Organization: MSCA

As part of its ongoing commitment to protecting your livelihood and setting the stage for a bright future, MCAA has secured the services of Longbow Public Policy Group to advise our MCAA Government Affairs Committee (GAC). GAC Chair, Jim Gaffney will be passing along information relative to our industry on a regular basis.

On Monday, July 14, 2025 MCAA Lobbying Firm, Longbow Public Policy Group provided the following information:

MCAA Issues and Interests

Budget Reconciliation

Reconciliation Bill Signed into Law with MCAA Priorities

On July 4^th, President Trump signed the GOP reconciliation bill, known as the “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act” (H.R. 1), into law. The MCAA spent months ensuring this seminal legislation retained the tax regime of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) with some improvements. MCAA also significantly mitigated cuts to Inflation Reduction Act clean energy tax credits that were identified as most important to the MCAA after the House initially proposed the rapid elimination of them. We also succeeded in preventing Congress from paying for this legislation with offsets that would have been disastrous for our industry. 

On the tax front, MCAA lobbied with an array of organizations to maintain the corporate and individual tax rates from the TCJA. We also secured improvements, such as permanently extending the Section 199A 20% passthrough deduction, permanently extending the Section 168 100% bonus depreciation for new and used equipment and machinery, and increasing the limitation amount for the Section 179 immediate expensing of qualified property from $1 million to $2.5 million (which will be reduced by the amount that the cost of the qualifying property exceeds $4 million). 

MCAA’s greatest contribution to the bill, however, was our successful advocacy to extend the life of Inflation Reduction Act clean energy tax credits that the Government Affairs Committee identified as priorities for our industry. This became an intense fight after the House initially proposed drastically accelerated phaseouts. 

The first iteration of the reconciliation bill as released by the House Budget Committee would have: (1) accelerated the phaseout for the Section 45Y “Clean Electricity Production Credit,” the Section 48E “Clean Electricity Investment Credit,” and Section 45U “Zero-Emission Nuclear Power Production Credit” based on the date a facility is placed into service, reducing the credits by 20% starting in 2029 before eliminating them completely by 2031; (2) terminated the Section 45X “Advanced Manufacturing Tax Credit” on December 31, 2031; (3) terminated the Section 45V “Credit for Production of Clean Hydrogen” on January 1, 2026; and (4) repealed the transferability of the Section 45Q “Carbon Oxide Sequestration Credit” for projects that begin construction after two years of enactment of the reconciliation bill. 

Following release of the House Budget Committee reconciliation text, MCAA worked with lawmakers to improve provisions in the bill related to nuclear energy in two important ways before the House Rules Committee released the bill text on which the House would vote. First, the revised Rules Committee bill text that the House sent to the Senate eliminated the Budget Committee’s phaseouts of the Section 45Y and 48E credits as they applied to nuclear power. We also succeeded in persuading the Rules Committee to exempt nuclear power from a requirement disallowing these tax credits to facilities beginning construction more than 60 days after the bill’s date of enactment or placed into service after December 31, 2028. Instead, the Rules Committee text allowed advanced nuclear projects to get these credits if they begin construction by December 31, 2028. Additionally, we successfully advocated for changes that eliminated the phaseouts for the Section 45U Nuclear Power Production credit, allowing project sponsors to claim the full credit until December 31, 2031. 

Even before the bill passed the House, MCAA was lobbying the Senate for additional changes to our clean energy tax credit priorities that it was clear we would not get fixed in the House. MCAA secured several important improvements in the Senate bill that was ultimately signed into law over the language the House sent to the Senate. These included: (1) extending the Section 45Y and 48E credits through 2035, with phaseouts allowing for 75% of the credits for facilities that begin construction in 2034 and 50% for facilities that begin construction in 2035, before terminating for facilities that begin construction after 2035; (2) extending the full Section 45U credit for an additional year from December 31, 2031 to December 31, 2032; (3) extending the Section 45X credit for two additional years from December 31, 2031 to December 31, 2033, with a gradual phaseout of 25% each year beginning in 2031 before being fully eliminated at the end of 2033; (4) extending the Section 45V credit for two years from January 1, 2026 to January 1, 2028; and (5) securing the elimination of the transferability restrictions on the Section 45Q credit. We also helped to secure provisions in the Senate bill to increase the CHIPS and Science Act’s advanced manufacturing investment credit from 25% to 30% to incentivize chipmakers to spend more on new chip facilities in the U.S.

Throughout this process, the MCAA policy team also successfully fended off efforts to include problematic offsets in the bill, including a cap on the deductibility of employer-provided health insurance. Other problematic offsets the MCAA team helped keep out of the bill were changes to the tax treatment of municipal bonds, and a cap on the corporate state and local tax deduction. Now that H.R. 1 has been signed into law, the MCAA policy team is working with the Trump Administration on implementation of the provisions we lobbied for in the bill. 

Registered Apprenticeship

DOL Publishes Proposed Rule Rescinding Regulations Covering the EEO Obligations of Sponsors of Registered Apprenticeship Programs

As the policy team advocated on the reconciliation bill, we were also busy digesting and distilling for MCAA  a long-anticipated proposed rule from the Labor Department’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) on July 2^nd that effectively rescinds the current regulations governing the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) obligations of sponsors of registered apprenticeship programs. We have known this proposed rule was coming since our engagement with the Department of Labor (DOL) in the first quarter about its plans to implement the President’s executive orders on DEI [Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion] and what that might mean for registered apprenticeship.

In general, the proposed rule is what we expected. It reduces an apprenticeship program sponsor’s EEO obligations to complying with “all applicable federal and state laws governing nondiscrimination in the workplace.” The proposed rule states that for EEO, it is “not necessary” for DOL to have “a separate oversight, investigative, and enforcement framework specific to registered apprenticeship.” The proposal eliminates the requirements for apprenticeship programs with five or more apprentices to prepare Affirmative Action Plans. It also eliminates the standards on nondiscriminatory methods for selection of apprentices, making it so that registered apprenticeship programs do not have to undertake any selection procedures for apprentices beyond those used to hire regular employees. Under the proposed rule, the DOL will only deregister an apprenticeship program for EEO violations “if a competent enforcement agency or court issues a final determination of unlawful discrimination” against it. Finally, to ensure uniformity across states, the proposed rule mandates that within one year of the effective date of a final rule, all State Apprenticeship Agencies seeking to obtain or maintain recognition to certify registered apprenticeship under current 29 CFR Part 29 must “ensure that their apprenticeship laws, regulations, policies, and procedures exclusively pertaining to nondiscrimination and equality of opportunity for apprentices conform only to the requirements” of this proposed rule. They will no longer be able to impose requirements above the floor DOL is setting in this rulemaking.

The MCAA policy team sent a detailed memorandum on the proposed rule to MCAA leadership the day it issued and that was included in government affairs team’s weekly regulatory report submitted last week. Comments on the proposed rule are due September 2, 2025.

DOL Issues Guidance to Restrict Undocumented Immigrants from Accessing Federal Workforce Development Programs funded by WIOA

As we continue engaging with the Labor Department on regulatory issues, including registered apprenticeship, we learned that last Thursday, as part of Trump Administration-wide efforts across federal agencies to prevent undocumented immigrants from getting taxpayer funded benefits, the Labor Department’s Employment and Training Administration issued new guidance to ensure undocumented immigrants are not allowed to access federal workforce development and training programs. This includes programs funded under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and allotments of WIOA funds received by state and local workforce boards. This extends to Title I Adult, Dislocated Worker, Youth programs (including statewide employment and training services funded by governors’ reserves), WIOA National Dislocated Worker Grants, Wagner-Peyser Act Employment Service, Reentry Employment Opportunities and other programs authorized under Section 169 of WIOA, YouthBuild, and other, similar programs. Under this new guidance, all grantees funded through WIOA and related programs must verify an individual’s valid work authorization before providing participant-level services. The guidance also directs the public workforce development system to update all policies and procedures to verify work authorization and maintain proper documentation in participant case files. 

DOL Announces Nearly $84 Million to Expand Registered Apprenticeships

As part of the Administration’s effort to reach its goal of 1 million active participants in registered apprenticeship programs, on June 30^th DOL awarded nearly $84 million in State Apprenticeship Expansion Formula Grant Funding to 50 states and territories to support the implementation of President Trump’s Executive Orders related to enhancing and expanding the National Apprenticeship to advance President Trump’s Executive Actions on “Preparing Americans for High-Paying Skilled Trade Jobs of the Future,” “Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth,” “Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance,” and “Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base.” States can use this funding to advance “the expansion of Registered Apprenticeships in both traditional and emerging industries.” MCAA affiliates may wish to confer with their relevant state apprenticeship authority to ascertain how they intend to use their allotment of these funds.

