On September 11, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure's Subcommittee Water Resources and Environment held a hearing to examine Waters of the United States Implementation Post-Sackett Decision: Experiences and Perspectives. ABC sent a letter ahead of the hearing calling out the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for not providing the regulated community with sufficient guidance regarding their interpretation of the August 2023 WOTUS rule. In the letter, ABC urged the EPA and the Army Corps to fully comply with the Sackett decision and provide the regulated community with a clear, concise definition of WOTUS necessary to inform them of how to comply with the law while also serving as good stewards of the environment, as they did prior to the Biden-Harris administration’s shortsighted reversal of President Donald Trump’s WOTUS policies

On Sept. 10, the House Committee on Small Business held a full committee markup on several pieces of legislation that strengthen the Regulatory Flexibility Act and protect small businesses from harmful regulations. Ahead of the hearing, ABC sent a letter to the committee expressing support for the below bills and advocated for small business input throughout the rulemaking process.

• H.R. 9085, the Regulatory Review Improvement Act of 2024, makes modifications to how agencies conduct periodic reviews of agency rules.
• H.R. 7198, the Prove It Act of 2024, increases small business input in the regulatory process and ensures agencies are fully accounting for the impact of regulations on small businesses.
• H.R. 9031, the Assurance for Small Business Act of 2024, requires federal agency heads to submit a report on the implementation of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.
• H.R. 9032, the Enhanced Regulatory Flexibility Assessment Act, makes it mandatory for agencies to conduct studies and issue reports on the effects of new rules on small businesses.
• H.R. 9030, the Regulatory Agenda Clarity Act, requires federal agencies to fully disclose how their regulations would impact small businesses and entrepreneurs.
• H.R. 8033, the Regulatory Transparency for Small Business Act, forces federal agencies to identify an approximate number of small entities that will be affected by new regulations, the cost per small entity and the data used to make that determination.
• H.R. 9033, the LABOR Act of 2024, requires regulatory flexibility analysis from the U.S. Department of Labor.

In defense of H.R. 7198, and small businesses in general, Rep. Pete Stauber, R-Minn., said the legislation was “vital to reducing regulatory burdens and ensuring agencies consider the needs of small businesses when implementing new rules.” He went on to note that, “not one small business has said they need more regulations and this administration has put our over 700 regulations, punishing America’s small businesses.”

The aforementioned bills were all reported favorably by the committee and now await a full House vote.

On Sept. 10, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions held a hearing titled, “ERISA’s 50th Anniversary: The Value of Employer-Sponsored Health Benefits.” Ahead of the hearing, ABC sent a letter to the subcommittee calling on Congress to reinforce the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, a critical safeguard of uniform employer-sponsored health programs across multiple states.

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act was enacted to encourage employee health benefit plans and promote uniformity in those plans across state lines. ERISA applies to all employer-sponsored plans, whether self-insured and fully insured, and is critical in allowing multistate employers to develop plans with uniform design and administration of benefits.

On July 31, ABC submitted a letter in support of the cloture motion for the motion to proceed to H.R.7024, the American Families and Workers Act. This legislation, introduced by Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., extends vital tax provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, including the deduction for research and development and the extension of the 100% bonus depreciation. Notably, this legislation maintains provisions that allow for immediate R&D expensing, which provides for lower tax bills, less paperwork and easier compliance for contractors. In addition, the legislation extends the 100% bonus depreciation that allows construction businesses to expense or write off the purchase of tools, equipment and machinery during the year of purchase.

ABC awaits the Senate's vote on the motion to proceed to H.R.7084. While the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act passed the House with bipartisan support on January 31 with a 357-70 vote, Republicans in the Senate have said that they will vote the measure down, which takes 60 voters to pass, as they anticipate having the majority next year and thus hold more negotiating power when it comes to Tax Policy.

