On Dec. 11, in a win for ABC and its members, the U.S. Senate rejected the confirmation of Lauren McFerran for a third term as chair of the National Labor Relations Board in a 49-50 vote. Her nomination threatened Democratic control of the NLRB through August 2026, two years into President-elect Donald Trump’s term. On Dec. 10, ABC sent a Key Vote letter to U.S. Senators urging them to vote “No” on her nomination

In an ABC statement, Kristen Swearingen, ABC vice president of legislative & political affairs, stated, “Under McFerran’s leadership, the NLRB has issued decisions and expanded interpretations of the National Labor Relations Act that have been rejected by the business community, Congress and federal courts.” In a statement released by the ABC-led Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, Swearingen added, “Her confirmation would have blocked President-Elect Trump from pursuing his policy agenda – an agenda that the voters resoundingly supported in the election.”

 On Dec. 3, the CDW sent a letter signed by 53 organizations to the U.S. Senate expressing concerns with her tenure. ABC members from around the country sent Action Alerts to their senators urging them to vote “No” on her confirmation.

On Dec. 5, in a 208-196 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 7198, the Prove It Act of 2024. Ahead of the vote, ABC sent a key vote letter to members of the House urging them to support the bill. The Prove It Act strengthens the Regulatory Flexibility Act by allowing industry groups, like ABC, to petition the Small Business Administration to examine whether a federal regulation would have significant economic effects on a large number of small businesses. Agencies are not required to perform a regulatory flexibility analysis if they certify that a proposed rule would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The Prove It Act would allow groups like ABC to petition the SBA to challenge an agency’s claim and request an analysis if they see fit. In addition, there is a provision in the bill that would allow the SBA’s Office of Advocacy to throw out rules if the issuing agency doesn’t reevaluate them at least once a decade to assess their continued need, complexity, and economic effects on small businesses.

ABC supported this legislation along with other Regulatory Flexibility Act related bills during the September House Small Business Committee markup.

On March 6, ABC sent a key vote letter to the U.S. Senate urging Senators to support the U.S. House of Representatives-passed H.J. Res. 98, Joint Employer CRA resolution of disapproval. If enacted, H.J. Res. 98 would not only prevent the rule from going into effect but would also prohibit a similar rule from being issued in the future.

In October 2023, the National Labor Relations Board released their ABC-opposed joint employer final rule. The final rule rescinds and replaces the ABC-supported 2020 NLRB joint employer final rule, which provided clear criteria for companies to apply when determining their joint employer status. ABC believes the new joint employer final rule will drastically alter existing contractor and subcontractor relationships in the construction industry, implementing a harsh new standard that will complicate this long-standing business arrangement and hit many smaller contractors with unsustainable legal and compliance costs.

On Jan. 12, the House passed H.J. Res 98 in a 206-177 vote, with 8 Democrats supporting. The resolution faces a more uncertain path in the Senate where a simple majority is needed to pass. Although President Biden has vowed to veto the resolution, passage in the House and Senate would send a strong message to the administration as they continue to implement harmful labor policies.

This week, the House will vote on H.J. Res. 98, a resolution to block the National Labor Relations Board’s new joint employer rule. ABC issued a key vote in support of the resolution and against the new rule that has faced opposition from ABC and a number of the nation’s major business groups.

The final rule, set to take effect in February, rescinds and replaces the ABC-supported 2020 NLRB joint employer final rule, which provided clear criteria for companies to apply when determining their joint employer status, and will disrupt existing contractor and subcontractor relationships throughout the construction industry. The resolution is expected to pass the House with at least some bipartisan support and Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., have been leading the effort to defeat the NLRB rule in the upper chamber.

On April 18, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote to override President Joe Biden’s veto of H.J. Res. 27, a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers’ 2023 revised Waters of the United States regulation. ABC has key voted today’s vote and issued an action alert.

President Biden vetoed H.J. Res. 27, which passed both chambers of Congress with strong bipartisan support. While the override is unlikely to garner the 2/3 vote of the chamber required, this resolution rebukes the Biden administration’s flawed, burdensome and overreaching WOTUS rule that will result in sweeping changes to the federal government’s authority to regulate what is considered a navigable water, with enormous impacts on small businesses, developers and contractors. The Biden WOTUS rule is set to cause building delays due to regulatory uncertainty, increased permitting and mitigation costs, and make it more difficult and expensive to grow food, produce energy and build critical infrastructure for the 21st century.

On March 29, ABC sent a key vote letter to the House supporting H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act. H.R. 1 is top priority legislation for the 118th Congress and contains several permitting reform provisions, including the ABC-supported BUILDER Act, which will go a long way toward eliminating unnecessary delays that cause budget overruns in construction. The BUILDER Act codifies key elements of the One Federal Decision Framework, including development by the lead agency of a joint schedule; procedures to elevate delays or disputes; preparation of a single environmental impact statement; and joint Record of Decision—all to the extent practicable, set, reasonable time limits are imposed for environmental reviews and establish reasonable page limits for environmental documents. Additionally, the energy and commerce division of H.R. 1 focuses on expanding American energy production potential by repealing the natural gas tax and the green bank provisions of the reckless tax and spend Inflation Reduction Act.

ABC also issued an action alert in support of the bill.

On March 9, the House passed H.J. Res. 27, a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers 2023 revised Waters of the United States regulation. ABC key voted the resolution which passed by a bipartisan 227-198 vote, with nine Democrats joining Republicans in support and only one Republican, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, opposing.

The Biden Administration’s flawed, burdensome, and overreaching WOTUS rule will result in sweeping changes to the federal government’s authority to regulate what is considered a navigable water, with enormous impacts on small businesses, developers and contractors. The rule will cause building delays due to regulatory uncertainty, plus increased permitting and mitigation costs.