No images? Click here FINAL DAY TO BOOK HOTEL ROOMS! Hotel reservations are available at the Fairmont Georgetown, right in the heart of Washington, D.C. Discounted rates of $249 for a single/double occupancy exclusive of applicable state and local taxes. TODAY'S THE LAST DAY to make reservations in the room block, don’t miss out! Welcome back to this week's edition of the Washington Weekly newsletter - bringing you the latest and greatest policy updates from Washington, D.C.House Group Backs Infrastructure DealOn Tuesday, July 6, 2021, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers publicly endorsed President Joe Biden’s $579 billion infrastructure deal with a group of Republican and Democratic senators, giving the compromise fresh momentum at the start of a crucial month for the administration’s agenda. The 58-member Problem Solvers Caucus, in a statement backing Biden’s deal with 10 senators, also called for a speedy stand-alone vote in the House—bucking Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who has linked any House approval of the deal to Senate passage of a later, larger tax and social spending budget bill. Biden issues executive order on consolidation in railroads and ocean shippingOn Friday, July 9, 2021, President Biden signed an executive order to increase competition and combat aggressive pricing for railroads and in the shipping industry. The order asks the Surface Transportation Board to look into long-standing measures like so-called “competitive switching rules,” which require a monopoly railway to grant access to its railroad under certain conditions. It also urges the board to make it easier for shippers to challenge inflated rates when there is no competition between two routes. In addition, the order urges the Federal Maritime Commission to work with the Justice Department to investigate and punish anticompetitive practices. The agency and Justice Department are planning to sign a new memorandum to enhance cooperation between the two “shortly.” Read the full EO HERE. OSHA revises its National Emphasis Program, updates Interim Enforcement Response Plan for COVID-19On Wednesday, July 7, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration revised its National Emphasis Program (NEP) for COVID-19. The agency launched the NEP on March 12, 2021, with the stated purpose to “focus on companies that put the largest number of workers at serious risk of contracting the coronavirus, and on employers that engage in retaliation against employees who complain about unsafe or unhealthful conditions or exercise other rights under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.” Read more HERE. OSHA Heat Protection Rule Lags While Record Temperatures RiseConfronted by record-high temperatures stretching from the Pacific Northwest across the U.S., the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been relying on a 51-year-old statute as its bulwark for compelling employers to protect workers from being felled by the heat. OSHA hasn’t promulgated a heat standard, though “a rulemaking on Heat Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings” is in the “pre-rule stage,” an OSHA spokeswoman said on July 2. “OSHA continues strong enforcement related to heat illness using the General Duty Clause.” Part of the agency’s original 1970 enabling legislation, the clause is the same provision upon which it leaned heavily during the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. While OSHA is taking its first steps toward adopting a heat stress rule covering outdoors and indoors workers, the agency isn’t scheduled to release a request for information on the pros and cons of a regulation and what such a rule could cover until October. U.S. Trade Aid Plan Hurt as Biden Fast-Track EndsOn July 1, 2021 President Biden officially lost Trade Promotion Authority, or TPA — the fast-track deal-making ability Congress delegates to a president — after he didn’t ask for its renewal. But TPA expiration coincided with the end of enhanced Trade Adjustment Assistance, a program that was renewed along with the fast-track authority six years ago. TAA provides aid for Americans who lose their jobs or whose hours and wages are cut because of competition from imports. An estimated 48,000 workers, primarily in service industries, will lose eligibility for benefits over the next year, according to the Department of Labor. While the TPA and TAA aren’t legislatively linked, the trade aid typically has been used as a bargaining chip to win support for TPA or for trade deals themselves in the past by Democrats and Republicans alike. Biden Elevates Ransomware ThreatPresident Biden is taking on the rapidly growing threat of ransomware against companies and localities by convening key officials to discuss the administration’s strategy in the wake of a high-profile attack by hackers. Biden met with various agency leaders behind closed doors on Wednesday, July 7, to discuss ransomware and ways to combat it. The White House said in a statement that the risk of ransomware is a “national security and economic security priority for the administration.” Confronting ransomware is gaining new urgency for the administration following an audacious attack over the holiday weekend that affected more than 1,000 businesses with victims in at least 17 countries. A Russia-linked ransomware gang known as REvil is believed to be behind the attack, which exploited multiple previously unknown vulnerabilities in IT management software made by Kaseya Ltd. Nurses Union Withdraws Court Challenge of OSHA Virus StandardThe union National Nurses United has voluntarily withdrawn its court challenge to OSHA’s Covid-19 emergency temporary standard. The union and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration filed a stipulation of voluntary dismissal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco. Both sides agreed to bear their own legal costs. The nurses’ challenge was one of two June 24 lawsuits over the OSHA measure, which was issued with the intent to protect health care workers from the coronavirus. A similar petition was filed by the AFL-CIO and the United Food and Commercial Workers with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. That case remains open. While the AFL-CIO filing alleged the emergency temporary standard should have covered more workers, the nurses’ filing was silent as to the nature of that group’s objection. GCCA’s Policy Forum Less Than a Month Away! Make your plans to attend GCCA’s Policy Forum in Washington, D.C. July 26-28. The premier policy event for businesses engaged in the temperature-controlled logistics industry. In 2021, the Policy Forum will continue to provide a focus on key regulatory issues impacting the industry, connecting participants with agency representatives to hear the latest policy developments. New for 2021 will be an expanded focus on legislative issues with participants having the opportunity to directly engage with Congressional offices to communicate the industry’s priorities. Visit our website to register now for your opportunity to join us. We hope to see you here on July 26-28! 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