su for information on the Department’s return-to-work plan, saying DOL, “has failed to make any meaningful efforts to respect taxpayer dollars and return to work in person.”

For their part, Democrats on the Committee, led by Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA), applauded Su for her leadership of the Labor Department, saying that under her leadership, “the Department of Labor has supported registered apprenticeship and championed a pro-worker regulatory agenda” that includes the rulemakings MCAA is now defending against CRA resolutions of disapproval.

The hearing largely followed the narrative we expected and we developed some goodwill by providing staff useful background information on the issues in advance.

Apprenticeship and Worker Training 

DOL Rule on “National Apprenticeship System Enhancements”

This week the MCAA lobbying team continued trying to persuade the Labor Department and members of Congress with authority over the department to address concerns raised about the recently issued proposed rule on “National Apprenticeship System Enhancements” on which MCAA filed joint comments with the UA. The proposed rule continues to face bipartisan opposition for a myriad of different reasons. Members of both parties, however, continue to agree with the MCAA that the rule as proposed does more harm than good. Over the coming weeks we will continue pressing lawmakers to echo specific suggestions for improving the rule that were highlighted in the joint MCAA-UA comment letter. 

ETA to Hold Meetings of the Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship on June 4 and 5, 2024

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) announced public meetings of the Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship (ACA) on June 4 – 5, 2024 to onboard the new membership and address the following agenda items: (1) updates on the National Apprenticeship System—which may extend to discussion of the pending apprenticeship proposed rule MCAA is lobbying; (2) a discussion on federal, state, and international initiatives and partnerships; (3) a discussion on the ACA Road Map and planned activities for the future term; and (4) public comments. Meeting and agenda updates will be posted on the ACA website here.

The meetings will be held on June 4, 2024 from 1:30pm to 4pm ET and on June 5, 2024 from 9:30am to 4:30pm ET. The meetings will be available to the public as follows: (1) in-person at the Department of Labor, Frances Perkins Building located at 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC, 20210; (2) virtually through Webex; and (3) by teleconference. Those who intend to participate in-person must register by email to AdvisoryCommitteeonApprenticeship@dol.gov by May 28, 2024.

There is no registration requirement for those who intend to participate virtually, and the meetings can be accessed: (1) here on June 4, 2024 using access code 2824 377 2245 and password Welcome!24; and (2) here on June 5, 2024 using access code 2831 404 4991 and password Welcome!24. The telephone number for both meetings is 877-465-7975, and the access codes and passwords are as follows: (1) for June 4, 2024, the access code is 2824 377 2245 and the password is 93526631; and (2) for June 5, 2024, the access code is 2831 404 4991 and the password is 93526631.

Non-Competes – FTC Releases Final Rule Banning Noncompete Agreements 

On April 23^rd, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) adopted by a 3-2 vote a revised, final version of its Noncompete Rule. This final rule will formally publish in the Federal Register on May 7, 2024 and will take effect 120 days after publication. Once it takes effect, people can report information about a suspected violation of the rule to the FTC Bureau of Competition by emailing noncompete@ftc.gov. It is already subject to a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in federal court in Texas.

The FTC rejected the suggestion in MCAA’s comments to exempt construction from the rule. In general terms, the final rule will: (1) apply to all entities subject to FTC jurisdiction (most notably excepting bona fide non-profits); (2) ban new non-competes; (3) apply to “workers,” broadly defined to include independent contractors, apprentices, volunteers, etc.; and (4) require rescission of existing non-competes and use of prescribed notices to workers that “existing” non-competes are not enforceable, provided that existing agreements with “senior executives,” as defined in the rule, may remain in force, but new ones may not be imposed. The final rule also allows non-competes in the context of the bona sale of a business and removes an ownership threshold in the proposed rule for such transactions. 

Having devoted considerable time to reading the entire 570 pages of the pre-publication version of the final rule, we are increasingly convinced that it will not apply to most scholarship loan agreements because of limitations on the FTC’s jurisdiction over bona fide nonprofit entities under the rather unique analysis the FTC uses as explained in the final rule. This of course assumes that these agreements are entered into by jointly-trusteed training funds that are bona fide tax-exempt 501(c)(3) entities. We think these jurisdictional limits may also address concerns we have about this rule’s application to restrictions that curtail the ability of UA retirees who are taking their pension to return to work on the trade that could otherwise be deemed non-competes under this final rule. These issues and more aspects about the rule are part of the Longbow presentation for Monday’s GAC meeting and we will have a fulsome overview of the final rule with our next regulatory report. 

Other Interesting Things Since Our Last Report 

Thursday May 2^nd

• While in Wilmington, NC, the President announced $3 billion in EPA funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to replace toxic lead pipes, and an additional $90 million in HUD funding to reduce residential health hazards in public housing, including lead-based paint hazards, carbon monoxide, mold, radon, fire safety, and asbestos. The Biden EPA released more details on the $3 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to identify and replace lead service lines in every state and territory to prevent exposure to lead in drinking water. The Lead Service Line-specific formula used to allot these funds allows states to receive financial assistance commensurate with their need, meaning that states with more projected lead service lines receive proportionally more funding. The EPA also released a new memorandum clarifying how states can use this funding. A separate memorandum from the Office of Water that includes the allotments for each state is available here.

• The U.S. Commerce Department and tech giants Intel and Micron announced a partnership to boost women’s participation in the semiconductor construction workforce with the launch the voluntary CHIPS Women in Construction Framework for companies, contractors, unions and others to recruit and retain women and other economically disadvantaged individuals. Under the program companies will offer services such as childcare and transportation and invest in training as well as prevent and address harassment and discrimination. Intel and Micron are the first companies to commit to the program. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo issued a statement saying: “If we are going to meet the national and economic security imperatives of the CHIPS Program, we are going to have to figure out how to fill the hundreds of thousands of jobs we are creating, and we won’t fill those jobs without growing our construction workforce to include more women.”

• The FBI, CISA, EPA, and other federal agencies issued an advisory yesterday warning North American water treatment system operators that pro-Russia activities are “targeting and compromising” operational technology platforms that underpin wastewater and water treatment systems, at times posing physical threats to safety.

• OSHA released a new safety overview entitled “Working in Outdoor and Indoor Heat Environments” in which it recommends steps to prevent heat injury and illness in indoor and outdoor settings. Recommended actions include: “Engineering controls such as air conditioning, with cooled air, and increased air flow, leading to increased evaporative cooling, can make the workplace safer. Other options for keeping body temperatures down in warm environments include making changes to workload and schedules. For example, empower supervisors and workers to slow down physical activity like reducing manual handling speeds or scheduling work for the morning or shorter shifts with frequent rest breaks in the shade or at least away from heat sources. Supervisors can encourage workers in warm environments to drink hydrating fluids. At a minimum, all supervisors and workers should receive training about heat-related symptoms and first aid.”

• The Biden Labor Department (DOL) announced $98 million in YouthBuild program grants, ranging from $700,000 to $1.5 million each, to 72 organizations in 30 states and Guam to support pre-apprenticeships for young people aged 16-24, who are neither enrolled in school or in the labor market, for jobs in construction and other high-demand industries, including manufacturing and logistics, healthcare, hospitality, information technology, and culinary arts. 

Wednesday, May 1^st 

• The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) published a final rule on reduced costs for use of federal land for renewable energy projects that relies on BLM’s inherent authority to set lease terms for federal lands to adopt 20% cost-reduction incentives for solar and wind projects that use a project labor agreement (PLA) or build with domestically sourced iron, steel, and construction materials. The final rule discusses at length the benefits to the government of using PLAs. This final rule is a significant policy development because BLM created the incentive to use PLAs in the absence of any congressional directive to do so akin to language in the Inflation Reduction Act. This final rule could serve as a model for other agencies to rely on general permitting and resource protection authorities to impose similar incentives for PLAs and labor standards that encourage the use of unionized construction even in the absence of congressional direction to do so. Such actions are something that MCAA and its partners in the unionized construction industry have been encouraging. We now need to see if we can replicate this model elsewhere.

