Archive for July 2023

This Week in Congress This week, both chambers of Congress worked on the congressional appropriations bills to fund the government in the coming fiscal year in advance of the August recess.  Many members of Congress are not adhering to the spending levels in the debt-limit deal, and the widening gulf between House and Senate plans…

Update on Procurement Amendments to the FY24 NDAA (Defense Bill) Unfortunately, the House Rules Committee voted down Rep. Stauber (R-MN)’s change order amendment to the House’s FY24 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).  However, we are currently working with Sens. Wicker (R-MS) and Hirono (D-HI) to have it as an amendment to the Senate’s version of…

Click Here to Register for this Webinar Today! Upcoming Webinar: Mentally Ready to Sell Join us on August 9th at Noon Eastern for the upcoming webinar, “Mentally Ready to Sell”, presented by Terry Kelm from Sunbelt. There are several components that go into the process of exiting your business. One of the most overlooked, but…

The Senate HELP Committee Considers Apprenticeship Legislation On Thursday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee considered the following bills: S 2122— National Apprenticeship Act S 2402— A bill to amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to establish a career pathways grant program S 161— Jumpstart Our Businesses by Supporting Students (JOBS)…

This Week in Congress The House voted on their version of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s reauthorization bill, which sought to pare agency bureaucracy, address aviation workforce shortages, and advance new flying technology. Additionally, the House voted on legislation that would restrict the use of public-school facilities to provide shelter for immigrants who have not…

The House Votes on the FY24 NDAA By a vote of 219-210, the House passed the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) with four Republicans, all members of the House Freedom Caucus (Reps. Buck, Biggs, Crane, and Massie) voting against the bill.  Four Democrats (Reps. Golden, Vazquez, Perez, Don Davis (N.C.)) voted for the bill.…

ASA Offers Feedback on OSHA’s Use of Leading Indicators ASA, along with the Construction Industry Safety Coalition (CISC), submitted comments in response to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)’s request for feedback on the effectiveness of leading indicators, which was announced on May 11, 2023. The CISC supports the agency’s development of a Leading…

Supreme Court Ethics Code Legislation This week, Senate Democrats reviewed legislation (S.359) that would impose an ethics code on the Supreme Court and add new disclosure and recusals requirements for the justices. The legislation was prompted by reports that Justice Clarence Thomas did not disclose luxury trips or a real estate transaction with a billionaire…

Update: Student Loan Forgiveness Last Friday, the Biden administration announced more limited student loan relief. The White House began notifying 804,000 borrowers that a total of $39 billion in federal student loans would be automatically forgiven in coming weeks. A White House statement described the discharged debt as “fixes” to its income-driven repayment plan for…

This Week in Congress The annual defense bill and longer-term reauthorizations for aviation, farm and nutrition programs will dominate the congressional agenda in July as Congress simultaneously tackles government spending before the September 30th deadline.  The House is slated to consider its FY24 defense authorization measure the week of July 10th and is eyeing a…