Overnight Regulation: Justices won’t halt Obama water rule case | Greens, states sue over delayed energy rules

Welcome to Overnight Regulation, your daily rundown of news from there federal agencies, Capitol Hill, the courts and beyond. It’s Monday evening here in Washington where Democrats have reached the magic number to block President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch. Republicans, though, are vowing to go “nuclear” and change Senate rules to push him through.

Here’s what else is going on. 

 

THE BIG STORIES

The Supreme Court has denied a request to put a lawsuit over the Obama administration’s Clean Water Rule on hold while the Trump administration decides whether to roll back the rule.

As The Hill’s Devin Henry reports, the decision Monday came from the court without any explanation. 

The White House opposes the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers’ rule and asked the court to hold off on the case while the agencies formally consider repealing it.

The rule asserted federal power over small waterways such as streams and wetlands to protect them from pollution. It remains on hold after a federal appeals court in 2015 put a judicial stay on the measure while it is litigated.

The Supreme Court case, National Association of Manufacturers v. Department of Defense, does not concern the merits of the highly controversial regulation.
Instead, the industry groups opposed to the rule want the high court to overturn the Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit’s opinion that it has the primary jurisdiction over the case.

Read the full story here. 

Prison hiring freeze:

Elsewhere on the Hill, lawmakers are pushing the Department of Justice to exempt the Bureau of Prisons from the federal hiring freeze President Trump initiated shortly after he took office. 

In a letter Monday, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Reps. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.) and David McKinley (R-W.Va.) told Attorney General Jeff Sessions the freeze puts prison security officers and communities at risk.

Citing agency guidance implementing the order, the lawmakers claim the Justice Department fully exempted the FBI from the hiring freeze but only issued a limited exemption for the Bureau of Prisons.

Under the guidance, the Bureau of Prisons is barred from increasing staff above the level that existed on Jan. 22, meaning any vacant positions that had not been filled by Jan. 22 cannot be filled now.

The guidance allows post-Jan. 22 vacancies to be filled externally through a limited public safety exception. But the lawmakers added that even those hires are not allowed until the Office of Personnel Management first provides data on Jan. 22 staffing levels.

To the best of their knowledge, Durbin, Bustos and McKinley claim that has not yet happened, so all hiring is effectively blocked.

Read that story here. 

Lawsuit over energy rule delays: 

Environmentalists and Democratic attorneys general are suing the Trump administration over its decision to suspend implementation of several energy efficiency rules.

As The Hill’s Devin Henry reports, earlier this month, the administration proposed delaying six rules setting high energy efficiency standards for products such as ceiling fans, walking-in coolers and freezers, and others.

Manufacturers and industry groups had worried the standards — first proposed by the Obama administration’s Department of Energy last year — would carry high compliance costs.

But the rules’ supporters said the effort would end up saving consumers up to $23 billion through lower energy bills, while also cutting power-sector greenhouse gas emissions.

Ten states, as well as New York City, announced Monday that they had sued over the decision to delay the rules. They were joined by four environmental and consumer groups.

Read that story here.

 

ON TAP FOR TUESDAY 

The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee will hold a business meeting to vote on the nomination of Jay Clayton to head the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies will hold a hearing to look at national water hazards and vulnerabilities. 

The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice will hold a hearing on First Amendment protections on public colleges and universities. 

The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Monetary Policy and Trade will hold a hearing to examine the Federal Reserve’s mandate and governance structure. 

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will meet to discuss the use of confidential informants at the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. 

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies will hold a hearing to examine federal support for job training programs.

 

TOMORROW’S REGS TODAY

Keep an eye on these rules in Tuesday’s Federal Register

–The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is revising regulations authorizing the VA Dental Insurance Program. The program allows the VA to contract with private dental insurers to provide coverage for veterans and their families. The changes follow the VA Dental Insurance Reauthorization Act of 2016.

The rule goes into effect immediately.

–The State Department will withdraw an international adoptions rule from the Obama administration.

In September 2106, the department proposed amending its regulations on implementing a 1993 Hague Convention agreement on “intercountry adoption.” The State Department says it plans to study comments on the proposed rule change and publish a new rule by the end of the year.

–The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will formally launch a review that could lead to the suspension of the Obama-era Clean Power Plan.

President Trump last week issued an executive order requiring the EPA to “reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens.”

This led the EPA to formally announce the review of several Obama-era environmental policies, including the clean power plan as well as emissions limits for newly constructed power plants.

 

NEWS RIGHT NOW

Trump donates first-quarter salary to National Park Service

Window closing for Congress to roll back Obama-era regulations 

Some Republicans defect on repealing Obama rules

IRS chief is unexpected survivor in Trump era

Lawmakers reintroduce bill to curb IRS’s ability to seize funds

Senate panel approves No. 2 for Trump’s Justice Department

Supreme Court hands victory to groups criticizing mandatory sentencing laws

Governors demand Trump administration keep hands off pot laws

SEIU spent $19M on Fight for $15

Trump vows ‘repeal and replace of ObamaCare’ is not dead

Trump takes aim at visa program for high-skilled workers

Qantas Airways ramps up lobbying ahead of joint venture bid

FCC eliminates Obama-era Charter merger condition

 

BY THE NUMBERS

10: Proposed rules

4: Final rules

(Tuesday’s Federal Register)

 

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We understand you and others in the administration have some concerns regarding marijuana. We sympathize, as many of us expressed apprehensions before our states adopted current laws,” — Govs. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Jay Inslee (D-Wash.), Kate Brown (D-Ore.) and Bill Walker (I-Alaska) wrote Monday in a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions. They are warning the administration not to crack down on pot sales in their states.