Members of Congress have officially departed Washington until after the election following the passage of a stop-gap funding bill to avert a government shutdown at the end of the fiscal year. On September 25, 2024, the House and the Senate cleared a short-term continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government funded through December 20, punting the spending fight until after the November elections.
The Senate voted to approve the CR package 78-18, shortly after the House passed the same measure by a 341-82 vote. The mostly clean funding bill passed in the House with Democrats’ support after Republican leadership stripped a provision requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote.
Both chambers have now adjourned for a lengthy recess and will not return to Washington until after the November 5 election, on November 12, giving Congress just five weeks to pass another funding bill.
While Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) has stated that he will not allow an omnibus spending package to pass during the lame-duck session of Congress in December, Congress has several other priorities that need to be completed such as the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the Farm Bill, and supplemental disaster funding to help with the impacts of Hurricane Helene. It is also possible that Congress will act on a year-end tax package, potentially attached to a government funding bill, and a China enforcement measure attached to the NDAA.
No Congressional Vote on NLRB Chair
The Senate also left Washington without holding a vote on the nomination of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Chair Lauren McFerran, one of three Democrats currently serving on the board. Biden nominated McFerran for a third five-year term on May 23, 2024, to expire on December 16, 2029. The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee voted to advance McFerran’s nomination on August 1, 2024, in a party-line vote, 11-10.
Under the leadership of McFerren, who has been Chair of the Board since January 2021, the NLRB has made several decisions changing labor law to favor unions, and her confirmation for another five years would have a significant impact on the composition of the Board for the next two years.
With the busy schedule before Congress is set to adjourn for the year on December 20, it is unclear whether the Senate can confirm McFerran during a lame-duck session.
Commerce Issues Connected Vehicles Proposed Rule
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) at the Department of Commerce proposed on September 26, 2024, a rule to ban certain connected vehicles. The notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) would prohibit the import or sale of connected vehicles containing hardware or software developed, manufactured, or supplied by Chinese or Russian-affiliated companies as well as ban the individual hardware or software components sold separately. These broad prohibitions will apply to nearly all new vehicles sold in the United States.
The rule targets hardware and software for vehicle connectivity systems (VCS) which enable the “transmission, receipt, conversion, or processing of radio frequency communications at a frequency over 450 megahertz.” Hardware covered under the NPRM includes microcontrollers, microcomputers or modules, systems on a chip, networking or telematics units, cellular modem/modules, Wi-Fi microcontrollers or modules, Bluetooth microcontrollers or modules, satellite navigation systems, satellite communication systems, other wireless communication microcontrollers or modules, and external antennas. The BIS proposal does not include components that “do not contribute to the communication function of VCS hardware” such as brackets, fasteners, or passive electronics. The software covered by the proposed ban includes the software-based components that support the function of the VCS or automated driving systems (ADS).
Beyond the prohibition on the import and sale of connected vehicles and the hardware and software components, the NPRM imposes compliance obligations on importers and manufacturers of VCS hardware or vehicles incorporating covered software. BIS proposes to require an annual Declaration of Conformity to certify that the importer or manufacturer has not knowingly engaged in a transaction prohibited under the rule, as well as detailed information about the hardware and/or software as well as evidence of due diligence throughout the supply chain. The software prohibitions would take effect for Model Year (MY) 2027, while the hardware prohibitions would take effect for MY 2030, or January 1, 2029, for hardware not associated with a model year.
New Resilience Actions Announced at Supply Chain Summit
During the inaugural Supply Chain Summit, the Department of Commerce unveiled several new actions to help advance supply chain resilience, including a new analytic supply chain risk assessment tool and activities to expand engagement and partnerships with industry and other stakeholders.
The new diagnostic supply chain risk assessment tool, SCALE, will help assess supply chain risks by using a broad set of indicators to evaluate supply chain risk across the U.S. economy. The Industry & Analysis (I&A) business unit within the International Trade Administration will use SCALE along with their industry expertise to “inform U.S. government decision-making” and “facilitate data-driven conversations with industry on risks, opportunities, and actions that can advance supply chain resilience.”
In addition to the newly launched SCALE tool, Commerce also announced strategic partnerships with seven industry associations and academic institutions to promote supply chain resilience and innovation. These new partners include the National Small Business Association, Council for Supply Chain Management Professionals, Association for Supply Chain Management, Institute for Supply Management, Industries Studies Association, Carnegie Mellon University, and Georgetown University.