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News

NECA Legislative Top Three 3/22/19: NECA Witnesses Administration’s Economic Report

Mar 21, 2019

1. NECA Attends White House Briefing on Economy

On March 19, 2019, ELECTRI’s Joey Shorter visited the White House to receive a briefing from Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, Kevin Hassett. The briefing, offered to a small group of associations, businesses, and other groups, highlighted the economic upswing of the previous year. Mr. Hassett also sought to lay out the Council’s outlook on the economic well-being of the country.

NECA’s Look Ahead: The CEA Chairman gave a great deal of information regarding economic confidence, the advancement of trade policies and anticipated trends in the economy. NECA intends to continue its work with the administration to advance the booming construction industry. We will urge the administration to work towards bridging the skills gap and our workforce shortage which in turn will benefit the country.

2. NECA Contractor to Testify on Capitol Hill

On March 26, 2019, NECA contractor and President of ProCal Lighting, Brian Morales will testify before the House Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and Infrastructure. The hearing will center on the clarification and implementation of the Runway Extension Act passed in the previous Congress. The Runway Extension Act, when implemented, will extend the period for calculating if a company classifies as a small business from the average annual receipts over three years to five years. Mr. Morales will offer real world experience as to the effects of transitioning out of being classified a small business and the risks of ambiguous rule making.

NECA’s Look Ahead: NECA supported H.R. 6330 in the last Congress, which extended the calculation from three to five years and continues to support the current legislation which, if passed into law, will require a multi-year phase in period and requires implementation in the year 2021. 

3. David Hill’s Appointment to FERC No Longer Considered

The White House is no longer considering appointing former Bush Energy Department general counsel, David Hill to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

NECA’s Look Ahead: David Hill’s appointment process was terminated after facing criticism from Secretary Rick Perry, as well as many coal energy stakeholders, over his public criticism of coal power initiatives and economic incentives offered by the Energy Department. A new nominee is not expected to be named in the short term, thus leaving an open seat on the five-person commission.