The summer is officially here, and temperatures are running high in Washington, DC (literally and figuratively). There were 13 primary elections this month across the country with quite a few contentious races still in the spotlight. The House has been almost strictly focused on government funding this month, moving right along as we inch closer to the October 1st funding deadline. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Senator Joe Manchin (I-WV) has been working behind the scenes on a larger permitting reform package receiving input from Ranking Member Senator John Barrasso (R-WY). On the judicial side, the Supreme Court issued a final decision of the Chevron Deference case. The main focus of the decision was the Supreme Court limited the federal agencies' broad authority to interpret laws passed by Congress and redelegated that authority within the judicial system.
June 27th was the earliest debate in history between the two presumptuous party nominees. Former President Trump appears to have come out ahead following this first debate, however, the content from both sides left the America people with much to be desired. The next scheduled debate is set for September 10th, location still to be determined, potentially a golf course (just kidding!).
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Legislative Action |
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On Friday, June 14, the House passed the $895 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in a 217-199 vote. The defense bill is a must-pass piece of legislation that has been signed into law annually for more than six decades. Generally, this bill passes with bipartisan support, but with the current partisan dynamic of the House, that has not been the case. 350 out of 1,357 amendments made it out of the Rules committee and were debated on the floor. NECA sent a letter to the Hill to urge members to vote for specific amendments. We are happy to report that almost all of our recommendations were included in the House version of the legislation. We are optimistic that they will also make it through the Senate. NECA was able secure some wins in the legislation:
- Creation of a new pilot program for the Transitioning Assistance Program for entering into the skilled trades apprenticeship programs.
- Improvements to the SkillBridge program to expand further into building trades apprenticeship programs.
- Increased funding for shipyard infrastructure and recapitalization efforts; $32.4 billion in shipbuilding funding for the procurement of six battle force ships.
- Expansion of existing rapid acquisition authorities.
- Authorization of over $17.5 billion for military construction projects.
The Senate has taken a longer approach to appropriations, having yet to release their 12 appropriations packages. Chairwoman Murray has taken an approach of detailing why the Fiscal Responsibility Act is hurting funding increases for various agencies. Chairwoman Murray has hinted that her funding levels will hit the caps of the FRA without including any additional emergency funding requests made by the Administration.
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FY2025 Government Funding Right On Schedule… For Now
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As a reminder, government funding expires in less than 100 days and new Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) has miraculously stayed relatively on schedule with getting these bills out of committee. Committee began the week of May 20th. Below are the key funding bills NECA is tracking and where they have ended up in the House.
- Passed House:
- Military Construction-VA — passed out of the House, currently $49.4 billion over FY2024 ($378B total).
- Defense — passed out of the House, currently $8.57 billion in funding over FY2024 ($833B total).
- Pending Full Committee Markup:
- Interior-Environment – House slated to mark up in full committee the week of July 8th, currently $72 million below FY2024 funding levels.
- Energy-Water – House slated to mark up in full committee the week of July 8th, currently 999 million above FY2024 funding levels.
- Labor-HHS-Education – House slated to mark up in full committee the week of July 8th, currently $8.6 billion under FY2024 funding levels.
- Transportation-HUD – House slated to mark up in full committee the week of July 8th, currently $7.084 billion below FY2024 funding levels.
Though many significant cuts have been made across the board, NECA estimates over $100 billion in funding that could potentially benefit contractors across the country. The Senate has announced that they will begin consideration of their own appropriations in July that will have a larger total spending package than the House, setting up a contentious conference negotiation.
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Regulatory Action |
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Apprenticeship and Prevailing Wage Bonus Under IRA Guidance Updated
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The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a final rule interpreting the prevailing wage and apprenticeship (PWA) requirements related to increased credit or deduction amounts for certain clean energy incentives, enacted as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). A fact sheet on the final rule from the White House is available here and a fact sheet on the final rule from the IRS is available here.
In addition to publishing the final rule and associated fact sheets, Treasury, the IRS, and the Department of Labor (DOL) released these additional resources:
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Upcoming Government Affairs Events |
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Political Leadership Council (PLC) Retreat – November 8-10 at the JW Marriott in Marco Island, FL
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- We are excited to host you all for the 2024 Political Leadership Council Retreat in Florida the weekend following the 2024 elections. Registration for this event will open September 3rd. Reach out to the team if you are interested in learning more about the PLC!
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National Electrical Contractors Association
1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Suite 1200
Washington
D.C.
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