After months of negotiations and many will-they or won’t-they moments, the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate sent to President Biden in the last week of July the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. 

The Bipartisan Innovation Act that funds advanced manufacturing and semiconductors likely will not pass prior to the August Congressional break. The House and Senate are in a formal conference committee to negotiate the differences between the bipartisan Senate bill and the House measure, which passed with only a single GOP vote. The Democrats’ provisions on unions and climate change are now largely gone. 

The U.S. Supreme Court recently concluded its term with a decision that could hamstring the Biden admiration’s effort to further restrict greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. In a 6-3 ruling in West Virginia v. EPA, the Court held that an Obama EPA rule exceeded the agency’s authority and is not permitted to regulate emissions system-wide, or “beyond the fence line” of a utility.

Among us trade lobbyists in Washington, D.C., rumors are increasing that President Biden might make an announcement in the coming weeks over the future of tariffs on Chinese imports. The current administration has thus far maintained the policies of the previous – 25% tariffs on roughly 7,000 imported goods and 7.5% on over 3,000 products.

In a one-line order issued on May 26, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Biden administration’s continued use of the social cost of carbon, which applies a dollar amount for each ton of carbon dioxide emitted. The EPA uses this calculus to develop and justify rules that regulate emissions from utilities, vehicles, manufacturing plants and other sources.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is accepting comments from supporters of the 25% and 7.5% tariffs on Chinese imports on whether to continue the Section 301 action. If USTR receives a request for continuation, as is expected, it will conduct a full review of the tariff actions where opponents and supporters of individual tariffs can weigh in.

In April, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) launched a new initiative targeting employee safety when the heat index exceeds 80°F. The National Emphasis Program (NEP) for Outdoor and Indoor Heat-Related Hazards expands on the agency’s ongoing heat-related illness-prevention initiative by adding a targeted enforcement component, emphasizing compliance assistance and increasing outreach efforts.

On April 19, 2022, the White House Council on Environmental Quality took the first steps to revoke a Trump rule reforming the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the first time and revert it to its original 1978 state. NEPA is the most significant environmental regulation when it comes to approval of infrastructure projects from highways to oil and natural gas, and even solar and wind. The Trump rule sought to reduce the environmental review period down to two years and limit the filing to 150 pages, down from 300 under the original NEPA, which could take five years.

In 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) put the business community on notice that it intended to increase the overtime exemption threshold, which determines the salary level for when employees are eligible to time and a half based on a 40-hour workweek. In 2019, the Trump administration announced an increase in the overtime threshold from $23,660 to $35,568. Sources indicate the Biden administration could potentially raise the level to $53,000-58,000, with some outside advocacy groups calling for figures exceeding an $80,000 annual salary.

The U.S. Senate took steps on Monday, March 21 to formally move forward with the House-passed America COMPETES Act, paving the way for a formal negotiating conference between the two chambers. The Senate last June passed its bipartisan version of the massive China competition bill, spending over $250 billion to incentivize domestic semiconductor production, research and development for emerging technologies and advanced manufacturing, as well as billions for job training.