Policy Committee Updates

 ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE

• On May 16, in conjunction with the Council’s Washington Leaders Conference, the Energy & Environment Committee met with David Diamond, Deputy Chief for Atlantic Operations, Office of Renewable Energy Programs, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The conversation included a summary of BOEM goals and priorities, as well as a detailed review of the Gulf of Maine renewable energy leasing schedule and process.
• On June 18, the Energy & Environment Committee convened for a planning session in which members highlighted interest in Committee advocacy and/or programming focused on the positive impacts of the IRA and continued need for federal investment in the energy sector, as well as a potential hill briefing focused on successful practices by state and local governments as well as examples and ideas from the business community.
• The committee is actively planning an event for 2025 focused on PFAS chemicals, including an overview of PFAS, where it’s located, and ongoing efforts to address testing and remediation. The program also hopes to incorporate the role of government agencies as well as regulations, and review what businesses in the region need to prepare for both new consumer expectations and government regulations. Senator Ed Markey has been invited to deliver keynote remarks and we are hoping to solidify a date once the 2025 Congressional calendar is released.
• The Committee is planning on hosting a post-election policy outlook event focused on energy and the environment, as well as a post-election strategy session in which members will discuss challenges and opportunities for programming and advocacy.

FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE

• During the Washington Leaders’ Conference in May, the Committee met with House Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s Chief of Staff, and the senior Democratic staff on the Senate Finance Committee. Among the issues discussed were regulation of the Financial Services industry, tax policy issues, the SAFER Banking Act and retirement savings.
• On June 28, the Committee held its second meeting of the year to discuss policy goals and future event ideas for 2024. The Committee discussed the establishment of their subsector-specific subcommittees to better focus the group’s work. Additionally, we discussed tax priorities for the 2025 tax debate.
• The Committee continues to support the Improving Disclosure for Investors Act of 2024, which was passed by the House of Representatives earlier this year and is currently before the Senate Banking Committee. This legislation would direct the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to transition the default method for receiving investor documents and disclosures from paper to digital (eDelivery). On September 17, a group of members participated in a series of meetings with Senate offices to advocate for the bill’s passage and highlight the positive impact on industry and investors alike. Read the letter.
• On October 2, the Committee met with Congressman Lynch in Boston to discuss Financial Services related priorities for the region and hear what policies the Congressman will be working on as we move towards the end of this session of Congress.
• The Committee recently named a new co-chair, Tom Crohan of John Hancock, who joins longtime co-chair Jm Febeo of Fidelity Investments.  Tom replaced Ed Kenealy of Liberty Mutual, who stepped down to focus on his new, expanded role with Liberty Mutual.

HEALTHCARE COMMITTEE

• On May 7, the Committee sent a letter to the New England Congressional Delegation expressing support for the ORPHAN Cures Act, which would address a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act that de-incentivizes rare disease R&D. Building upon this advocacy, on September 11, several committee members are planning to participate in a day of Hill advocacy surrounding the ORHPAN Cures Act. We have 8 meetings with New England House offices confirmed. Read the Letter.
• The Committee held two meetings in conjunction with the Washington Leaders’ Conference in May 2024.  On May 15, the Healthcare Committee met with Jasmine Masand, Health LA and Policy Advisor to Senator Maggie Hassan and Tara Wilson, Policy Advisor to Senator Ed Markey in Washington DC.  On May 16, the committee met with Liz Fowler, Deputy Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation.
• On September 5, Healthcare Committee members gathered for an in-person meeting with U.S. Representative Lori Trahan (D-MA) to discuss current health policy priorities within the House Energy & Commerce Committee.
• In October, the four Healthcare Subcommittees convened to identify advocacy and programming priorities for 2025 and the upcoming lame-duck session. Included is a brief overview of some of the subject matter discussed at each meeting:
  • Health Equity Subcommittee – Extending or making telehealth flexibilities permanent, weighing in on a DEA rule proposal regarding prescribing of certain controlled substances, as well as examining the role of bias in AI technology
  • Addiction and Behavioral Health Subcommittee – Engaging with Congresswoman Trahan given her new leadership role on the Bipartisan Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Task Force, advocating for continued investment in the National Institutes for Health, continuing to examine federal efforts to address addiction and behavioral health
  • Workforce Subcommittee – Need for cultural diversity in the healthcare workforce, boundaries related to the high cost of childcare, federal loan forgiveness programs, as well as affordable housing and transportation.
  • Innovation & Technology Subcommittee – How to position New England as a leader in AI technology, looking at the shift in focus from the practitioner to the patient and the privacy and data challenges associated with that transition, hosting Congressional briefing on the role of AI in the New England healthcare industry

• The Committee is planning to share a letter of support with the New England delegation advocating for extending telehealth flexibilities with are currently set to expire on December 31, 2024.
• The Committee will host a post-election policy outlook event focused on healthcare on December 12, featuring a presentation by Ann Jablon of Capitol Counsel and Graham Shalgian of Rasky Partners.  Following the presentation, the committee will hold a post-election strategy session in which members will discuss challenges and opportunities for programming and advocacy. Register Here.

HIGHER EDUCATION COMMITTEE

• In May, the Committee released an updated version of fact sheets highlighting the economic impact of the higher education sector in each New England state.  The Council again partnered with NEBHE to gather data for these resources. The fact sheets were shared with New England Congressional offices, and are available for Council members to use in their own advocacy efforts.