On May 23, President Joe Biden nominated National Labor Relations Board Chair Lauren McFerran to serve a third term, threatening Democratic control of the Board through August 2026, regardless of who wins the presidency in November. McFerran’s tenure has been the subject of congressional hearings and oversight letters as well as numerous press reports and editorials highlighting the agency’s failures. In addition, an Office of the Inspector General report found that the Board was operating under “gross mismanagement.”

On July 25, ABC and the ABC-led Coalition for a Democratic Workplace sent letters to the committee expressing concerns over McFerran’s nomination.

Under McFerran’s leadership, the NLRB has issued decisions and expanded interpretations of the National Labor Relations Act that have been rejected by the business community, Congress, and federal courts, including the Board’s joint employer standard and its revived controversial policies through its Representation-Case Procedures final rule.

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders has opted to proceed to a markup of McFerran’s renomination without a formal confirmation hearing, allowing her record to go unchecked and unquestioned by committee members.

On July 31, the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs held a hearing, "Long-Term Economic Benefits and Impacts from Federal Infrastructure and Public Transportation Investment." Prior to the hearing, ABC submitted a letter to the committee highlighting that the Biden-Harris administration's Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects Final Rule is undermining federal infrastructure investments. Specifically, ABC expressed concern that the rule excludes 89.3% of the private U.S. construction industry workforce, reduces competition and increases costs for the American taxpayer on federal and federally assisted construction projects.

See the full hearing here.

On July 24, ABC sent a letter to the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure’s Subcommittee on Highways and Transit in regard to their hearing on “Examining the Department of Transportation’s Regulatory and Administrative Agenda." ABC expressed concern with Secretary Buttigieg's role in promoting the Biden-Harris administration’s sweeping environmental and labor initiatives rather than prioritizing efficient and economical infrastructure improvements. Specifically, the DOT has advanced a number of stipulations on taxpayer funded infrastructure projects.

On July 10, the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability held a hearing to analyze actions taken by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In a letter to the committee, ABC expressed concern with EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers final rule regarding amendments to the definition of “waters of the United States” subject to Clean Water Act regulation aimed at bringing their original January 2023 WOTUS rule into compliance with the U.S. Supreme Court’s May 25, 2023, decision in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency. ABC noted that the revised rule fails to fully implement the court’s opinion specifically on the definition of “relatively permanent” waters and that it will likely result in continued litigation, regulatory uncertainty and confusion in the business community surrounding WOTUS.

On Aug. 29, the EPA and Corps issued the final rule making adjustments to WOTUS, including:

• Removing the “significant nexus” test entirely
• Removing the “interstate wetland” category
• Adjusting the definition of “adjacent waters” to mean “having a continuous surface connection”

ABC issued a press release criticizing the new rule and urging full compliance with the SCOTUS decision.

On July 10, the U.S. House Committee on Small Business held a hearing titled, “"Main Street Realities: Examining the Current Economic Landscape in America.” Ahead of the hearing, ABC sent a letter to the committee expressing concerns with the numerous regulations that generate substantial burdens for America’s small businesses and loopholes in the Regulatory Flexibility Act that federal agencies use to implement these regulations at the expense of America’s small business community.

Specifically, ABC noted the impact of the U.S. Department of Labor’s final rule on Employee or Independent Contractor Classification Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as the final rule changing overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Leading up to the hearing, ABC’s Chief Economist Anirban Basu spoke with committee staff to discuss the challenges facing small business contractors.

On July 9, the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials held a hearing titled, “An Examination of the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) In Use Locomotive Regulation.” The hearing focused on the California Air Resources Board’s In-Use Locomotive Regulation. Pursuant to section 209(e) of the Clean Air Act, the regulation would ban all locomotives 23 years or older from operating within California and mandate zero-emissions locomotives by 2030. Prior to the hearing, ABC sent a letter to the committee expressing concern over the regulation and the wide-ranging impact it could have on the construction industry, including new logistical challenges and increased materials prices.