This Webinar will take place via Zoom on September 27 from 9:30-11:30 a.m. ET.

Meeting ID: 160 147 0543

Passcode: 208750

Zoom Link:

This event was originally shared with Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝ by OSHA via their .

• Establish education programs by states, non-profits, and colleges through grants of $500,000-$2,000,000.
• Create a pool of talented, trained, and qualified applicants to fill forestry and lumber industry job openings. Programs would be tailored to build skills ranging from logging and forest management to sawmilling.
• Partner with programs that have proven to help students achieve forestry industry jobs and programs that engage with their local communities.

More details will be available once this bill is unveiled later this month.

Heat Standard
Today, the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy has scheduled a Small Business Labor Safety Roundtable to discuss the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) upcoming Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) panel on a possible “Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings” rule. As we noted earlier this summer, OSHA’s possible rule would apply to employers whose employees are exposed to hazardous heat in the workplace and could cover outdoor and indoor work in General Industry, Construction, Maritime, and Agriculture sectors. The roundtable is being convened to hear from businesses about the effect that a heat standard would have on their operations. Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝ is monitoring action on this rulemaking closely and will report regularly on developments.

Members of Congress from both houses will leave town today for the annual August recess.  The Senate is expected to return to Washington the week of Labor Day, while the House will be coming back that second week of September. The immediate deliverable when they return is to pass a government funding measure that will keep federal funds flowing after September 30. While both the House and Senate have been advancing Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations bills, their work in this space will not be complete by the end of September. This will necessitate a short-term funding measure to avoid a government shutdown beginning October 1. 

Credit Card Competition Act

In a positive development this week, an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) reauthorization legislation which is being considered on the Senate floor was offered by Senators Roger Marshall (R-KS), Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Peter Welch (D-VT). The amendment embodies all the provisions of the Credit Card Competition Act, legislation that would enhance competition and choice in the credit card network market. Specifically, the bill would direct the Federal Reserve to ensure that credit card-issuing banks offer a choice of at least two networks over which an electronic credit transaction may be processed, with certain exceptions.

Senator Durbin had this to say about the bill: “Credit card swipe fees inflate the prices that consumers pay for groceries and gas.  It’s time to inject real competition into the credit card network market, which is dominated by the Visa-Mastercard duopoly. This legislation, which builds upon pro-competition reforms Congress enacted in 2010, would give small businesses a meaningful choice when it comes to card networks, and it would enable innovators to gain a foothold in credit cards.  Bringing real competition to credit card networks will help reduce swipe fees and hold down costs for Main Street merchants and their customers.” 

And Senator Marshall issued this statement: “When it comes to Main Street vs Wall Street, I’ll choose Main Street every time. Convenience stores, gas stations and other small businesses in Kansas are being taken advantage of by Visa and MasterCard on behalf of big banks in New York City at a time when they, and the communities they serve, are grappling with crippling inflation and staring down the barrel of a looming recession. It’s gone on long enough. Competition is the heartbeat of capitalism and that is what our bill will create, competition.”

The American Bankers Association and other groups representing the financial sector are waging an aggressive lobbying campaign against this amendment and this legislation, which is pending in both the House and Senate. Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝ will keep you apprised of developments on this crucial issue.

Tax

Today, Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) introduced the Main Street Tax Certainty Act, H.R. 4721–legislation that would permanently extend Section 199A of the Internal Revenue Code, which is slated to expire in 2025. Smucker’s bipartisan legislation is cosponsored by 92 Members and is supported by all Republican Members of the Ways & Means Committee. The bill’s companion in the Senate is S. 1706, sponsored by Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT).

Section 199A allows up to a 20 percent pass-through income deduction for small businesses organized as sole proprietorships, partnerships, S corporations, trusts, or estates, or income from qualified REIT dividends and income from publicly traded partnerships.

Heat Hazard Alert

Today, President Biden issued the first-ever Hazard Alert for heat which accompanies his directive to the Department of Labor to ramp up enforcement activities to protect workers from heat hazards at the workplace. In its announcement, the Administration specifically calls out the construction sector. The announcement may be found here:

Alongside this effort, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is developing a national workplace safety standard for heat exposure. That process is in its nascent stages.

Wood Building Products Legislation to be Introduced.

Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝ learned on Wednesday that Senators Wyden (D-OR) and Crapo (R-ID) are introducing legislation titled Timber Innovation for Building Rural Communities Act. Rep. Salinas (D-OR) and Duarte (R-CA) are co-sponsoring companion legislation in the House. Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝ received a copy of drafted language and there are several provisions of interest, including: 

• Language amending the Wood Innovation Grant Program to recognize the carbon reduction strategies in building design and the environmental benefits associated with wood products from anticipated wood supply areas including wildfire risk reduction, increased fiber flow, forest or mill jobs, and support for forest communities created because of forest management.
• Creation of a “Wood Education Accelerator Grant Program to support the development of university curricula, programs, and best practices related to designing and building with wood, including the use of traditional wood products, mass timber, and other advanced products. 

