On Sept. 29, ABC joined the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition (EWIC) in support of H.R. 3711, the Legal Workforce Act. H.R. 3711, which would mandate an improved E-Verify program on all employers and for all new hires.  

On Oct. 14, the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce reported H.R. 3441, the Save Local Business Act favorably out of committee with a final vote of 23-17. On Oct. 4, ABC sent a letter to Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx and Ranking Member Bobby Scott, thanking them for holding a markup of this legislation. 

On Sept. 26, U.S. Senate leadership announced there will not be a vote on the latest version of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) repeal bill. Named after its four sponsors, the Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson bill aimed to repeal parts of the ACA and change its federal funding system with annual block grants to states to help individuals pay for health care.

Last week, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3354, the Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act, 2018, which provides $1.1 trillion in discretionary funding for the federal government through 12 individual appropriations bills.

On Aug. 2, President Donald J. Trump announced his support for S. 354, the Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy (RAISE) Act. The bill, which was introduced in February by Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and David Perdue (R-Ga.), addresses the number of green cards issued each year and creates a merit-based immigration system that replaces the current permanent employment visa framework.

During the early hours of July 28, Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine), John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) voted “no” on the Senate Republican’s “skinny repeal” proposal, a scaled-back version of previously supported Senate Republican Affordable Care Act (ACA) repeal bills, which failed by a vote of 49 to 51. If the vote on final passage had been successful, it would likely have triggered a conference committee with the House of Representatives whereby the chambers would have tried to resolve their legislative differences. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.Y) statement on the failed vote can be read here. &a

On July 25, the U.S. Senate voted to begin debate on the repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Senate voted 51-50, with Vice President Mike Pence breaking the tie, in support of moving forward with debate on H.R. 1628, the American Health Care Act. In advance of the vote, ABC sent a key vote letter urging senators to vote “yes” on the motion to proceed. The Senate will now move forward with 20 hours of debate and most likely vote on dozens of amendments.

On July 13, the House of Representatives voted down Rep. Paul Gosar’s amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act by a vote of 183-242.The amendment, H. Amdt. 180 (Gosar) H.R. 2810, would have directed the secretary of labor to use Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data for wage determinations under the Davis-Bacon Act (DBA). Using accurate BLS data would prove the federal government is sincere in its goal of curbing waste and stretching project dollars further in addition to increasing competition, lowering costs and helping to level the playing field for all members of the construction industry.

On June 22, the U.S. Senate issued the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017, a substitute to the House-passed American Health Care Act (AHCA), which would repeal and replace several provisions of the Affordable Care Act. The Senate bill was slated for a vote this week; however, on June 27 Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) delayed the vote until after the July 4 recess due to a lack of support for passage. 

On May 24, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report with estimates on the costs and overall effect of H.R. 1628, the American Health Care Act. This is the third report to come from the CBO since the bill was introduced in March. If the U.S. Senate passes the bill in its current form, the CBO estimates that the bill would reduce the federal deficit by $119 bil