NEMWI Releases Updated Manufacturing Legislative Tracker for the 118th Congress

NEMWI’s Manufacturing Legislative Tracker is newly updated for the 118th Congress (2023-2024) and shows a total of 103 bills introduced in the House of Representatives and 50 bills introduced in the Senate, although most of these bills have made no progress in Congress to date. The legislation that has advanced through Congress is highlighted in yellow or orange on the tracker.

The one bill that has made progress since January has been H.R. 6421, the Affordable HOMES Act, introduced by Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-IN-8). This Act was introduced on November 15 and would raise money designated to affordable homes and to reduce barriers to the production and preservation of housing while giving communities the right tools to develop more housing if and when it is needed. It is now on the Union Calendar as of March 12, 2024.

Among the newly introduced bills is the Workforce Solutions Act, which was introduced in the House on December 14, 2023, by Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA). It was referred to the committees on Education and the Workforce and Energy and Commerce. It would require the Secretaries of Labor and Energy to jointly create an annual analysis of occupations and careers that are impacted by energy and manufacturing industries. The analysis would include “information on growth; entry-level occupations; prerequisites for occupations; living wage salaries; career paths; barriers to acquiring employment; and how digital technology advancements are impacting the critical manufacturing industry.”

Another newly introduced bill is the Protecting American Advanced Manufacturing Act introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), which has a companion bill in the House. This bill “prohibits companies associated with governments of foreign adversaries from receiving the advanced manufacturing production tax credit.” This bill, if passed, would have a positive impact on American manufacturing and infrastructure and possibly reduce manufacturing costs in the United States.

A link to the updated Manufacturing Legislative Tracker can be found here.

Reported by NEMWI Intern Molly Lienemann, Augustana University

House E&W Subcommittee Holds Hearing on

USACE Budget 

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development held a hearing last week on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed FY25 budget. The proposed budget includes $264 million for the Soo Locks and $3 million for the Great Lakes Coastal Resiliency Study, along with other Great Lakes provisions. 

In her opening statement, Energy and Water ranking member and Great Lakes Task Force Co-Chair Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) highlighted critical Great Lakes projects undertaken by the Army Corps. “In the Great Lakes region, projects like the Soo Locks are examples of investments that will turbocharge our economy and ensure the resiliency and efficiency of our maritime transportation system,” she said. “Similarly, the Brandon Road project is aimed at arresting the economic and environmental damage unleashed by invasive carp species that will exterminate local and regional native fish and aquatic species.” 

Rep. Kaptur also spoke on the need for increased infrastructure funding. “While historic investments were made through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act in both of your agencies, we have significant work to do to better protect Americans against severe drought, flooding, and storms,” she said.  “We must restore the physical infrastructure that sustains life in communities large and small across our nation, and there is bipartisan support in Congress for the work that all your agencies nobly perform and undertake on behalf of the American people."

Task Force member Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) asked about the status of the Brandon Road Lock and Dam project, specifically what progress the Corps could make if a Project Partnership Agreement (PPA) remains unsigned by the state of Illinois. Lieutenant General Scott A. Spellmon responded, saying, “By June if we don’t have a Project Partnership Agreement, we could again rely on advanced funding from our partners. But we have enough funding to take us through the month of June.” Asked by Quigley about a timeline after a PPA is signed, Spellmon said, “[The project will take] six to eight years for total construction. After the PPA is signed, within the first twelve months we’re going to issue our first two increments of work. We’ll get started on the outer barriers for the electrical – the initial electrical barrier and the initial CO2 curtain, and we’ll also award the rock removal contract, which is a big part of this project.”  

Michael L. Connor, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, fielded a question from Rep. Quigley about the state of discussions with Illinois. “I think we’ve got a productive path forward, certainly engaging not just with ourselves and the state of Illinois but the state of Michigan also,” he said. Mr. Connor mentioned that the Corps was in conversation with Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker’s office in response to the letter Gov. Pritzker sent that expressed his desire for an increased federal cost share and an incremental construction process. “I think overall, the Governor has laid out concerns about cost increases, concerns about the perpetual O&M increases,” Mr. Connor said. “We can work through that. We’re going to have a productive relationship with both states who are contributing to the project.” 

