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MCAA Government Affairs Update for the Week of November 24, 2025: The Latest Developments Impacting Our Industry

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As part of its ongoing commitment to protecting your livelihood and setting the stage for a bright future, MCAA has secured the services of Longbow Public Policy Group to advise our MCAA Government Affairs Committee (GAC). GAC Chair, Jim Gaffney will be passing along information relative to our industry on a regular basis.

On Monday, November 24, 2025 MCAA Lobbying Firm, Longbow Public Policy Group provided the following information:

Trump Administration

  • Meanwhile, a new analysis last week furthered perceptions of the link between “affordability issues” and the ongoing buildout of AI infrastructure. It shows Americans are falling further behind on their utility bills, with past-due balances up nearly 10% over the past year, as monthly energy costs rose 12%—largely due to the demands of AI data center and related infrastructure. The growing  political fallout from the growing recognition of the link between data centers and rising consumer energy pricing is increasing the willingness of voters across the country to reject or restrict new data center facilities. Polling that emerged last week found that fewer than half of Americans support building data centers in or near their communities, with opposition spanning the partisan divide and especially strong among younger voters aged 18-49. Analyses by both political parties of the recent off-year elections are pointing to the success Democrats had turning opposition to data centers and rising energy costs into a campaign issue that helped them win statewide elections in Virginia (the No. 1 state for data center development) and Georgia. In Georgia, two Democrats won seats on the Public Service Commission by focusing on data centers and rising energy bills. This growing resistance to data centers has quickly percolated to Washington, D.C. Recognizing the threat to federal support for the buildout of AI infrastructure, last week some of the largest players in the sector launched the AI Infrastructure Coalition (AIIC) to advocate for continued permitting and support of AI infrastructure. Founding members of the coalition include Andreessen Horowitz, Cisco, Corning, Digital Realty, Duke Energy, Entergy, ExxonMobil, Google, Lumen, Meta, Microsoft, NextEra, PG&E, Pinnacle West, and QTS. The AIIC is spending big, hiring former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) and former Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) to serve as the new coalition’s co-chairs leading its campaign to educate policymakers and the public on the imperative to support AI infrastructure to “ignite American economic prosperity, create high-quality jobs, and fortify our nation’s security in the AI race against China.”
  • As foreshadowed in previous reports, last week the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published a proposed rule revising the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) to clarify EPA Clean Water Act regulations and align them with the Supreme Court’s Sackett v. EPA decision. This proposal is a regulatory permitting reform effort insofar as the Sackett decision curtailed the reach of the federal Clean Water Act so that fewer bodies of water and projects impacting bodies of water will be subject to Clean Water Act regulations and permitting.  Consistent with Sackett, the proposed rule seeks to limit the application of the Clean Water Act to relatively permanent waters and wetlands with a “continuous surface connection” to navigable waters. It removes “interstate waters” as an automatic jurisdictional category, defines “relatively permanent” waters as those that flow or hold standing water year-round or during a predictable wet season, and adopts a two-part test for “continuous surface connection” requiring that a wetland or pond both abut a jurisdictional water and hold surface water at least during the wet season. The rule also proposes a detailed definition of “tributary” that limits Clean Water Act coverage to bodies of water with relatively permanent flow connected to downstream navigable waters, while excluding features that contribute flow only through non-jurisdictional channels, subterranean conduits, or debris fields.

    In addition, the proposed rule revises several longstanding exclusions to clarify what falls outside federal Clean Water Act jurisdiction. It adds definitions and limits for waste treatment systems, clarifies the “prior converted cropland,” and adds an explicit exclusion for groundwater that includes water moved through most subsurface drainage systems. Public comments are due by January 5, 2026 and can be submitted through the federal eRulemaking portal here using Docket ID No. EPA–HQ– OW–2025–0322.

  • There were additional signs of regulatory progress on permitting reform of interest to MCAA last Thursday, as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) initiated a process to consider expedited permitting for certain liquefied natural gas (LNG) and hydropower construction and maintenance activities. To this end, FERC issued two Notices of Inquiry seeking comment on ways to streamline permitting and reduce the need for case-specific approvals for many LNG and hydropower projects. One inquiry asks whether the Commission should revise its regulations to allow some LNG plant activities to proceed without individual orders under the Natural Gas Act, while the other examines potential changes to simplify review of post-licensing maintenance, repairs, and upgrades at hydropower facilities under the Federal Power Act. Comments on both proposals will be due 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.

