According to the :

Important programs that promote development of innovative wood building materials and building with wood products are reauthorized at current funding levels. These two programs are the Community Wood and Wood Innovation Grant programs which have been very successful in underwriting deployment of mass timber/cross laminated timber facilities across the country, as well as funding energy efficiency and other capital improvements at lumber mills. Community Wood also has an energy component and provides grants for these same facilities to heat and power their operations with biomass (sawdust) which improves not only their efficiency but delivers bottom line financial benefits as well.

The bill also adds a key workforce component specific to the logging, forestry and forest products sector. Specifically, provisions of the Jobs in the Woods Act (JWA) were added to an existing Farm Bill program known as RISE—Rural Innovation Stronger Economies. JWA provides grants of between $500,000 and $2 million to stand up vocational education and career pathway training programs to attract and develop workers for jobs harvesting timber and working in sawmills, among other settings.

Also notable in the House summary are provisions facilitating more forest management activities on federal forest lands. Specifically, the language creates what are known as Categorical Exclusions or CEs for forest management projects up to 10,000 acres in size. CEs allow these projects to move forward without costly and time consumer NEPA (National Environmental Protection Act) reviews.

Again, we will have a more thorough understanding of the direction this bill takes once we see actual legislative language. Unfortunately, Democrat leadership in the House has been publicly criticizing the proposal so it will likely move from committee on a party line vote. We will have more analysis and a better feel for prospects in the House next week.

The rule’s objective is to increase wages for workers in low-wage but salaried occupations across the economy by making them eligible for time-and-a-half pay. Most hourly workers are already entitled to overtime pay, but non-hourly EAP workers are exempt unless they earn less than the threshold set by the Labor Department.

An Economic Policy Institute analysis of the rule found that 4.3 million more workers will be eligible for overtime pay because of this action. Going forward, salary thresholds for overtime eligibility will be updated every three years.

The final rule will certainly face a legal challenge as did a similar rule issued by the Obama Administration. That rule was struck down by a federal judge in a challenge led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The current threshold of a little over $35,000 was put in place by a rule adopted during the Trump Administration. As we have noted in previous policy updates, the Biden Administration is in overdrive mode pushing out these regulations in an effort to protect the President’s policies from Congressional Review Act (CRA) repeal should there be a different Administration next year. CRA reaches back to any regulation finalized within 60 Congressional days in the previous calendar year. The current estimate is that any CRA action would apply to any Biden Administration regulations finalized sometime in late May.  In addition to litigation, we expect to see legislation introduced to overturn the rule and will keep you apprised of activity on that front.

It was certainly a pleasure to spend some quality time earlier this week with AMBA members who made the trek to Washington for our Advocacy Day event. As I mentioned last week, it’s important for Members of Congress and their staff to hear directly from you—the constituent and job creator—about what the federal government can do—and not do—to make your lives easier.

One of the highlights for me was the issue briefing on Monday, where our members addressed the group on some of the more detailed intricacies of our policy priorities. Tax issues can be daunting and overly complicated, but we all came away with a clearer understanding of why bonus depreciation matters and why Congress must act to restore this critical benefit.

Another highlight for me was a Hill meeting in which I participated with the Massachusetts group. We had asked for a meeting with Senator Markey but ended up in a conference room with his staff. I have found that it can be very difficult to secure meetings with some Senators from Northeastern states. Anyhow, we were in the middle of a conversation about the Credit Card Competition Act and in walks Senator Markey to greet our group. We hit him quickly on the need for action on the tax bill and he gave us the thumbs up that he is fully on board and we need to convince Republicans to act now and get this legislation to the President.

As with any event, there is always room for improvement, and we have taken notes on some areas on which we will focus for next year. But from my perspective, I thought things went well, and the groups that I walked the halls with seemed pleased and that their time was well spent.

Updates on the Farm Bill

This week featured some significant developments on reauthorizing the Farm Bill. As we have mentioned, this statute—reauthorized every five years—is important to the wood building products sector as there are many provisions in the Forestry and Energy titles that seek to promote markets for renewable, sustainable building products. 

