Executive orders, Cabinet leaders to shape industry
President Donald Trump was off and running in the first days of his administration, issuing a number of executive orders while still awaiting approval on the majority of his Cabinet nominees.
Although most moves Trump made in his first days in office did not have a direct impact on the industries PP&E covers, several announcements will ultimately affect portable operations in the aggregate, C&D recycling and organic materials processing sectors. Here are a few developments that are bound to affect you:
Infrastructure projects
Trump signed an executive order designed to speed up environmental reviews and fast-track infrastructure projects, according to the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA).
Under the order, governors or Cabinet secretaries can request a project be designed as high priority, NSSGA reports. The project then moves to the top of any review queue if the White House Council or Environmental Quality Council approves.
“We intend to fix our country, our bridges, our roadways,” Trump says. “We can’t be in an environmental process for 15 years if a bridge is going to be falling down or if a highway is crumbling. So we’re expediting environmental reviews and approvals.”
Regulation
Trump also signed an executive order requiring federal agencies to cut two existing regulations for each new regulation introduced. The executive order states that prior regulations must be identified for elimination when a new rule is put forward, according to NSSGA. The order also indicates that costs associated with new regulations cannot increase.
The White House’s freeze on regulations will remain as this executive order establishes a process for future regulations, according to a Fox News report. Trump also hopes to eliminate 75 percent of government regulations and told agencies that the total cost of new regulations should be “no greater than zero” in 2017.
NSSGA President and CEO Mike Johnson welcomes this move by the president.
“What this order does is create order in the rulemaking process,” Johnson says. “The proposal to eliminate two rules for each new one will go a long way toward rolling back the regulatory overreach of the last eight years.
Leaders to watch
A week and a half into the new administration, Trump was still awaiting approval on 12 of his 15 Cabinet nominees.
Among the earliest Cabinet nominees the Senate confirmed is Elaine Chao, who will serve as transportation secretary. Chao is the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky. She served in President George W. Bush’s administration as secretary of labor from 2001 to 2009, as well as in President George H.W. Bush’s administration as deputy secretary of transportation from 1989 to 1991.
As transportation secretary, Chao is expected to guide improvements related to infrastructure.
“NSSGA has enjoyed a solid working relationship with Secretary Chao going back to when she was deputy secretary at DOT (Department of Transportation) as well as during her time leading the Department of Labor which has MSHA (Mine Safety & Health Administration) under its purview,” Johnson says.
Another Cabinet nominee to watch is Andy Puzder, chief executive of CKE Restaurants, who is Trump’s nominee for secretary of labor. Puzder’s company franchises Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s fast food restaurants.
Puzder argues that the Department of Labor‘s recent overtime rule reduces worker opportunities and that increasing the minimum wage is a burden on small businesses.
“Andy Puzder has created and boosted the careers of thousands of Americans, and his extensive record fighting for workers makes him the ideal candidate to lead the Department of Labor,” Trump says.
A potential administration leader to watch is Scott Pruitt, Trump’s nominee to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
According to the New York Times, Pruitt is an ally of the fossil fuel industry who has fought strongly against environmental regulations. Pruitt has been a key architect of the legal battle against the Obama administration’s climate change policies, the New York Times adds.
Not surprisingly, a number of environmentalists received the Pruitt nomination with opposition. Count Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, among the selection’s critics.
“Trump’s nominee to lead EPA, Scott Pruitt, is a climate denier who’s worked closely with the fossil fuel industry,” Sanders says. “That’s sad and dangerous.”
Still, a number of industries would welcome the opportunity to work with Pruitt.
“NSSGA would look forward to working with an EPA administrator that understands the harmful repercussions of such overregulation [like the Waters of the United States, or WOTUS, rule],” Johnson says. “Many areas of previously unregulated land would fall under federal jurisdiction, if the nationwide stay on WOTUS is lifted, and require costly federal permitting, correction or mitigation, which in turn will cause increased delays and cost overruns for critical public works projects.”