Overview
The House returned January 10th, with the Senate being in session since the 3rd. Diverging from December’s energy policy update, all talk for the 1st week was focused on filibuster rules reform and elections legislation. The climate around Washington has had a marked pivot away from how the Build Back Better and reconciliation conversation a few months ago.
Several key Democrats saw this weekend proceeding Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a critical time to address their legislative agenda on voting rights and election reform. Additionally, as detailed below, President Biden is planned a high-profile meeting on January 13th with Senate Democrats to reportedly pitch them on changing filibuster rules to make it easier to pass legislation with only one party.
OSHA – COVID-19 ETS
Following oral arguments Friday, the Supreme Court has not yet made a further decision on OSHA’s COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard, despite several exchanges that suggest a majority of the court may be skeptical of the validity of certain aspects of OSHA’s authority in promulgating the mandate. Given no stay has been announced at this point,parts of the ETS went into effect yesterday, January 10. Per the U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA is exercising enforcement discretion with respect to the compliance dates of the ETS, and will not issue citations for noncompliance with the standard’s testing requirements before February 9, so long as an employer is exercising reasonable, good faith efforts to come into compliance with the standard. During oral arguments last Friday,
government lawyers agreed with justices in clarifying that the primary ETS-related provision going into effect at this time is the requirement to implement a masking policy for all unvaccinated workers.
Inflation Rises to Highest Level Since 1982
Following oral arguments Friday, the Supreme Court has not yet made a further decision on OSHA’s COVID-19 ETS, despite several exchanges that suggest a majority of the court may be skeptical of the validity of certain aspects of OSHA’s authority in promulgating the mandate. Given no stay has been announced at this point,parts of the ETS went into effect yesterday, January 10. Per the U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA is exercising enforcement discretion with respect to the compliance dates of the ETS, and will not issue citations for noncompliance with the standard’s testing requirements before February 9, so long as an employer is exercising reasonable, good faith efforts to come into compliance with the standard. During oral arguments last Friday,
government lawyers agreed with justices in clarifying that the primary ETS-related provision going into effect at this time is the requirement to implement a masking policy for all unvaccinated workers.
Other News We’re Watching
New Study Says Air Flow Knocks Down Covid-19 Infection Rate by 90 Percent (The Hill)
Researchers in the U.K. studied the infectivity rate of COVID-19 over the course of 20 minutes and found a decrease of 90% almost immediately after the virus became airborne.
Biden to Propose Major Rules Change to Senate Democrats (Politico)
It was reported this week that President Biden will attend a meeting with Senate Democrats this Thursday to discuss options for weakening the filibuster process. Widely seen as a bipartisan measure that prevents slim majorities from passing controversial legislation for years, Democrats have recently fixated on the filibuster as the source of their woes, given its 60-vote threshold has empowered Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema to buck their party on repeated occasions and doom the BBB. Per reporting in Politico, “Senate Democrats are weighing several potential changes, including reinstating a talking filibuster, creating a “carve out” that would allow the elections and voting legislation to pass on a simple majority and allowing the Senate to begin debate on a bill by a simple majority vote.”
New COVID-19 Lockdowns in China Hit Factories & Ports in Latest Knock to Supply Chains
With Covid-19 flaring up across China, major manufacturers are shutting factories, ports are clogging up and workers are in short supply as officials impose city lockdowns and mass testing on a scale unseen in nearly two years. The prospect of continued disruptions in the world’s second-largest economy, which has a zero-tolerance strategy for combating the pandemic, is heightening fears that the disruptions will ripple through the global economy. Already, companies including memory-chip maker Samsung Electronics Co., German automaker Volkswagen, Nike and Adidas, are curtailing production once again.
McConnell Says Biden Speech Was ‘Incoherent, Incorrect And Beneath His Office’ (WSJ)
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Wednesday offered a blistering rebuke of President Biden’s speech inGeorgia, in which the president pushed for voting rights and changing the legislative filibuster, saying that it was”abandoning rational persuasion for pure demagoguery.”
“Look, I’ve known, liked and personally respected Joe Biden for many years. I did not recognize the man at the podium.”
Want to Get Involved?
For more information or to get involved with IADC’s Advocacy efforts or PAC, please don’t hesitate to contact @ Matt Giacona (Matt.Giacona@iadc.org) in our Washington, D.C. office.
