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.US Department of Labor Issues Emergency Temporary Standard to Protect Workers From Coronavirus On Thursday, November 4, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced a new emergency temporary standard to protect more than 84 million workers from the spread of the coronavirus on the job. Under this standard, covered employers must develop, implement and enforce a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, unless they adopt a policy requiring employees to choose to either be vaccinated or undergo regular COVID-19 testing and wear a face covering at work. OSHA estimates that this rule will save thousands of lives and prevent more than 250,000 hospitalizations due to workplace exposure to COVID-19 over the course of the ETS. The emergency temporary standard covers employers with 100 or more employees – firm or company-wide – and provides options for compliance. The ETS also requires employers to provide paid time to workers to get vaccinated and to allow for paid leave to recover from any side effects. However, on Friday, November 5, 2021, a federal appeals court in New Orleans temporarily halted nationwide implementation of the ETS. The request to stall the mandate came from more than two dozen private companies suing the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Labor Department, as part of a court challenge led by Texas, Louisiana, Utah and South Carolina. To help members better understand and prepare for the ETS, GCCA has developed a Fact Sheet that can be found HERE. Read OSHA’s ETS summary HERE. Read more about this HERE. U.S. Passes Historic Infrastructure Bill On Friday, November 5, 2021, the House of Representatives passed the biggest U.S. infrastructure package in decades, marking a victory for President Joe Biden and unleashing $550 billion of fresh spending on roads, bridges, public transit and other projects in coming years. The vote was 228-206 and sends the legislation to Biden for his signature. It capped a day in which Speaker Nancy Pelosi was forced to deal with a last-minute standoff between party progressives and moderates that took hours of intense negotiations and the president’s intervention to resolve. Pelosi and Biden, however, were unable to land a House vote at the same time on a more than $1.75 trillion tax and spending package that makes up much of the rest of Biden’s domestic agenda. The House instead is set to approve a procedural measure teeing up a vote after lawmakers return during the week of November 15 when the Congressional Budget Office delivers a cost analysis. That was a last-minute concession to a small group of moderates who refused to vote for the spending package without the CBO score. Progressives also made a concession by supporting the infrastructure legislation before a vote on the larger spending package. GCCA Briefs All House Agriculture Legislative Assistants on Challenges to our Nation’s Food Supply Chain On Monday, November 1, 2021, in preparation for a Congressional hearing on the Immediate Challenges to our Nation’s Food Supply Chain, the House Agriculture Committee asked GCCA and some of our association partners to lead a high-level briefing for all House Agriculture Legislative Assistants on supply chain issues. GCCA had the opportunity to highlight key issues such as labor constraints, regulatory burdens, container availability and other disruptors to over 80 key policy staff in Congress. In addition to the briefing, GCCA also provided written testimony to the Committee articulating these concerns. GCCA looks forward to continuing to engage with Congress to help address the challenges our industry faces. Senate Republicans Attempting to Disapprove, Nullify Biden Vaccine Mandate on Private EmployeesMore than three dozen Senate Republicans are moving to formally disapprove and nullify President Biden’s vaccine mandate on private employees Wednesday under the Congressional Review Act — the official process for Congress to eliminate an executive branch rule. Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana is leading 41 Republican senators on Wednesday, November 3, 2021, to "strike down" Biden’s rule, which mandates employees — at private businesses with 100 workers or more — to receive COVID-19 vaccines. Republicans blasted the mandate calling it "unacceptable" and an order that "warrants review by Congress." The Congressional Review Act (CRA) can be used by Congress to overturn certain federal agency regulations and actions through a joint resolution of disapproval. If a CRA joint resolution of disapproval is approved by both houses of Congress and signed by the president, or if Congress successfully overrides a presidential veto, the rule at issue is invalidated. GCCA Hosts Monthly Advocacy Webinar On Thursday, November 4, 2021, GCCA hosted our monthly Advocacy Webinar Series. This webinar focuses on the recently announced Emergency Temporary Standard, which states that employers with 100+ employees must develop, implement and enforce a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, unless they adopt a policy requiring employees to choose to either be vaccinated or undergo regular COVID-19 testing and wear a face covering at work. In addition, you will hear about the latest developments regarding President Biden’s Build Back Better plan and infrastructure. Watch a recap of the webinar HERE.
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