Tuesday, April 30^th

• The Labor Department (DOL) issued a blog post highlighting the first annual Youth Apprenticeship Week that will be held from May 5 – 11, 2024, during which there will be a series of events touting the benefits and value of Registered Apprenticeship programs for those aged 16–24.

• The Energy Department (DOE) announced more than $78 million in funding from the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law through the Energy Improvements Rural or Remote Areas program for 19 projects in Illinois, Alabama, Maine, Alaska, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Washington State, Colorado, Montana, Kentucky, North Carolina, and West Virginia to develop and deploy sustainable clean energy solutions and expand access to reliable and affordable energy in rural and remote communities. A list of the projects selected to receive funding is available here.
  
• The Energy Department (DOE) finalized energy-efficiency standards for a range of residential water heaters, requiring most common-sized electric water heaters to achieve efficiency gains with heat pump technology. The new standards are estimated to save households approximately $7.6 billion per year on energy and water bills and reduce 332 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, equivalent to the combined annual emissions of nearly 43 million homes.

Monday, April 29^th

• The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) published “Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace” to reflect developments in the EEOC’s interpretation of and process for enforcing the discrimination laws under its purview. The EEOC proposed the new guidance for public comment last October and received over 38,000 comments on it. The final guidance clarifies the standards of liability for harassment and a hostile work environment with numerous examples of impermissible conduct across the various anti-discrimination laws the EEOC enforces. The new guidance supersedes the following longstanding EEOC enforcement guidance documents: (1) Compliance Manual Section 615: Harassment (1987); (2) Policy Guidance on Current Issues of Sexual Harassment (1990); (3) Policy Guidance on Employer Liability under Title VII for Sexual Favoritism (1990); (4) Enforcement Guidance on Harris v. Forklift Sys., Inc. (1994); and (5) Enforcement Guidance on Vicarious Employer Liability for Unlawful Harassment by Supervisors (1999). Along with the final guidance, the EEOC issued a “Summary of Key Provisions,” a document for employees, and a fact sheet for small businesses. The final guidance highlights: (1) the EEOC’s 2023 Promising Practices for Preventing Harassment in the Federal Sector technical assistance document, which provides practical tips for preventing and addressing harassment within the federal civilian workforce; (2) the EEOC’s 2017 Promising Practices for Preventing Harassment technical assistance document; and (3) the EEOC’s 2016 Report of the Co-Chairs of the Select Task Force on Harassment in the Workplace, which included findings and recommendations about harassment prevention strategies.
  
• The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2024-36 to announce the 2024 allocation round of the Section 48C, “Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Credit” to allocate approximately $6 billion of Section 48C credits from the President’s Inflation Reduction Act. The Section 48C Portal will open no later than May 28, 2024 for owners of clean energy manufacturing and recycling projects, greenhouse gas emission reduction projects and critical material projects to submit a concept paper and begin the process of seeking a Section 48C credit allocation.
  
• The Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division released a new Field Assistance Bulletin, 2024-01 entitled, Artificial Intelligence and Automated Systems in the Workplace under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Other Federal Labor Standards. The bulletin warns employers that artificial intelligence (AI) systems used to monitor worker productivity, breaktime, waiting time, and geolocation will often not suffice to provide compliant records regarding matters like an employee’s hours worked. It also explains how the data measured and captured by AI software will not often be congruent with FLSA concepts like “hours worked.” Finally, the Bulletin also details issues that may arise with an employer’s compliance with the Family and Medical Leave Act, the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act, and other federal leave laws if employers rely on AI systems without adequate human intervention to ensure compliance with these laws and to avoid unlawful retaliation.

• The Energy Department (DOE) announced a series of actions delivering on key elements of the Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), including issuing reports on AI’s near-term potential to support the growth of America’s clean energy economy and long-term opportunities and challenges in AI. DOE also launched a new website that showcases DOE-developed AI tools and foundation models useful for basic and applied science. DOE also announced it is investing $13 million in the VoltAlc Initiative to use AI to streamline siting and permitting at the federal, state, and local levels, and establishing the Powering AI and Data Center Infrastructure working group to provide recommendations on meeting energy demands for AI and data center infrastructure.

Thursday, April 25^th

• The Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced the designation of additional federally funded construction projects in its Mega Construction Project (Megaproject) Program. The Megaproject Program is an effort to assist contractors and subcontractors on federal construction projects valued at $35 million or more to recruit and hire from a diverse applicant pool that includes workers from underrepresented communities. The 16 selected projects include: (1) the Appalachian Hydrogen Hub in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Ohio; (2) the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES) Project in California; (3) the Brightline West High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail System Project in California and Nevada; (4) the Chicago Union Station Mail Platform Reactivation Project in Illinois; (5) the Gateway Hudson Tunnel Project in New York and New Jersey; (6) the Heart Butte Safety of Dams Modification Project in North Dakota; (7) the HyVelocity Hydrogen Hub Program in Texas; (8) the Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen Project in Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan; (9) the Pajaro River at Watsonville Project in California; (10) the Penn Station Access Program in New York; (11) the Raleigh to Richmond Innovating Rail Program in North Carolina; (12) the Road Improvements to U.S. 49 from Bentonia to Yazoo City Project in Mississippi; (13) the Transforming Rail in Virginia Phase 2 FSP Application Project in Virginia; (14) the Upper Mississippi River – Illinois Waterway System Project in Illinois and Missouri; (15) the Upper Ohio Navigation Project in Pennsylvania; and (16) the U.S. 64 Corridor Improvements Project in New Mexico. The list of newly-designated projects is available here.

• The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced the award of $76 million from the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for 45 airport-related projects in Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, and Washington State. Among the airports receiving funding include: (1) $6.4 million to Colorado Springs Airport to rehabilitate the existing terminal building to accommodate a 14,000 square foot Federal Inspection Service facility to allow passengers to clear customs more efficiently; (2) $3 million to Melbourne Orlando International Airport to fund the first phase of the terminal building rehabilitation; (3) $1.8 million to South Bend International Airport in Indiana to reconstruct 8,500 feet of the existing Taxiway B pavement that has reached the end of its useful life; (4) $2.4 million to Easton Airport in Maryland to improve the Runway 22 safety area to enhance the safety operations at the airport; and (5) $8.3 million to Bangor International in Maine to rehabilitate 7,436 feet of Runway 15/33 to maintain the structural integrity of the pavement and to minimize debris. The full list of airports receiving funding is available here.

• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a set of final rules to reduce pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants. The set of final rules include: (1) a final rule for existing coal-fired and new natural gas-fired power plants that would ensure that all coal-fired plants that plan to run in the long-term and all new baseload gas-fired plants control 90 percent of their carbon pollution; (2) a final rule strengthening and updating the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for coal-fired power plants, tightening the emissions standard for toxic metals by 67 percent and finalizing a 70% reduction in the emissions standard for mercury from existing lignite-fired sources; (3) a final rule to reduce pollutants discharged through wastewater from coal-fired power plants by more than 660 million pounds per year; and (4) a final rule that will require the safe management of coal ash that is placed in areas that were unregulated at the federal level. 
  
