Welcome to OVERNIGHT REGULATION, your daily rundown of news from Capitol Hill and beyond. It’s Monday evening here in Washington and the dust is still settling from Speaker John Boehner’s announcement Friday that he is leaving Congress.
Here’s what else is happening.
THE BIG STORY
The Obama administration is moving to protect agricultural workers — and, particularly, children who work on farms — from exposure to harmful pesticides.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Labor Department announced the pesticide standards Monday, which include new age requirements and enhanced training for the nation’s 2 million agricultural workers.
{mosads}”We will not turn our backs on the people that help feed this nation,” EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy told reporters.
“There is nothing we think that deserves closer scrutiny and attention than the handling of pesticides,” she added.
The standards will protect agricultural workers who spray pesticides on crops or harvest those crops. They will apply to those who work not only on farms, but also in forests, nurseries and greenhouses, the agencies said.
Among the requirements, children under the age of 18 will be prohibited from working with pesticides.
The Labor Department and EPA will also require annual training for those who work around pesticides. Previously, training was only required once every five years.
ON TAP FOR TUESDAY
The House Small Business Contracting Subcommittee and the Oversight Subcommittee will examine the ramifications of a rule contractors fear could “blacklist” them from federal jobs in a joint hearing. http://1.usa.gov/1KGgiF6
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing to discuss how Planned Parenthood uses funding from taxpayers. http://1.usa.gov/1V8vspy
The House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing to get a semi-annual report on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. http://1.usa.gov/1iO4APP
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing to discuss what the economy-wide implications of President Obama’s air agenda will be. http://1.usa.gov/1FmzU2m
TOMORROW’S REGS TODAY
The Obama administration will publish 164 new regulations, proposed rules, notices and other administrative actions in Tuesday’s edition of the Federal Register.
–The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will propose new trading rules for agricultural commodities.
The aggregation rules would apply to futures and options swaps.
The public has 45 days to comment. http://bit.ly/1OCEM67
–The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will propose new rules for railroad police.
Railroad police officers would have access to “public safety interoperability and mutual aid channels” under the proposed rules, the agency noted.
The public has 45 days to comment. http://bit.ly/1h4gGCI
–The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) will propose new protections for four plants.
The Big Pine partridge pea, wedge spurge, and sand flax would be listed as endangered species, while the Blodgett’s silverbush would be listed as a threatened species, under the agency’s proposal.
The public has 60 days to comment. http://bit.ly/1h4gCTC
NEWS RIGHT NOW
Butterflies: In its first round of funding, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is allocating $3.3 million in 22 grants to save the monarch butterfly. http://bit.ly/1NXO37f
Campaign spending: The majority of Republicans and Democrats agree that financial regulators should force publicly traded companies to disclose their political spending, a new poll of primary voters found. http://bit.ly/1QJ5TtR
LGBT refugees: Advocates for the Syrian refugees are calling on the Obama administration to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people who are fleeing the Middle Eastern country torn apart by civil war. http://bit.ly/1LKCMqS
SCOTUS: The U.S. Supreme Court’s justices return to the bench next week to hear a slate of new cases with sweeping implications on race, the criminal justice system, public sector unions and, many experts expect, another rendezvous with ObamaCare. http://bit.ly/1LgbVEb
Recall: Seven more companies, including electric carmaker Tesla Motors, could be facing recalls because they use air bag inflators made by Takata Corp., the AP reports. http://bit.ly/1MVlPeM
Employee morale: Federal worker “employee engagement” and “global satisfaction” with their jobs is increasing, but only by a little bit, according to a survey released Monday, The Washington Post reports. http://wapo.st/1NXBE3l
Climate change: According to a new survey, the majority of Republicans believe the world’s climate is changing and that mankind plays some role in the change, The New York Times reported. http://nyti.ms/1Rc4xbV
BY THE NUMBERS
88 percent: Primary voters who think financial regulators should make publicly traded companies disclose their political spending.
$3.3 million: How much the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation in doling out in grants for monarch butterfly conservation efforts.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We depend on farm workers every day to help put the food we eat on America’s dinner tables,” — EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy.
We’ll work to stay on top of these and other stories throughout the week, so check The Hill’s Regulation page (http://digital-release.thehill.com/regulation) early and often for the latest. And send any comments, complaints or regulatory news tips our way, tdevaney@digital-release.thehill.com or lwheeler@digital-release.thehill.com. And follow us at @timdevaney and@wheelerlydia.
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