Congress/Tax
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. ABMA 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 here.
Air Quality
On June 22, Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) introduced the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) Implementation Act of 2023 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.