• The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) voted 2-1 to authorize construction of three natural gas projects over the objections of a Democratic FERC Commissioner. The approved projects are the: (1) El Paso Natural Gas Co.’s project in Hudspeth County, Texas to install a nearly two-mile 30-inch-diameter pipeline extension; (2) Great Basin Gas Transmission Company’s project in Douglas, Lyon, and Storey Counties, Nevada to install about 3.4 miles of upsized or looped pipeline segments; and (3) Florida Gas Transmission Company’s project in St. Landry, East Baton Rouge, and Washington Parishes, Louisiana and Perry County, Mississippi to upgrade four compressor stations. FERC Chairman Willie Phillips (D) joined with Republican Commissioner Mark Christie to approve the natural gas projects. Commissioner Allison Clements (D) voted against the projects over concerns about the projects’ greenhouse gas emissions. 

Wednesday, April 24^th

• The Department of Labor announced the launch of an interactive map to help unions, workers, and the public learn more about the tens of thousands of jobs being created nationwide by more than 1,000 planned energy projects. The map allows users to sort planned clean energy projects by sector and state and learn more about each project’s location, name, status and size, companies involved and the estimated number of construction jobs supporting the project.

• The Department of Energy (DOE) announced a final rule entitled, “Clean Energy for New Federal Buildings and Major Renovations of Federal Buildings.” The final rule, which implements the Energy Independent and Security Act of 2007, requires federal agencies to phase out fossil fuel usage in new federal building construction or major renovation by achieving a 90% reduction in fossil fuel use for new projects started between fiscal years 2025 and 2029 and eliminating on-site fossil fuel usage in new projects beginning in 2030. The rule applies to new construction and major renovations that exceed certain cost thresholds, including: (1) $3.6 million in 2024 dollars for federally owned public buildings; (2) $3.8 million in 2024 dollars for federally owned non-public buildings; and (3) $1.8 million in 2024 dollars for leased federal buildings. DOE estimates that over the next 30 years, the final rule will reduce carbon emissions from federal buildings by 2 million metric tons and methane emissions by 16,000 tons—an amount roughly equivalent to the emissions generated by nearly 310,000 homes in one year, while also reducing infrastructure costs. More information on the final rule is available on the DOE website here. 

• The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced $148 million in grants to Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, and Washington State under the first round of the Reduction of Truck Emissions at Port Facilities Grant Program created by the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. In this first round of grant awards, FHWA has funded 16 projects that reduce pollution in communities adjacent to ports. Specific truck emissions reductions implemented include: (1) constructing electric vehicle charging infrastructure; (2) replacing diesel-powered trucks serving ports with zero or low emissions electric or alternative fuel-powered trucks; (3) employing port roadway access improvements; and (4) studying technology enhancements to reduce truck emissions. The full list of grant awards is available here. 

• House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-MO) and Tax Subcommittee Chair Mike Kelly (R-PA) announced the formation of ten “Committee Tax Teams,” comprised of Ways and Means Republican members, to study key tax provisions from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that are set to expire in 2025 and identify legislative solutions. The Tax Teams are comprised of Republican Committee members and are assigned specific areas of tax policy for review, including: (1) the American Workforce Tax Team which is chaired by Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL) and includes Rep. Mike Carey (R-OH), Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH), Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-PA), and Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick; (2) the American Manufacturing Tax Team which is chaired by Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) and includes Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC), Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX), Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY), and Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY); (3) the Supply Chains Tax Team which is chaired by Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) and includes Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN), Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH), Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-GA), Rep. Michelle Fishbach (R-MN); and Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-IA); (4) the Working Families Tax Team which is chaired by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and includes Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT), Rep. Michelle Steel (R-CA), and Rep. Mike Carey (R-OH); (5) the Main Street Tax Team which is chaired by Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) and includes Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL), Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL), Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE), Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX), and Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX); (6) the Rural America Tax Team which is chaired by Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE) and includes Rep. Michelle Fishbach (R-MN), Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-IA), Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN), and Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL); (7) the New Economy Tax Team which is chaired by Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ) and includes Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX), Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC), Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY), and Rep. Michelle Steel (R-CA); (8) the Community Development Tax Team which is chaired by Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) and includes Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY), Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL), Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT), and Rep. Mike Carey (R-OH); (9) the U.S. Innovation Tax Team which is chaired by Rep. Ron Estes (R-KS) and includes Rep. Michelle Steel (R-CA), Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ), Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-GA), Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK), and Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC); and (10) the Global Competitiveness Tax Team which is chaired by Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) and includes Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT), Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA), Rep. Ron Estes (R-KS), Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL), and Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-IA). 

Tuesday, April 23^rd

• The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) announced the publication of its final rule entitled, “Retirement Security Rule: Definition of an Investment Advice Fiduciary”, which updates the definition of an investment advice fiduciary under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code. Specifically, the final rule and related amended prohibited transaction exemptions require trusted investment advice providers to give prudent, loyal, and honest advice free from overcharges. These fiduciaries must adhere to high standards of care and loyalty when recommending investments and avoid recommendations that favor the investment advice providers’ interests—financial or otherwise—at the retirement savers’ expense. Under the final rule and amended exemptions, financial institutions overseeing investment advice providers must have policies and procedures to manage conflicts of interest and ensure providers follow these guidelines. The updated definition of an investment advice fiduciary takes effect on September 23, 2024 and applies when trusted financial services providers give compensated investment advice to retirement plan participants, individual retirement account owners and plan officials responsible for administering plans and managing their assets. Additional information about this final rule is available on the EBSA website here.

• The Department of Labor (DOL) released its final overtime rule updating the salary thresholds below which workers must be paid overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The new final rule takes effect July 1, 2024, and requires employers to pay overtime to most workers paid below $844 a week ($43,888 annually) regardless of their job duties and titles. This is a significant increase from the current threshold of $684 a week ($35,568 annually). Workers above this threshold may be exempt from overtime if their duties qualify them as an exempt executive, professional, or administrative employee under Part 541 of the regulations interpreting the Fair Labor Standards Act (or certain other discrete exemptions, for groups such as outside sales and computer employees). The final rule also raises this threshold to $1,128 a week ($58,656 annually) effective January 1, 2025. Thereafter, the final rule has a mechanism to update this threshold every three years. More information on the final overtime rule is available on the DOL website here. 

Monday, April 22^nd

• The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a final rule to prohibit the disclosure of protected health information (PHI) related to lawful reproductive health care. Specifically, the final rule: (1) prohibits the use or disclosure of PHI when it is sought to investigate or impose liability on individuals, health care providers, or others who seek, obtain, provide, or facilitate reproductive health care that is lawful under the circumstances in which such health care is provided, or to identify persons for such activities; (2) requires a regulated health care provider, health plan, clearinghouse, or their business associates, to obtain a signed attestation that certain requests for PHI potentially related to reproductive health care are not for these prohibited purposes; and (3) requires regulated health care providers, health plans, and clearinghouses to modify their Notice of Privacy Practices to support reproductive health care privacy. The text of the final rule is available here and a fact sheet on the final rule is available here.

Around the Country 

Northeast 

• On April 30^th, New York state Sen. Timothy Kennedy (D-NY) won the special election for New York’s 26^th Congressional District previously represented by Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY).

• On April 30^th, a new poll found that Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) is leading Republican Dave McCormick 46% to 39% in the Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race. 

West

• On May 3^rd, California Assemblymember Evan Low (D) won a recount in the race for California’s 16^th Congressional District and will face fellow Democrat Sam Liccardo in November to replace Rep. Anna Eshoo (D) who is retiring.

• On May 3^rd, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ordered a lower court to end a climate change lawsuit filed against the federal government by children for the second time, ruling that the children lacked standing because the courts cannot order the federal government to take sweeping, generalized action on greenhouse gas emissions.

• On May 3^rd, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) signed legislation that will result in sweeping bans of PFAS “forever chemicals” across a wide range of consumer products.

