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 June 27, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a proposed rule to revoke the ancillary provisions of the Beryllium final rule for the construction and shipyard sectors that OSHA finalized on Jan. 9, 2017. Beryllium is a lightweight but strong metal used in a number of industries. The January final rule points directly to the construction task of abrasive blasting operations which use slags that contain trace amounts of beryllium.

The Internal Revenue Service last week identified the proposed Section 2704 regulations concerning the valuation of family businesses among eight unduly burdensome or complex rules that would be marked for rescission or modification. According to the notice, “these proposed regulations would create an additional category of restrictions that also would be disregarded in assessing the fair market value of an interest.” The notice also noted concerns from public commenters including the increased financial burden to family businesses and the difficulty in making accurate valuations.

On June 27, the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of the Army and Army Corps of Engineers announced they are proposing to rescind the 2015 Clean Water Rule and re-codify the regulatory text that existed prior to the “waters of the United States,” or WOTUS, rule in 2015. The final rule, which was first issued in May 2015, dramatically expanded the scope of federal authority over water and land uses across the country. 

On June 27, President Trump nominated William Emanuel, a shareholder with ABC’s general counsel, Littler Mendelson P.C., to fill the remaining seat on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Emanuel is a member of Littler’s Traditional Labor Practice Group and has extensive experience representing trade associations, hospitals, school districts, manufacturing companies and others in a wide range of labor matters.

On June 27, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced it was proposing to delay the electronic reporting portion of the final rule, “Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses,” from July 1, 2017 to Dec. 1, 2017. 

On June 20, President Trump nominated Marvin Kaplan to fill one of two vacant seats on the five member National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Kaplan serves as counsel to the commissioner of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, an independent organization designed to decide workplace safety and health disputes between the Department of Labor and employers. 

ABC applauded President Trump’s executive action on apprenticeships, which is an important step toward building new career opportunities for all Americans. If fully implemented, the order will allow industries to build innovative workforce development systems that address glaring skills gaps in our workforce.  With the construction industry currently facing a workforce shortage of as many as 500,000 jobs, this order is an important first step to allow more entryways into becoming a construction professional.     

On May 23rd, the White House released the president’s proposed budget for the 2018 fiscal year (FY18). Titled “A New Foundation for American Greatness,” Congress is likely to dismiss most or all of the president’s budget -- as they traditionally do with most White House wish lists, but the budget provides insight into White House policy and program priorities. 

On May 15, ABC submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on costly and burdensome EPA regulations and policies. In the comment letter, ABC expressed concern that major federal projects have been unnecessarily delayed or abandoned, resulting in jobs being deferred or never created because of a dysfunctional permitting system. ABC supports a streamlined process for developers to obtain environmental permits and approvals for their projects in a timely and efficient manner, which would help foster job creation and economic growth.