DOL Announces $5 Million WANTO Grant Funding to Attract and Retain Women in Registered Apprenticeship Programs in Construction

Relatedly, last Wednesday, Labor Secretary Chavez-DeRemer announced a $5 million funding opportunity for up to 14 Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) grants administered jointly through DOL’s Women’s Bureau and Employment and Training Administration to attract and retain more women in registered apprenticeship programs and high-growth industries like construction, manufacturing, and cybersecurity. Grant awards will total between $350,000 and $750,000 each. Applications are due by August 8, 2025 and can be submitted through Grants.gov here. 

This grant announcement is notable for a couple of reasons. First, the President’s fiscal year 2026 budget request calls for the elimination of the DOL Women’s Bureau. Second, the grant announcement comes as the Trump Administration is engaged in litigation with WANTO grantee Chicago Women in Trades in a lawsuit over whether the Administration can freeze the organization’s existing WANTO grant focused on bringing Black and Latina women into the trades because their focus on minorities violates President Trump’s January 20, 2025 executive order calling for the termination of “DEI” and “equity-related” efforts in federal programs, including grants. 

Tariffs

President Trump Announces Copper Tariffs as He Sets New August 1 Deadline for Imposition of Reciprocal Tariffs

Last Tuesday, copper prices hit a record high as President Trump said he will impose a 50% tariff on copper imports. MCAA health plans should also be aware that the President also said he will soon announce tariffs “at a very, very high rate, like 200%,” on pharmaceutical imports. This announcement followed a Monday executive order formally delaying until August 1, 2025, the previously-delayed implementation of his “Liberation Day” reciprocal tariff rates that were set to expire on July 9^th. The order was accompanied by letters to various countries informing them of the tariff rates that will now take effect on August 1. In social media posts overnight last Monday and during the day last Tuesday, President Trump insisted that there will be “no extensions” of this latest August 1 deadline. Notably, the new August 1^st deadline falls between the July 21^st deadline the Trump Administration set for the U.S. and Canada to conclude a trade deal and the August 12^th deadline when the Administration’s 90-day trade truce with China expires. As of the end of last week, President Trump was threatening to impose 35% tariffs on Canada effective August 1^st if a trade deal is not reached. This threat seems to include an implicit delay of the July 21^st deadline for the U.S. and Canada to conclude a trade deal. These developments come as the Trump Administration is reportedly closing in on a trade deal with the European Union (EU) that would entail a modest 10% baseline tariff on all EU goods, with some exceptions for sensitive sectors such as aircraft and spirits.

Project Labor Agreements and Davis-Bacon Prevailing Wage

As noted above, with reconciliation in the rear-view mirror, the MCAA policy team has turned to the fiscal year 2026 funding deliberations with a focus on our annual goal of defeating all efforts to introduce anti-Davis-Bacon and anti-project labor agreement (PLA) provisions into the annual appropriations bills. This is a time consuming process that involves proactive outreach to lawmakers to try to identify these provisions in time to advocate against them, because, as we have seen in the past, anti-Davis-Bacon and PLA lawmakers usually keep their plans close to the chest and spring their amendments without notice during committee markups of the appropriations bills.

Independent Contractors and Misclassification of Workers 

House Education and the Workforce Could Markup Misclassification Bills Ahead of August Recess

As the MCAA policy team continues engaging policymakers on misclassification in the construction industry, we are anticipating that the House Education and the Workforce Committee could hold a markup before the upcoming August recess on two misclassification bills from Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA). The first bill, the Modern Worker Empowerment Act (H.R. 1319) would redefine the employment tests under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the National Labor Relations Act to a very narrow “significant control” test. 

The second bill, the Modern Worker Security Act (H.R. 1320) prohibits federal agencies and courts, when determining employment status under federal law, from taking into consideration whether an employer voluntarily provides a worker a “portable benefit.” “Portable benefits” include any of the usual list of benefits traditionally associated with employment as well as “skills training, professional development…income security, and short-term saving.” The benefit would be “portable” if provided in “a manner that allows the individual to maintain the benefits without regard to whether the [worker] continues to perform work for [the putative employer].”

Senate companions to these bills were also introduced last week, but we currently believe that the House versions will move first.

Decarbonization

MCAA Recognized for Work to Pass Law Rescinding Biden-era Rule on Gas-fired Instantaneous Water Heaters

As you know, the MCAA had a leading role in enacting a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution (H.J. Res. 20) from Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL) that nullified a Biden-era Energy Department final rule on “Energy Conservation Standards for Consumer Gas-fired Instantaneous Water Heaters.” This rule had established more stringent standards on energy used by consumer gas-fired instantaneous water heaters that had potential to drastically increase prices and essentially eliminate non-condensing tankless water heaters from the market. In recognition of MCAA’s effective lobbying that helped to enacting this CRA into law, Rep. Palmer signed a redline presentation of the signature page of the public law version of the measure as signed by President Trump. This redline was given to the MCAA lobbying team and has been presented to MCAA CEO Tim Brink as a memento of the MCAA’s effective advocacy on this important decarbonization priority. 

Energy Department Grid Reliability Study Makes Case for More Oil, Natural Gas, Coal, and Nuclear Power Generation 

Last Monday, the Energy Department (DOE) released its “Report on Evaluating U.S. Grid Reliability and Security,” fulfilling the directive established in President Trump’s April 8, 2025 Executive Order on “Strengthening the Reliability and Security of the United States Grid.” This Executive Order requires the Secretary of Energy to develop a uniform methodology for analyzing current and anticipated reserve margins for all regions of the bulk power system regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The report reveals that existing generation requirements and delays in adding new firm capacity will lead to a surge in power outages and a growing mismatch between electricity demand and supply, particularly from artificial intelligence (AI)-driven data center growth. The report makes clear that the Administration can be expected to continue acting to prevent the closure of baseload, dispatchable power, such as from coal, oil and gas, and nuclear, because of the need for these generation sources to maintain the grid. A fact sheet on the report is available here.

EPA Intends to Update 2024 Effluent Limitations Guidelines for Steam Electric Power Generating Units

As we continue to engage the Trump Administration on decarbonization issues, we wanted you to be aware that on June 30^th, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the agency’s intent to revise the Biden-era 2024 Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELGs) for Steam Electric Power Generating Units. The EPA says this initial rulemaking will propose extending compliance deadlines for many of the zero-discharge requirements in the 2024 Rule and the deadline for facilities to decide whether to submit a Notice of Planned Participation. The forthcoming rulemaking will also seek additional information on zero-discharge technologies, including cost and performance data, to help EPA determine whether to move forward with a second rulemaking to address zero-discharge technologies and other flexibilities and alternatives to compliance with the Biden-era 2024 rule.

Permitting Reform

As part of the Trump Administration’s broader effort to expedite energy infrastructure for oil, gas, nuclear that are part of its energy dominance strategy, several agencies announced updates to permitting regulations under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Of interest to the MCAA, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced a new interim final rule and revised National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) guidance to fix “the broken permitting process” and “deliver on President Trump’s pledge to unleash American energy dominance and accelerate critical energy infrastructure” as “part of a government-wide effort to restore common sense to permitting.” Major changes to DOE NEPA permitting include: (1) reducing the time for environmental assessments from three years to two years; (2) ensuring designation of a “lead agency” empowered to clarify permitting and review responsibilities of all parties, require coordination amongst the agencies, and ensure agencies develop a single environmental document; (3) implementing strict deadlines and page limits for review; (4) limiting review to considering only verified scientific studies that already exist; and (5) applying the recent Supreme Court decision in Seven County, which limits requirements for agencies to analyze upstream and downstream greenhouse gas effects and “curtails radical climate change analysis associated with activities outside agency jurisdiction.” DOE is also excluding from NEPA review authorizations to export natural gas to free-trade agreement countries. 

Separately, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced that his department is updating and partially rescinding parts of its regulations on implementation of NEPA to expedite infrastructure development permitting and to reduce the costs of permitting projects. Finally, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) voted unanimously to revise its regulations on the implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and issued a staff manual outlining the revised procedures to speed FERC permitting of energy projects.

Federal Contracting

DOL Publishes Rules to Implement President Trump’s EO “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity”

On July 1^st, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued two new rulemakings as part of its implementation of President Trump’s January 21, 2025 Executive Order (EO) 14173 on “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” of which MCAA members who are government contractors should be aware. The first proposed rule from DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) implements EO 14173’s repeal of the Lyndon Johnson-era Executive Order 11246 “Equal Employment Opportunity,” by rescinding the regulations that implemented the obligations for federal contractors and subcontractors to avoid discrimination by, among other things, taking affirmative action to ensure that job applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin. OFCCP already ceased enforcing these regulations after President Trump rescinded EO 11246. Comments on the proposed rule are due September 2, 2025 and can be submitted through the federal eRulemaking portal using Docket No. OFCCP-2025-0001. 

