TRIA Advocates for Roofing Industry Amid Federal Shutdown

Tile Roofing Industry Alliance Lobbyist, Craig Brightup, has provided the latest government relations update and activities on the following from October 2025:

Government Shutdown
The shutdown is in its 33rd day.  Democrats say it’s necessary to get Republicans to negotiate an extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, but Republicans want to negotiate while the government is open.  In fact, Democrats really want more spending to end the shutdown, and their $1.5 trillion bill caused the bipartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget to call it the “costliest” reopening proposal in history.
 
Status of Relevant Programs During Shutdown 
Approximately 75% of Dept. of Labor (DOL) staff are being furloughed, OSHA is pausing routine workplace safety visits, and nearly all employees at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) have been furloughed.   However, the E-Verify system has resumed operation after briefly going offline.
 
Senate Activities Continue
The House is out, but the Senate has been holding votes to reopen the government and conducting other business.  On Oct. 7, the Senate confirmed DOL nominee Dave Keeling for OSHA, and on Oct. 9, the HELP committee approved James Murphy for the NLRB, and Crystal Carey to be the NLRB’s General Counsel.  Carey’s approval was noteworthy because of Sen. Josh Hawley’s (R-MO) concerns she might be too “anti-union.”
 
Keeling Agenda at OSHA

• Probable rollback of Biden-era Electronic Injury Reporting Requirements and scaling back what’s posted.
• Restricting or scrapping the Worker Walkaround Rule (perhaps by declining to defend it in court).
• Dumping a Biden-era memo “clarifying” when employers must report musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).
• Significantly revising the proposed Heat Illness Prevention Standard or scrapping it altogether.

 
OSHA Heat Standard
TRIA joined with other members of the Construction Industry Safety Coalition (CISC) to submit the attached comments to OSHA after the agency’s hearing on its proposed Heat Injury and Illness Prevention Standard.
 
TRIA Supports FIREWALL Act
Attached is TRIA’s letter to Sens. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Tim Sheehy (R-MT) supporting their FIREWALL Act (the Facilitating Increased Resilience, Environmental Weatherization and Lowered Liability Act), which would lower financial barriers for people who want to protect their properties from extreme weather events and could help remedy the country’s growing homeowners’ insurance crisis. 
 
Workforce Development
On Oct. 22, I attended a breakfast with Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) who chairs the House Rules Committee and leads efforts to boost career and technical education.  Foxx wants to make the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act more user-friendly for organizations like TRIA and NRCA, and said reauthorizing WIOA with improvements is on hold while awaiting more White House input.


For more information on the TRIA Alliance and our Government Relations efforts, please visit our website at www.tileroofing.org.