On Tuesday, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson (R-PA) rolled out a high-level summary of what his bill will look like. We have been told by his team that the legislation will renew the Community Wood grant program that promotes development and production of innovative wood products, as well as heating and renewable energy technologies that rely on sawmill residuals. His bill will also reauthorize the Wood Innovation Grant program and includes provisions to promote active forest management on our nation’s federal forest landholdings. On workforce, we have been told by committee staff that there will be language based on the Jobs in the Woods Act to standup training programs around the country to entice young adults to enter the forestry and forest building products workforce.

We are hearing that a markup on this legislation will take place on May 23. Specific legislative text should be available a few days before the markup. And then the following day, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chairman of the Senator Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee unveiled a 94-page summary of her version of a Farm Bill. Her legislation, which is not supported by her Ranking Member Senator John Boozman (R-AR), doubles the funding for the Community Wood grant program to $50 million a year over the life of the Farm Bill. That amounts to $250 million—a significant investment in the wood building products sector. Her bill also makes changes and beefs up the Bio Preferred program, which is a procurement preference and labeling program for biobased products, which includes wood building materials. 

There is no sense yet when the Senate is looking to move on this legislation or when legislative text will be available.

We are looking forward to seeing many of you in Washington next week for Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝â€™s Advocacy Day. Staff is finalizing preparations for what promises to be a successful couple of days in our nation’s capital. Like last year, dozens of meetings have been scheduled with key Members of Congress and/or their staff and we expect many productive discussions on the suite of our federal public policy priorities.

It’s important for organizations like ours to come to Washington on the regular for a number of reasons. One, while Members of Congress and staff expect to interact on a daily basis with government affairs consultants based in D.C., they prefer to speak directly with the actual job creators in their states and districts. Only you know the intricacies of your business and the daily challenges and opportunities you face. And it is refreshing for these Members to hear from business owners and employees in plain terms what is on their minds instead of the word salady “Washington speak” to which they have grown accustomed. 

Another benefit of in-person visits is that these interactions often set in motion follow-up visits where the Member shows up at your operation for a yard tour. When we have Hill meetings when you are not here, we focus on our policy priorities and strategies for moving them forward. The prospect of a yard tour back in the district just does not emerge as organically as it does when Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝ members are conversing face to face with their elected officials. It just seems to happen naturally during these Advocacy Days and that’s a positive.

Again, we are looking forward to seeing you. Remember to relax and be yourself in these meetings and just have fun with it. You have likely forgotten more about what your business does, what you do and the contributions you make to your community than they will ever know.

In terms of dress code, Washington remains one of the last bastions that is clinging to business attire. A word of caution, however. If you have a pair of great looking shoes that you really love but hurt your feet, leave them at home. Lots of walking is in your future next week so choose comfort and practicality over style. You’ll be tired at the end of the day, but it will be a “good tired.”

See you on Monday!

EPA Power Plant Rulemaking

On Thursday, EPA rolled out a suite of final rules seeking to control air and water pollution from our nation’s coal-fired power plants. The announcement marks yet another major regulatory move by the Administration in an attempt to lock in President Biden’s policies ahead of the November election and protect them from a Congressional Review Act override.

The rules impose stringent air quality controls on electric utilities which will force coal-fired units to either shut down or commit to investing in carbon capture technology. The rule also applies to new natural gas-fired utilities and requires both to ultimately control 90 percent of their carbon pollution. The other rules in the package tighten mercury and air toxics standards at coal-fired facilities as well as wastewater discharge and coal ash ponds at these units.

Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝ is monitoring this rule package out of concern with increased power costs for businesses like ours. There will likely be litigation challenging the rules and we will report on developments.

White Oak Legislation Introduced

A bipartisan group of House members have introduced , the White Oak Resilience Act, legislation intended to prevent the supply of white oak lumber from dwindling to unsustainable levels as market demand for the material remains high. Specifically, the bill would establish pilot projects for the U.S. Forest Service “to regenerate white oak where appropriate” and empowers the Civilian Conservation Corps to “plant white oak and associated hardwoods.” While foresters do not generally recommend planting hardwood species as they regenerate naturally, the situation with white oak is concerning and has even spawned an organization dedicated solely to it– . The impetus for this organization originally came from the bourbon industry out of concern for white oak supply to make bourbon barrels. 