The second proposed rule from DOL implements President Trump’s EO 14713 by removing regulations implementing the nondiscrimination and equal opportunity provisions of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) that require direct and indirect recipients of financial assistance under Title I of WIOA to engage in affirmative outreach to groups based on race, sex, national origin, and other characteristics not required by statute. Comments on this proposed rule are due by July 31, 2025 and can be submitted through the federal eRulemaking portal here using RIN 1291-AA47. 

Other Interesting Things Since Our Last Report 

July 10, 2025

• The Trump Administration ratcheted up its campaign to pressure Federal Reserve Chair Powell to lower interest rates, with White House OMB Director Russell Vought accusing Powell of “grossly” mismanaging the Fed and misleading Congress about a pricey renovation to the Federal Reserve’s headquarters. The letter raises the specter that Trump is building a case to remove Powell for cause. The letter comes as President Trump again railed against “Too Late” Powell for not lowering the Federal Reserve’s benchmark rate. Taking to Truth Social, Trump said, “Tech Stocks, Industrial Stocks, & NASDAQ HIT ALL-TIME RECORD HIGHS! CRYPTO, ‘Through the Roof.’ NVIDIA IS UP 47% SINCE TRUMP TARIFFS. USA is taking in Hundreds of Billions of Dollars in Tariffs. Country is now ‘back.’ A great credit! Fed should rapidly lower rate to reflect this strength. USA should be at the ‘top of the list.’ no INFLATION!!! ‘Too Late’ DEMEANS THE GREAT CREDIT OF THE USA.” 

• CNBC released its latest list of the top states for business. At the top of the list is North Carolina, followed by Texas, Florida, Virginia, and Ohio rounding out the top 5.  Massachusetts had the most improved ranking, jumping 18 spots to number 20.  The five states at the bottom of the list were Louisiana, Rhode Island, Montana, Hawaii, and Alaska ranked last.  

July 9, 2025

• The Senate voted 54-43 to confirm Preston Wells Griffith III to serve as Undersecretary of the Department of Energy, with Sen. Angus King (I-ME) joining all Republicans in voting for confirmation. Also on Wednesday, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee unanimously advanced to the full Senate David Wright’s nomination to be a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

• The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee announced a confirmation hearing on Wednesday, July 16, 2025 at 10am to consider the nominations of Crystal Carey—a management-side labor lawyer at Morgan Lewis—to be General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board and Brittany Panuccio to be a member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

• The House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Workforce Protections announced a hearing on Wednesday, July 16, 2025 at 10:15 am entitled, “Safe Workplaces, Stronger Partnerships: The Future of OSHA Compliance Assistance.” The hearing will focus on encouraging employers to voluntarily comply with health and safety standards instead of focusing on enforcement actions by OSHA to ensure compliance. The witnesses for the hearing are not yet available.

• The Transportation Department (DOT) announced that it sent letters to all DOT funding recipients saying that the Trump Administration is releasing them of “their obligations to comply with” diversity, equity, and inclusion, climate change, and other commitments that the Biden Administration required as conditions of their awards. This includes “all orders, directives, rules, regulations, notices, guidance documents, funding agreements, programs, and policy statements, or portions thereof, which were authorized, adopted, or approved between noon on January 20, 2021 and noon on January 20, 2025, and which reference or relate in any way to climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, racial equity, gender identity, diversity equity and inclusion goals, environmental justice, or the Justice 40 Initiative.

July 8, 2025

• GOP-aligned super PAC The Senate Leadership Fund announced it brought in $85 million during the first half of 2025—more than doubling its previous record for the first half of an off-year. The group has $83 million in cash on hand and is planning to begin running ads well before the traditional blast after Labor Day of an election year. The group has already started spending in Georgia, North Carolina, Maine, Alaska and Nebraska. It also says it is preparing an ad buy in Texas for Senator Cornyn. The announcement comes as House GOP-aligned super PACs are spending millions trying to figure out how to get Trump voters who tend not to vote when President Trump is not on the ballot to turn out and support Republican Congressional candidates in the 2026 midterm elections. They view going on the offense to sell the recently enacted reconciliation bill as key to this effort.

• The advocacy group Protect Our Jobs has started airing ads attacking vulnerable House Republicans, like Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), for supporting the reconciliation bill and specifically targeting GOP members over the bill’s cuts to clean energy tax credits. 

July 7, 2025 

• The Interior Department (DOI) proposed updates to Bureau of Land Management oil and gas regulations that would allow commingling (e.g., combining production from multiple leases) when leases have different mineral ownership, royalty rates, and revenue distribution. Currently, commingling leases can only happen when these conditions are identical. DOI explains that these updates could result in as much as $1.8 billion in industry savings annually.

• The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced that its first national ad buy of the 2026 election cycles will target 35 House Republicans and focus on the impact of the reconciliation bill on Medicaid and rural hospitals. 

July 5, 2025

• Elon Musk announced that he will form a new, third political party in the U.S. called the America Party, but neither Musk nor his advisers have filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to establish the new party. The name of the party is similar to the political action committee Musk helped launch, America PAC, which spent close to $300 million in 2024 helping to elect President Trump and other Republicans. President Trump criticized Musk’s plans to create a third party as “ridiculous,” and characterized the tech billionaire as having gone “completely off the rails.”

July 2, 2025

• MCAA-affiliated health plans should be aware that the Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the establishment of a joint DOJ-HHS False Claims Act Working Group. Membership in the Working Group will include leadership from the HHS Office of General Counsel, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Center for Program Integrity, the Office of Counsel to the HHS Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), and DOJ’s Civil Division, with designees representing U.S. Attorneys’ Offices. The group will be jointly led by the HHS General Counsel, Chief Counsel to HHS-OIG, and the Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Commercial Litigation Branch. As part of the Working Group’s coordination work, HHS shall make referrals to DOJ of potential violations of the FCA that reflect the Working Group priorities: (1) Medicare Advantage; (2) drug, device or biologics pricing; (3) barriers to patient care;  (4) kickbacks related to drugs, medical devices, durable medical equipment; (5) materially defective medical devices; and (6) manipulation of electronic health record systems to drive inappropriate utilization of Medicare-covered products and services.

July 1, 2025

• The White House sent several nominees to the Senate, including: (1) Rosario Palmieri to be Assistant Secretary of Labor for Policy; and (2) Lee Beaman, Mitch Graves, Jeff Hagood, and Randall Jones to be members of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority.

June 30, 2025

• The White House published a presidential memorandum to spur energy development. It orders the Departments of Energy, Treasury, Defense, Interior, Agriculture, Transportation, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Small Business Administration, to speed energy development by sharing “information with one another and the White House when providing funding to energy infrastructure and critical mineral and material projects.” The agencies are also directed to, within six months, develop a common application for federal funding opportunities related to energy infrastructure or critical mineral or material-related projects “that enables applicants to apply simultaneously to multiple federal government funding programs using one common application. The common application shall include any legal terms, including consents, necessary to facilitate the information sharing requirements” mandated by the memorandum. A fact sheet on this presidential memorandum is available here.

• A bipartisan group of 21 lawmakers wrote to the leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee with a series of policy changes designed to speed up and reduce the cost of transportation projects that they wanted included in the next surface transportation bill—including the construction of more multifamily housing near transit projects. The letter highlights that currently, an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a project “takes an average of 1,793 days to complete” and that “25% of projects take over six years to get through the [environmental review] process.” The letter also explains that in “the 1970s, the average EIS was just a few pages long. Today, the average EIS is a staggering 1,703 pages.” The lawmakers say its proposals “will limit unnecessary process, reform overly burdensome environmental review, cut excessive red tape, and remove barriers to housing construction” near transportation projects.  

Around the Country

Northeast (ME, NH, CT, MA, RI, VT, NY, NJ, PA, DE, DC)

• On July 10^th, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted 15-14 in favor of an amendment from Sen. Van Hollen (D-MD) to the Commerce-Justice-State appropriations bill that would block President Trump from using any appropriated funds to build a new FBI headquarters anywhere other than the Greenbelt, MD location selected by the General Services Administration in 2023. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) joined with the Committee’s Democrats in favor of the amendment. This followed a July 1^st announcement from the General Services Administration and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that they selected the Ronald Reagan Building complex in Washington, D.C. as the next FBI headquarters in lieu of the Greenbelt, MD site announced in 2023.

