To avoid a federal government shutdown, lawmakers have released a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government past the December 20 deadline. The bill, which pushes the fiscal year (FY) 2025 funding deadline to March 14, includes disaster funding, an extension of the farm bill, and a one-year delay to the Corporate Transparency Act’s (CTA) reporting requirements.
The CTA, enacted by Congress in 2020, mandates that companies earning $5 million or less in revenue and employing twenty or fewer individuals must file beneficial ownership reports with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the Department of the Treasury. While the reporting requirements are currently blocked due to a nationwide preliminary injunction granted by a federal court in Texas, that ruling is currently being appealed. Should Congress approve the short-term funding bill with the CTA delay included, it would give companies some certainty by ensuring that most businesses have until January 1, 2026, to file their beneficial ownership reports.
FY25 NDAA approved by House; Final Passage in Senate Soon
The House of Representatives approved the final negotiated National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025, on December 11, 2024, by a vote of 281-140, with 124 Democrats and 16 Republicans opposing the measure. The final bill combined the House-passed NDAA and the Senate Armed Services Committee-passed NDAA through a series of negotiations led by the leadership of HASC and SASC rather than the typical conference process.
The negotiated bill authorizes a total of $883.7 billion for national defense funding for FY25, including a base defense budget of $849.9 billion for the Department of Defense and $33.3 billion for the national security programs of the Department of Energy.
While the House-passed bill contained a section officially authorizing the Project Spectrum program at the DoD, which provides resources to small and medium-sized businesses to help them comply with the cybersecurity requirements included in the recently finalized Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) rules, the provision was removed during the negotiations.
Included in the joint explanatory materials of the bill, the negotiators state “We note the importance of protecting our small business industrial base against cyber attacks from the full spectrum of cyber actors, from simple criminal and ransomware attacks to sophisticated national state campaigns. With the finalization of the rules for the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, we believe it is important that the Department of Defense provide additional assistance to small businesses in the defense industrial base navigating this process. We believe such assistance crucial to the more fundamental need to strengthen the overall cyber defense posture of this vulnerable sector. We are aware that the Department has some dedicated programs specific to this issue, such as Project Spectrum, but also note efforts undertaken by Defense Cyber Crime Center and the National Security Agency’s Cyber Collaboration Center, among others, that provide various forms of assistance to this community. We believe that the Department should provide comprehensive and coordinated guidance to the military services and defense agencies and field activities in order to ensure unity of effort, reduce opportunities for unwarranted duplication across investments, and simplify entry points into the Department for those seeking to obtain such support.” The Senate advanced the bill on Monday, setting up a final vote on the measure later this week.
Apprenticeship Rule Withdrawn
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has withdrawn a proposed rule that would have made changes to the regulatory framework for registered apprenticeship programs. The rule was withdrawn on November 27, 2024, according to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). DOL had submitted the rule to OIRA within the White House Office of Management and Budget for final review in June 2024.
The draft version of the rule, released on December 14, 2023, retained the 2,000-hour (or 1 year of full-time work equivalent) minimum standard for on-the-job training. This standard could be reduced for individual apprentices with advanced standing who meet other requirements, however, largely eliminated the ability to use competency-based apprenticeships. The proposed rule also required an average of 144 hours of related instruction for every 2,000 hours of on-the-job training.
Additionally, the proposal introduced a new category for Career and Technical Education (CTE) Apprentices, setting a minimum age of 16. This category established specific standards for students enrolled in high school or community and technical colleges, allowing them to continue their education while participating in the labor market. It provides students with program and to attain a recognized postsecondary credential, complete college coursework, participate in a registered apprenticeship program, and engage in paid on-the-job learning. The CTE apprenticeship model requires a minimum of 540 hours of related instruction, including at least 12 postsecondary credit hours as part of the program.
In March 2024, One Voice submitted official comments highlighting concerns with the proposed rule and the one-size-fits-all approach used by DOL. “While NTMA and PMA would prefer all programs be registered and supported by an industry-recognized apprenticeship partner, this rule will not act as a pathway or a bridge to registered programs for nonregistered apprenticeship employers, but rather, will create barriers to entry for prospective employees and deter employers from registering their apprentices,” the comments state.
Even without the withdrawal of the rule, the broad overall of the DOL’s 80-year-old registered apprenticeship program was unlikely to move forward in the new incoming administration.
TCE & PCE Bans Finalized
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the final rules regulating trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The new rule would effectively ban TCE by prohibiting the manufacture or import, processing, and distribution in commerce of TCE for all uses including as a solvent in industrial cleaning and degreasing as well as banning the manufacture, processing and distribution in commerce of PCE for all consumer uses and many commercial uses.
The rule, first proposed in October 2023, effectively bans TCE by prohibiting its manufacture, import, processing, and distribution for all uses, including as a solvent in industrial cleaning and degreasing. The rule would phase out most uses of TCE within one year, with a few critical uses granted longer compliance timeframes and subject to workplace controls. These critical uses include Federal agencies making rocket booster nozzles, battery separator manufacturing, and the “critical” degreasing of military vehicles. The rule would mandate a workplace chemical protection program (WCPP) that includes inhalation exposure monitoring and limits, dermal protection, recordkeeping, and downstream notification requirements for limited continued use.
Under the final PCE rule, companies are required to phase down the manufacturing, processing and distribution of PCE for all consumer use and many uses at industrial and commercial workplaces, except dry cleaning. In most situations, the use of PCE will be fully phased out in less than three years, while EPA has outlined a 10-year phase-out for the use of PCE in dry cleaning.
The TCE and PCE rules are part of the EPA’s ongoing efforts under TSCA to regulate halogenated solvents, joining methylene chloride and carbon tetrachloride (CTC). A final methylene chloride rule was published in May and the final CTC rule was officially published on December 18, 2024.
Commerce Finalizes AD/CVD Rule
The Department of Commerce has finalized a rule updating its antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) regulations. The rule designed to largely codify existing practice and help streamline procedures for trade remedy investigations, was officially published in the Federal Register on December 16, 2024.
The final rule, issued by the Enforcement and Compliance Office of the International Trade Administration (ITA) and entitled “Regulations Enhancing the Administration of the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Trade Remedy Laws,” includes updates to Commerce’s establishment and application of cash deposit rates, codifies the methodology for determining if an entity exporting merchandise should receive an AD rate separate from that of the nonmarket economy entity, and changes the way Commerce will calculate the benefit of subsidies provided to certain affiliated companies, among other updates. The updates are effective January 15, 2025.