Congress returned to Washington earlier this month to begin the second session of the 117th Congress. While high profile political issues will dominate the media and much of the public conversation in the coming months, several substantive legislative issues – including those related to the supply chain — are also likely to receive attention. Supply … Read more
White House Trucking Action Plan Announced On December 16, 2021, the White House announced a new “Trucking Action Plan” to help add drivers to the U.S. trucking workforce. According to the White House, the plan will “cut red tape, make it easier for people to get commercial licenses, expand trucking apprenticeships, and launch outreach efforts … Read more
Crime on the Rise, But Focus In Washington is Elsewhere While Washington is hyper-focused on President Biden’s “Build Back Better” and “infrastructure” legislation (more on that below), a slow economy, stubborn unemployment and greater levels of pandemic-induced idleness seem to be increasing the level of lawlessness across the country. Major news outlets have reported on … Read more
Democrats Seek to Pass “Build Back Better” – Supply Chain Security Issues Included This month, House and Senate Democrats will look to pass their versions of the $3.5 Trillion “Build Back Better” legislation that President Biden has been touting since his campaign. Several committees are working on the legislation, including those that deal with supply chain security matters. As part … Read more
After months of negotiations, the Senate finally passed a massive $1.2 Trillion infrastructure proposal containing billions in new spending for “hard infrastructure” projects before leaving for its August Recess. The 2,700-page measure passed on a bipartisan vote of 69-30, with 19 Republicans joining all 50 Democrats to approve the bill. Among its provisions are: $110 billion … Read more
The State Department issued a report last week warning companies about supply chains in regions of China that have human rights abuses. These two paragraphs from the Summary offer the gist. https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Xinjiang-Business-Advisory-13July2021.pdf Businesses, individuals, and other persons, including but not limited to investors, consultants, labor brokers, academic institutions, and research service providers (hereafter “businesses and … Read more
Congress returned to Washington from its two-week July 4th recess this week – and issues important to ISCPO members have heated up along with the summer temperatures! House Spending Bills Address Critical Supply Chain Issues The House Committee on Appropriations has recently acted on several annual spending bills, including measures on Homeland Security, Commerce-Justice-Science, Transportation and others. All told, the Committee has now approved … Read more
Cyber-Security On the heels of two major private sector ransomware attacks, official Washington is looking to act. Last month, a cyber-attack on Colonial Pipeline shut down major gasoline distribution in the eastern United States, causing major supply disruptions and gas shortages. Reports are that Colonial paid $4.4 million in ransom to resolve the hack. A … Read more
www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/100-day-supply-chain-review-report.pdf
Despite Slow Pace, Infrastructure Still A High Priority in Washington The Biden Administration continues its outreach to Republican lawmakers in the hopes of brokering a bipartisan agreement on a massive infrastructure bill. Biden’s $2.3 trillion proposal — which he outlined in a speech to a joint session of Congress on April 29th — has been panned by GOP lawmakers, who argue it includes a huge array … Read more