• On July 9^th, Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA) announced he will run for re-election and not seek the Republican nomination for governor of Pennsylvania, despite having President Trump’s recent promise of support if he were to run. 

• On July 7^th, it was reported that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is teaming with Related Cos. to build a 1,200-foot Manhattan skyscraper one block from Central Park, which the developer and the Saudis purchased last year for more than $600 million. Related Cos. initially planned a mixed-use project at the site with residential, retail, and a hotel. But more recently the developer said it has been considering an office building instead to take advantage of the strong demand among businesses for top-quality space in the city. The project is the latest sign that foreign investors are flocking back to New York’s rapidly recovering real-estate market. 

• On June 30^th, Rep. Dwight Evans (D-PA) announced he will not seek re-election to Pennsylvania’s 2^nd Congressional District in 2026.

West (CA, NV, UT, CO, WY)

• On July 10^th, it was reported that as California attempts to respond to provisions curtailing clean energy in the GOP reconciliation bill, officials are considering slashing environmental permitting further to keep clean energy projects in the state on track. Clean energy groups say it will be impossible for the state to replace clean energy incentives slashed by Congress and are instead pushing state lawmakers to cut red tape and allow projects to get shovels in the ground faster.

• On July 7^th, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) partially approved a petition to modify a 2022 final consent order involving the acquisition of EP Energy, LLC (EP Energy) by a subsidiary of EnCap Capital Fund XI, LP and EnCap Investments LP (together, EnCap). The 2022 consent order settled charges that the acquisition would harm competition for the sale of Uinta Basin waxy crude oil to Salt Lake City, Utah-area refiners. The consent order required the divestiture of EP Energy’s entire business and assets in Utah and required EnCap and its subsidiaries Verdun Oil Company II LLC (Verdun) and XCL Resources Holdings, LLC (XCL) to obtain prior approval from the FTC before engaging in certain acquisitions in the seven Utah counties comprising the Uinta Basin. The FTC’s new order modifying the petition removes the prior-approval requirement for any reentry into the market by EnCap, Verdun, or XCL, as requested by the parties, and replaces the prior-approval requirement with a prior-notice requirement for any subsequent transaction involving oil- or gas-producing assets in the Uinta Basin area.

• On July 2^nd, a new poll from the University of California, Irvine found that, by a 2-1 margin, Californians say their state is on the “wrong track,” and former Vice President Harris led the pack of identified candidates for California governor with 24%. Harris was well ahead of the second place candidate, Rick Caruso, who has 9%. But 41% of those polled said they are “not sure yet” who they want. 

Northwest (OR, WA, ID, MT)

• On July 11^th, Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) confirmed he will run for a fourth term next year after some speculation that he may retire.

• On July 1^st, the White House issued a presidential permit to Junction Pipeline Company, LLC to construct, connect, operate, and maintain pipeline border facilities at the international border of the U.S. and Canada at Toole County, Montana, for the import of crude oil and petroleum products including, but not limited to, naphtha, liquefied petroleum gas, natural gas liquids, jet fuel, gasoline, kerosene, and diesel (but not including natural gas subject to section 3 of the Natural Gas Act).

Midwest (ND, SD, NE, KS, MN, IA, WI, IL, IN, OH, MI)

• On July 10^th, Michigan State University professor Josh Cowen announced a Democratic bid in Michigan’s 7^th Congressional District represented by incumbent Rep. Tom Barrett (R).  

• On July 9^th, defense contractor Anduril Industries was awarded a $310 million grant from Ohio’s job creation office as the company prepares to build a massive advanced manufacturing facility near Columbus, Ohio. The grant is conditioned on Anduril creating 4,008 new jobs and more than $530 million in new payroll and making at least $910.5 million in capital investment within the next 10 years to receive the funds. The company must then maintain those commitments over the ensuing two decades under the plan.

• On July 8^th, a new lawsuit was filed seeking to redraw Wisconsin’s congressional district boundary lines, less than two weeks after the state Supreme Court declined to hear a pair of lawsuits seeking redistricting before the 2026 election. The Wisconsin Business Leaders for Democracy argue in the lawsuit that Wisconsin’s congressional maps are unconstitutional because they are an anti-competitive gerrymander. The lawsuit notes that the median margin of victory for candidates in the eight districts since the maps were enacted is close to 30%.

• On July 8^th, Independent candidate Dan Osborn announced a run for U.S. Senate against incumbent Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE). Osborn gained name recognition in the state after he came within single digits of defeating Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) in 2024.

• On July 7^th, it was revealed that former Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL) is quietly exploring a comeback bid in Illinois’ 2^nd Congressional District after more than a decade out of office—including a two-year prison term.

• On July 2^nd, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) signed a pair of bipartisan bills designed to bolster nuclear power in Wisconsin. One bill orders a $2 million study to find the best locations for a nuclear fusion plant in the state. The other creates a new board to advance nuclear power and fusion technology in the state and host a summit in 2028. 

• On June 30^th, Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) announced he would run for governor of South Dakota instead of running for re-election to South Dakota’s at-large Congressional District.

• On June 30^th, President Trump signed a presidential permit authorizing South Bow LP to operate and maintain pipeline border facilities at the international border of the U.S. and Canada at Cavalier County, North Dakota for the transport between the U.S. and Canada of “all hydrocarbons and petroleum products of every description, refined or unrefined (inclusive of, but not limited to, crude oil, naphtha, liquefied petroleum gas, natural gas liquids, jet fuel, gasoline, kerosene, and diesel), but not including natural gas subject to section 3 of the Natural Gas Act.” Trump also signed a separate presidential permit authorizing Steel Reef US Pipelines LLC to operate and maintain existing pipeline border facilities at the international border of the U.S. and Canada at Burke County, North Dakota for the export of natural gas liquids from the U.S. to Canada.

Southeast (WV, MD, VA, NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, MS, TN, KY, AR, LA, MO)

• On July 10^th, the Energy Department announced that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) accepted a construction permit application for review from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to build one of the nation’s first small modular reactors (SMR) at its Clinch River Site near Oak Ridge, Tennessee. TVA is the first utility applying to build GE Vernova Hitachi’s BWRX-300 design in the United States and the project could pave the way for other utilities looking to deploy the same technology. The next step is a full safety review of the reactor design before it is cleared for construction.

• On July 7^th, it was revealed that Rep. Don Davis (D-NC) is exploring a run for the North Carolina U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC). 

• On July 1^st, it was revealed that former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) is leaning towards a U.S. Senate run in North Carolina following Sen. Thom Tillis’ (R-NC) retirement announcement on June 29^th.

• On June 30^th, Google announced a deal to buy 200 megawatts of fusion power to meet the growing demands of artificial intelligence (AI) from Commonwealth Fusion Systems, which is building its first commercial plant in Virginia to bring 400 megawatts of power online starting in the early 2030s. 

• On June 30^th, Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) announced his official resignation from Congress, which will take effect on July 20, 2025. Green is returning to the private sector to start his own business but did not provide additional details. Republicans are lining up to succeed Green, with state Rep. Jody Barrett, state Rep. Jay Reedy, Montgomery County Commissioner Jason Knight, Army veteran John Thorpe, and former state General Services Commissioner Matt Van Epps all announcing their campaigns for the Republican primary. 

Southwest (AZ, NM, OK, TX)

• This week’s Democratic primary for the special election to fill the seat of the late-Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) features five Democrats who “appear to encapsulate the generational and ideological schisms that have split the party since its sweeping losses in 2024,” including a former state legislator and a 25-year-old social media influencer and activist.

• On July 10^th, Texas Gov. Abbott (R) directed state lawmakers to redraw the state’s congressional districts during a special legislative session later this month in an effort to help House Republicans maintain the majority next year. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) blasted the move, saying Abbott is “conspiring with Donald Trump and House Republicans to try to rig the election and disenfranchise millions of voters.”

• On July 2^nd, former Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) announced a Democratic U.S. Senate run against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). In 2024, Allred challenged Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), losing by about 8 points.

As part of its ongoing commitment to protecting your livelihood and setting the stage for a bright future, MCAA has secured the services of Longbow Public Policy Group to advise our MCAA Government Affairs Committee (GAC). GAC Chair, Jim Gaffney will be passing along information relative to our industry on a regular basis.