• During the Washington Leaders’ Conference, the committee met with Higher Education Senate Staff for Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), both members of the Senate HELP Committee, for a discussion of current higher education issues before the committee.
• The Committee continues to closely monitor the U.S. Department of Education’s implementation of a new FAFSA form, which has created several challenges for students and institutions alike.
  • In April, the Committee sent a letter to Secretary Miguel Cardona urging the Department to delay implementation of the Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment rules due to the impact of the FAFSA implementation delays.  Read more.
  • Following an announcement by the Department of Education in August that the FAFSA release would be delayed from October 1 to December 1 for most schools, the committee is now in the process of preparing a letter to the delegation expressing concerns about this delay and the impact it will have on students and institutions.

• On October 11, the Committee hosted a breakfast with former MA Governor and now NCAA President Charlie Baker in Boston at the UMass Club.  Endicott College and AICUM sponsored the program which focused on the NCAA’s work on NIL issues and was widely attended.
• In early 2025, the Committee will host a post-election policy outlook program featuring a panel discussion with leaders of several of the region’s statewide higher education advocacy organizations.

HOUSING WORKING GROUP

• On May 1, the Council hosted a special program in Boston featuring HUD Region 1 Administrator Juana Matias in Boston, MA.  Administrator Matias briefed members on HUD and White House Housing priorities, as well as the various affordable housing programs and resources available through HUD. Watch Program.
• On September 10, the Housing Working Group held a virtual meeting with Ryan Donovan, President and Chief Executive Officer for the Council of Federal Home Loan Banks. Mr. Donovan updated members on housing related issues before Congress and the Administration, and provided insight on the upcoming Presidential election.
• On November 20, the Housing Working Group held a Post-Election Policy Outlook Discussion focused on Housing.  Mr. David Gasson from MG Housing Strategies discussed how housing policy will be impacted by the 2024 elections. Watch Here.

TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION WORKING GROUP

• The Working Group held two meetings during the Washington Leaders’ Conference. First, members met with staff to Representatives Seth Moulton (D-MA) Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) to discuss their work as members of the China Select Committee.  The working group also met with officials from the CHIPS for America office at the U.S. Department of Commerce.
• The Council released an updated version of our AI legislation tracker in June.  The new version includes all bills surrounding AI legislation from the past year, including policies concerning deepfakes, AI’s role in cybersecurity, preventing scams using AI, AI regulatory frameworks, and much more. Since the first version of this report was released in late 2023, 48 new bills have been added.  View the report.
• On October 31, the Council hosted the latest installment of our popular “New England Innovates” series, this time focused on innovation in the field of robotics.  Representative Jim McGovern, co-chair of the Congressional Robotics Caucus, delivered keynote remarks.  Following the keynote, Tom Ryden of MassRobotics moderated a panel of Council members who discussed challenges and opportunities for continued innovation in the robotics sector and highlight how different industries are leveraging this new technology.  Watch program.
• In November, the Council sent a letter to the New England Congressional delegation again urging them to fund the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) in any year-end funding package.  Created by the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the ACP provides a monthly broadband subsidy for income-eligible households, with the goal of ensuring equitable access to high speed internet service for all Americans.  Read the Letter.  

TRADE WORKING GROUP

• On May 15, members of the Council’s Trade Working Group held an in-person meeting with Senate Finance Committee Chief International Trade Counsel, Sally Laing, in conjunction with the Washington Leaders’ Conference.  Ms. Liang updated members on current trade policy matters before the committee and answered questions.
• On June 20, the Council’s Trade Working Group again hosted  Senate Finance Committee’s Sally Laing for a virtual meeting with a larger group on members. Liang was able to able to provide additional insight on what the U.S. Senate was working on related to trade matters and what TWG members could expect the rest of the year to occur on trade.
• In August, Mr. Christopher Melly was named as the new Chair of the Trade Working Group. Melly is a Vice President of Government Affairs at AIG and has an extensive trade background, including senior roles at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the U.S. International Trade Commission.
• The Trade Working Group will hold a post-election policy outlook program on December 16 featuring presentations by Sally Ann Shaw, a former senior trade policy advisory to President Trump, and Sally Liang, former senior trade counsel on the Senate Finance Committee. Register Here.

TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE

• On May 16, in conjunction with the Washington Leaders’ Conference, the T&I Committee met with Nate Birnbaum, Senator Ed Markey’s transportation staffer.  Mr. Birnbaum provided an update to many of the items previously discussed in the Committee’s January virtual meeting (FAA reauthorization, the renewal of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), rail safety legislation, and efforts to make America’s roads safer).
• The Committee held a meeting on October 9 to discuss the state of transportation funding, transit and other similar matters that may need to be addressed in either a stand-alone or omnibus appropriations measure prior to the end of the year. Jackie Miech, Legislative Assistant to Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), addressed the T&I Committee and provided her insight on the rest of 2024 and a preview of transportation and infrastructure into 2025. Senator Reed serves on the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, and is the #2 member of the Banking Committee, which has jurisdiction over transit issues.
• The T&I Committee hosted a very successful New England Innovates program looking at the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the transporation and infrastructure sectors.  The November 13 forum was hosted by ML Strategies at their Boston office, and Luisa Paiewonsky, Director of Infrastructure Systems and Technology at the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Volpe Center, delivered keynote remarks.  Following the keynote, a panel of Council transportation members from Keolis, MITRE, Autodesk, and HNTB discussed how they are leveraging AI technologies. View Agenda.
• The T&I Committee will convene a post-election meeting to discuss the ramifications that the election will have on transportation and infrastructure policy in the 119^th Congress and within the next Administration.  The meeting is slated for mid-December or early January.