It is a slow week in our nation’s capital, as Congress is out of town in honor of Independence Day. Next week when Congress returns, Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) plans to introduce his legislation to make permanent the Sec.199A deduction for S-Corporations and other pass-through structures. This 20 percent deduction, which was authorized by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, is slated to expire at the end of 2025. Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝ is a signatory to a letter being sent to the Hill this week urging expeditious passage of this important bill.

Labor/Workforce

The Department of Labor (DOL) has announced that it is seeking nominations for members to serve on the Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship for the 2023-2025 term. Authorized by the National Apprenticeship Act, the committee advises the Secretary of Labor on ways to expand, modernize and diversify Registered Apprenticeship programs and provide equitable access for all workers to participate and succeed in the national apprenticeship system. DOL’s Employment and Training Administration will be accepting applications for membership on the Advisory Committee until July 30. More information about this may be found .

Air Quality

On June 22, Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) introduced the to modernize the air-quality standard setting process at EPA, including particulate matter (PM) emissions. PM is a catchall term used to describe anything from dust kicked up at a construction site, to vehicle exhaust to wood stove emissions. Strict limits on PM often impact small and medium sized businesses the hardest as these limits can curtail operations or prevent expansion. The legislation would, among other things, require regulators to examine technological feasibility and economic impacts when issuing new standards and push back the statutory NAAQS review process from every five years to 10 years. Sen. Capito is the Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee which has the lead on clean air issues in the upper chamber and is the committee to which this bill is referred.

Both Houses are in recess this week and next in honor of the July 4^th holiday. It is expected when lawmakers return that the House will take up the tax package that was reported out of the House Ways & Means Committee on June 13. Recall that the three bills that were marked up and passed that day extend 100 percent bonus depreciation for capital investments and the research and development (R&D) tax credit through 2025. They also improve interest deductibility for businesses and bump up the Section 179 deduction for depreciable assets to $2.5 million. The current limit is just over $1 million. What was not included is an extension of the 20 percent deduction for S-Corporations and other pass-through tax structures, but that tax benefit does not expire until the end of 2025. Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝ is planning to wage an advocacy campaign focused on the Senate to urge swift action on these key tax benefits.

Also on the docket for the House is floor action on the supply chain package—18 different bills— that the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee reported out on May 23. This package includes a number of Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝ priorities such as provisions of the LICENSE Act, which streamlines the process of obtaining a CDL. It also includes provisions allowing heavier trucks to travel on the interstate and other measures to make the supply chain more workable and efficient. Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝ has been urging expeditious action on this package and will continue to meet with Members of Congress and their staff to urge our support.

OSHA Heat Standard

This week, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) notified the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy that OSHA intends to convene a Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) panel on a possible “Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings” rule in the next sixty days. The panel will host a series of video conferences with Small Entity Representatives (SERs) selected from potentially regulated sectors in the September 2023 timeframe. The panel will conclude with a final report to the OSHA Administrator within 60-days of the actual convening date.

An OSHA heat standard rule would apply to employers whose employees are exposed to hazardous heat and could cover outdoor and indoor work in any or all of the General Industry, Construction, Maritime, and Agriculture sectors where OSHA has jurisdiction. Therefore, the panel is seeking participation from a wide range of sectors and welcomes SERs from any industry that might be affected. OSHA is particularly interested in feedback from industries that it expects to be most affected by such a standard, including the following industries:

• Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing
• Building Material Suppliers
• Commercial Kitchens
• Construction, Telecommunications, and Utilities
• Drycleaners and Commercial Laundry
• Fire Protection
• Landscaping, Facilities Support, Maintenance, and Repair
• Manufacturing
• Material Handling, Transportation, and Warehousing
• Oil and Gas
• Recreation and Amusement
• Waste Management

A proposed heat standard is causing some level of concern in the business community due to the uncertain nature of what a heat standard would look like and its impact on running a business. OSHA has floated ideas around mandatory rest periods for workers during high heat days. But what is considered “hot” in Florida or Georgia is different than “hot” in Minnesota or Wisconsin. Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝ will be following action on this rulemaking closely and will report regularly on developments.  

If you are interested in participating in the panel as a SER, please reach out to Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝.

Both houses of Congress are in recess this week and so Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝ took the opportunity to check in with staff for Members of Congress that are leading on our priority supply chain bills that will form the centerpiece of our advocacy next month during our Fly-In. Already we have a key measure introduced—H.R. 471, known as the SHIP IT Act (the .  This bill incorporates a number of policy proposals that we have been promoting, including facilitating CDL testing and issuance and tax credits to entice new truck drivers to take up trucking as a profession.

Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝ has signed on to a support letter that is being led by the Agriculture Transportation Working Group that will be transmitted to leadership in the House and Senate in March. This bill is a bi-partisan measure that enjoys support from organizations across the economy that rely on trucks for inbound and outbound raw material and finished products shipments.

We were also in touch with the American Trucking Association (ATA), which is also having a Fly-in day in early March and has prioritized the LICENSE Act—the Licensing Individual Commercial Exam-takers Now Safely and Efficiently (LICENSE) Act. Recall this bill would make permanent two waivers issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the LICENSE Act, third-party CDL skills test examiners are permitted to administer a state’s CDL knowledge test, in addition to the skills test. This provision gives license seekers additional avenues to take both required tests from a state-certified third-party, thus minimizing potential testing delays. Furthermore, the bill allow states to administer the driving skills test to out-of-state license seekers regardless of where they received their training. 

Rep. Darrin Lahood (R-IL) is leading the reintroduction efforts. Evidently, the one remaining hurdle that needs to be resolved before the bill is dropped is the status of a review required by Section 20 of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act. The provision required Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to conduct a review of the COVID waiver allowing state or third-party examiners to administer both the skills and knowledge tests and, depending on that review, make the waiver permanent. According to staff, neither Congressional committee handling transportation issues have seen the results of that review, so Rep. LaHood’s team is trying to resolve this issue before moving forward.    

We also checked in with Rep. Abigail Spanberger’s (D-VA) team on her Strengthening Supply Chains Through Truck Driver Incentives Act. This bill would create a new $7,500 refundable tax credit for existing drivers who drive at least 1,900 hours in the year and a $10,000 credit for new truck drivers or those enrolled in a trucking apprenticeship. Her staff reports that the bill will be reintroduced in the next few weeks as they are looking for an in-district opportunity to announce the measure. Rep. Spanberger is once again co-leading this bill with Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI). 

Workforce

Earlier in February, the was reintroduced in the Senate by Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Mike Braun (R-IN), and in the House by Reps. Bill Johnson (R-OH), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) and Michael Turner (R-OH). This legislation (H.R.793/S.161) would expand federal Pell Grant eligibility to high-quality, short-term job training programs.

Currently, Pell Grants are not available to postsecondary career and technical education students in short-term certificate programs of less than 600 clock hours or 16 semester hours over 15 weeks. As a result, many students across the country do not have access to high-quality, short-term CTE programs that provide the skills necessary for in-demand careers for future employees and a qualified workforce pool for employers. Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝ will be supporting this legislation as part of our workforce development advocacy. The bill is a priority of the Association of Career and Technical Education (ACTE) and Advance CTE-a non-profit group of state CTE Directors and leaders of career and technical education.

The Unified Agenda is a compendium of all of the rules and regulations across federal departments and agencies–from those that are in the nascent stages all the way through to those that are near adoption. Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝ staff is in the process of reviewing regulatory actions in the many departments that we follow. One action that has been of particular interest is the Amendments to the Cranes and Derricks in Construction Standard. That proposal remains in the “proposed rule” stage, and we continue to monitor developments closely.  

Congress

The 118^th Congress is off to a slow start. As of this writing, the House of Representatives just concluded a seventh unsuccessful vote to elect a House Speaker. Members of Congress cannot be sworn in until a Speaker is elected. The bottom line is that there is no modern day precedent for what we are seeing and no clear path forward yet for Rep. Kevin McCarthy to secure the requisite number of votes to claim the Speaker’s gavel. Roughly 20 Members of Congress, mainly from the House Freedom Caucus, have largely held firm in their opposition to McCarthy’s nomination. McCarthy has offered a number of concessions to peel off votes from this bloc, but thus far those concessions have not yielded progress. In every vote thus far, Democrat candidate for Speaker Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-8) has secured the most votes (212), but short of the majority of votes necessary to become Speaker.   

A number of scenarios have been floated to break the impasse, including McCarthy ultimately bowing out of the race and allowing the second ranking Republican Member in the House Steve Scalise (R-LA) to run. But Freedom Caucus Members have downplayed that option as Scalise is viewed by that group as similar to McCarthy. Another option is for a more moderate Republican, like retiring Republican House Member Fred Upton (R-MI), to run who could attract Democrat support, but that option appears unlikely as well.  So for now, the rounds of Speaker votes roll on, potentially into the weekend. 