On Monday, June 30, 2025 MCAA Lobbying Firm, Longbow Public Policy Group provided the following information, which was prepared on Friday, June 27, 2025:

MCAA Issues and Interests 

Budget Reconciliation   

Fight Over Inflation Reduction Tax Credits Likely to Continue Until the End of the Amendment Process on the Senate Reconciliation Bill

As key provisions in the Senate reconciliation bill providing offsets to the cost of the bill been stricken by the Parliamentarian’s “Byrd Rule” review, the House Freedom Caucus has ratcheted up its demand that the Senate recede to the House-passed language on clean energy tax credits to provide additional savings. Last Thursday night in his meeting with the President on the reconciliation bill, House Speaker Johnson echoed this demand and continues pressing it in negotiations with Senate GOP Leader Thune. The debate over energy tax credits that we are focused on will probably not be finally resolved before the Senate begins voting because Leader Thune does not want to risk alienating support in his causes to pass the vote to proceed to the bill. He is playing his card tight and likely awaiting indications of the President’s views on the Senate’s more generous tax credits for nuclear, geothermal and other types clean energy, versus the House-passed language ending all the Biden-era clean energy credits quickly. This debate will have to come to a head during Senate vote-a-rama on amendments to its reconciliation bill, which usually takes an entire day or longer because this is the last chance for the Senate to maximize the prospect that any bill it passes will get enough support from republicans in the closely divided house to allow it to be passed without amendment. everyone anticipates that the vote-a-rama will end with a “wrap around” amendment that will seek to resolve outstanding issues between House and Senate Republicans, including the fate of clean energy tax credits.  Lobbying on the content of this “wrap around” amendment will be non-stop throughout consideration of the Senate bill.

Intense Negotiations on the Pass-Through Deduction

Heading into the weekend, MCAA was engaged in intense negotiations between the House and Senate over the level of the Section 199 pass-through deduction. As you know, the House set it at 23% and the Senate set it at the 20% level enacted in 2017. There is intense jockeying over a final number, likely to end up between 20% and 23%.

Tentative Deal on SALT Deduction Cap

While not an MCAA priority for the reconciliation bill, MCAA members residing in high-tax states, like New York, New Jersey, and California, may be interested to know that Friday Treasury Secretary Bessent brokered a tentative compromise between House and Senate Republicans on the cap for deducting individual state and local taxes (SALT) from federal taxes. The tentative deal would increase the deduction limit to $40,000 for five years for taxpayers making up to $500,000 (adjusted annually for inflation). The $40,000 deduction limit would snap back to $10,000 after five years. In addition, Senate Republicans would drop a recent proposal to limit individual SALT deductions for the owners of pass-through businesses. If the deal cannot get the requisite signoffs before the Senate begins consideration of its bill, this is yet another issue that may get resolved in a final “wrap around” amendment at the end of the Senate vote-a-rama.  

Senate Parliamentarian Rules Several Provisions of Reconciliation Bill Violate the Byrd Rule

As discussed above, last week the Senate Parliamentarian struck several provisions out of the Republican reconciliation bill because they violated the Byrd Rule. In the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s bill text, the parliamentarian struck: Subsection 102(b)(4) and Subsection 102(b)(5) deeming offshore oil and gas projects as automatically compliant with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA); Section 102(b)(6) requiring offshore oil and gas leases to be issued to successful bidders within 90 days after the lease sale; Section 305 and 306 requiring the Secretary of the Interior to hold yearly geothermal lease sales and changing how geothermal royalties are calculated; and Section 401 allowing natural gas exporters to pay a fee to have their project deemed “in the public interest.”  

Relatedly, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee released updated text for the Committee’s portion of reconciliation after the Parliamentarian ruled certain provisions out of order. The new EPW text would still rescind funding for Inflation Reduction Act climate programs, but would stop short of deauthorizing them. The updated text also retains the repeal of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and pauses the IRA’s methane tax for 10 years. The Committee posted the updated bill text, section-by-section analysis, and a one-pager.

In the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee’s bill text, the parliamentarian struck Section 83002 expanding Pell Grants to include short-term workforce training programs.

Finally, we wanted to be sure you are aware that the current draft of the Senate Finance Committee’s reconciliation bill text would increase the CHIPS and Science Act’s Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit (CHIPS ITC) from 25% to 30%. The increase is intended to give chipmakers further incentive to break ground on new facilities before a December 31, 2026 deadline to begin construction. MCAA has teamed with advocates from the CHIP industry to urge that this language be retained along with the improvements we won to the clean energy tax credits for nuclear power that are deemed critical to the technology industry’s build-out of data centers.

Davis-Bacon Prevailing Wage and PLAs

Senate HELP Advances Department of Labor (DOL) Nominees, Including MCAA-Endorsed OSHA Nominee and Solicitor Nominee Who Misrepresented His Writings on Davis-Bacon

Last Thursday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee advanced the following Labor Department nominees in an en bloc 12-11 vote: (1) MCAA-endorsed David Keeling to serve as Assistant Secretary for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which oversees federal workplace health and safety laws; (2) Andrew Rogers to serve as Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division, which enforces Davis-Bacon federal prevailing wage, overtime, and child labor laws; (3) Jonathan Berry, who authored the labor chapter of Project 2025, to serve as Solicitor of Labor, as Solicitor (chief legal counsel) for DOL; and (4) Jeremiah Workman to serve as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training. The Committee also advanced, in a strong bipartisan 14-9 vote, the nomination of Daniel Aronowitz to serve as Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration, which enforces ERISA requirements on retirement and health benefit plans. 

Mr. Berry’s nomination advanced out of committee despite an exchange with Sen. Murkowski (R-AK) at his June 18^th confirmation hearing during which he misrepresented his views on Davis-Bacon. Sen. Murkowski asked Mr. Berry for his views on Davis-Bacon and project labor agreements (PLAs), saying they were both important to the labor community in Alaska. Berry claimed to be “agnostic” on Davis-Bacon and said he took no position on it when he wrote the labor chapter for Project 2025. This was not true. The labor chapter of Project 2025 (available here) states on page 636 of the PDF (page 604 using numbers at bottom of the pages in the report) that, “The Davis-Bacon Act redistributes wealth from hardworking Americans to those that benefit from government-funded construction projects. Repealing the Davis–Bacon Act would increase worker freedom and end a longstanding effective tax on American families.” Further down, the labor chapter authored by Mr. Berry makes two recommendations: “(1) End PLA requirements. Agencies should end all mandatory Project Labor Agreement requirements and base federal procurement decisions on the contractors that can deliver the best product at the lowest cost; and (2) Repeal Davis-Bacon. Congress should enact the Davis-Bacon Repeal Act and allow markets to determine market wages.” The exchange between Sen. Murkowski and Mr. Berry is available on the HELP Committee hearing video (available here) starting at the 1:27:34 mark.

The staff of HELP Committee members was aware of the startling discrepancy between what Berry told the Committee about his views on Davis-Bacon and what was in Project 2025, but it did not result in Senator Murkowski or any other Republican reconsidering their support for Mr. Berry’s nomination when the Committee marked it up last Thursday.

House Republicans Introduce Bill to Rescind MCAA-Supported Davis-Bacon Modernization Rule

Last Wednesday, Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) introduced legislation (H.R. 4148) to rescind the MCAA-supported Department of Labor final rule “Updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts” that took effect on October 23, 2023. In his press release, Smucker claimed, “this regulation puts taxpayers on the hook for artificially inflated federal construction costs” and is “a giveaway to Democrat political allies at the expense of the American taxpayers.” The bill is cosponsored by 15 House Republicans: Reps. Virginia Foxx (NC), Beth Van Duyne (TX), G.T. Thompson (PA), Richard Hudson (NC), John Moolenaar (MI), Mary Miller (IL), Tracey Mann (KS), Keith Self (TX), Julia Letlow (LA), John Rose (TN), Roger Williams (TX), Randy Weber (TX), Pete Sessions (TX), Erin Houchin (IN), and Jim Baird (IN). The bill is also endorsed by Associated Builders and Contractors, Americans for Prosperity, the National Precast Concrete Association, and the National Society of Professional Surveyors. 

The MCAA policy team has long worked to oppose legislation to rescind this rule, including working with our union and employer partners to defeat a similar proposal from Rep. Smucker last Congress. The MCAA advocacy team has already been in touch with allies in the House to rally opposition to this bill and will be sending a letter of opposition to Congress after the Fourth of July, when all members and staff are back on Capitol Hill.

Trump Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Advocacy Urges Repeal of MCAA-Supported Davis-Bacon Modernization Rule, Biden PLA Order and Related Rules and FTC Noncompete Rule

In the course of our lobbying against the Smucker bill, the MCAA advocacy team learned that the SBA Office of Advocacy recently submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in response to their recent Requests for Information inviting input on laws and regulations that raise barriers to, or otherwise harm, competition in the American economy. Rep. Smucker is using these comments to support his bill because the MCAA-supported Davis-Bacon Modernization Rule is one of the regulations the SBA Office of Advocacy identified as a significant barrier to competition that should be rescinded. Specifically, the SBA says this rule should be rescinded because it, “results in a significant number of additional small businesses” being covered by Davis-Bacon and adopts a prevailing wage methodology that “sets artificially high wages.” The SBA goes on to recommend affirmative changes to the Davis-Bacon regulations, including a concept long opposed by MCAA to supplant the Davis-Bacon wage survey process and instead rely on “U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data” on wages that markedly reduce the weight of union wage scales across every construction craft in every market in America.

