The U.S. House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee this week will move a bill spending $547 billion over five years on surface transportation including rail and public transit and another $50 billion measure focused on wastewater infrastructure. The highway bill as it is known has no Republican supporters; the water bill has two.

On May 13, the Biden EPA rescinded yet another rule issued by the Trump administration that will lay the groundwork for them to further regulate manufacturers, utilities and other businesses that generate emissions under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

Congressional Republicans and the White House are starting to talk about what each side can live with as part of an infrastructure package. As a glass-half-empty person, I tend to look at what each side cannot live with and look for those deal breakers.

On April 28, the U.S. Senate began consideration of the Endless Frontier Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at China, global supply chains, and improving U.S. innovative and manufacturing competitiveness.

On April 13, the Ozone Transport Commission (OTC), a multistate organization created under the Clean Air Act to advise the EPA on the ground-level ozone, held a hearing that could lead to stricter regulations of industrial boilers, cement kilns, tank farms and non-stationary sources such as trucks and engines. 

Reports surfaced the week of April 5 that Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh asked OSHA to further review its pending Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) prior to release.

On March 12, OSHA issued a COVID-19 National Emphasis Program (NEP) targeting specific high-hazard industries or activities where workers have an increased potential exposure to COVID.

Having begun the process on Feb. 22, the U.S. House and Senate have moved through a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package within just three weeks. This puts us on track to spend roughly $5 trillion on stimulus and COVID efforts in 12 months since the CARES Act passed in March 2020.

Democrats on Capitol Hill are quickly pushing through a $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill without much standing in their way other than members of their own party. Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives intend to pass the legislation championed by President Biden no later than February 28, at which point the Senate will begin consideration of the bill.

Rumors had long circulated throughout Washington, D.C. that the incoming Biden administration would take steps to create a new workplace safety policy with uniform OSHA guidelines for employers. On January 21, 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order directing OSHA to issue revised guidance to employers on workplace safety during the COVID-19 pandemic and an Emergency Temporary Standard, if necessary, by March 15.