The bill has been referred to the House Agriculture Committee and we will keep our eyes on it.  

EPA Formaldehyde Action

The Environmental Protection Agency is moving forward with a proposal to ratchet down the workplace exposure level to formaldehyde to 11 parts per billion (ppb). This threshold is extremely low and below background levels for most exposure situations. In fact, this level is only slightly above the level exhaled in human breath. Moreover, it is far below the OSHA Permissible Exposure Level of 750 ppb and also lower than the recently determined European Union Occupational Exposure Level of 300 ppb.

The action is particularly concerning for wood products manufacturers as formaldehyde occurs naturally in wood. Moreover, formaldehyde is present in off gassing associated with glues in composite wood products. Public comments are being prepared by trade groups representing the wood manufacturing sector. We are close to these groups and will provide those comments when a draft is available. 

In addition to reauthorizing and fully funding all the workforce development programs embedded in WIOA the bill would:

• Dedicate 50 percent of the adult and dislocated worker funding toward upskilling workers through “individual training accounts” (ITAs).
• Manages the nation’s network of One-Stop Career Centers.
• Administers the Job Corps program with increased performance accountability.
• Streamlines the application process for “eligible training providers” to promote faster eligibility determinations and minimize administrative burdens for training providers active in multiple states.
• Encourages innovative sector partnerships by allowing states to invest in critical industry skills initiatives.
• Authorizes state and local workforce boards to aid employers in implementing skills-based hiring practices.
• Places greater emphasis on work-based learning for youth and on workforce education programs at community colleges that align with in-demand jobs.
• Establishes grant programs that support employment and training services for formerly incarcerated individuals.
• Strengthens the workforce data system by promoting the use of real-time labor market information, facilitating access to wage records data and promoting data transparency.
• Incentivizes regional consortia for workforce development areas so that workforce development boards may ensure that jobseekers are connected to industries and employers that are prominent in a region’s economy.

To read the fact sheet for A Stronger Workforce for America Act, .

To read the summary for A Stronger Workforce for America Act, .

To read the section-by-section for A Stronger Workforce for America Act, .

The bill now proceeds to the Senate where its path forward is uncertain. Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝ will be checking in with the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee staff to obtain a better sense of the upper chamber’s plans on this issue/legislation.

Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝ is hearing that Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) is planning to introduce legislation soon that would amend the Lacey Act, a statute enacted in 1900 to combat illegal trafficking in wildlife, fish and plants. The law was amended as part of the Farm Bill in 2008 to include trees and products derived from them, including wood building materials and pulp and paper. At that time, the wood products and pulp and paper sectors supported the Lacey Act amendments (as they were known) as a way to preclude illegally harvested timber from flooding the U.S. market at prices that undercut U.S. producers. The law requires importers to submit import declarations on wood and wood products coming into the U.S., noting the species, import value and country of harvest among other information. It also requires importers to exercise “due care” in ensuring all wood products are derived from legally and sustainably managed forests. There are serious penalties for non-compliance.

While U.S. wood products and pulp and paper manufacturers continue to support the intent of Lacey, there have been hiccups with implementation and enforcement since 2008. Among other things, Senator Wyden’s bill would require that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) immediately begin enforcing Phase 8 of Lacey, which is the import declaration requirement on pulp and paper. Complexities with tracking the various sources of wood and wood fiber that end up at a pulp and paper mill has stalled implementation of this last tranche of affected entities. While that provision will not affect our sector, Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝ is monitoring the situation closely in the event that the legislation veers into areas affecting wood building products.

There is considerable activity in this space of late. The European Union has enacted its EUDR—the European Union Deforestation Regulation which probits wood and pulp and paper (among other commodities) from entering the EU marketplace unless the producer can prove that that product is derived from a legally harvested and sustainable forest. The EUDR is creating major angst for U.S. companies as it imposes a geolocation requirement whereby producers have to be able to identify the exact parcel of land where the lumber is sourced.  Here in the U.S., the World Wildlife Fund and the Environmental Investigation Agency are making the rounds with various groups on Lacey Act-related policy issues and there is also legislation proliferating at the state level.

