Archive for September 2023

This Week in Congress This week, Congress worked to avoid a government shutdown prior to September 30th.   As of late Tuesday evening, the Senate voted by a large margin to start the process of moving a short-term continuing resolution (CR).  The bipartisan Senate bill funds the federal government through November 17th.   Last Saturday afternoon, the…

Consequences of a Government Shutdown The Biden Administration is warning of the fallout of a possible government shutdown. Agriculture Secretary Vilsack said a shutdown would deprive low-income pregnant women, infants, and children under age 5 of access to nutritional foods. It could also send more than 50,000 Agriculture Department workers home and limit farmers’ access…

ASA Key Priorities in the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) ASA’s key industry priorities in the context of the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) are the following: SENATE (S.2226) Support Senate Section 325 – Dashboard of funding relating to perfluoroalkyl substances and polyfluoroalkyl substances. This section would create an online dashboard for information…

P3 Bonding Requirements Advancing in the Senate As you know, we support H.R. 1740, legislation clarifying that current payment and performance security requirements for federally funded infrastructure projects should apply to Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) financed infrastructure projects, including Public Private Partnerships (P3).  To that end, late last week, we learned that…

ASA Opposes the Worker Walkaround Proposed Rule ASA, along with the Coalition for Workforce Safety (CWS), sent a letter to the House Ed and Workforce Committee’s Subcommittee on Workforce Protections in advance of their hearing on September 27th on OSHA’s policies and priorities. OSHA administrator Parker testified, and we planned to bring to his attention…

House Prepares President Biden’s Impeachment This week, House Republicans launched their impeachment investigation of President Biden. The House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing on Thursday follows intense pressure from the right wing of the majority to probe for wrongdoing by the president. The Biden inquiry will be led by House Oversight and Accountability Chairman Comer…

This Week in Congress This week, Congress continued working to avoid a government shutdown before September 30th.  Also, the House considered the annual defense appropriations bill along with a bipartisan healthcare package to boost patient price transparency and reauthorize several health programs as key deadlines loom.  The Senate considered a legislative vehicle for Military Construction-Veterans…

Natural Disaster Resource Guide September marks the beginning of National DisasterPreparedness Month, a nationwide campaign to increase awareness about disaster preparedness. According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), there were 18 weather/climate disasters in 2022 with losses exceeding $1 billion. While late summer often brings hurricanes, we know that wildfires, earthquakes, floods, and other…

ASA Calls for an Extension Request for Proposed Overtime Rule On September 8th, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published the proposed changes to the salary threshold for overtime exemption in the federal register and provided 60 days to comment (the comment period closes on November 7th).  We do not believe 60 days is enough time for…

ASA Comments on OSHA’s Proposed Rule on PPE in Construction ASA, along with the Construction Industry Safety Coalition (CISC), submitted comments to OSHA’s proposed rulemaking on its Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in Construction standard.   Per their letter, while CISC agrees that Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is an essential element of an effective health and safety…