House GOP Unveils 'Clean' Funding Bill Hoping to Avert a Government Shutdown
Washington Update
Appropriations
On Sunday, September 22, House Republicans unveiled a bipartisan, bicameral stopgap spending bill to fund the government through December 20 — abandoning their push to attach the immigration proposal that would require proof of citizenship for voter registration (through the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act or SAVE Act). The continuing resolution (CR) is expected to get a vote on the House floor by mid-week as Congress races to pass a bill by the September 30 government shutdown deadline.
Last week, 14 Republicans joined with most Democrats to sink Speaker of the House Mike Johnson’s (LA) initial plan to fund the government for six months, which included the SAVE Act proposal. House GOP members pivoted to negotiations with Democrats after it was evident they would not be able to pass a funding package on their own. The CR was stripped of policies that would threaten bipartisan support needed for passage in the House. Dozens of conservatives are expected to oppose it. Though unveiled by Republicans, House Democratic leaders touted it as a bipartisan compromise that will avert a shutdown. Due to typical House rules and a narrow majority, Speaker Johnson will need near-unanimity to bring the spending bill to the floor — he will need help from some Republicans who might ultimately vote against it on final passage. If he can’t get support, he will either need to lean on Democrats to help him get over the procedural hurdle or hope the bill can pass a higher two-thirds threshold that would allow him to bypass his own holdouts entirely. Johnson has been under pressure from the conservative right, as well as former President Donald Trump, to shut down the government if Democrats wouldn’t agree to the SAVE Act, but Johnson made it clear he agrees with many Republicans who have publicly and privately said a shutdown weeks before an election would be politically disastrous.
Later today, the House is expected to start the process for moving the CR first, followed by the Senate later in the week.
Click here to access the full CR.
Click here to access a section-by-section summary of the CR.
Acting Secretary Su Subpoena
On Monday, September 23, the House Education and the Workforce Committee subpoenaed Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su over the agency’s rule regarding independent contractors. Committee Chair Virginia Foxx (NC) said the Department of Labor (DOL) failed to adequately comply with its oversight requests over the development of the rule, and the scale of the problem of workers being wrongly classified as independent contractors rather than direct employees that the regulation seeks to address. Foxx said DOL has also circumvented the committee’s inquiries regarding its partnerships with the National Labor Relations Board and Federal Trade Commission, a pair of independent agencies that also regulate workplaces. The rule, which DOL released in January, took effect in March and narrowed the leeway businesses have in designating workers as independent contractors. That classification does not have the same level of federal guarantees on things like overtime as employees, and the regulation officially scrapped a 2021 policy issued at the tail end of the Trump administration. Republicans have made efforts to reverse the regulation under the Congressional Review Act, which cleared Congress but was vetoed by President Biden in May, and employer groups have gone to federal court to overturn the rule. Foxx’s letter directs Su to comply with the subpoena by 12:00 p.m. on October 7th.
Click here to access the letter.
Department of Labor
It has been almost a year since Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su initiated a review of the 14(c) certification program, which allows qualified employers to pay disabled workers a fraction of the standard minimum wage. Since starting the review, Department of Labor (DOL) officials have held a series of listening sessions and other outreach on the topic, which remains a contentious one within the disability community about whether it helps these workers by giving them economic opportunities they otherwise wouldn’t have access to — or is an outdated law that hampers their ability to be fairly compensated for their work. The issue is debated on both sides of the aisle and a growing number of states in recent years have moved to prohibit employers from using 14(c). At the end of June, DOL submitted a draft to the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) and the spring regulatory agenda had set a September target to publicly release a proposed rule. OIRA has yet to finish its review — putting that timeline in doubt — and earlier this year it approved DOL’s workplace heat safety standard in a matter of weeks; whereas a Covid-related rule for health care settings has sat for nearly 2 full years. Any final action will ultimately be in the hands of the winner of November’s elections.
Department of Energy
On Monday, September 16, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO), in collaboration with the Office of Technology Transitions, announced $3 million for a new initiative to help grow the readiness of the workforce needed to decarbonize the U.S. industrial sector. The Industrial Sustainability, Energy Efficiency, and Decarbonization (ISEED) Collaborative will provide assistance to partners across the manufacturing sector to develop and disseminate instructional curricula and training programs focused on industrial sustainability, energy efficiency, and decarbonization. The resources will be available for workers at any level of training and education, and is designed to empower learners to build the skills and knowledge they need to contribute to sustainable manufacturing to reduce industrial emissions and move the country towards a net-zero economy by 2050.
The ISEED Collaborative aims to amplify existing and proven programs, develop new content to support emerging technologies, align training programs to industry needs, and improve the accessibility of training and education for workers in underserved communities. Up to six selected ISEED Collaborative members will receive funding, technical support, and guidance over the course of two years to develop and pilot workforce solutions that can be scaled regionally or nationally. To form the ISEED Collaborative membership, IEDO is soliciting proposals from organizations with established experience or networks in the certain focus areas, as outlined in the press release linked below.
Click here to access the full press release.
Resolution in Support of National Workforce Development Month
On Tuesday, September 17, Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (OR), Brett Guthrie, Glenn Thompson (PA), and Lucy McBath (GA) introduced a bipartisan resolution expressing support for the designation of September 2024 as “National Workforce Development Month.” The resolution describes the benefits of intersectoral collaboration and a multitiered public sector approach to skills training and development, expresses the intent of the House of Representatives to support federal initiatives to promote workforce development, and acknowledges the crucial role workforce development plays in supporting workers and growing the economy.
Click here to access the resolution.
House Education and the Workforce Committee
House Education and the Workforce Committee Chair Virginia Foxx (NC) — who has served as the Committee’s top Republican since 2017 — now has her portrait hanging in the committee room she has led. Foxx received a rare waiver to chair the committee this Congress due to GOP Conference rules that block members from serving more than three consecutive terms as a ranking member or chair of a committee. She isn’t expected to seek another waiver for the 119th Congress, though she is expected to remain in Congress should she win re-election this fall. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (LA) and Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA) were in attendance at the unveiling.
Click here to view the portrait.
Initial Jobless Claims
In the week ending September 14, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 219,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 230,000 to 231,000. The 4-week moving average was 227,500, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 230,750 to 231,000. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2 percent for the week ending September 7, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate.
Click here to access the report.
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