The SBA comment letter also recommended that the Administration repeal the Biden-era executive order on PLAs, despite acknowledging the recently revised Trump White House Office of Management and Budget guidance stating that the Administration supports PLAs.

MCAA is not only working to counter these assertions in the SBA comments on Capitol Hill, but also working to educate regulators and press the White House to disavow these recommendations.

One challenge we have fighting the SBA comment letter is that it also included a couple of points we agree with. Specifically, the SBA comment letter urged rescission of the FTC’s final rule banning most non-compete agreements that MCAA believes is too broad. It also calls for OSHA to abandon its pending Biden-era rulemaking on heat injury and illness that MCAA has viewed as an overly broad, excessively prescriptive, and impractical one-size-fits-all regulation.

Registered Apprenticeship

White House Reviewing Proposed Rule on EEO in Registered Apprenticeship Programs

As we continue to engage the Trump Administration on registered apprenticeship, we uncovered that the White House is currently reviewing a proposed rule from the Labor Department’s Employment and Training Administration entitled, “Apprenticeship Programs, Reducing Equal Employment Opportunity Regulatory Burden.” While the text of the proposed rule is not available, the apparent purpose of this rule is to conform 29 CFR Part 30 regulations on “Equal Employment Opportunity in Apprenticeship” with President Trump’s Executive Orders on diversity, equity, and inclusion that the Trump Administration is in the process of effectuating across government programs. The progress on this proposed rule also comes after DOL ETA rescinded its January 2025 Training and Employment Notice No. 21-24 that directed state workforce agencies, state apprenticeship agencies, and other stakeholders to “cease all activities related to [DEI] or ‘diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility’” under federal awards. White House review is typically the final step before an item is published in the Federal Register. After learning more about where this proposal is going, we think it may provide an opportunity to rationalize some of the more onerous EEO obligations placed on registered apprenticeship program sponsors. We will, of course, have to see the details of the proposal once it is published and confer with the GAC on a path forward.

Democrats Unite Against Plans to Transfer Voc-Ed Grant Programs to Labor Department

As the policy team engaged with Congress on apprenticeship issues, we learned that key Democrats are unified against the Administration’s plans to move vocational education grant programs from the U.S. Department of Education to the Department of Labor, as part of a larger effort to consolidate federal job training programs at Labor. We received an advance copy of a June 19^th letter from House Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA), House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-WA), and Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services Ranking Member Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) to Education Secretary Linda McMahon opposing the “illegal efforts to attempt to transfer responsibility over career and technical education programs to the Department of Labor (DOL).” In addition to claiming it is illegal, the lawmakers said the attempt to transfer administration of vocational grant funding programs to DOL while maintaining some policy functions at the Education Department “would mean states, institutions of higher education, and school districts would have to work with two federal agencies in the administration of these programs, leading to delays in agency decision-making and grant administration.” While MCAA has taken no position on the transfer of these grants, we are increasingly concerned the issue may get injected into bills MCAA is working to advance on reauthorizing the National Apprenticeship Act and the Workforce Opportunity Investment Act.

Decarbonization

DOE Secretary Expresses Preference for Natural Gas and Nuclear Over Solar and Wind Energy 

On June 18^th, the MCAA policy team sat through Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s appearance before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where he made some points we urged his office and Committee members to press with an eye towards buttressing our efforts to get Congressional Republicans to support the language we got in the GOP reconciliation bill favoring tax credits for nuclear power over other forms of clean energy. Our efforts paid off. During the hearing, Wright questioned the wisdom of solar and wind energy subsidies, saying the Trump Administration is, “ending the reckless subsidizing of unreliable, unaffordable, and less secure energy sources.” He echoed arguments MCAA has been making that it is incorrect to compare the cost of constantly running baseload power, such as natural gas and nuclear plants, to the intermittent forms of energy like wind and solar. MCAA was able to immediately socialize these comments on Capitol Hill as the debate over the nuclear credits we are prioritizing in reconciliation continues.

DOE Starts New Pilot Program Testing Advanced Nuclear Reactor Designs 

On June 18^th, the Energy Department (DOE) announced the start of a new pilot program to expedite the testing of advanced nuclear reactor designs, issuing a Request for Application (RFA) from U.S. reactor companies interested in constructing and operating their test reactors outside of the national laboratories using the DOE authorization process. DOE states that it will consider advanced reactors that have a reasonable chance to operate by the July 4, 2026 deadline. Per the release, applicants will be responsible for all costs associated with designing, manufacturing, constructing, operating, and decommissioning each test reactor. Initial applications are due by July 21, 2025, with subsequent applications allowed on a rolling basis. DOE sponsored an Industry Day event in-person and virtually on June 25, 2025. Additional information from the June 25, 2025 meeting is available through the RFA webpage.

EPA Publishes Proposed Rule to Repeal All Biden-Era GHG Emission Standards for Fossil Fuel Power Plants

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposed rule that would repeal all greenhouse gas emission (GHG) standards for fossil fuel-fired power plants pursuant to President Trump’s January 20, 2025 Executive Order 14154 on “Unleashing American Energy.” The EPA is taking this action based on a determination that the GHG emission standards for power plants “impose an undue burden on the identification, development, or use of domestic energy resources.” The agency also asserts in its proposal that prior regulations regarding requirements for GHG emissions standards are not “grounded in clearly applicable law.” 

Environmental Groups Raising Concerns as Banks Backtrack on Climate Pledges

As we continue to press forward on turning back some of the more onerous Biden-era environmental rules impacting our industry, we learned of a new report released from environmental advocates entitled, “Banking on Climate Chaos” bemoaning the fact that in 2024 banks around the world significantly increased their financing for oil, gas, and coal projects by 23% over 2023 levels, with commitments of $869 billion. The report draws on data from the world’s 65 largest banks by asset size and their financing activities to around 2,730 companies that are active across the fossil-fuel sector. The financing includes bond and share issuances, project and corporate loans, and revolving credit facilities. U.S. lenders continue to dominate as the largest financiers of fossil fuels, with JPMorgan Chase lenders providing $53.5 billion in funding last year, followed by Bank of America with $46.0 billion, and Citigroup rounding out the top three with $44.7 billion. We view this report as solid evidence that the tide is turning against radical decarbonization.

Tariffs 

Good News on China, Bad News on Canada

Last Friday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the U.S. and China have signed a trade agreement that will make it easier for American firms to obtain magnets and rare earth elements from China that are critical to manufacturing and microchip production. Bessent added that the new pact cleared the way for additional trade talks between the U.S. and China to continue and called the pact a “de-escalation” in trade tensions between the two countries. During the announcement, Bessent said the Trump Administration’s tariff negotiations with more than a dozen trading partners could stretch into September, saying he hoped the Administration “could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day.” These positive developments on China trade were offset by President Trump’s announcement last Friday that he was “terminating” all trade discussions with Canada, effective immediately, because of its Digital Services Tax set to take effect over the weekend. It imposes a 3% tax on certain Canadian profits that companies from any nation make from online advertising, social media, online marketplaces and the sale and licensing of user data. First payments are due Monday, but because the bill applies retroactively, U.S. companies such as Amazon, Google and Meta could be faced with a bill up to $2 billion. President Trump said that he would announce new tariffs on Canada within the next seven days if Canada implemented the Digital Services Tax.

U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Fast Track Challenge to Trump Tariffs

As MCAA continues monitoring tariff developments that were discussed at the May policy conference, on June 20th, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to fast track consideration of pending challenges President Trump’s April “Liberation Day” tariffs imposed in April. The plaintiffs wanted to forgo further deliberations in the lower federal courts and get a definitive Supreme Court ruling on President Trump’s tariff powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. However, the Supreme Court sided with the Trump Administration and refused the plaintiffs’ request for expedited consideration, signaling it would wait for litigation challenging Trump’s tariffs to work its way through the federal appellate courts. 