Congress

  • Trustees of MCAA health plans should know that during a Senate Finance Committee hearing last Wednesday on “The Rising Cost of Health Care: Considering Meaningful Solutions for All Americans,” Chair Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) said they plan to reintroduce bipartisan legislation targeting pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) for anti-competitive practices that they say raise drug prices and insurance costs. During the hearing, Ranking Member Wyden also released a new minority staff report criticizing Republican plans to expand access to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) in lieu of renewing Affordable Care Act health insurance premium subsidies and how this plan will “funnel” money “to big banks and big insurance companies, while failing to protect” Americans from “high health costs.” The report highlighted the role large insurance companies play in HSAs, noting that “one out of every five HSAs in the nation is operated by Optum Bank, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group.” The hearing and report came the day after White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair said last Tuesday that the Administration intends to put forward a package of healthcare bills and left open the possibility of using the budget reconciliation process to move the package on a party-line vote that cannot be filibustered in the Senate. GOP House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) later confirmed that such a package is being developed in hopes of bringing it to the floor by the end of the year and that it could include bills to expand HSAs and address association health plans, as well as some proposals that were knocked out of the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), such as cost-sharing reductions. As part of this broader push by the GOP, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) introduced his More Affordable Care Act, which would create HSA-style “Trump Health Freedom Accounts,” allow insurance sales across state lines, codify Trump-era price transparency regulations, maintain ACA exchanges, and preserve pre-existing condition protections. In contrast, House Education and Workforce Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA), Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ), and Ways and Means Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-MA) introduced the Lowering Drug Costs for American Families Act to expand Medicare’s drug price negotiation authority and extend negotiated prices to the commercial market. Their bill would increase the number of drugs subject to negotiation, cap out-of-pocket and insulin costs for privately insured patients, and apply inflation-based rebate penalties to private plans. The healthcare debate in Congress is unfolding as premiums for employer-sponsored coverage—affecting 165 million Americans—are projected to rise 6–7 percent in 2026, the largest increase in 15 years.
  • The MCAA also attended last Wednesday’s House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Workforce Protections hearing on “E-Verify: Ensuring Lawful Employment in America” that may interest MCAA members who are federal contractors required to use E-Verify or are compelled by state mandates to participate in E-Verify. Witnesses included Jaime Andress for the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), Chris Gamvroulas for the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), Jessie Hahn from the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), and Rosemary Jenks from the Immigration Accountability Project. NILC’s Hahn highlighted studies finding that state E-Verify mandates have resulted in undocumented workers becoming independent contractors and operating through other informal employment arrangements that relieve employers of the obligation to confirm their work authorization, while also reducing tax reporting. She also focused on inaccuracies in the E-Verify system and the impact they have on workers, citing federal evaluations showing higher tentative non-confirmation rates for naturalized citizens and other work authorized non-citizens. Hahn complained about the absence of an appeals process for erroneous final non-confirmations, and described cases where employers misused E-Verify by pre-screening applicants or re-verifying workers during labor disputes. The witness from the Immigration Accountability Project, Ms. Jenks, supported mandating nationwide E-Verify and codifying for all employers requirements that currently exist for federal contractors. She also highlighted USCIS data on E-Verify usage and confirmation rates and advocated for requiring states to share driver’s license data and requiring the Social Security Administration to notify individuals of suspected identity theft.

    AGC and NAHB witnesses described how their companies use E-Verify and stated that the system usually provides fast confirmations. They also raised concerns about E-Verify related to subcontractor oversight, identity fraud, and the need for clearer federal standards. They recommended restoring automatic work authorization alerts, expanding access to state driver’s license data for identity matching, allowing verification earlier in the hiring process, improving support for small businesses, and maintaining safe-harbor protections for employers who use E-Verify in good faith. AGC and NAHB also discussed ongoing construction labor shortages and the need for increased investment in career and technical education, apprenticeship pathways, and consideration of immigration reforms or visa programs to address workforce shortages.
  • Last Wednesday, the MCAA attended the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s hearing to “Examine the Future of Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) Cleanup and Disposal Policy.” The witnesses were: (1) Eric Gerstenberg, the Co-Chief Executive Officer of Clean Harbors (which operates hazardous waste disposal facilities); (2) Leah Pilconis, the General Counsel for the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC); and (3) Kate R. Bowers, a Supervisory Attorney at the Congressional Research Service. There was no discussion of state regulation, state PFAS reporting mandates, or the need for federal preemption of state PFAS laws. Mr. Gerstenberg used his testimony to tout his company’s EPA, RCRA-approved incinerators that can safely dispose of PFAS and PFAS-contaminated materials, as well as solutions to remove PFAS from groundwater, soil and drinking water. He believes EPA needs to issue more guidance on PFAS, including detailed standards on safe disposal of PFAS and PFAS-containing materials so the regulated community, including contractors working with construction materials and chemicals that contain PFAS, know what constitutes a hazard and the nature of the facility where they must dispose of it. Leah Pilconis of AGC said EPA has failed to provide standards that contractors need to manage PFAS and urged Congress to consider exemptions for contractors, farmers, water districts, and other entities that are “passive receivers” of PFAS caught up in CERCLA’s strict liability regime for the substance since the Biden Administration designated PFAS and PFOA as Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) hazards triggering response and clean up liability. She explained that contractors encounter PFAS everywhere and are responsible under law for PFAS encountered during construction activities. Pilconas and several Senators talked about how the threat of PFAS liability and the uncertainties around how to deal with PFAS are driving up project costs. She said landfills are increasingly refusing PFAS contaminated dirt and materials and preventing recycling, while insurers are excluding PFAS liability. Pilconas rejected the Biden Administration’s view that contractors and other receiving parties can rely on EPA enforcement discretion to alleviate unfair PFAS liability. She made four recommendations: (1) Congress must amend CERCLA to recognize contractors as passive receivers of PFAS and not polluters subject to CERCLA clean up liability for PFAS; (2) the EPA must set clear numeric thresholds related to when responsibility to remediate PFAS is triggered; (3) the federal government should require PFAS testing early in federal construction project planning before bids are put out so PFAS-related costs are known and allocated; and (4) Congress should clarify the chain of liability for PFAS pollution.
  • Last Wednesday MCAA also monitored the House Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education hearing entitled, “From Classroom to Career: Strengthening Skills Pathways Through Career and Technical Education.” The witnesses for the hearing were: (1) SME Vice President Dr. Debra Volzer; (2) Kristi Rice a cybersecurity instructor at Spotsylvania High School; (3) Braden Goetz, Policy Advisor at New America; and (4) Nicole Gasper, the CEO of the West Michigan Aviation Academy. During the hearing, Subcommittee Chairman Kevin Kiley (R-CA) emphasized the importance of expanding skills-based pathways as millions of students pursue hands-on learning through Career and Technical Education (CTE). Subcommittee Ranking Member Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) raised serious concerns about the Administration’s transfer of the Perkins Act and related programs from the Department of Education (ED) to the Department of Labor through interagency agreements, arguing the move violates the law, destabilizes CTE delivery systems, and risks reverting to outdated vocational tracking models.

