Archive for October 2023

This Week in Congress This week was a rare moment in Washington, D.C., a return to normalcy in Congress with both chambers in session.  There’s a Speaker, no immediate government shutdown looming, and both chambers scheduled a fairly routine legislative schedule.  In the spirit of Halloween, I hope this is not “a trick,” but maybe…

Supplemental Funding Request This week, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken testified on the Administration’s $106 billion package for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan, and border security funding.   Republicans raised questions about whether assistance for Israel should be sectioned off and voted on as a stand-alone bill.  House Speaker…

Government Funding Beyond November 17th… With the current continuing resolution (CR) expiring on November 17th, there will need to be another funding extension to avoid a government shutdown. Speaker Johnson said he was prepared to back a CR through January 15th to allow enough time to complete full-year bills and avoid the specter of another…

The House’s Three Disciplinary Measures The House voted on three disciplinary measures against members of both parties this week, including Rep. Santos (R-NY). Santos’ fellow New York Republicans are seeking to expel him from the House over the federal criminal charges he’s facing.  Rep. D’Esposito (R-NY) notified the House last week of his intent to…

NLRB Announces Final Joint Employer Rule The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued its final rule altering the standard for determining joint employer status under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The rule replaces the Board’s 2020 final rule, which had addressed the standard adopted by the Obama-era Board in Browning Ferris Industries (BFI). We’re going through the rulemaking and…

Congressional Action on AI A group of senators led by Majority Leader Schumer met with President Biden to discuss next steps in Artificial Intelligent (AI) regulations. The President issued an executive order to set a standard on safety, security, and transparency of artificial intelligence systems. Under the order, companies that train AI through foundational models…

Fiscal 2024 Federal Procurement Spending Exceeds $762 Billion Fiscal 2024 federal procurement spending is estimated to be $762 billion to $870 billion, which would be about 7.9% above the fiscal 2022 total ($707 billion). Due to Defense Department delays, there is not complete procurement data for fiscal 2023. Using seasonally adjusted historical spending trends, the…

This Week in Congress This week, House Republicans continued their search for a new speaker and the Senate Leadership has vowed to swiftly move on the White House’s $106 billion national security supplemental request which includes aid to Israel, Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific and the southern U.S. border.  The funding package faces an uncertain path due…

ASA Joins the SBLC on the Hill This week, ASA joined the Small Business Legislative Council (SBLC)’s first annual fly-in on Capitol Hill.  ASA has been a long-standing member of the SBLC and Mike Oscar, our Government Relations Director, serves as the SBLC’s Chair for 2023.  The SBLC is an independent, permanent coalition of trade…

2023 ASA Fall Attorneys’ Council Meeting Friday, October 20-21, 2023 This year, our Attorneys’ Council Chair Chip Bachara hosted the ASA Attorneys’ Council fall meeting at the Ponte Vedra Resort in Jacksonville, Florida. And while we tackled a number of substantive issues in our daily meetings, the weather and activities couldn’t have gone more smoothly.…