No images? Click here Welcome back to this week's edition of the Washington Weekly newsletter - bringing you the latest and greatest policy updates from Washington, D.C.Businesses Argue for Emergency Relief From Vaccine-or-Test Rule Several affiliated businesses told a federal appeals court that their operations will suffer harm that can’t be fixed unless they get emergency relief from the Biden administration’s rule requiring large employers to mandate Covid-19 vaccination or regular testing of workers. The businesses, led by management company BST Holdings, asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Tuesday, November 9, 2021, to issue an injunction blocking the regulation. Failure to do so, they told the court, would make them unable to hire workers and place them at a disadvantage against smaller companies that aren’t subject to the rule. Read More HERE. Biden Wants Unvaccinated Workers to Pay for COVID Testing, but Businesses Could Still End Up Footing the Bill President Joe Biden wants unvaccinated workers to pay for office Covid-19 testing. But their employers could still end up footing much of the bill. The administration says firms can make employees who opt out of the shots pay for required weekly testing. Business groups and labor-law experts argue that existing laws will likely require companies to cover those costs for workers who claim religious or disability exemptions to the Covid-19 vaccines, at a price that could reach hundreds of dollars per person each month. The prospect of hitting businesses with new testing costs as many struggle to staff back up could harden opposition to Biden’s plan, and hamper the president’s latest push to end the pandemic. Read more HERE. EPA to Begin Crackdown on Illegal Hydrofluorocarbon Trade The EPA is working with the European Union and other nations to crack down on the illegal trade of hydrofluorocarbons, agency administrator Michael Regan said Tuesday, November 9, 2021, at the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow. HFCs, which can be thousands of times more potent a global warming gas than carbon dioxide, are released into the atmosphere by the production and use of aerosols and refrigeration equipment. Their phase-out causes prices to rise, creating a market for illegal trade, Regan said. “To realize the HFC phase-down contribution to combating the climate crisis, we just have enforcement domestic regulations in all countries,” he said. But authorities say they don’t know how big of a market for illegal HFC trade exists, nor how big it will grow. There are stories about illegal HFC trading, but the European Commission “can’t pin down what it is exactly,” said Tony Agotha, a senior diplomatic expert for the commission, speaking at COP26, the 26th meeting of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change. GCCA Fighting Against Taxing Unrealized Gains ProposalOn Tuesday, November 9, 2021, GCCA joined 111 other trade associations in sending a letter to House and Senate Finance and Ways and Means leadership expressing concerns over Senator Wyden’s "mark-to-market" bill. Taxing phantom gains in any form, whether through unrealized gains at death or through the recently released mark-to-market approach has the potential to create serious liquidity issues for privately held businesses. Family businesses across a wide number of industries tend to operate on small margins with their value almost entirely tied up in equipment, machinery, land, buildings, and other non-cash assets. That makes paying taxes on imaginary gains problematic. It also creates difficulties when attempting to pay estate taxes when no profitable sale has occurred, only the death of a business owner. Family businesses without sufficient liquid reserves to pay new taxes on capital and a more aggressive estate tax will be forced to fire workers, close branches, or shut down the businesses altogether. No family business should be forced into losing their business, employees, and their legacy in order to pay multiple layers of tax on the same dollar. Read the full coalition letter HERE. Read more about Senator Wyden’s bill HERE. APPLICATION DEADLINE NEXT WEEK: USDA Pandemic Response and Safety Grants Program – Warehouses Eligible On October 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor announced the details of the Pandemic Response and Safety (PRS) Grant Program provides grants to food processors, warehouses, distributors, farmers markets, and producers to respond to coronavirus, including for measures to protect workers against COVID-19. Eligible companies can apply for grants up to $20,000 to help mitigate pandemic related expenses related to workplace safety (examples: PPE and sanitation), market pivots, retrofitting facilities for worker safety, transportation, worker housing and COVID health services. GCCA worked closely with USDA to ensure that warehouses are eligible to participate in the program and NAICS Code 493120 - Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage is specifically included. Warehouses must qualify as a “small business” to participate. The SBA designation for refrigerated warehousing is less than $30 million in annual revenue. It is important to note that only refrigerated warehousing and storage for food products are eligible under this code. More details are available in the grant announcement. GCCA warehouse members in the United States are strongly encouraged to learn more about the program and consider applying, if eligible. The deadline for applications is November 22, 2021. 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