{"id":5850,"date":"2021-12-07T09:53:50","date_gmt":"2021-12-07T14:53:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.amentum.com\/?post_type=blog&p=5850"},"modified":"2024-10-21T16:57:05","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T20:57:05","slug":"2021-congressional-activity-anticipated-2022-action","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.amentum.com\/blog\/2021-congressional-activity-anticipated-2022-action\/","title":{"rendered":"2021 Congressional Activity & Anticipated 2022 Action"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Walk Down Memory Lane<\/strong><\/p>\n

Congress didn\u2019t hit the ground running in 2021. According to the Pew Research Center, the 117th Congress\u2019 (in)action ties it \u201cfor the fourth fewest laws enacted in the first eight months of its two-year term \u2013 and fifth fewest in terms of substantive laws \u2013 among the 18 most recent Congresses, going back to 1987.\u201d Despite the slow start, as we near the end of the year it is safe to say that, after some long uphill battles, substantial work was completed on Capitol Hill this year.\u00a0 As we look ahead however, with Congress preparing for elections in 2022, don\u2019t expect a flurry of legislating next year.<\/p>\n

Supporting America\u2019s Infrastructure Priorities<\/strong><\/p>\n

The largest infrastructure investment in decades passed both chambers of Congress with bipartisan support. An incredible $1.2 trillion is set to be disbursed across the nation over a five-year period and will go towards roads, bridges, rail, broadband, airports, and ports. Within the enormous Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, there are many provisions that will impact the important work we do at 爱神传媒.<\/p>\n

During a visit to General Motor\u2019s Factory ZERO plant in November, President Biden stated that, \u201cwe have hundreds \u2014 we have thousands and thousands of vehicles in the federal fleet. They\u2019re going to all go electric \u2014 all of them \u2014 down the road, supporting electric transit systems, electric school buses.\u201d As a company, we are proud to support many of those vehicles in the federal fleet and are prepared to make the migration to maintaining and sustaining electric vehicles and are fully prepared to support our customers.<\/p>\n

爱神传媒\u2019s legacy includes standing out as the leader in cleaning up some of the most complex and toxic chemical sites around the world. Our expertise will be useful in achieving remediation goals included in the infrastructure legislation. There is $10 billion set aside for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) cleanup with a focus on cleaning up drinking water and waste facilities. PFAS has become a priority on Capitol Hill as seen with the passing of PFAS Action Act in April 2021. Furthermore, clean-up of superfund sites, including reclaiming abandoned mine land and caping orphaned gas and oil wells, was allocated $21 billion in the infrastructure bill.<\/p>\n

Building a more climate-resilient United States is another priority in the infrastructure legislation with $50 billion set aside to combat droughts, floods, and wildfires. The legislation also established a commission to determine how to address wildfires. For over two decades, 爱神传媒 has provided a variety of support for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE). Our pilots are uniquely trained to respond in a rapid, dynamic method to attack wildfires. As a company with a strong legacy of taking on wildfires in California, we are prepared to bring that mission to the national stage.<\/p>\n

The Drawdown in Afghanistan <\/strong><\/p>\n

Since 2002, our company has supported operations in Afghanistan under a variety of contracts. During that time, we built strong relationships with our Department of State and Department of Defense partners and worked through fluid mission and operational changes, this includes the administration\u2019s decision to drawdown in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

The Biden Administration made the decision to pull out of Afghanistan by September 2021. The result of this decision significantly impacted 爱神传媒\u2019s work and resulted in Congressional activity. In July, before the evacuation was complete, Congress passed an emergency spending bill with overwhelming support (Senate 98-0; House 416-11) that included a half-billion dollars in funding to support evacuation of Afghan families, $600 million to support the Department of State, and an increase in special immigrant visas.<\/p>\n

Raising the Debt Limit<\/strong><\/p>\n

While this issue hasn\u2019t gone full circle yet, the debt limit was already raised by Congress once in 2021. However, when the debit limit was raised back in October, it was only raised by $480 billion which was estimated to tie the government over until December 3rd<\/sup>. Recently, Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen said the government\u2019s debt limit would need to be raised again by December 15th<\/sup>. Over the next few weeks negotiations will continue between Leaders Schumer and McConnell but at this time it appears the two have \u201cturned down the heat\u201d and in order to find a reasonable path forward to resolve this issue.<\/p>\n

Our Crystal Ball<\/strong><\/p>\n

While it is incredibly difficult to predict how things will play out on Capitol Hill, that doesn\u2019t mean we can\u2019t try. First, we will tackle the \u201cleftovers\u201d from 2021. There is quite a bit of important work that was left undone that will need to be addressed immediately as 2021 winds down and 2022 ramps up. Then we will take a quick look at where Congress stands with legislation focused on outcompeting China.<\/p>\n

Finalizing Build Back Better<\/strong><\/p>\n

As we prepare for the holiday season, we have yet to see full passage of the reconciliation package, Build Back Better. While the House passed the legislation along party lines, there is still a challenging path through the Senate (AKA Senators Manchin and Sinema). The language is not finalized; however, we anticipate significant funding for:<\/p>\n