Senate Passes Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill but still Faces House Hurdles

On Tuesday, August 10, 2021, the Senate by a 69-30 vote passed along the $550 billion infrastructure plan bill to the House, where its fate is in the hands of the fractious Democratic caucus. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) — who’s under pressure from progressives who want their priorities addressed — has said she will not allow a vote on the bipartisan package (H.R. 3684) until the Senate has passed the broader economic budget plan.

Read more about this HERE.

Senate Democrats Pass $3.5 Trillion Blueprint for Biden’s Agenda

Senate Democrats took a major step toward the biggest expansion in decades of federal efforts intended to reduce poverty, care for the elderly and protect the environment, passing a $3.5 trillion budget framework that opens the way for President Joe Biden’s economic agenda. The measure passed on a party-line vote of 50-49. It provides a path for enactment of a long list of Democratic priorities but will require progressives and moderates to stay in alignment. It will be largely paid for by rolling back tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy. However, there is still a way to go until it’s decided what precisely is in the bill.

Learn more HERE.

Senator Thune (R-SD) Helps Protect Stepped-up Basis with Amendment in Framework of $3.5 Trillion Budget Reconciliation Bill

President Biden’s American Families Plan called for the elimination of the stepped-up basis tax provision to raise revenue for government spending. This would be devastating for many members of the cold chain industry, which is why GCCA launched a grassroots campaign in May calling on Members of Congress to protect the stepped-up basis tax provision. As a result, we are pleased to see the passage of Senator Thune’s amendment to the framework for the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill.

Read more HERE and take action to protect stepped-up basis HERE.

GCCA Continues Supply Chain Conversations with Senior White House and USDA Officials

On Tuesday, August 10, 2021, the White House and USDA invited GCCA to have further conversations on issues impacting the cold chain. As you are aware, the Biden Administration established a new Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force to provide a whole-of-government response to address near-term supply chain challenges to the economic recovery. The Task Force is led by the Secretaries of Commerce, Transportation, and Agriculture and will focus on areas where a mismatch between supply and demand has been evident: homebuilding and construction, semiconductors, transportation, and agriculture and food. GCCA was once again able to highlight key issues such as labor constraints, regulatory burdens, container availability and other disruptors to key policy staff within the Administration. GCCA looks forward to continuing to work with the Administration to help address the challenges our industry faces.

U.S. Department of Labor issues updated guidance on protecting unvaccinated and other at-risk workers from the coronavirus

On Friday, August 13, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued updated guidance to help employers protect workers from the coronavirus. The updated guidance reflects developments in science and data, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s updated COVID-19 guidance issued July 27. The updated guidance expands information on appropriate measures for protecting workers in higher-risk workplaces with mixed-vaccination status workers, particularly for industries such as manufacturing; meat, seafood and poultry processing; high volume retail and grocery; and agricultural processing, where there is often prolonged close contact with other workers and/or non-workers.

OSHA’s latest guidance:

• Recommends that fully vaccinated workers in areas of substantial or high community transmission wear masks in order to protect unvaccinated workers;
• Recommends that fully vaccinated workers who have close contacts with people with coronavirus wear masks for up to 14 days unless they have a negative coronavirus test at least 3-5 days after such contact;
• Clarifies recommendations to protect unvaccinated workers and other at-risk workers in manufacturing, meat and poultry processing, seafood processing and agricultural processing; and  
• Links to the latest guidance on K-12 schools and CDC statements on public transit.

Read the updated guidance HERE.

Call to Action: Nominate a Cold Chain Champion

Do you have a colleague who you believe performs exceptional work and deserves special recognition? We are highlighting our members and their achievements on social media. Nominate yourself, your company, or your colleague for a chance to be spotlighted as a #ColdChainChampion!

Submit nominations, a short explanation, and a photo to Rachael Oury at roury@gcca.org.