• On May 1^st, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the Biden Justice Department, on behalf of the EPA and the California Attorney General, filed a civil complaint against the city and county of San Francisco. The complaint seeks financial penalties and improvements to remedy San Francisco’s repeated and widespread failures to operate its two combined sewer systems and three sewage treatment plants in a manner that keeps untreated sewage out of San Francisco Bay and its tributaries, streets, beaches and other areas with risk of human contact, which represents a violation of the Clean Water Act and its permits.

• On May 1^st, the Transportation Department (DOT) announced that the Build America Bureau has approved its first Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan for up to $26.8 million for the Mt. Vernon Library Commons Project in Washington State. The project will include, among other things, a multi-use building with a public library, community center, and electric vehicle chargers along the I-5 Alternative Fuel Corridor.

Midwest 

• On May 1^st, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that Webster, Kentucky will receive technical assistance through the Energy Communities Technical Assistance Pilot Program to enhance community planning capacity related to clean energy transition, including by boosting opportunities for workforce development, training and apprenticeships, leveraging private sector and philanthropic funding assistance, and cleaning up and redeveloping abandoned power plant and mining areas. 

• On April 30^th, the Labor Department (DOL) announced that it will host an information session on May 8, 2024 in Overland Park, Kansas for current and former nuclear weapons workers and their families employed at covered facilities to discuss the benefits available under the federal Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act, answer questions, assist in filing claims, and provide updates on existing claims.

• On April 30^th, a new poll found that Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) is leading Republican Eric Hovde 48% to 41% in the Wisconsin U.S. Senate race. 

Southeast

• On May 1^st, the Labor Department announced a hybrid meeting of the Advisory Board on Toxic Substances and Worker Health for Part E of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act on May 8 – 9, 2024 from 9am to 5pm and 8:30am to 11:30am, respectively, at the Comfort Inn Oak Ridge, 433 S. Rutgers Ave., Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 37830. Information on how to attend, whether in-person or virtually, will be made available on the Board’s website here no later than 72 hours before the meeting date.

• On April 30^th, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana rejected Louisiana’s new congressional district map that added “two Black opportunity districts,” finding it violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

• On April 30^th, the Labor Department (DOL) announced a statewide survey seeking input from the North Carolina highway construction industry to assist the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division in establishing prevailing wage rates for construction workers on federally funded and assisted construction projects. The survey is available here. There will be two online briefings, on May 21, 2024 and May 23, 2024, to describe the survey process and offer instructions for completing the survey, and registration is available here.

• On April 29^th, Aaron Dimmick, a former naval aviator, filed to run in the Republican primary for Florida’s 1^st Congressional District against Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
  
• On April 26^th, Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL) announced he will not seek reelection to Florida’s 8^th Congressional District and endorsed former Florida State Senate Mike Haridopolos (R) for the seat. 

Southwest

• On April 30^th, a new poll showed Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) leading Republican Kari Lake 45.3% to 43.1% in Arizona’s U.S. Senate race.

• On April 29^th, it was reported that there is a growing schism between former President Trump and Arizona Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake. Trump has reportedly ruled her out as a running mate and is openly questioning if she can win the Senate seat in a state that is critical to Trump’s re-election prospects.

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, April 19, 2024 MCAA Lobbying Firm, Longbow Public Policy Group provided the following information:

Prompted by Iran’s attack on Israel last weekend, the House is working into the weekend to pass a $95 billion foreign aid package to provide aid to Israel, Ukraine, and allies in the Indo-Pacific region. To placate House conservatives opposed to the aid (particularly to Ukraine), Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) also included legislation to require Chinese-owned ByteDance to divest from social media app TikTok. A fifth bill that contained immigration and border security provisions from the House-passed H.R. 2 that has been universally opposed by Democrats was removed from the foreign aid package and will get a separate vote on suspension requiring two-thirds support. 

Earlier today, the House passed a rule providing debate for the foreign aid package and the TikTok ban by a large, bipartisan majority of 316-94, but more Democrats (165) provided “yes” votes on the rule than Republicans (151). This bipartisanship further angered conservative lawmakers in the House and raised the prospect that Speaker Johnson could face a motion to vacate seeking to remove him from the Speakership. While Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has not yet made her motion to vacate “privileged,” which would force a vote on it, it is gaining momentum as Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ) announced they would cosponsor the motion. In the closely divided House, support for the motion from Greene, Massie, and Gosar could be enough to remove Johnson from the Speakership if Democrats join with disgruntled republicans, as they did when former Speaker McCarthy (R-CA) was removed last October. 

In the Senate this week, the democratic majority summarily dismissed the impeachment charges against Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas by a 51-49 party-line vote, depriving Republicans of a trial they could use to attack the Administration’s immigration policies. The Senate is now busy trying to pass reauthorization of post-9/11 surveillance authorities referred to as FISA, and awaiting the House foreign aid package. The tax package that passed the House last month continues to remain stalled in the Senate.

Both the House and Senate are scheduled to depart town when they finish their pending business on foreign aid and FISA reauthorization.   

As detailed below, the MCAA policy team was very busy throughout the last two weeks on an array of legislative and regulatory matters.

MCAA Issues and Interests 

Misclassification

Appropriations Subcommittee Hearing on DOL Budget with Acting Labor Sec. Su

On April 17^th, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education held a hearing with Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su to discuss the Department of Labor’s fiscal year 2025 (FY25) budget request. During the hearing, Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) attacked the Wage and Hour Division’s MCAA-supported independent contractor rule, saying it will devastate small businesses and limit opportunities for individuals to work as independent contractors. Su countered that the independent contractor rule would not impact bona fide independent contractor relationships, adding that it simply enacts a test that aligns with decades of federal case law on whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor. These attacks against the DOL Independent Contractor Rule come as MCAA continues lobbying against pending Congressional Review Act resolutions to rescind the regulation. 

Subcommittee Democrats, including Rep. Barbrara Lee (D-CA), Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), and Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL), asked Acting Secretary Su what actions DOL is taking to ensure women and workers of color can access good jobs in in-demand occupations, including construction. Acting Secretary Su responded that DOL’s FY25 budget requests additional funding for investments in workforce training programs that help to create opportunities for women and minorities, including the DOL Office of Contract Compliance Programs’ “Mega Project Program,” which assists contractors and subcontractors on federal construction projects valued at $35 million or more in recruiting and hiring women and minorities. She also highlighted efforts to expand apprenticeships and other on-the-job training programs to reach more workers. Su said DOL has significantly expanded apprenticeships by working with over 11,000 employers to create more programs in in-demand industries beyond construction. 

Finally, Subcommittee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) asked Acting Secretary Su what DOL was doing to respond to an increase in child labor violations. Su noted that the FY25 budget request seeks an increase for the Wage and Hour Division to fund more investigators to address child labor violations, as well as other types of Wage & Hour violations, including wage theft and misclassification. 

House Subcommittee Hearing Focused on DOL Independent Contractor Rule

The Independent Contractor Rule faced more focused attacks at an April 11^th House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Workforce Protections hearing entitled, “Unlocking Opportunity: Allowing Independent Contractors to Access Benefits.” Subcommittee Chair Kevin Kiley (R-CA) attacked the DOL independent contractor rule and said that he is in favor of providing “portable benefits” to independent contractors to “build a bridge from traditional employment to the modern workforce without putting families at risk.” Full Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA) expressed views aligned with MCAA about the need for the rule and the extent to which critics are misstating what it does. Rep. Kiley pledged to continue pressing his Congressional Review Act Resolution to rescind the Independent Contractor rulemaking that MCAA is lobbying against.  