Watch Rep. Quigley’s line of questioning in the timestamped YouTube link here. 

See NEMWI’s Report on the President’s Budget here. 

NEMWI will continue to monitor the appropriations process. 

EPA Designates PFAS as a Hazardous Substance

Under CERCLA

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week designated the two most common types of PFAS, PFOA and PFOS, as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, or Superfund). PFAS have been linked to several health problems, such as fertility issues, and increased risk of obesity, high cholesterol, and cancer.

The designation gives the EPA a wider range of options in dealing with PFAS. “Designating these chemicals under our Superfund authority will allow EPA to address more contaminated sites, take earlier action, and expedite cleanups, all while ensuring polluters pay for the costs to clean up pollution threatening the health of communities,” EPA Administrator Michael Reagan said. CERCLA gives the EPA the authority to find potentially responsible parties (PRPs) of environmental contamination and compel them to pay for any damages or cleanup.

Water utilities have commented that as passive receivers of PFAS, they could be held liable despite not being a polluter. The EPA has issued a memorandum that clarifies how the agency will use its enforcement discretion. “EPA will focus on holding responsible entities who significantly contributed to the release of PFAS into the environment, including parties that manufactured PFAS or used PFAS in the manufacturing process, federal facilities, and other industrial parties,” the memo states. It also explicitly singles out water systems, storm sewer systems, and municipal solid waste landfills, among others, as entities that EPA would not target. This would not prevent these entities from facing third-party lawsuits, however the downstream effects of the EPA’s action could offer some protection.

Kate Bowers, a Legislative Attorney for the American Law Division at the Congressional Research Service, addressed this issue in a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing in March (which NEMWI covered here). For a party to be liable under CERCLA, there must be a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance into the environment and “a response action or clean up, and response costs at the site,” she said. So, while the EPA’s enforcement discretion does not prevent other parties from taking action against a PRP, “by limiting the number of response actions EPA undertakes, the agency’s policy could limit the circumstances giving rise to the response costs that are a necessary condition to CERCLA liability.”



This designation is the latest in a series of actions the EPA has taken against PFAS. In last week’s Weekly Update, NEMWI covered the EPA’s PFAS drinking water standard, which would set the Maximum Contaminant Level for PFOA and PFOS at 4 parts per trillion, and the announcement of approximately $1 billion in newly available funding into the Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities Grant.

EPA Announces Solar for All Grants

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced $7 billion in grants under the Solar for All Program, the final grants to be awarded under the $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. NEMWI previously wrote about the other two programs, the $6 billion Clean Communities Investment Accelerator and the $14 billion National Clean Investment Fund.

Solar for All will increase access to rooftop solar for underserved communities. According to the EPA, the program could serve over 900,000 households, create 200,000 jobs, and reduce 30 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions cumulatively over five years. All the funds will benefit low-income and disadvantaged communities.

Funding will be provided to 60 grant partners, including states, tribes, and coalitions that will lead multi-state projects. The grants will fund solar projects in all 50 states and D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. Of the $5.5 billion allocated to states, $1,771,200,000 (32.2%) will go to the 18 states of the northeast and midwest, and $1,116,650,000 (20.3%) will go to the eight Great Lakes states. Additionally, the Midwest Tribal Energy Resources Association, Inc. was one of six Tribal organizations to receive funding. They were awarded $62,330,000, and will complete projects in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

For more information on specific grantees, visit the EPA’s website here.

For more information on the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, read NEMWI’s recent report here.

Connect With the Northeast-Midwest Institute

on Social Media

The Northeast-Midwest Institute is on social media with new updates and information on its regional research and policy education program and with announcements for upcoming briefings and events. NEMWI is posting our research reports on current regional issues and ongoing policy education on the page to make keeping up with our policy work easier than ever. The Institute also is updating the page with announcements of upcoming policy briefings and webinars. NEMWI is excited for the opportunity to connect with as many people as possible 

Please check out our LinkedIn here, our Twitter/X here, and our Facebook here. Be sure to like and follow us to keep up to date with NEMWI!