Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 – Debt Ceiling Act Update

Craig Brightup, is the TRI Alliance Washington DC lobbyist covering our Governmental Initiatives.

Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023
On May 27, President Biden and House Speaker McCarthy announced a deal to raise the federal debt-ceiling which Treasury says could be reached by June 5.  The deal follows negotiations based on the Limit, Save, Grow Act debt-ceiling package which passed the House on April 26.  Key elements of the Fiscal Responsibility Act are:

1. Rolls back nondefense discretionary spending to FY22 levels.
2. Limits topline federal spending to 1% annual growth for the next six years.
3. Enacts work requirements for food stamps and welfare benefits.
4. Claws back billions in unspent COVID-19 funds.
5. Establishes statutory pay-go rule for the cost of Presidential executive regs.
6. Streamlines environmental permitting for infrastructure and energy projects.
7. Begins funding cuts for new IRS agents by eliminating the FY23 request.
8. Restarts student loan repayments and requires borrowers pay off loan debts.

Supreme Court Blocks EPA’s “WOTUS”
On May 25, the Supreme Court ruled against the EPA’s expansive definition of “Waters of the U.S.” under the Clean Water Act which included “wetlands.”  Construction projects should benefit from this ruling which essentially says the federal government cannot regulate small bodies of water that don’t connect to larger ones.
Save Local Business Act, Main Street Certainty Act
The TRIA signed on to a letter supporting the Save Local Business Act introduced by Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Rep. James Comer (R-KY) to codify the definition of “joint-employer” in lieu of an expected National Labor Relations Board rule that redefines “joint-employer” and disrupts B-to-B relationships.  The TRIA is also on the letter supporting the Main Street Tax Certainty Act from Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) to make permanent the 20% deduction from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act for small and individually owned pass-through businesses. 
House Education & Workforce Committee OSHA Roundtable
On May 17, I represented TRIA at an invitation-only OSHA roundtable convened by House Education & Workforce Committee Republicans.  Held in the Rayburn Building hearing room, NRCA’s Duane Musser and I were among a small group of association representatives seated with Republican members to discuss OSHA’s proposed Worker Walkaround Representation Designation Process rule; Electronic Reporting of Injuries and Illnesses rule; and Heat Injury and Illness Prevention Standard.  At the table were E&W Chair Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Workforce Protections Subcommittee Chair Kevin Kiley (R-CA), and Reps. Mary Miller (R-IL), Burgess Owens (R-UT), Glenn Grothman (R-WI), Brandon Williams (R-NY), Aaron Bean (R-FL), and Eric Burlison (R-MO).
For more information on our Government Relations Committee or the Tile Roofing Industry Alliance (TRIA) please email us at [email protected] or visit our website at www.tileroofing.org