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Legislative Update – New National Recycling Policy Introduced in the House

By | November 2019

Appropriations

House and Senate leadership are negotiating a continuing resolution (CR) to avoid a partial government shutdown starting Thursday at midnight. The stopgap measure would keep the government open through Dec. 20 while funding agencies mostly at their current 2019 spending amounts. Democrats were successful at including some add-ons such as increasing military raises, health extenders, and blocking cuts to state highway trust funding for FY2020. The House Rules Committee met Monday, and the House of Representatives voted Tuesday to pass the short-term funding bill. The Senate voted Thursday to pass the bill and President Donald Trump signed it later that day.

USMCA

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced that a deal on the United States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement (USMCA) is “imminent” as they work out the final enforcement issues. An announcement is expected before Thanksgiving. House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA), administration officials, and Republican leaders are also confirming they are close to an agreement. Democrats continue to work with union leaders trying to ensure that labor organizations don’t oppose the deal. Democratic moderates think they have enough votes to get USMCA through. However, support from Speaker Pelosi and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) would guarantee passage with substantial Democratic support rather than the minimum 100 Democrats needed. Labor organizations have traditionally been staunch opponents to most trade deals, but the proposed USMCA has some favorable provisions that labor supports. Some lawmakers consider a neutral response from unions is a more realistic goal than garnering support.

Time remains a significant hurdle.  Lawmakers still need to negotiate the final enforcement language and compete with other unfinished legislative priorities for the dwindling amount of floor time left in Congress. U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer will have to get the implementing bill to Congress immediately after a deal is announced. At this time, there are only 11 legislative days left on this year’s calendar. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) announced that lawmakers should plan to stay in Washington for the week of Dec. 16. This would give the House an extra week to consider the pact.

National Recycling Policy

Representatives Tony Cárdenas (D-CA) and Larry Bucshon (R-IN) unveiled H.R. 5115, their $500 million legislative proposal to allocate federal funding to states and municipalities to improve their recycling programs, infrastructure, and waste management. “The Realizing the Economic Opportunities and Values of Expanding Recycling Act” (RECOVER Act). The bipartisan bill is supported by the Vinyl Institute, the American Chemistry Council, plastics companies, and industry associations in the flexible packaging, glass, and solid waste sectors. The RECOVER act requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to submit a report within two years of its passage on steps taken toward implementation. The bill would also preclude using EPA funds to support incineration.

“This bipartisan, commonsense bill is a smart solution to a growing problem,” Cárdenas says. “The RECOVER Act encourages local and state governments to invest in recycling programs and new technologies to increase collection rates and promote consumer education. This grant would support public-private partnerships and will help communities across the nation to expand and modernize our country’s recycling infrastructure. This bill would create new jobs, boosts our economy and, ultimately, it is good for American families and the environment.”

A complete list of supporters includes:

The American Chemistry Council, American Frozen Food Institute, AMERIPEN, Berry Global, EREMA, Flexible Packaging Association, Foodservice Packaging Institute, International Bottled Water Association, Glass Packaging Institute, Kenrich Petrochemicals Inc., Plastics Industry Association, National Waste & Recycling Association, The Recycling Partnership, SNAC International, Solid Waste Association of North America, Sustainable Packaging Coalition/GreenBlue, Unilever, and The Vinyl Institute.