Overnight Regulation: Labor chief grilled on overtime, retirement rules

Welcome Overnight Regulation, your daily rundown of news from Capitol Hill and beyond. It’s Wednesday evening here in Washington, where the town’s abuzz over President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee. Here’s the latest.

 

THE BIG STORY

Labor Secretary Thomas Perez defended a number of controversial regulations — from overtime protections for low-wage workers to an investment rule for retirement advisers — Wednesday during a congressional hearing.

“Our north star is U.S. workers,” Perez told lawmakers.

Perez made his second of three trips to Capitol Hill this week to testify before the House Education and Workforce Committee about the Labor Department’s regulations.

{mosads}Republicans accused Perez of taking a “my-way-or-the-highway approach” to regulating. They expressed concerns about the so-called fiduciary rule, which would require retirement investment advisers to disclose more information to show they are acting in the best interest of their clients.

Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.) suggested the fiduciary rule would raise the price of investment advice.

“I understand that when people have multi-million portfolios, they can afford this kind of thing,” Salmon said, but it would also put investment advice “out of reach for the common people.”

Perez disagreed.

“We have a shared interest in making sure everyone has access to retirement advice,” he said.

Republicans also expressed concerns about the Labor Department’s new overtime rule, which would increase the number of employees who are paid time-and-a-half when they work more than 40 hours in a week.

“You work extra, you should be paid extra,” Perez responded.

The Labor Department is also working on a rule to reduce the level of silica dust to which workers are exposed.

Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) called it a “life-saving rule.”

“When you walk into work every morning, you have a right to come home without it killing you,” Perez said.

 

ON TAP FOR THURSDAY 

The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management will hold a hearing on the Chevron doctrine, which gives federal agencies deference on how they interpret statutes. http://1.usa.gov/1Z1WWRa

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold it’s second hearing this week on the water crisis in Flint, Mich. http://1.usa.gov/1QgNVhA

The House Agriculture Committee will hold a hearing to examine the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s organization and administration. http://1.usa.gov/1S4M2Y6

The House Small Business Committee will hold a hearing on the effects of the new joint employer standards for small firms. http://1.usa.gov/1MntXjw

 

TOMORROW’S REGS TODAY

The Obama administration will publish 175 new regulations, proposed rules, notices and other administrative actions in Thursday’s edition of the Federal Register.

–The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will issue new rules for broker-dealers.

The rules stem from the Securities Investor Protection Act and affect the assessments broker-dealers pay to the agency for membership in the Securities Investor Protection Corporation.

The changes go into effect in 14 days. http://bit.ly/1Z1ZmPT

–The Department of Labor (DOL) will issue new whistleblower protections.

The Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is pushing new “procedures and time frames for handling retaliation complaints” against companies.

The whistleblower protections stem from a provision of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law.

The rule goes into effect immediately. http://bit.ly/1S4N4Dt

–The Department of Energy (DOE) will propose new efficiency rules for commercial packaged boilers.

The Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy will propose new test procedures for measuring the efficiency of these boilers.

The public has 75 days to comment. http://bit.ly/22liy0i

–The Energy Department will propose new efficiency rules for general service lamps.

The Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is pushing new energy conservation standards for these lamps.

The public has 60 days to comment. http://bit.ly/21vIW1F

 

NEWS RIGHT NOW 

Grassley to meet Supreme Court nominee http://bit.ly/1R3UQuI

Who is Merrick Garland? http://bit.ly/1Pc2EZm

WH urges vote on Garland before lame-duck session of Congress http://bit.ly/1UApFMl

Senate Dems block GMO labeling bill http://bit.ly/21vnbiG

Small business lobby to vet Supreme Court nominee http://bit.ly/1RmBjVF

North Korea sentences U-Va. student to 15 years of hard labor – The Washington Post http://wapo.st/1M8cMYq

Fed keeps interest rates steady but affirms plan to pursue increase – The New York Times http://nyti.ms/254T4D7

Senate advances bill to aid drug-dependent newborns – Reuters http://reut.rs/1posXXb

 

BY THE NUMBERS 

76-23: The Senate vote for Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in 1997. 

 

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“President Obama has nothing but contempt for the Second Amendment and law-abiding gun owners. Obama has already nominated two Supreme Court justices who oppose the right to own firearms, and there is absolutely no reason to think he has changed his approach this time,” — the NRA’s top lobbyist, Chris Cox, speaking about the nomination of Merrick Garland. The nation’s largest gun lobby quickly announced its opposition to Garland’s nomination. http://bit.ly/1UgGugu

 

We’ll work to stay on top of these and other stories throughout the week, so check The Hill’s Regulation page (http://digital-stage.thehill.com/regulation) early and often for the latest. And send any comments, complaints or regulatory news tips our way, tdevaney@digital-stage.thehill.com or lwheeler@digital-stage.thehill.com. And follow us at @timdevaney and @wheelerlydia.

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