Federal Legislative Update - June 5th, 2023
The House and Senate are in session this week. The House will consider seven bills under suspension of the rules, including the Senior Security Act of 2023 (H.R. 2593), which establishes a Senior Investor Taskforce within the Securities and Exchange Commission to examine challenges encountered by investors older than 65. The House will vote on four additional bills: the Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act (H.R. 1615), which bars the Consumer Product Safety Commission from using federal funds to ban gas stoves as a hazardous product; the Save Our Gas Stoves Act (H.R. 1640), which prevents the Energy Department from finalizing its proposed rule expanding energy efficiency regulations on gas stoves; the Separation of Powers Restoration Act of 2023 (H.R. 288), which directs federal courts to conduct their own interpretation of laws when reviewing administrative actions without deferring to the federal agencies’ legal conclusions; and the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act of 2023 (H.R. 277), which requires that “major rules” — including those that cause a major increase in prices or have an annual effect on the economy that is equal to $100 million or more — are approved by Congress before they can take effect.
The Senate will vote on several executive and judicial nominations, including: David Crane to be Under Secretary for Infrastructure at the Department of Energy; Dale Ho to be a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York; and Dilawar Syed to be Deputy Administrator of the Small Business Administration. During remarks on the Senate floor May 30, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) previewed legislation that the upper chamber may consider later in June: “During the work period, I look forward to working with colleagues on both sides to begin the process of advancing bipartisan legislation to: 1) outcompete the Chinese government, 2) prepare for a future defined by Artificial Intelligence, 3) to lower the costs of prescription drugs including insulin, 4) to strengthen rail safety regulations, and 5) to build on our work for the past two years to make the U.S. more competitive and more prosperous in the 21st century.”
Now that the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (H.R. 3746) has been enacted into law, which suspends the federal debt limit through January 1, 2025 and sets topline discretionary spending caps for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024, House and Senate appropriators can move forward on holding markups for each of the 12 annual spending bills. Senate appropriators aim to start markups this month, according to Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.), while the House Appropriations Committee will likely hold FY24 spending bill markups during the weeks of June 12 and/or June 19. The Committees should release their lists of approved FY24 earmark (i.e., Community Project Funding & Congressionally Directed Spending) requests submitted by members of Congress in early Spring at the time each full committee markup is held.
For the remainder of the week, the Senate will hold several hearings, including an Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on “Ecosystem Restoration Projects of the US Army Corps of Engineers”; a Senate Agriculture Subcommittee hearing on “Horticulture Title: How the Farm Bill Works for Specialty Crop Producers”; a Budget Committee hearing on “Cultivating Stewardship: Examining the Changing Agricultural Landscape"; and an Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing to “Examine the Federal Response to Escalating Wildfires and to Evaluate Reforms to Land Management and Wildland Firefighter Recruitment and Retention.” A House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee will hold a hearing on “Clean Power Plan 2.0: EPA’s Latest Attack on Electric Reliability.”
Bills and Regulations of Interest to You
Environmental Justice in Recreation Permitting Act
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.)
Makes the recreation permitting system more accessible, less burdensome, and will ensure that outdoor recreation groups and businesses serving environmental justice communities can more readily enjoy federal lands and waters.
Ensuring Quality Access to Legal (EQUAL) Defense Act of 2023
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.)
Increases access to quality counsel by providing public defense grants to local governments, establishes workload limits, phases in pay parity between public defenders and prosecutors within five years, and more.
Barriers to Suicide Act
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.)
Establishes a competitive grant program for states and localities to apply for federal funding to install nets and barriers on bridges.
Western Wildfire Support Act of 2023
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.)
Funds state-of-the-art firefighting equipment, creates new training programs, and supports recovery efforts for communities impacted by wild and rangeland fires.
The FAA is reviewing our noise policy as part of our ongoing commitment to address aircraft noise.
July 31, 2023
EPA
Draft National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution
Reduces plastic waste and other post-consumer materials in waterways and oceans, as directed by Congress in section 301 of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act.
June 16, 2023
EPA
Recycling Infrastructure & Market Opportunities
Develops an interactive map of recycling markets visually presenting data estimates.
June 26, 2023
FEMA
Community Disaster Resilience Zones and the National Risk Index
FEMA is reviewing the input on implementation of Community Disaster Resilience Zones Act of 2022 for potential improvements to FEMA’s resilience zones.
July 25, 2023
ZDOT
Department of Transportation Equity Action Plan Update
The Office of the Secretary of Transportation invites public comment regarding how DOT’s work to advance equity has impacted organizations and communities, as well as input on performance metrics, data sets, tools, and research to measure and advance transportation equity.
June 30, 2023