House Passes CRA Resolution to Rescind NLRB Joint Employer Rule 

On April 10^th, the Senate voted 50-48 to pass the House-passed H. J. Res. 98, a Congressional Review Act resolution to nullify the National Labor Relations Board’s joint employer final rule. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), and Angus King (I-ME) voted with Republicans in favor of the CRA resolution, while Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) voted with Democrats to oppose it. The resolution now heads to President Joe Biden, who has vowed to veto it.

Apprenticeship and Worker Training

DOL Apprenticeship

MCAA is continuing to try to persuade DOL regarding concerns raised about the recently-issued Apprenticeship Modernization Rule on which MCAA filed joint comments with the UA. The rule has drawn bipartisan opposition—albeit for a number of reasons. But members of both parties agree with MCAA that, as proposed, on balance the rule in its entirety does more harm than good. We are now trying to get key members of Congress to echo specific suggestions to improve the rule that were highlighted in our joint comment letter.

Passage of A Stronger Workforce for America Act 

On April 10^th, the House passed A Stronger Workforce for America Act (H.R. 6655) by a vote of 378-26. The bill seeks to make changes to the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, including: (1) dedicating 50% of the adult and dislocated worker funding toward upskilling workers through “individual training accounts” and on-the-job learning; (2) prioritizing employer-led initiatives that equip workers with the skill sets to fill jobs in critical industries and help currently employed workers to upskill to avoid displacement; (3) streamlining the “eligible training provider list” to ensure programs are aligned with the skill and hiring demands of employers and fully implementing the performance accountability system to hold states and local workforce boards accountable for achieving positive outcomes for program participants; (4) emphasizing work-based learning for youth, codifying a program to help individuals released from incarceration transition back to employment, and enhancing workforce education programs at community colleges that align with in-demand jobs; and (5) creating a demonstration authority for targeted state and local boards to reimagine their workforce systems and providing technical assistance to employers on implementing skills-based hiring practices. The legislation now heads to the Senate for consideration.

DOL Announces $6 Million in WANTO Grants to Retain Women in Registered Apprenticeships

On April 11^th, Department of Labor (DOL) announced a $6 million funding opportunity through the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) grant program for up to 17 grants to attract and retain women in registered apprenticeship programs. The grants are intended to provide technical assistance to employers, labor unions, and joint labor-management organizations (among others), to encourage employment of women in construction and other industries where they are underrepresented by establishing, expanding, and/or enhancing pre-apprenticeship, youth apprenticeship, registered apprenticeship, or other skills training programs. Past grants have been used to provide resources for employers, unions, and workers to create an environment for women to succeed in construction and other nontraditional occupations, to establish support groups for women in these industries, and for other efforts to improve their retention. Grant proposals are due June 10, 2024 and awards will range between $350,000 and $750,000. Further details on the application process are available here. DOL notes that while women comprise nearly half of the U.S. labor force, they only account for about 14 percent of all registered apprenticeships. 

ICERES Study Finds Workers Participating in Jointly Sponsored Registered Apprenticeships Have Higher Wages Compared to Workers in Apprenticeships with No Union Participation

On April 15^th, the Institute for Construction Economics Research (ICERES) published a study taking a comprehensive look at registered apprenticeships by combining information from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and 42 states from 2015 to 2021, including states that register their own programs that are not reflected in DOL data. The researchers found that construction training dominated the registered apprenticeship system, making up 65% of all registered apprenticeships in the U.S. DOL’s current data, which does not cover several states, only indicates that 34% of registered apprenticeships are in the construction trades. The study also confirms that workers participating in registered apprenticeships that are jointly administered by employers and unions are more likely to complete the program and tend to have higher wages compared to workers in apprenticeships that don’t have any union participation at all. But non-union programs have been growing in recent years and make up a majority of new apprentices in HVAC and electrical trades. The study can be purchased through ICERES here.

Davis-Bacon

Battle Continues Against CRA Resolution to Rescind DOL Davis-Bacon Rule

This congressional work period, MCAA continued its lobbying to defeat the Congressional Review Act resolution to rescind the Department of Labor’s recent MCAA-supported Davis-Bacon final rule

WHD Releases Updated Prevailing Wage Resource Book 

On April 3^rd, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) announced updates to the Prevailing Wage Resource Book (PWRB) in light of the implementation of the MCAA-supported Davis-Bacon final rule. In response to the final rule taking effect, the agency conducted a comprehensive review of the PWRB to simplify the language, restructure the format in a more intuitive manner, and provide necessary guidance and examples to help stakeholders understand the historic and positive changes the new regulations have made to the federal prevailing wage, survey, calculation, and enforcement processes. 

Pensions and Healthcare

Tax Bill Remains Stalled, Halting Progress on Pension Reform

As noted above, the quagmire that the House-passed tax bill is facing in the Senate has derailed the vehicle to which MCAA had hoped to attach legislation to allow two-pool withdrawal liability for construction industry multiemployer defined benefit pensions. While there is a renewed effort to get the tax package moving, Senator Crapo, the Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, said this week that there has been no meaningful negotiations with Chairman Wyden. Wyden seems to be trying to find enough Republican support to jam the bill through the Senate without Crapo’s support. So far this has not worked. Wyden also wants to move it without any material changes to the key elements of the legislation, which would preclude MCAA amending it to add two-pool withdrawal liability. Some of the urgency of passing the package has waned since the tax filing deadline has passed, but lobbying continues around the measure.

Education and Workforce HELP Subcommittee Hearing on ERISA

On April 16^th, the House Education and the Workforce Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee held a hearing entitled, “ERISA’s 50^th Anniversary: The Path to Higher Quality, Lower Cost Health Care.” The hearing was called in response to the full Committee’s January 22, 2024, letter to the “Employee Health Benefits Community” requesting feedback on “ways to build upon and strengthen ERISA” that the witnesses submitted comments on. The Committee’s January letter specifically referenced several topics covered in the hearing, including the impact of the Supreme Court’s 2020 Rutledge decision that an Arkansas state law was not preempted by ERISA, the importance of ERISA preemption, and the desire to find ways to strengthen and clarify ERISA preemption. Also discussed at length was the possibility of extending fiduciary obligations to third party administrators and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and PBM reforms generally. The witnesses were: (1) Russell DuBose of Phifer, Inc. appearing on behalf of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions; (2) Mairin Mancino of the Peterson Center on Healthcare; (3) Karen Handorf of the ERISA Practice Group at the D.C. law firm Berger Montague; and (4) Scott Behrens of Lockton Companies, a privately held insurance brokerage firm.  

With respect to ERISA preemption and the Rutledge decision, there was agreement among Subcommittee Republicans and the witnesses that it was important to ensure strong federal preemption of state laws regulating multi-state health plans. It was also noted that additional Congressional action was needed in the wake of Rutledge, as states are looking to use that decision to address healthcare costs, the practices of PBMs, and the price of prescription drugs in ways that undermine ERISA preemption. Democrats did not spend too much time on preemption, instead focusing their statements and Q&A on the need to enact federal legislation to strengthen the “promise” of ERISA through PBM reforms, contain healthcare costs, and ensure parity in long-term disability insurance coverage for mental health and substance use disorders. The witnesses generally suggested that if preemption were weakened, employers would face a patchwork of state regulations that would jeopardize their ability to offer cost-effective, uniform coverage across state lines. Mr. Behrens called preemption ERISA’s “crowning achievement,” and noted that if ERISA’s preemption “guardrails” were to change, that would have a detrimental impact on plan design and costs for plan sponsors and participants.  

