Posts by Matt Zuiderhof

The Essential Workers for Economic Advancement Act Rep. Smucker (R-PA) reintroduced the Essential Workers for Economic Advancement Act.  In addition to Rep. Smucker, the bill is cosponsored by Reps. Amodei (R-NV), Ciscomani (R-AZ), Cuellar (D-TX), Davis (D-NC), Harris (R-MD), Kelly (R-PA), Kennedy (R-UT), McCormick (R-GA), Salazar (R-FL), and Suozzi (D-NY).  The act establishes a targeted,…

SCOTUS Rules on Pocket Rescission The Supreme Court will allow the Trump administration to effectively cancel about $4 billion in congressionally appropriated foreign aid funds. The ruling paused part of a lower court ruling requiring the administration to spend appropriated funds before they expire on Sept. 30. The unsigned order, which drew a dissent from…

New House Party Ratios Last week, Adelita Grijalva was elected to the seat previously held by her father, former-Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), who died earlier this year.  Once she is sworn in, party ratios in the House will be 219 Republicans and 214 Democrats.  Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) will continue to have a two-vote majority.…

This Week in Congress Congress is in recess this week for Rosh Hashanah.Unfortunately, a government shutdown at the end of the month is becoming increasingly likely. Return to the ASAtoday page to read more articles

Status of FY 2026 Funding: Government Funding Running Out! Last Tuesday, House Republican leadership released a draft short-term continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government through November 21.  The CR does not include any obvious poison pills, but contrary to GOP messaging, it is not truly “clean.”  Generally, the CR would extend FY 2025 funding…

ASA Urges Timely Enactment of the FY26 Highway and Public Transportation Funding ASA, along with the Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC), sent a letter to Congressional Leadership requesting the timely enactment of Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 highway and public transportation funding, which at authorized levels is essential to renewing and rebuilding America’s transportation systems. The Transportation…

  Next Block of Senate Confirmations Includes Labor Nominees   On September 18, Senate Majority Leader Thune (R-SD) filed an executive resolution (S.Res.412) listing 108 nominees to be confirmed in early October. Those to be confirmed include: David Keeling to be Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration(OSHA) Jonathan Berry to…

Heat Rule Post-Hearing Comment Period Extended OSHA has provided a 30-day extension to the comment period for its proposed rule on heat injury and illness prevention post-hearing comments. The comment period now ends on October 30, 2025. Please reach out with any questions to moscar@asa-hq.com Return to the ASAtoday page to read more articles

This Week in Congress Alongside the continuing resolution (CR), the House voted on seven measures including three bills from the Energy and Commerce Committee: H.R. 3015 (to reestablish the National Coal Council), H.R. 3062 (to modify the approval process for cross-border energy projects), and H.R. 1047 (to prioritize connecting certain power plants to the electric…

New Party Ratio in the House A Democrat recently won Virginia’s special election to replace the late Rep. Gerry Connolly, shifting the House to 219 Republicans and 213 Democrats. Speaker Johnson (R-LA) now has a two-vote margin. NPR reports that 10 senators and 27 House members have announced they won’t seek reelection in 2026. Return…