Tax

Members of Congress return next week after a two-week recess. We are watching developments on the tax front closely as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) was signaling that he intended to bring up the House-passed tax bill (H.R. 7024) for a vote on Senate floor—bypassing Senate Finance Committee consideration. Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝ has been visiting with key Senate staffers and representatives from other trade groups that are working this issue. What we are hearing is that Leader Schumer may be reluctant to move quickly to a Senate floor vote as it threatens to poison the well with Senate Republicans and may have serious repercussions for negotiations on other policies/legislation. However, the politics are intriguing for Democrats as forcing a vote in the Senate would put Republicans on record as opposing key business tax benefits (100 percent bonus depreciation, R&D tax credit) as well as the Child Tax Credit. The situation is fluid, but Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝ is close at hand and will report on our efforts and developments.

Congress

Members of Congress are back home in their states and districts this week and next and will return to town on April 9.

With President Biden signing the second of two appropriations packages last week to fund the federal government through the end of the fiscal year, there is no rest for the weary on the appropriations front. The fiscal year 2025 appropriations process is already underway with Congressional offices accepting appropriations requests in advance of the appropriations committees fashioning the 12 bills that fund all of the federal departments and agencies that make up the federal government footprint. Committee action is expected later this spring.

Regulatory Machine on Overdrive

The Biden regulatory agenda will be overly active in the coming weeks as the President seeks to solidify his legacy on policies ranging from climate and other environmental issues to labor. Evidence of this is already occurring with the recent unveiling of EPA’s final tailpipe emissions rule affecting light and medium-duty vehicles beginning in model year 2027. Before that announcement, the Administration finalized the Securities and Exchange Commission’s climate disclosure rule as well as the Department of Labor’s independent contractor rule. The sense of urgency is tied to two factors—the potential change in who occupies the White House next year as well as the Congressional Review Act or CRA.

The CRA is a little-known (outside of Washington) parliamentary tool whereby the next Congress—in this case, the 119th Congress—may repeal rules and regulations issued in the previous year. A Congressional Review Act resolution only needs a simple majority in the House and Senate to pass Congress and then, of course, needs to be signed by the President to take effect. This “lookback” provision is limited to the final 60 working days of the previous Congress, which is a bit of a moving target since it is not known right now when Congress is going to adjourn. Based on history, the 60 working-day lookback reaches at least into June but can extend to May or even April of the previous year.

Given the specter of the CRA, the Biden Administration is on the clock and is accelerating the finalization of rules and regulations so that they are not subject to this parliamentary procedure.

Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝ is close to the action and monitoring developments from departments and agencies that oversee policies that affect our sector. As always, we will keep you regularly informed.

Workforce

In meetings in the House and Senate recently, Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝ has picked up that Representatives Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) and Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) will be circulating a “Dear Colleague” letter in the House soon asking for appropriations support for the Perkins Basic State Grant. Thompson and Bonamici are co-chairs of the Congressional Career and Technical Education (CTE) Caucus.

Each year under the Perkins statute, Congress appropriates approximately $1.4 billion in State formula grant funds under Title I (Basic State Grants) to develop more fully the academic knowledge and technical and employability skills of secondary and postsecondary education students who elect to enroll in career and technical education programs. This letter will purportedly be calling on appropriators to provide robust funding for the Perkins Basic State Grant. As soon as we have a copy of the letter, we will provide that to you.

On Thursday, the House Education and Workforce Committee reported H.J.Res. 116 on a party line vote of 21-13. The measure is known as a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution and, if passed and signed into law, would nullify the new Independent Contractor rule that took effect last week. That rule rescinds the 2021 independent contractor rule issued under former President Donald Trump and replaces it with a six-factor test that considers:

1. opportunity for profit or loss depending on managerial skill
2. investments by the worker and the potential employer
3. degree of permanence of the work relationship
4. nature and degree of control
5. extent to which the work performed is an integral part of the potential employer’s business; and
6. skill and initiative.

All six factors are weighed equally in determining status. In other words, it makes classifying as an independent contractor much more difficult.

As we know, the independent contractor model is relied on heavily by the trucking industry. In fact, over 350,000 drivers on the road today choose to operate as independent contractors and the American Trucking Association has been a vocal opponent of the proposal. During the markup Thursday, Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) had this to say: “Allowing for entrepreneurship through pursuits such as independent contracting is how we will repair the American economy, not through bad government regulations that destroy the freedom to work independently.”