Noting that the greatest threat to ERISA comes from state efforts to regulate PBMs, Republican and Democratic Subcommittee members and witnesses highlighted the need for federal action on PBMs, such as the “Lower Cost, More Transparency Act” that passed the House last December. It was noted that strong federal PBM standards would stop permissible state regulation, such as the Arkansas law at issue in the Rutledge case. Witnesses encouraged Subcommittee members to consider federal legislation making the following PBM reforms: (1) banning “spread pricing” and requiring PBMs to pass all rebates on to plan sponsors; (2) ensuring that PBMs providing services to self-insured employers are subject to strong, uniform standards and are subject to strong oversight and accountability requirements; (3) providing that any entity exercising discretion over plan assets is a fiduciary to the plan and thus must always act in the best interests of the plan (not a contractor or third party); and (4) ensuring greater transparency on the part of PBMs, including providing plan sponsors with visibility into negotiated pricing information and disclosure of any direct or indirect remuneration received to ERISA preemption that could have a broader impact on employee benefits under ERISA.

Labor Standards – EEOC Final Rule Implementing Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

Today, the Federal Register published the EEOC’s final rule and related interpretive guidance to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which was signed into law by President Biden on December 29, 2022. The EEOC has released a summary of the final rule and posted a series of FAQs about the final rule and accompanying guidance. The EEOC has also incorporated information about the PWFA regulations and guidance into its webpage on pregnancy discrimination, which evaluates issues women face related to pregnancy across the spectrum of laws the Commission enforces. The PWFA requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide “reasonable accommodations,” or changes at work—including temporary suspension of essential job functions—for a worker’s known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the employer can establish that the accommodation will cause the employer an undue hardship.

Among other things, this final rule includes: (1) examples of reasonable accommodations, including additional breaks to drink water, eat, or use the restroom, a stool to sit on while working, time off for healthcare appointments, temporary reassignment, temporary suspension of job duties, telework, or time off to recover from childbirth or a miscarriage; (2) guidance on limitations and medical conditions for which employees may seek reasonable accommodation, including miscarriage or stillbirth, migraines, lactation, and pregnancy-related conditions that are episodic, such as morning sickness; (3) guidance encouraging early and frequent communication between employers and workers to raise and resolve requests for reasonable accommodations in a timely manner; (4) guidance cautioning employers to be careful about requesting supporting documentation when an employee asks for a reasonable accommodation and to only do so when it is “reasonable under the circumstances”; (5) explanation of factors the EEOC will consider in determining whether an employer has met its burden of establishing that an accommodation would impose an undue hardship; and (6) information on how employers may assert defenses or exemptions, including those based on religion, because the final rule requires employers to offer reasonable accommodations to women who have had abortions or fertility issues under the law’s definition of “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.”

CHIPS and Science Act – Commerce Issues Grants to Build Chip Facilities in Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Idaho, and New York

This week, the U.S. Department of Commerce continued allocating the billions in grant money from the CHIPS and Science Act to incentivize semiconductor companies to build out manufacturing production capabilities in the U.S. and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said that the Biden Administration will allocate all of the funding from the bill by the end of the year.  

• On April 8^th, the Biden Administration awarded Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) $6.6 billion in grants and as much as $5 billion in loans to help build chip factories and related facilities in Arizona. Under the preliminary agreement, TSMC will construct a third factory in Phoenix that is in addition to two factories on which it plans to begin construction in 2025 and 2028. In total, the package will support more than $65 billion in investments at the three plants by TSMC.
  
• On April 15^th, the Biden Administration announced a $6.4 billion agreement with Samsung to invest in semiconductor chip manufacturing in Texas. The investments in Austin, TX will expand an existing facility to support production of chip technologies used in the aerospace, defense, and automotive industries. The investments in Taylor, TX, will allow for construction of a comprehensive advanced manufacturing system that will allow Samsung to create leading-edge chips and for advanced packaging research and development. Samsung is expected to invest more than $40 billion in the region over the next several years.
  
• On April 18^th, the Biden Administration announced that it reached a tentative agreement with Micron Technology concerning details of $6.1 billion from the CHIPS and Science Act to build out a planned memory chip plant in Syracuse, New York, and to expand existing facilities in Boise, Idaho. In Syracuse, Micron is planning to build a giant manufacturing complex, pledging to start with a $20 billion project by the end of the decade and spend as much as $100 billion over the next two decades. In Boise, Micron plans to spend $15 billion to build a memory chip factory, the first new plant in the U.S. in 20 years.

Injury and Illness – OSHA Releases 2023 Injury and Illness Data 

On April 18^th, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released 2023 injury and illness data collected under the agency’s new Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses regulations published in July 2023. The 2023 injury and illness data includes specific information submitted by more than 375,000 establishments on OSHA Form 300A, “Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses.” It also includes individual injuries and illnesses for employers with 100 or more employees in high-hazard industries, like construction. In addition, OSHA has posted partial data from more than 850,000 OSHA Form 300, “Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses” and Form 301, “Injury and Illness Incident Report” records. More information about OSHA’s illness and injury recordkeeping and reporting requirements are available on OSHA’s website here. 

Hydrogen – IRS Supplemental Proposed Rule Regarding the Section 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Credit

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published a supplemental proposed rule in connection with its December 26, 2023, proposed rule that would implement the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 45V clean hydrogen production credit as revised by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Under the December 26, 2023, proposed rule, the IRS provided a process for hydrogen production facilities to determine whether they meet a certain threshold of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that would make them eligible for the section 45V credit. Under this process, facilities would use the most recent “Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation” (GREET) model developed by Argonne National Laboratory. However, if the most recent GREET model does not include either the feedstock used by the facility or the facility’s hydrogen production technology, the taxpayer may instead request a Provisional Emissions Rate (PER) from the Secretary of the Treasury. Petitions to the Secretary for PERs must include: (1) the emissions value obtained from the Department of Energy, which provides an analytical assessment of the GHG emissions from the facility’s hydrogen production process; (2) a copy of the taxpayer’s request to DOE; and (3) any information the taxpayer provided to DOE in connection with the emissions value request process. The supplemental proposed rule provides clarifying guidance for taxpayers regarding the process for filing requests for an emissions value from DOE that would then be used to file a petition with the Secretary of the Treasury for determination of a PER.

PFAS – EPA Releases Final Rule to Limit Presence of PFAS

On April 10^th, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the first-ever national rule to limit the presence in drinking water of highly toxic synthetic compounds known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—commonly referred to as “forever chemicals.” With the release of the pre-publication text of the rule, the EPA also issued a general summary of the final rule and released FAQs on the final rule. EPA estimates that compliance with the rule will cost approximately $1.5 billion annually.

In conjunction with the release of the final rule text, EPA also announced two webinars: (1) on April 23, 2024 from 2:00-3:00 PM ET to provide a technical overview of the PFAS NPDWR for drinking water utilities and professionals (with registration available here); and (2) on April 30, 2024 from 2:00-3:30 PM ET to provide a technical overview of the PFAS NPDWR for small drinking water systems (with registration available here). 

EPA also posted a series of six facts sheets related to the following aspects of the final rule: (1) a fact sheet on “Understanding the Final PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation Hazard Index Maximum Contaminant Level”; (2) a fact sheet on “Benefits and Costs of Reducing PFAS in Drinking Water”; (3) a fact sheet on “Small and Rural Water Systems”; (4) a fact sheet on “PFAS NPDWR Monitoring and Reporting”; (5) a fact sheet on “Treatment Options for Removing PFAS in Drinking Water”; and (6) a fact sheet on “Comparison Between EPA’s Proposed and Final PFAS NPDWR”.

