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ASA Participates in NASBP’s Annual Meeting in Austin, TX In advance of his work on Capitol Hill this week, ASA Government Relations Director, Mike Oscar, spent Sunday and Monday with our partners, the National Association of Surety Bond Producers (NASBP), at their annual meeting in Austin, TX.  Thank you to Brian Carroll, former ASA President,…

This Week in Congress This week, Congress debated legislation aimed at sanctioning Iran and funding legislation for Israel and Ukraine.  The Senate received articles of impeachment against DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.  Congress will be in recess next week for Passover. Return to the ASAToday page to read more articles.

America’s Skilled Trades As reported by Axios on April 14th, “America’s skilled trades from plumbing to welding to construction need more workers as boomers retire.”  Enrollment in vocational programs and applications for trade jobs are ticking up as younger people look to start their careers without the sky-high cost of a four-year college degree.  Per…

Foreign Aid Supplemental House Majority Leader Scalise announced that the House would consider “legislation that supports Israel and holds Iran and its terrorist proxies accountable.” However, it is unclear what will be included in the supplemental and if it will also contain funding for Ukraine and Taiwan. To date, Speaker Johnson has declined to put…

Mayorkas Impeachment The House transmitted impeachment articles against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate. The delay last week was sparked by Senate Republicans to force the Senate to hold a trial, but indications are that Senate Democrats will still try to quickly dismiss or otherwise dispense with the two articles. Mayorkas is charged…

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) By a vote of 273-147, the House passed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Congress is facing an April 19th deadline to reauthorize the spying powers. After eleventh-hour negotiations between the GOP holdouts and leadership, Speaker Johnson agreed to change the FISA reauthorization from five years to two years, keep…

This Week in Congress Congress returned after two weeks away, and the FY24 spending bills may be completed, but members in both chambers face a heavy legislative agenda over the next few weeks. House Speaker Johnson anticipates a vote for Ukraine funding, which would convert the $60 billion package into a forgivable loan.  Senate Majority…

OSHA Ergonomics Legislation Sens. Markey (D-MA) and Sullivan (R-AK) plan to introduce a bill that would mandate that OSHA issue an ergonomics rule. The Clinton administration attempted to implement an ergonomics rule, but Congress on a bipartisan basis nullified the rule with a Congressional Review Act challenge, citing how difficult it would be for businesses…

OSHA Publishes Final Walkaround Rule OSHA published a final rule to change the way in which an employee representative can be selected to accompany the Compliance Safety and Health Officer during a workplace inspection. Specifically, the final rule clarifies that the representative(s) authorized by employees may be an employee of the employer or a third…

Construction Employment Grows Per Saturday, April 6th’s Wall Street Journal and as highlighted by the Department of Labor, “construction employment continues to boom, adding 39,000 jobs last month and 270,000 since March 2023.”  Nonresidential construction has increased by 4.1 percent in more than a year; 24,600 new hires in nonresidential construction last month. Return to…