Senator Bill Cassidey (R-LA) has introduced a similar resolution in the Senate. While these CRAs are helpful in messaging opposition to the new rule, they are unlikely to pass. Even if the measure were to clear the Democrat-controlled Senate, it would most certainly be vetoed by President Biden and the votes would not be there to overturn a veto.

Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝ Signs Coalition Letter to Delay CTA

Last week, Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝ signed onto a letter here: urging the Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Banking Committee to pass legislation delaying the compliance deadline for the Corporate Transparency Act. Despite a favorable court striking down the CTA as unconstitutional, we have come to find out that the ruling applied to the plaintiffs only – members of the National Small Business Association (NSBA). The letter points out that—

 FinCEN (Treasury’s financial crimes unit) indicated it would continue to enforce the CTA against all small businesses and other entities not named in the lawsuit. This decision effectively creates two classes of small businesses: those that were members of the NSBA as of March 1st will enjoy the protections of the Constitution while the remaining 32 million small businesses targeted by the CTA will not.

Meanwhile, many small business owners will hear about the ruling and conclude that they are no longer obligated to comply, unaware that they are making themselves vulnerable to the CTA’s stiff fines and criminal penalties. FinCEN, meanwhile, has no practical means of distinguishing between NSBA members and other small businesses. The NSBA’s membership is not public, and the courts have previously ruled that the government cannot compel trade associations like the NSBA to turn over their membership lists. 

Legislation to delay CTA implementation is S. 3625, the Protect Small Business and Prevent Illicit Financial Activity Act, introduced by Senator Tim Scott (R-SC). The House companion is H.R. 5119, introduced by Representatives Zach Nunn (R-IA) and Joyce Beatty (D-OH), which passed the House of Representatives on a bipartisan vote of 420-1 on December 12, 2023. Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝ will continue to monitor action on this issue and report on developments.

Congress to Avert Shutdown with Appropriations Package

On Thursday morning, Congressional leaders unveiled text of an appropriations package covering the remainder of the federal agencies and departments whose funding runs out on Friday. The package would fund the Departments of Defense, State, Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝land Security, Treasury, Labor and Health and Human Services through the end of the fiscal year—September 30, 2024. A brief government shut down is still possible over the weekend, but the measure will be enacted and the threat of more government funding lapses will be off the table, at least for the foreseeable future.

On Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing titled American Made: Growing U.S. Manufacturing through the Tax Code. Chairman Ron Wyden’s (D-OR) opening remarks were notable in that he highlighted his frustration over the Senate’s lack of action on the tax package that passed the House overwhelmingly earlier this year. The slate of witnesses echoed the same sentiment with CEOs from manufacturing companies and a labor union representative extolling the virtues of the business tax provisions in the package. 

The timing of this hearing is interesting as influential Senate Republicans are beginning to publicly peel away from GOP opposition to the proposal. Senators Steve Daines (R-MT) and Todd Young (R-IN) are the latest to signal that they would vote for the House-passed measure, which revives retroactively the 100 percent bonus depreciation benefit, the research and development tax credit, increases the limitations on expensing depreciable business assets under Sec. 179 and enhances interest expense deductibility provisions. In our discussions with Senate offices on both sides of the aisle, indications are that the package would easily clear the 60-vote threshold on the Senate floor if a vote were scheduled on the house bill—H.R. 7024. We are surmising that this hearing was held to further solidify the case for action on the tax package and that Leader Schumer is pondering bringing the bill up for a floor vote in the near future. We will keep you apprised of developments.

Biden’s FY 2025 Budget Prioritizes Workforce Development

On Tuesday, the Biden Administration unveiled its budget for Fiscal Year 2025. As is typical with every administration, the annual budget release ritual is more of a messaging exercise about the current President’s aspirational policy priorities. The Biden Administration’s FY 2025 budget follows this script. That said there are some notable items in the document around workforce development. For one, the budget provides $200 million to launch the Sectoral Employment through Career Training for Occupational Readiness (SECTOR) program, which will seed and scale a comprehensive approach to sector partnerships, needed wraparound services and training programs focused on growing industries that lead to job placement in a high-quality job.

