Weekly Trek: June 26, 2015

Weekly Trek

June 26, 2015

Top Political News

• The Supreme Court affirms gay couples’ right to marry in a landmark 5-to-4 decision. NYT
• The Affordable Care Act commonly referred to as Obamacare survived a Supreme Court challenge in a 6-3 decision upholding a key subsidies provision. Wash Post
• Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal joined the crowded Republican field for the U.S. presidency on Wednesday. Wash Post
• The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics. Politico

Transportation

• The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved the FY2016 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) and  FY2016 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Appropriations Bill[external link]
• By a vote of 16 to 14, the Senate Appropriations Committee adopted an amendment to the draft Transportation-Housing and Urban Development spending bill that would allow twin trailers as long as 33 feet in length to be attached to trucks nationwide. Bill Summary
• Senate panel passes highway bill to boost money for roads _ if Congress can find funding. USNews
• Gulf and US airlines’ open skies row ‘has reached impasse’. Bloomberg
• The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) will enforce the Dec. 31, 2015, deadline for railroads to implement positive train control (PTC), and will assess fines against railroads that are not in compliance, the Acting FRA Administrator told a congressional committee this week. ProgressiveRR
• New pipeline safety chief raises eyebrows amid concerns over oil transport. AlJazeeraAmerica

 

Energy & Natural Resources

 

• Janet McCabe, the EPA’s top air official, stated that the agency intends to address interim goals in its proposal to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants in its “mid summer” release. WashExaminer
• The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to delay the Environmental Protection Agency’s climate rule for power plants and let state governors opt out of complying. The Hill
• An increase in the number of drones flown through wildfire-struck areas has made operations more difficult for firefighting officials. NBCNews
• Oregon’s long-neglected Willamette Falls to get spectacular makeover. MotherNatureNetwork
• Spending on public lands generates billions in return according to a recently released Interior Department
• Dry forests have Western states fearing bad fire season. Seattle Times

 

Labor

 

• House and Senate Appropriations Committees approve funding bills with riders targeting Department of Labor and National Labor Relations Board initiatives, including an amendment) that would further delay issuance of OSHA’s proposed silica rule reducing permissible exposure limits to 50 micrograms. Littler
• With Obamacare safe, employers target the ‘Cadillac Tax’. WSJ
• The man whose job is to make sure workers get paid. Bloomberg