Quintin King, president, Brightwater Senior Living, Bend, Ore., knows the score when it comes to workforce challenges, managing and operating 12 communities mostly in the Western U.S. and in Canada.

Earlier this week, the U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) presented a proposal to revise its standard for determining joint-employer status under the National Labor Relations Act.

The House Appropriations Committee is holding a markup hearing today on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 appropriations bill, which as drafted includes several Argentum-led priorities such as workforce development grants and dementia research funding, and specific references to report language directing the Biden Administration to address workforce shortages impacting care for seniors.
 
The Committee included report language led by Argentum, noting that it supports HRSA's efforts to develop the workforce needed to care for the rapidly aging population and encourages workforce education and training programs to meet the needs of seniors.
 
Among the items included in the legislation are:

Bipartisan legislation has been introduced in the Senate this week to restore the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC), which was retroactively ended last November. Argentum strongly supports this legislation to help address the nation’s caregiving workforce challenges, along with H.R. 6530, the SENIOR Act, which would provide new grants to bolster the nation’s caregiving workforce.

Earlier today, the House and Senate passed a continuing resolution to fund the government through December 3, averting a government shutdown that would have occurred at midnight tonight without passage of the funding measure. The stopgap will provide additional time for lawmakers to negotiate broader legislative packages, potentially including priorities advocated by Argentum.

Yesterday, we hosted our monthly policy briefing for Argentum Advocates. You can now watch a recording or download the slides from the briefing. Below, you'll find the items we discussed and as always, do not hesitate to reach out with questions or comments.

Sens. Murray (D-WA) and Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Scott (D-VA) have reintroduced the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. The members released text of the bill, a section-by-section analysis, and a fact sheet. The bill has 194 co-sponsors, including two Republicans – Reps. Smith (NJ-4) and Fitzpatrick (PA-1). Last February, the House voted 224-194 to pass this legislation as H.R. 2474, but it did not advance in the Senate.