In other news, Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) announced Thursday that she will not run for another term after her current term expires in 2024. Senator Stabenow chairs the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, which holds the pen on writing the next Farm Bill which expires this year. As we have noted previously, there are a number of provisions important to the wood building material sector that reside in the Farm Bill and will be an area of our advocacy focus this year.  Already, the announcement has sparked interest from potential successors. Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist (D) is expected to run as is Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI-7) and potentially Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. In any event, Senator Stabenow will remain the Senate Agriculture Committee’s chair through the Farm Bill reauthorization effort this year and Ńîąóĺú´«Ă˝ will be working closely with her and her team on provisions important to the LBM sector.  

This bill would make permanent two waivers issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These waivers, discussed below, are vital to removing unnecessary regulatory roadblocks to providing Commercial Driver License (CDL) testing, as well as for allowing commercial learner’s permit (CLP) holders who have not received their physical CDL to operate a commercial truck with a licensed CDL driver anywhere in the cab, not only the front.

The first is the This waiver allowed third party CDL skills test examiners, who were previously authorized by the State to administer the CDL skills test, to administer the CDL knowledge test without completing a CDL knowledge test training course. This ensured there were enough people able to administer the CDL knowledge test while the State Driver Licensing Agencies (SDLA) remained closed or operate at diminished capacity due to the pandemic.

The second is the . This allowed a State to administer a driving skills test to any out of state CDL applicant, regardless of where the applicant received driver training. This waiver provides more flexibility to applicants seeking to obtain their CDLs and will streamline the credentialing process for drivers navigating the highly mobile nature of the trucking industry.

This waiver also allows a CLP holder who already passed the CDL driving skills test to operate a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) on public roads and highways with an accompanying CDL holder in the sleeper berth. Current regulations require CLP holders to be accompanied by a licensed CDL holder in the front seat of the cab. CLP holders who have already completed Entry Level Driver Training and passed their road tests are only unable to drive alone because they have not received a physical copy of their CDL from SDLAs. The waiver simply allows CLP holders who are awaiting their CDLs—and who have otherwise completed all of the necessary training and testing —to be accompanied by a CDL holder anywhere in the cab.

As is required by law, the Secretary of the Department of Transportation determined that both waivers were in the public interest and were likely to achieve levels of safety that are equivalent to, or greater than, the levels of safety that would be obtained in the absence of the waivers. Especially in the context of the current supply chain disruptions, this bill is a critical tool to remove some of the arcane regulatory barriers that make the CDL training and testing process so arduous. Additionally, these waivers did not lead to any issues, thus indicating they can be made permanent without risking safety.

Every year, some establishments in many industries are required to submit Form 300A data on illness and injuries to OSHA. According to , Building Material Suppliers and Dealers are required to submit Form 300A if they have 20 or more employees but fewer than 250 employees at any one establishment.

Any establishment that meets one or more of the following criteria does not have to electronically submit a Form 300A:

• “The establishment’s peak employment during the previous calendar year was 19 or fewer, regardless of the establishment’s industry.
• The establishment’s industry is on  of OSHA’s recordkeeping regulation, regardless of the size of the establishment.
• The establishment had a peak employment between 20 and 249 employees during the previous calendar year AND the establishment’s industry is NOT on  of OSHA’s recordkeeping regulation.”

When to submit your Form 300A

The deadline to submit this form is March 2 to cover the previous year. Thus, by March 2, 2023, the form must be submitted for information on injuries and illnesses in 2022, similar to filing taxes. If you miss the submission deadline, you must still submit the form and it must be done before December 31^st. If you missed the March 2, 2022 deadline, make sure you submit your Form 300A for 2021 before the end of the year.

To submit 2022 data next year, employers must connect their to a account. “All current and new account holders must connect their ITA account to a Login.gov account with the same email address to access the application for the 2023 collection of Calendar Year 2022 Form 300A data.” Before doing this, review OSHA’s guidance on how to connect your accounts: .

For additional information, visit OSHA’ . If you still have questions, a Help Request Form is available on that page.

How to submit the data (taken directly from )

“OSHA provides a secure website that offers three options for data submission. First, users can manually enter data into a web form. Second, users can upload a CSV file to process multiple establishments at the same time. Last, users of automated recordkeeping systems will have the ability to transmit data electronically via an API (application programming interface)”

• View the CSV instructions for submission of:
• Download a CSV file template for submission of:
• Download a CSV sample file for submission of:
• View the API technical specifications for:

“More than  have reported experiencing workplace stress, and more than 50% believe their stress related to work impacts their life at home.” OSHA has to help employers help employees manage and reduce stress including:

• A explaining how workplace stress harms individual workers and employers;
• about how to alleviate stress in the workplace;
• recognizing there is no one-size-fits-all approach; and
• A when discussing stress and mental health.