On October 21st, the ABMA Legislative Committee met virtually to receive a congressional briefing from our Government Affairs Associate Pat Rita, discuss the pending OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on COVID-19 vaccines and testing, update the status of our Federal PAC formation and look forward to our virtual Congressional meeting in November.
Negotiations on budget reconciliation and the overall infrastructure package continue. An agreement that will secure the necessary votes from both moderate and progressive democrats remains elusive. Pushback against the proposed higher individual and corporate rates, and lack of a clear alternative to pay for the social package are making deal more difficult on Capitol Hill. The White House and leadership in both the Senate and House continue to target the end of October for passage.
As part of our continued support for workforce development initiatives, the ABMA launched a new Congressional action alert asking Members of Congress to protect critical workforce and career and technical education funding. As legislators look for ways to make the overall reconciliation package more affordable, we need to make sure these funds remain in the final product.
We look forward to announcing shortly, a virtual meeting for all ABMA members with a Congressional member central in the workforce development arena. A sign-up email and request for pre-submitted questions will be arriving in your inbox soon.
The ABMA remains on alert for the OSHA Vaccine and Testing ETS. The rule could be handed down as early as next week.
The Committee’s next scheduled meeting is Thursday, November 18th, 2021 at 11am.
