September Congressional Outlook

Members of the House and Senate will return from recess after Labor Day on Sept. 6, less than a month before the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. During the recess, the House returned to pass the “Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) if 2022” on Aug. 12 by a vote of 220-207, which was signed into law on Aug. 16. For more on how the legislation will affect the vinyl industry, read our post here. The House and Senate must now prioritize FY23 appropriations bills and the FY23 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). There are also several key programs and authorizations that will expire at the end of the month. The House passed a six-bill minibus appropriations package in a party-line vote on July 20, authorizing more than $400 billion in government spending. The Senate Appropriations Committee released the Chairman’s mark of 12 appropriations bills on July 28. Funding talks are expected to resume after the midterm elections, but in the meantime, Congress must pass a continuing resolution by the end of the month to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the fiscal year.

Other priorities include the passage of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2022 (H.R. 7776). The bill authorizes a number of water-related programs and infrastructure under the US. Army Corps of Engineers has been passed biannually since 2014. The bill is being hailed as a major piece of bipartisan legislation. A similar bill, developed in collaboration with Environment and Public Works (EPW) Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee Chairman Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Ranking Member Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), has also found success in the Senate. The Senate passed the House version on July 28 and sent it back to the House with amendments. The newly amended version of the $34 billion bill must pass the House in order to be signed into law.

It is also uncertain whether the House will take up the two bipartisan recycling bills that passed unanimously in the Senate. The “Recycling and Composting Accountability Act” (S. 3743) would aim to improve composting and recycling programs by formally collecting data on these systems, and the “Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act” (S. 3742) would create a pilot program for awarding grants to improve and expand access to recycling, particularly in underserved communities. The bills are supported by industry and recycling organizations, which are calling for swift action. The House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing on companion bills, H.R. 8183 and H.R. 8059, but several additional Democratic proposals seeking to ban the use of specific plastics and halt permits for plastic manufacturing facilities until emissions regulations are updated have divided committee members. At this time, there is no indication that the caucuses will attempt to come together to advance the above bills like their Senate counterparts.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has urged members to continue working on trade and competitiveness proposals that were dropped from the “CHIPS and Science Act” passed in July. These provisions included extensions of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB). We are not optimistic that Congress will bring these measures to the floor anytime soon. However, parts that are broadly popular and bipartisan could be included in the NDAA or other year-end bills that could be considered during the lame-duck process.

With control of the Senate in 2023 in question, Senate Democrats are expected to spend significant time in September confirming judicial and executive branch nominations. The three remaining nominations to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that are central to Biden’s agenda, the assistant administrator for air and radiation, Joseph Goffman, and the head of enforcement and compliance, David Uhlmann, as well as the top land and emergency management official, David Uhlmann, have yet to be confirmed. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), the panel’s ranking member, has opposed Goffman and other EPA nominees, citing their “extreme” political views and record of government overreach during their previous roles in the Obama administration. Before the summer recess, the Senate discharged Uhlmann’s nomination with the vote of Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine (51-39), but the EPW Committee remains split on party lines on the other nominations. Waterhouse, if confirmed, will play a critical role in infrastructure spending and running the Superfund and brownfield programs. If EPA nominees are not confirmed by the end of this Congress, they will have to be renominated and the confirmation process will have to begin again. If the GOP gains control of the Senate, the confirmation process will become even more difficult.