Other Interesting Things Since Our Last Report 

Thursday, April 18^th

• The Labor Department (DOL) issued a blog post that highlights five ways construction industry employers can create safer and better workplaces for all workers, especially women. They include: (1) providing properly fitting personal protective equipment; (2) guaranteeing safe and sanitary bathrooms; (3) ensuring protections for pregnant and post-partum workers; (4) preventing gender-based violence and harassment; and (5) promoting mental health. The blog post also explains that more than 390,000 women work in construction and extraction occupations, an 11% increase since 2017, but that despite this, gender and racial discrimination remain widespread and many women still face challenges navigating these male-dominated occupations, including threats to their safety. 

Wednesday, April 17^th

• Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) joined 32 of his Senate Republican colleagues in cosponsoring a resolution from Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) to overturn the Securities and Exchange Commission’s new climate disclosure rule requiring companies to detail their use of fossil fuels. 

• President Biden announced plans to more than triple a key tariff rate on Chinese steel and aluminum from 7.5% to 25%. This higher levy would be in addition to a separate 25% tariff on steel and a 10% duty on aluminum imposed under the Trump Administration. A senior Biden Administration official said the higher tariffs would only affect 0.6% of U.S. demand for steel. A White House fact sheet on the Administration’s actions is available here. The announcement comes as the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced that it is initiating a section 301 trade investigation into China’s unfair practices in the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding industries, per a request from the IBEW, the Boilermakers, the United Steelworkers, IAM, and the AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department.
  
• The Energy Department (DOE) released its Transmission Interconnection Roadmap (Roadmap) that sets targets for interconnection improvement by 2030 and outlines solutions to speed up the interconnection of clean energy onto the nation’s transmission grid and to clear the existing backlog of solar, wind, and battery projects seeking to be built. DOE will also host a webinar on May 8, 2024, at 1pm (with registration here) to discuss the targets and solutions included in the Roadmap.

• The Energy Department (DOE) announced final standards for commercial unitary air conditioners and heat pumps, circulator pumps, dishwashers, and miscellaneous refrigeration appliances (e.g., wine coolers) that are estimated to save consumers $33 billion on energy and water bills and reduce nearly 134 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, equivalent to the combined annual emissions of nearly 17 million homes.

• A new analysis of campaign finance disclosures showed vulnerable House Democrats were more successful fundraisers during the first quarter of this year than Republican incumbents facing similar races, with the average Democrat in a competitive race raising 21% more than a similarly situated Republican. Senate Democrats in races rated as “toss-up” also posted big fundraising numbers, including Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) ($12.1 million) and Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) ($8 million).

Tuesday, April 16^th

• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a special Open Commission Meeting on April 23, 2024, at 2pm ET to vote on the final non-compete rule that would prevent most employers from using and enforcing non-compete clauses against workers. MCAA filed comments when this rule was proposed expressing concerns and seeking changes to it.

• The Energy Department (DOE) announced the release of its latest Pathways to Commercial Liftoff report, which demonstrates how commercially available advanced grid solutions—such as advanced conductors, dynamic line rating, and energy storage—can cost effectively increase the existing grid’s capacity to support upwards of 20–100 gigawatts of peak demand growth. DOE notes that the advanced technologies identified in the Liftoff report are receiving funding through the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program, a $10.5 billion grant program created by the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to enhance grid flexibility and improve power system resilience.

• Senate Democrats unveiled a $79 million advertising plan to boost their chances of keeping the majority in the Senate chamber after the November elections. This comes as Democratic Senate candidates—including Sens. Sherrod Brown (OH), Jon Tester (MT), and Jacky Rosen (NV), as well as Rep. Elissa Slotkin (MI), Ruben Gallego (AZ)—outraised their GOP rivals in the first quarter of 2024.
  

Monday, April 15^th

• Incoming House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole announced the final slate of subcommittee chairs for the remainder of the 118^th Congress: (1) Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL) as Chair of Labor, Health, and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies; (2) Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN) as Chair of Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies; (3) Rep. John Carter (R-TX) as Chair of Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies; (4) Rep. Steve Womack (R-AR) as Chair of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies; (5) Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NC) as Chair of Homeland Security; (6) Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) as Chair of Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies; (7) Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY) as Chair of Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies; (8) Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) as Chair of Financial Services and General Government; (9) Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) as Chair of Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies; (10) Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) as Chair of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs; (11) Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) as Chair of Defense; and (12) Rep. David Valadao (R-CA) as Chair of Legislative Branch.

• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it denied a petition to remove stationary combustion turbines from the list of sources subject to regulation for emissions of air toxics, so that the turbines will continue to be required to comply with national limits on hazardous air pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Stationary combustion turbines are typically located at industrial facilities, chemical plants, power plants, and compressor stations to create additional electricity or provide direct heating applications.

• The Interior Department (DOI) announced a final rule from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) amending 20-year-old regulations by increasing financial assurance requirements for the offshore oil and gas industry operating on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to compensate for the cost of decommissioning oil and gas facilities on the OCS. BOEM estimates that the rule will require industry to provide $6.9 billion in new financial assurances. 

Thursday, April 11^th

• The Senate Majority PAC, a group aligned with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), raised $39.3 million in the first quarter of 2024—about $15 million more than its GOP counterpart. Meanwhile, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) announced he hauled in more than $20 million during the first quarter of the year, indicating success breaking through with high-dollar donors his party needs to hang on to the House majority this fall.

Wednesday, April 10^th

• The Department of Labor announced $65 million in Strengthening Community Colleges Training grants to 16 community colleges in Arkansas, California, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Utah, and Wisconsin to work with industry stakeholders to identify workforce needs and expand student career training for construction-related sectors, renewable energy, advanced manufacturing, broadband, transportation, healthcare, and information technology.

• The General Services Administration (GSA) announced $23.8 million in funding from the President’s Inflation Reduction Act for 13 projects at federal buildings in New Jersey, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, Louisiana, South Dakota, Oregon, and Maryland under the “Good Neighbor Program” that will involve helping these federal buildings meet high- performance green building and low-embodied carbon standards.

• News broke that President Biden’s Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, Xavier Becerra, is considering leaving the Biden Administration to run for governor of California in 2026. Becerra has been one of the main messengers for the Biden Administration on protecting abortion rights, and confirming a new HHS Secretary will require a tough confirmation fight with Republicans in the closely divided Senate.

• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it, in conjunction with the Justice Department, reached a settlement with Colonial Oil Industries Inc. requiring the company to pay a civil penalty of more than $2.8 million and spend an estimated $12.2 million to offset the detrimental human health and environmental impacts of its alleged failure to meet obligations under gas volatility standards and the Clean Air Act’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program, under which refiners or importers of gasoline or diesel fuel are required to either blend renewable fuels into transportation fuel or purchase credits known as Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) to meet their renewable volume obligations. Between 2013 and 2019, Colonial failed to purchase and retire enough RINs.

Tuesday, April 9^th

• In a speech to caregivers and paid leave advocates in Washington, D.C., President Biden vowed to use a second presidential term to enact historic care laws—including the country’s first national paid family leave policy—as well as legislation to make child care more affordable and to invest in early education. The President said his goal is a national paid family and medical leave program administered by the Social Security Administration that will provide up to 12 weeks to: (1) care for a newborn; (2) heal from serious illness; (3) address circumstances arising from a loved one’s military deployment; (4) address domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking; or (5) grieve the death of a loved one without losing income. 

• In an interview with Univision, President Biden signaled that his administration is considering plans to issue an executive order under the Immigration and Nationality Act that would restrict the ability of immigrants to claim asylum and to dramatically limit the number of migrants who can cross the southern border. Biden acknowledged that the legality of such an order would face legal challenges but seemed willing to take that risk observing that, “if I get shut down by the courts, I get shut down by the courts.”