Other Interesting Things Since Our Last Report

June 27, 2025

• The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced that Acting General Counsel William B. Cowen issued GC Memorandum 25-07 to all field offices. The memorandum, which is entitled “Surreptitious Recordings of Collective-Bargaining Sessions as a Per Se Violation of the NLRA,” provides that a party which secretly records collective bargaining session(s) commits a per se violation of the National Labor Relations Act. Acting General Counsel Cowen emphasized, “[t]he use of surreptitious recordings during the collective-bargaining process is inconsistent with the openness and mutual trust necessary for the process to function as contemplated by the Act.” The memo also notes that because advances in technology have made the ability to record conversations universally available, this capability warrants a clear statement that, in the collective-bargaining context, surreptitious recording is not lawful.

• The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published a Proposed Notice of Sale (PNOS) for an oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of America that offers approximately 15,000 unleased blocks located three to 231 miles offshore across the Gulf’s Western, Central, and Eastern Planning Areas. The leases awarded through this sale will be for oil and gas exploration and development only. A map of the proposed lease sale area is available here.

June 26, 2025

• The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis released a downward adjustment of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) for the first quarter of 2025, saying the U.S. economy shrank 0.5% instead of the previously reported 0.2%. The revised estimate said first-quarter growth was weighed down by a surge of imports as U.S. companies and households rushed to buy foreign goods before tariffs took effect. The downward adjustment to GDP came as the Labor Department reported that weekly jobless claims fell, but continuing claims for unemployment increased to 1.97 million, the highest level since November 2021, signaling more people are staying out of work for longer.

• The Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is renewing its National Emphasis Program on Amputations in Manufacturing Industries focused on preventing amputations in manufacturing workplaces. Under the renewed program, OSHA will conduct inspections of manufacturing facilities to ensure compliance with safety practices while operating, servicing, or maintaining machines. This includes controlling dangerous energy sources and making sure machines are properly guarded to prevent amputations. The program looks at companies using machinery that poses a risk of amputation.  

June 25, 2025

• The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a confirmation hearing on the nomination of David Wright to be a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The hearing comes after President Trump terminated NRC Commissioner Christopher Hanson, who is a Democrat, on June 13^th. Hanson claims he was removed from the position “without cause” and “contrary to existing law and longstanding precedent regarding removal of independent agency appointees.” Hanson was tapped to be the chair of the NRC by former President Biden in 2021 after originally being nominated to the commission by Trump in 2020.

• The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee voted 34-30 along party lines to approve H.R. 3898, the Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure Today (PERMIT) Act, legislation to improve the permitting process for Clean Water Act projects. Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), the bill’s sponsor, said the legislation would protect projects from “frivolous lawsuits” and provide project sponsors with regulatory certainty, while Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-WA) criticized the bill as putting “polluters over people by weakening Clean Water Act protections for the nation’s rivers, streams, lakes, and wetlands.”

• The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) announced they are updating their policies to speed up the search and development of critical minerals offshore the United States across all stages of development, from early exploration to post-lease operations and production. For early-stage exploration, BOEM will apply existing streamlined environmental reviews and extend the duration of prospecting permits from three to five years, giving companies more time to complete their work without unnecessary interruptions. BOEM will also start preparing environmental assessments during the lease sale phase, reserving more detailed environmental impact statements for later planning stages. Once a lease is issued, BOEM and BSEE will consider offshore critical mineral projects for expedited permitting under the Department’s emergency procedures and other applicable laws. Approvals for mapping, testing, and site development will be fast-tracked and, when requested by the lessee, BOEM will also consolidate exploration, testing, and mining plans into a single review, reducing duplication and speeding up decision-making.

• The Energy Department’s Office of Electricity announced three storage technologies projects that will receive up to $5 million each (for a total of $15 million) to demonstrate the ability of energy storage to support critical facilities and infrastructure during a power outage or other emergency. The projects are: (1) the Resilient Energy System based on high-voltage PhosphatE Cell Technology (RESPECT) Project at New York’s Binghamton University that will develop and demonstrate a Bio-Mineralized Lithium Mixed-Metal Phosphate grid-scale battery energy storage system to improve energy resilience at a critical services facility (e.g., fire, water treatment, etc.) in Endicott, NY; (2) the Iron and Sodium Long Duration Battery for Multi-day Resilience and Renewable Shifting in High Wildfire Risk Zone Project that will develop and demonstrate an iron and sodium long-duration energy storage system to improve energy resilience at the Alliance Redwoods site in Occidental, CA; and (3) the Demonstration of Low-Cost, Organic Quinone Flow Battery Project that will develop and demonstrate Quino Energy’s organic quinone flow battery to improve energy resilience at Los Angeles County’s High Desert Regional Health Center (HDRHC) in Lancaster, CA.

June 24, 2025

• The House of Representatives voted 217-206 to pass the fiscal year 2026 Military Construction-Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, which provides $152.1 billion in net discretionary spending, a 3% increase over the current fiscal year. The bill includes $18 billion for military construction activities (also a 3% increase over FY 2025), including $2 billion for family and military personnel housing (a 2% increase), $110 million in additional funding for construction improvements at Department of Defense (DOD) Laboratories, and $75 million each in additional funding for improvements to barracks and child development centers.

• Two term Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) was elected to succeed the late Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) (a longtime ally of MCAA) as Ranking Member on the House Oversight Committee, defeating more senior Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) by a vote of 150-63. The 47-year-old Garcia’s decisive victory is a major coup for the youth wing of the House Democratic Caucus as it tries to secure more leadership roles from the more senior, establishment old guard. The victory was considered a forgone conclusion after Garcia unexpectedly won the recommendation of the House Democratic steering committee on the first ballot last night.

• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Mehmet Oz warned that pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) should “end the complicated system of drug rebates before the government steps in to change it,” signaling that the Trump CMS may revive attempts to eliminate payments drugmakers send to PBMs after prescriptions are filled. Oz suggested that regulators and lawmakers could revamp the system “fairly expeditiously, because there’s a motivated group of people who want to do that.”

June 20, 2025

• A new poll found that support among Americans for tax credits for electric vehicles and solar panels has weakened, as well as their enthusiasm for offshore wind farm expansion. About half of U.S. adults support expanding solar panel farms (down from about two-thirds support in 2022), 37% of U.S. adults favor providing tax credits for the purchase of electric vehicles, compared to 30% that oppose it, and 44% of U.S. adults say that offshore wind farms should be expanded (down from 59% in 2022).

June 19, 2025

• The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) announced several actions to remove regulatory obstacles and speed the construction of natural gas infrastructure in the United States. First, FERC issued an order granting a two-year temporary waiver to temporarily raise the cost limits under which natural gas companies are allowed to undertake pipeline modifications or construction without the need for further case-by-case certificate authorization by the Commission, and a Notice of Inquiry seeking comment on permanently adjusting the blanket certificate cost limitations. Additionally, FERC issued an order granting a one-year waiver of the Commission’s FERC’s Order No. 871, a rule that prevents issuance of authorizations to proceed with construction activities for natural gas facilities while certain requests for rehearing are pending before the Commission, and a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking published in the Federal Register on June 24^th.  

June 18, 2025

• The Interior Department released a U.S. Geological Survey report entitled, “An Estimate of Undiscovered, Technically Recoverable Oil and Gas Resources Underlying Federal Lands of the Onshore United States, 2025.” The report estimates that there are technically recoverable resources of 29.4 billion barrels of oil and 391.6 trillion cubic feet of gas under federally managed lands. The estimates focused on conventional oil and gas accumulations and did not include all unconventional resources such as shale oil, tight oil and tight gas (i.e., oil and gas trapped in impermeable rock), and coal-bed gas. The public lands included in the report are those administered by the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, and Interior, as well as the Tennessee Valley Authority.

• The Social Security Board of Trustees released its annual report revealing that the Social Security Trust Fund is expected to be insolvent by 2034—one year earlier than projected last year. The Trustees noted that the actuarial deficit increased significantly in part due to implementation of the Social Security Fairness Act repealing the Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision. On Medicare, the Trustees reported that the Hospital Trust Fund will be able to pay 100% of total scheduled benefits until 2033—three years earlier than reported last year. After 2033, the program will only be able to pay 89% of total scheduled benefits.

• The Commerce Department’s Census Bureau reported housing starts fell almost 10% last month to an annualized pace of 1.3 million—well below the rate that economists expected. Builders broke ground on home construction in May at the slowest pace in five years. The issuance of building permits also hit a five-year low in June and sentiment among homebuilders dropped to the lowest level since June 2022. In certain parts of the county, there is too much inventory compared to demand. The National Association of Home Builders warned that homebuyers, “are increasingly on the sidelines due to elevated mortgage rates and tariff and economic uncertainty.”

• The latest Business Roundtable’s CEO Economic Outlook Index fell by 15 points to 69—well below the index’s historical average of 83. The decline is a result of tepid expectations for the months ahead, most notably on the hiring front. The employment subindex plummeted by almost 19 points, with more than 40% of CEOs expecting to shrink their workforces in the next six months — up from the roughly 30% who said the same last quarter. 

