Government Relations Landscape Report – December 16, 2016 SMRP Congressional and Regulatory Activity Collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security on Cybersecurity SMRP continues to work with the Department of Homeland Security on increasing SMRP’s cyber awareness, including hosting an educational webinar specifically for SMRP members and writing an article about why and how SMRP members participate in cybersecurity measures for the spring issue of Solutions. DOL’s Overtime Rule Delayed A federal District Court in Texas issued a temporary injunction on November 22, 2016 of the Department of Labor’s pending overtime regulation. This regulation was set to go in effect December 1, 2016. This injunction delays the implementation of President Obama’s overtime regulation that would extend overtime eligibility to an estimated 4.2 million workers. If the injunction remains intact when President- elect Trump takes office in January, it may allow the new administration to modify, amend or repeal the DOL’s overtime rule, even if further judicial action is not taken to ultimately overturn the regulations. Representative Virginia Foxx (R-NC) Confirmed as Next Education Committee Chair On December 2, Representative Foxx (R-NC) was officially selected as the chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce for the 115th Congress. Representative Foxx has served on the Committee for several years and for the past six, served as chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training. Rep. Foxx has outlined several priorities she would pursue as chair of the Committee, including Perkins Reauthorization (if not completed this year), rolling back federal regulations on policies under the Committee’s jurisdiction, and reauthorizing the Higher Education Act and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Foxx was also the original co-sponsor of the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA), a bill SMRP openly supported. SMRP will continue to strengthen its relationship with Rep. Foxx and the House Education & Workforce staff. District Energy, CHP, Microgrids: Resilient, Efficient Energy Infrastructure Briefing On December 6, SMRP attended a webcast on the future of investments in district energy microgrids. The event was sponsored by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), the International District Energy Association, and the Microgrid Resources Coalition (MRC). Four panelists spoke to discuss their role in the nation’s energy grid and offer suggestions on how they would make localities more energy efficient. Specifically, Michael Rooney, Manager of District Energy Initiatives at the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Energy, spoke about energy workforce development initiatives. Rooney emphasized the importance of with collaboration between universities, the city of Pittsburg, and utility partners to fill in the labor gap and transfer the next generation of energy grid workers over to a younger workforce. 1100 JOHNSON FERRY RD, SUITE 300, ATLANTA, GA 30342 P 404-836-5599 800-950-7354 F 404-252-0774 [email protected] www.smrp.org ACTE Releases High-Quality CTE Document Last week on December 6, the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) released a new 3.0 draft of its high-quality CTE framework. This framework is part of the ACTE’s ongoing project to identify a comprehensive, research-based quality CTE program of study framework. ACTE will then test the framework and integrate it into efforts to recognize and disseminate information on best practices within CTE. This new draft incorporates critical feedback from SMRP members, focus groups, surveys, and industry experts. This 3.0 version will be refined a final time and then pilot tested in the spring to assess its validity and utility. To read ACTE’s High Quality CTE Framework document, click here. To learn more about ACTE’s overall CTE project, click here. Trump Nominates Andrew Puzder as Labor Secretary On December 8, President-elect Trump announced his choice to run the U.S. Department of Labor, Andrew Puzder. Puzder’s background is in the private sector and he is the current CEO of the parent company for multiple fast food chains. If confirmed as Labor Secretary, Puzder would oversee many federal employment and training initiatives authorized under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and Registered Apprenticeship system. Purportedly, his company provides some benefits for job and career education and training to certain employees, but Puzder has also been a proponent for the increased use of automation in business to reduce labor costs. Puzder will testify in front of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee before confirmed by the entire Senate. Perkins Cuts Extended On December 9, Congress passed a short-term continuing resolution (CR) to provide temporary funding for the federal government through March 2017 at the request of the incoming Trump administration. This was an extended CR from the one passed in September which funded the federal government until December 9, 2016. The previous CR included an across-the-board cut which impacted Perkins Basic State Grant advance funding. The U.S. Department of Education reported that 30 states saw reductions in their Perkins October allocations. With this stopgap funding bill and no Perkins Reauthorization on the calendar for this year, continued cuts to Perkins programs will likely not be restored this year. SMRP will continue advocating on Capitol Hill for Perkins Reauthorization and for important measures to see increased funding for fiscal year 2017-2018. CTE Month – February 2017 – Update SMRP has been coordinating activities with the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) to celebrate CTE Month in February 2017. Recently, ACTE created a thunderclap that will activate on February 1. SMRP members and companies can support the CTE Month thunderclap on Facebook or Twitter and encourage others to sign up and use the sample messaging provided. SMRP is also participating in a local school visit with ACTE and will continue to keep SMRP members posted on the large range of CTE Month activities. 1100 JOHNSON FERRY RD, SUITE 300, ATLANTA, GA 30342 P 404-836-5599 800-950-7354 F 404-252-0774 [email protected] www.smrp.org Sign up to participate in CTE Month’s thunderclap here. Have any ideas on how to promote CTE Month nationally or in your local community? Contact SMRP Staff to share your thoughts! Policy Highlights - The Trump administration says its first priorities will be on repealing Obamacare and tax reform, an attempt to avoid an intraparty clash over infrastructure investment, an issue which congressional Republicans aren’t enthused over and which Trump had said would be an early priority in his administration. These comments were made by Trump’s chief of staff Reince Priebus, however other staff members have also given conflicting predictions of what will happen with the infrastructure initiative. Trump himself has acknowledged that infrastructure will not be a core part of his early term plans and even said that he didn’t consider infrastructure a major part of his jobs programs. In particular, Trump’s December 1 promise that an infrastructure package would follow his “Buy American, Hire American” rule is causing problems because it raises conflicts with free trade advocates like House Speaker Paul Ryan. Industry advocates argue that the 'Buy America' requirements are one of the few things keeping the most labor- and capital-intensive parts of the steel-making process in the U.S. but opponents say it creates an unfair playing field among American companies. Already, U.S. transportation projects receiving federal funding must use American-made materials, and a 2014 measure included that mandate for sewer projects. - As the Trump administration pulls back from promises to make major investments in national infrastructure, U.S Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, announced in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that he will introduce the Rebuild America Now Act next year to speed up the permitting of energy and infrastructure projects. The bill requires the approval or denial of permits within a specific timeline, and if that's not met, the project will be considered approved. (Wall Street Journal) - On December 12, the White House and Canadian government released two reports on how they would work together to protect their respective electric grids from physical and cyber attacks. "The security and resilience of the integrated U.S. and Canadian electric grid is dynamic," said one report that outlined what steps US agencies would take, led by the departments of Energy and Homeland Security. "New threats, hazards, and vulnerabilities emerge even as the two countries work to prevent, protect against, and mitigate their potential consequences and to improve their ability to respond to, and recover from, disruptive incidents. Secure and reliable electricity is essential for safe and continued operation of infrastructure owned by businesses, governments, schools, hospitals, and other organizations.” - On December 1, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown revealed her proposed spending plan which recommends $667.3 million in funding for the state's seven public four-year universities for 2017-19, well below the $943 million requested by the system. The governor's recommendation 1100 JOHNSON FERRY RD, SUITE 300, ATLANTA, GA 30342 P 404-836-5599 800-950-7354 F 404-252-0774 [email protected] www.smrp.org keeps spending flat from last year, but college leaders say even