The Budget also provides an increase of $50 million in apprenticeship programs, for a total of $335 million. This funding will expand access to Registered Apprenticeships, with a particular focus on directing apprenticeship resources toward increasing the number of workers from historically underrepresented groups. Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝ continues to sort through the language in the President’s budget submissions and will follow relevant items in the proposal as the appropriations process for FY 2025 commences.

Executive Order on Registered Apprenticeships

Late last week, the Biden Administration issued an Executive Order (EO) to promote and expand use of registered apprenticeships. That EO may be found .

The focus of this EO is the federal workforce. It calls for federal departments and agencies to take steps to utilize Registered Apprenticeship programs to train and develop incumbent workers and candidates for employment so that they obtain the skills necessary to meet the current and emerging needs of the federal workforce.

Congressional Review of DOL’s Worker Classification Rule

Congressman Kevin Kiley (R-CA) and Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), along with 54 cosponsors, introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn the recent Department of Labor’s (DOL) final rule at redefines how employers classify workers as independent contractors.

Senator Cassidy stated that rule “cost millions of independent professionals across the country their livelihoods while restricting the freedom of many millions more to have flexible work arrangements.” House

Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx had this to say: “The bicameral Congressional Review Act resolution led by Representative Kiley and Senator Cassidy offers Congress the opportunity to take a unified stand against the Department’s thirst for more government control over America’s workforce. Entrepreneurial opportunities and flexibility should be encouraged, not extinguished with heavy-handed mandates from the federal government.”

Several business organizations are challenging the rule in court including the US Chamber of Commerce and the American Trucking Association (ATA). As we have noted in previous updates on the IC rule, the independent contractor model is popular in the trucking sector. If this rule is allowed to stand in its current form, many contractors in service roles across the economy would be reclassified as “employees,” threatening business models in every link of the supply chain.

On Wednesday, the House passed a fiscal year 2024 package of spending bills to fund a number of government agencies through September 30. The $460 billion legislation passed on a 369-85 vote and is expected to clear the upper chamber and be sent to the President before Saturday, when funding for these agencies expires.

The bill would set final spending levels for this year for roughly a quarter of federal agency funding, with appropriators working to complete the rest of fiscal 2024 bills to avoid a funding lapse for the remaining agencies which are currently funded through March 22. 

Included in the bill are funds for the departments of Agriculture, Interior, Commerce, Justice, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Energy, Veterans Affairs as well as the EPA, FDA and NASA. 

Focus has now turned toward forging consensus on the remainder of FY 2024 spending bills for departments and agencies. Interestingly, and a telling indication of how dysfunctional the current appropriations process has become, the Fiscal Year 2025 appropriations process is also kicking off now with offices already opening their submission portals for appropriations requests.   

Federal Judge Strikes Down Corporate Transparency Act

Late last week, a federal judge ruled in favor of the small business community in striking down the Corporate Transparency Act as unconstitutional. The court challenge was brought by the National Small Business Association alleging that the CTA violates a whole host of protections for businesses.

Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝ has summarized the CTA, which took effect at the beginning of this year, in previous updates, but in short, the relatively obscure statute imposes a number of recordkeeping and reporting requirements on small and medium-sized businesses. It was enacted in 2021 as part of that year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and was meant to address fraudulent schemers where illegal actors were setting up shell corporations to hide illicit and/or illegal activity. Unfortunately, the blunt instrument that is the CTA captured over 32 million entities-virtually every small business in the country.

The decision will almost certainly be appealed by the Department of Justice, but for now the business community can take a deep breath and not have to worry about complexities of dealing with FinCEN (Department of Treasury’s financial crimes unit) and what arcane information must be collected and reported. We will continue to follow developments as the legal process unfolds. 

President’s State of the Union

The President delivered his final State of the Union (SOTU) speech of his current term last evening. One of the notable points we wanted to flag is his remarks about affordable housing and tax credits to encourage homeownership and help first-time home buyers. The fact sheet around the Administration’s proposals may be found .

In short, the President called for a $10,000 tax credit for both first-time homebuyers and those who sell their starter homes; the construction and renovation of more than 2 million additional homes, and cost reductions for renters.

Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝ will continue to monitor action in this space and will keep you apprised of developments.