June 17, 2025

• At least nine companies have pending requests for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to reconsider the validity of NLRB regional directors’ (RDs) decisions in union election cases while the NLRB lacks a quorum. Although several federal appeals courts have previously affirmed the NLRB’s conclusion that RDs can wield delegated power when the NLRB lacks a quorum, the companies are arguing that these prior rulings were based on courts deferring to the NLRB’s reasonable interpretation of an ambiguous provision of the National Labor Relations Act. The companies say that such deference is no longer warranted since the Supreme Court reversed the Chevron doctrine last year in its landmark Loper Bright Enterprises decision.

June 16, 2025

• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published proposed rule regarding Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program volume requirements for 2026 and 2027. The proposal consists of three key aspects: (1) sets strong growth targets for key renewable fuels; (2) reduces the value of renewable fuels and feedstocks from foreign countries; and (3) removes electricity as a qualifying renewable fuel under the RFS program.

• Speaking at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Conference, Justice Department Criminal Division chief Matthew Galeotti said the Division is, “turning a new page on white-collar and corporate enforcement.” Recognizing that “most corporations and financial institutions want to play by the rules and provide value for their shareholders and their customers,” Galeotti said that the era of “[e]xcessive enforcement and unfocused corporate investigations…ends today.” He announced the Criminal Division’s new “white-collar enforcement plan” that will focus efforts on the most egregious white-collar crime, such as fraud and exploitation of the financial system, and encourage companies to self-report violations of law. 

• Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Tim Scott (R-SC), Roger Marshall (R-KS), and Thom Tillis (R-NC) introduced the Strengthening Benefits Plans Act of 2025, legislation that would allow for overfunded 401(h) retiree pension accounts (i.e., employer-sponsored fund for post-retirement medical benefits) to be transferred to help pay for active healthcare programs. The full bill text is available here.

Around the Country 

Northeast 

• On June 26^th, Constellation Energy Corp. said it could restart its Three Mile Island site in Pennsylvania as early as 2027, one year earlier than previously projected. Once operational, it will deliver electricity to Microsoft, which needs carbon-free energy for its artificial intelligence systems.

• On June 26^th, it was revealed that Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) is preparing to officially launch her campaign for New York governor. Her confidantes say it’s no longer a matter of if, but when, Stefanik will launch her gubernatorial campaign.

• On June 25^th, former Massachusetts GOP Sen. Scott Brown announced another run to replace retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D) in New Hampshire. Shaheen defeated Brown for the seat in 2014.

• On June 23^rd, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) directed the New York Power Authority to find a site in upstate New York to build a new nuclear power plant that will add at least 1 gigawatt of new nuclear-power generation—enough to power about a million homes. If approved, the nuclear power plant would be the first to start construction in New York in a generation. The Power Authority will determine the reactor’s design and decide if it will pursue the project alone or in partnership with private entities.

• On June 19^th, the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825 endorsed GOP New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli in his race against Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ). The 8,000-member union says it endorsed Ciattarelli because “of his willingness to create jobs by supporting projects involving natural gas” compared to the Democratic nominee, Mikie Sherrill, for “banking on solar” as a solution to the state’s energy needs. Local 825’s Business Manager commented that, “The notion that we can do this without natural gas is insane…We can’t get there just on solar. That’s impossible.”

West

• On June 24^th, in conjunction with a new report on California’s water resources, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) said that the state’s “water system is unprepared for California’s hotter and drier climate.” Newsom went on to explain that that “means we also need to build new water infrastructure like the Delta Conveyance Project in Sacramento. He added, “We literally cannot afford to wait to complete this vital project, and Californians are sick and tired of the self-imposed roadblocks standing in the way of our state’s continued progress.”

• On June 18^th, Texas Instruments announced that it will invest more than $60 billion across three manufacturing sites in Lehi, Utah, as well as Sherman and Richardson in Texas. The investment will go toward seven semiconductor fabs, expanding the company’s domestic manufacturing capacity to supply growing demand for semiconductors used in vehicles, smartphones, data centers, satellites and other electronic devices.

Northwest 

• On June 26^th, it was revealed that a proposed data center project in Great Falls, MT will entail a two-million-square-foot campus, but the facility will require approximately 600 megawatts of electricity. A number of options are being considered for on-site power generation—such as natural gas or coal-fired—all of which would require the construction of new infrastructure. 

• On June 24^th, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rescinded the 2001 Roadless Rule. The USDA said the rescission will allow the Department to lift restrictions against logging, road construction, and reconstruction on nearly 59 million acres of the National Forest System. USDA added that this rescission will also foster greater economic development and help support job growth, particularly in Montana, Utah, and Alaska.

Midwest

• On June 27^th, MCAA learned that Nebraska GOP Congressman Don Bacon (NE) will not seek reelection in the state’s 2^nd Congressional District that is always hotly contested.

• On June 25^th, former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Bill O’Neill announced a run as a Democrat for Ohio’s 14^th Congressional District against incumbent Rep. David Joyce (R-OH).

• On June 20^th, the Energy Department (DOE) announced that it has released an additional $100,451,904 of the up to $1.52 billion loan guarantee to Holtec to restart Michigan’s Palisades Nuclear Plant. The release of this funding brings the total DOE guaranteed loan funds provided to Holtec to $251,878,038 since the September 2024 announcement of the loan. This project will mark the United States’ first restart of a commercial nuclear reactor that has ceased operations.

• On June 18^th, former Biden Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink announced she’s running as a Democrat for Congress in Michigan’s 7^th Congressional District against Rep. Tom Barrett (R-MI). 

• On June 17^th, Democrat Christina Bohannan announced the launch of her third campaign to unseat GOP Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks after losing to Miller-Meeks by just 799 votes in 2024.  

Southeast

• On June 25^th, Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) set the special general election to replace the late Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) (a longtime ally of MCAA) in Virginia’s 11^thCongressional District for September 9^th and the ten Democrats and seven Republicans competing for the seat will have until July 11^th to qualify for the ballot.

• On June 23^rd, President Trump’s political operation launched a super PAC called “Kentucky MAGA” to unseat Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) following his opposition to the reconciliation bill and President Trump’s strikes on Iran.

• On June 18^th, Louisiana state Sen. Blake Miguez (R) launched a Republican primary bid against incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA). Other Republicans challenging Cassidy include Louisiana State Treasurer John Fleming, Randall Arrington, Chris Holder, Xan John, and Samuel Wyatt. 

• On June 18^th, Democrat Josh Weil, who raised millions of dollars for an unsuccessful special election earlier this year in Florida’s 6^th Congressional District, announced a U.S. Senate run against incumbent Sen. Ashley Moody (R-FL).

• On June 16^th, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a bid by Chevron, Exxon Mobil, and other oil and gas companies to have lawsuits brought by two Louisiana localities accusing them of harming the state’s coast over a period of decades moved out of state court and into federal court. The justices took up an appeal by the companies of a lower court’s ruling rejecting their claims that the lawsuits belong in federal court because the parishes of Plaquemines and Cameron were suing over oil production activities undertaken to fulfill U.S. government refinery contracts during World War II. 

Southwest

• On June 27^th, a new poll from a super PAC aligned with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) found that Paxton leads incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) 57% to 38% in a head-to-head matchup of Texas Republican primary voters.

• In a 6-3 decision on June 18^th, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s decision that had invalidated a license awarded by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to operate a privately-owned, temporary off-site nuclear waste storage facility in Andrews, Texas near the New Mexico border. The NRC also permitted a temporary waste facility about 40 miles away in southeast New Mexico. The legal challenge was brought by the state of Texas and oil industry interests against NRC’s licensing of the nuclear waste storage facilities.

• On June 16^th, the U.S. Forest Service posted the final environmental impact statement (EIS) and draft record of decision for the proposed Resolution Copper Mining Project, a proposed underground mine on the Tonto Forest near Superior, Arizona. The project aims to extract one of the largest undeveloped copper deposits in the U.S. The project is projected to create nearly 1,500 jobs, generate $149 million in annual payroll, provide between $80 and $120 million a year in estimated state and local tax revenue for rural economies, and contribute $200 million a year to the federal government. 

Alaska and Hawaii 

• On June 23^rd, the Senate parliamentarian ruled that a provision in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s portion of the Republican reconciliation bill that required the Secretary of the Interior to permit construction of Ambler Road, a proposed 211-mile industrial access road in Alaska intended to facilitate mining in the Ambler Mining District, violated the Senate’s Byrd Rule and therefore could not be included in the bill.