    There was strong bipartisan support for modernizing CTE, and witnesses stressed the need for stable federal leadership, increased Perkins funding, alignment between CTE and academic standards, and expanded access to high-quality work-based learning. New America’s Braden Goetz—who spent 26 years in the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education—testified that outsourcing Perkins to DOL undermines statutory requirements, separates CTE from core federal education programs, creates operational confusion for states, disrupts civil rights compliance under the “Methods of Administration” guidelines, and forces ED to pay DOL to administer programs for which it is legally responsible. He argued that moving Perkins outside ED would reverse decades of bipartisan policy alignment, jeopardize collaboration with other ED offices, and risk rigorous CTE research funded through the Institute of Education Sciences that has helped establish CTE as an evidence-based field.

    The hearing followed the Trump Administration’s announcement last Tuesday of agreements to move the Education Department’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and Office of Post-Secondary Education to the Labor Department as part of a larger effort to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. Under the new interagency agreements, the Labor Department will assume a significantly expanded role in administering federal K-12 and most Higher Education Act grant programs—including running grant competitions, providing technical assistance, and integrating these programs into the Labor Department’s broader workforce and training portfolio.
  • As the MCAA continues monitoring the federal “Right to Repair” debate, we wanted to highlight that bicameral negotiations on the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act stalled last week over a Senate provision that would require defense contractors to provide the Pentagon with the technical data needed to operate and repair military equipment. The Senate language—authored by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Tim Sheehy (R-MT) and supported in principle by the White House and senior Defense Department leadership—would condition contracts on providing the government access to maintenance tools, software, and technical data to avoid costly “vendor lock” and ensure servicemembers can sustain weapons systems in the field. Defense industry groups, however, are mounting an aggressive lobbying push against the measure, arguing that mandatory disclosure of proprietary data and diagnostic tools threatens intellectual property protections and could deter innovation, especially among small and mid-sized firms. Federal contractors favor the House-passed alternative that would provide access to repair data “as a service” through licensing agreements rather than outright transfer. Negotiators now must reconcile the two approaches as NDAA talks continue into December. The debate is creating an unusual alliance between Progressive Senator Warren (D-MA) and the Trump Department of War that is sending a signal to federal regulators.

Around the Country

  • Last Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $6.5 billion in new Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) financing and released an additional $550 million to state infrastructure financing authorities through the State WIFIA program. EPA also approved five WIFIA loans: (1) $347 million to Fort Worth, Texas, to upgrade wastewater collection and treatment and expand beneficial water reuse; (2) $176 million for Pflugerville, Texas, to modernize drinking water and wastewater infrastructure; (3) $87 million to Joliet, Illinois, to shift the city’s drinking water supply away from an overdrawn aquifer; (4) $73 million to Ashland, Oregon, to construct a new drinking water treatment plant; and (5) $28 million to Wilton Manors, Florida, to reduce pipeline failure risk, curb water loss, and improve system reliability during storms and other emergencies.
  • MCAA members operating in Pennsylvania should be aware that the Energy Department awarded a $1 billion federal loan to Constellation Energy to restart the 835-megawatt nuclear reactor at Pennsylvania’s former Three Mile Island site, now renamed the Crane Clean Energy Center. Constellation plans to bring the shuttered 2019 unit back online by 2027 under a power supply agreement with Microsoft, citing rising electricity demand driven by AI data centers. DOE officials said the project will bolster the PJM regional transmission grid and aligns with the Trump Administration’s push to expand large-scale nuclear generation. The restart still requires Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval and water-related permits. Constellation is already progressing with inspections, equipment orders, and hiring.
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