• The Department of Justice’s COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force released its 2024 report detailing multi-agency efforts to respond to fraud in COVID-era federal relief programs, including charging more than 3,500 defendants and recovering $1.4 billion in CARES Act funds since 2021. Along with IRS Criminal Investigations, the Task Force has initiated 352 investigations involving more than $2.9 billion in potentially fraudulent Employee Retention Tax Credit claims. The Task Force also called on Congress to enact new legislation that would extend the statute of limitations for all COVID-19 fraud-related offenses and adequately resource anti-fraud efforts well into the future. Relatedly, the White House applauded forthcoming legislation led by Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Ron Wyden (D-OR), entitled the “Fraud Prevention and Recovery Act,” which would crack down on systemic pandemic fraud across government programs and help victims of identity theft.
  

Monday, April 8^th

• President Biden’s re-election campaign and the Democratic National Committee announced that they raised more than $90 million in March and ended the year’s first quarter with $192 million in cash-on-hand, further stretching their money advantage over Trump and the Republican National Committee. Biden’s announcement comes as Trump’s campaign said it raised $50.5 million on Saturday, April 6^th, during an event with major donors at the home of billionaire investor John Paulson.

Around the Country 

Northeast 

• On April 19^th, it was reported that Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) is maneuvering to defend what’s known as the “New Jersey county line” system, which is being challenged in court as unconstitutional and undemocratic by plaintiffs that include Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ), the leading Democratic candidate for Senate.

• On April 17^th, The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Mid-Atlantic Region 3—comprised of Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C.—announced that registration is now open for its 3^rd Annual Environmental Summit to be held virtually on May 16, 2024, from 10am to 4pm ET. The event includes workshops on PFAS, environmental justice, waterways, rural eastern shore communities climate solutions, and workforce diversity. Registration is available here. 

• On April 16^th, a new poll in the Maryland Democratic U.S. Senate primary found Rep. David Trone (D-MD) leading Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks 48% to 29%. Both Trone and Alsobrooks, however, are trailing former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan 53% to 40% and 54% to 36%, respectively.

• On April 16^th, True Patriots PA, a newly established outside group with ties to California Democrats, is hitting Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) as not conservative enough, seeking to boost his GOP primary opponent Mark Houck in the race for Pennsylvania’s 1^st Congressional District. 

• On April 15^th, the Department of Labor announced $34,142 in recovered back wages and fringe benefits for nine employees of Day-Debut Mechanical Inc., a Gaithersburg, Maryland-based federal subcontractor on the Housing and Urban Development Department-funded Paxton Apartments construction project in the District of Columbia, after the Wage and Hour Division determined the company misclassified nine sheet metal workers and insulators as laborers and submitted incomplete and falsified payroll records.

• On April 11^th, a federal judge ruled that Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and his wife will be tried separately on allegations that they participated in a bribery scheme after Nadine Menendez’s lawyers argued that she requires treatment for a serious medical condition.

• On April 10^th during a House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee hearing on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) real estate needs, members of both parties expressed skepticism of the FBI’s plans to build its new headquarters in Greenbelt, Maryland, and frustration over the Biden General Service Administration’s pace in turning over documents that helped the agency arrive at its decision.

• On April 9^th, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) said he plans to introduce a bill to ensure that the federal government pays for the entirety of the replacement of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, and expressed optimism about bipartisan support for the effort. Sen. Cardin’s statement followed an April 8^th announcement by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers laying out an “ambitious” timeline to partially reopen the Fort McHenry Channel in Baltimore by the end of April and fully reopen it by the end of May. This announcement came as the Biden Transportation Department signed a revised grant agreement with Baltimore County, Maryland, to enable Tradepoint Atlantic, a facility in the county, to use a previously awarded $8.26 million DOT grant to accommodate more cargo at its terminal on Sparrows Point at the Port of Baltimore. The adjustments to the previously awarded Port Infrastructure Development Program grant will expedite paving at least 10 acres that will be used for additional cargo laydown area, doubling the prior 10,0000 autos per month capacity.

• On April 9^th, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced $156,495 in recovered wages and fringe benefits for 48 employees of Day C Soul Mechanical Inc., a commercial plumbing service based in Libertytown, Maryland, after a DOL Wage and Hour Division investigation determined the company denied full pay and fringe benefits to workers employed to work on a federally-funded affordable housing project in Clinton, Maryland. The air conditioning subcontractor Charles A. Klein & Sons Inc. of Sykesville, Maryland, which hired Day C Soul, paid the owed wages and benefits after Day C Soul refused to comply. 

West

• On April 16^th, the Interior Department (DOI) announced $29.7 million for drought planning projects for states in the Upper Colorado River Basin – Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming – including projects that re-activate and install up to 600 stream gages (used to monitor and test bodies of water), expand weather station networks that monitor water resource management, and install new monitoring technology to track water diversion, soil moisture and snowpack.

• On April 16^th, California Republican Senate candidate Steve Garvey reported raising $3.4 million from mid-February through the end of March, but between digital ads, direct mail, commission costs, and venue fees, it cost him over $1 million to do so.

• On April 10^th, a recount was requested in the race for California’s 16^th Congressional District where California Assemblymember Evan Low (D) and Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian (D) remain tied for second place at 30,249 votes apiece. 

Northwest 

• On April 15^th, The Hill reported that Democrats are bracing for a tough fight in Alaska, where Rep. Mary Peltola (D) is seeking to win reelection after a surprise midterm victory in 2022 turned a House seat that had been held by a Republican for five decades blue.

Midwest 

• On April 19^th, former Rep. Peter Barca (D-WI) announced a run against incumbent Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI) in Wisconsin’s 1^st Congressional District. 

• On April 19^th, Rep. Jake La Turner (R-KS) announced he will not seek reelection to Kansas’ 2^nd Congressional District.

• On April 15^th, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced that it will host an in-person training session on May 6, 2024, from 8am to 12:30pm ET in Carmel, Indiana, that will provide a comprehensive overview on how to navigate the internal investigation process once an employee presents a claim of discrimination.

• On April 15^th, USA Today reported that Independent candidate Dan Osborn, who previously led a local Steam Fitters Union, is gaining traction in his campaign against incumbent Sen. Deb Fischer (R) in Nebraska.

• On April 9^th, it was announced that Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) will face cybersecurity expert Tom Guarente and Nashville Metro Council member Courtney Johnston in the GOP primary for Tennessee’s 5^th Congressional District.

• On April 9^th, after receiving an endorsement from Trump, Tony Wied, the former owner of a northwestern Wisconsin dinosaur-themed gas station chain, announced a run for Rep. Mike Gallagher’s (R-WI) seat in Wisconsin’s 8^th Congressional District. 

Southeast

• On April 15^th, it was announced that Reps. Mark Green (R-TN) and David Kustoff will no longer face opponents in Tennessee’s 7^th Congressional District and Tennessee’s 8^thCongressional District, respectively, after state Republican Party officials removed their opponents from the ballot due to challenges over their status as “bona fide” party members.

• On April 11^th, the Biden Administration approved the construction of the $1.8 billion Sea Port Deepwater Oil Export Terminal off Freeport, Texas. The facility has an export capacity of 2 million barrels of crude oil per day. Environmentalists feel betrayed by the Maritime Administration’s approval of the deepwater port license for the project after a five-year federal review. 

Southwest

• On April 17^th, respected election analyst Larry Sabato changed his rating of the U.S. Senate race in Arizona between Rep. Ruben Gallego (D) and Republican Kari Lake from a “toss up” to “leans Democrat,” citing the response to a state Supreme Court ruling reinstating a 19th-century abortion ban.