Beltway Buzz, March 14, 2025

Government Shutdown Threat Recedes. Earlier today, the U.S. Senate voted 62–38 to advance a continuing resolution to maintain government funding through September 30, 2025. After House Republicans passed their version of the bill and left town for a weeklong recess, Democrats in the Senate were left with a tough choice: vote to approve a bill that they did not like but keep the government open, or vote “no” and shut down the federal government. Enough Democrats appear to have chosen the former option, which will put the funding issue to bed until at least this summer. The political fallout, however, will be felt immediately and will likely continue to impact legislative debates for the remainder of the 119th Congress.

DOL Personnel Update. Leadership ranks at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) are starting to be filled out, as there was significant news this week on the DOL personnel front:

• Nominees Confirmed. On March 10, 2025, the U.S. Senate confirmed Lori Chavez-DeRemer as secretary of labor by a vote of 67 to 32. Two days later, Keith Sonderling, nominated to be Chavez-DeRemer’s deputy at the DOL, was confirmed by a vote of 53 to 46. With the top two political officials in place at the DOL, this clears the decks for the Senate to begin considering the nominations of individuals to lead the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), and the Employment Training Administration (ETA). President Donald Trump has not yet announced a nominee to lead the Wage and Hour Division at the DOL.
• New OLMS Director. Late last week, President Trump appointed Elisabeth Messenger as director of the DOL’s Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS). Most recently, Messenger was CEO of an organization that advises public sector employees about their rights concerning union membership. Not surprisingly, during the Biden administration the OLMS did not focus on labor union activity, but instead advanced a unique interpretation of persuader reporting to target employers. The Buzz is optimistic that under Messenger’s leadership, the OLMS will return to its core mission of promoting labor union democracy and financial integrity.
• Employment Policy Vet Tapped to Lead Pension Agency. President Trump nominated Janet Dhillon, former chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), to lead the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). Pursuant to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the PBGC was provided $74 to $91 billion to deliver to critical and declining multiemployer pension plans. Some Republicans have criticized the program for making overpayments to these plans.

POTUS Sends USCIS Nominee to Senate. This week, President Trump nominated Joseph Edlow to be director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). During President Trump’s first term, Edlow served in several positions at USCIS, including as acting director from February 2020 to January 2021. If confirmed, Edlow will play a significant role in advancing employment-based immigration policy for the Trump administration.

Bipartisan Child Labor Bill Introduced. Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) have reintroduced an updated version of their child labor bill, “Preventing Child Labor Exploitation in Federal Contracting Act.’’ If enacted, the bill would:

• require federal contractors and subcontractors to represent whether “within the preceding 3-year period, any final administrative merits determination, arbitral award or decision, or civil judgment” has been issued against the employer relating to child labor violations;
• prohibit federal government agencies from entering into contracts with entities that make such disclosures but fail to implement corrective measures as negotiated with the secretary of labor;
• increase penalties from $11,000 to $100,000 for each employee who was the subject of a child labor violation and from $50,000 to $500,000 for each violation that causes the death or serious injury of any employee under the age of eighteen years; and
• subject an entity that knowingly fails to report or certify to suspension, debarment, and False Claims Act proceedings.

A previous version of the bill passed out of the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in the 118th Congress, but was never voted on by the full Senate. While the bipartisan nature of the bill helps its chances to advance, the Buzz wonders if a federal contractor reporting scheme that is borrowed directly from President Barack Obama’s “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” executive order will turn off many Republican legislators.

Federal Mediator No Longer Facilitating Union Card Check. According to media reports, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) will no longer help employers and unions facilitate unionization via card check (as opposed to secret ballot). The about face rescinds an agency policy that was adopted during the Biden administration “to promote the development of sound and stable labor management relationships.”

Twice Is Nice in the Motor City. On March 14, 1904, the U.S. House of Representatives voted for the first time to reauthorize the printing of a Congressional Gold Medal that had been previously awarded. Traditionally awarded to members of the armed services, in the mid-1800s the U.S. Congress began expanding the scope of award recipients to include “individuals recognized for nonmilitary heroic activities or their work in specific fields.” Once such recipient was John Horn Jr., of Detroit, Michigan, who in 1874 was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal “in recognition and in commemoration of his heroic and humane exploits in rescuing men, women, and children from drowning in the Detroit River.” From his family’s restaurant located on the dock at the end of Woodward Avenue, Horn rescued more than one hundred individuals who found themselves in the river “either by falling in while going upon or coming off ferry-boats, while intoxicated, or by falling into the river soberly but accidentally.” Unfortunately, the medal was stolen from Horn in 1901, and an act of Congress was necessary to reprint a new one. When he died in 1920, Horn was credited with saving 135 people from drowning.