OVERNIGHT REGULATION: Obama’s immigration balancing act

Welcome to Thursday’s edition of OVERNIGHT REGULATION, your one-stop destination for all of the day’s biggest news on regulation and enforcement, and preview for storylines on the horizon.

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THE BIG STORY:

MIXED MESSAGES? The Obama administration is seeking to make clear that a torrent of unaccompanied migrant children pouring illegally – and in dramatically increased numbers – into the U.S. will be turned back, even as officials outlined an array of services to be provided to the youths while they’re here.

{mosads}The dual priorities reflect the administration’s difficult balancing act when it comes to the thorniest of issues (immigration) at a tricky time (a potentially pivotal election year).

So there was something for everyone during a presser held by Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson Thursday to detail a government-wide response to the crisis:http://j.mp/1qBTkUT

— What you need to know:

1) Tough enforcement: The tens of thousands of unaccompanied and undocumented kids will not be eligible for relief under President Obama’s deferred action program that has halted deportation proceedings for thousands of illegal immigrants. To be eligible, the children would need to have arrived in the U.S. years ago. Nor would the migrant youths be allowed a pathway to citizenship under the legislation under consideration in Congress.

2) Humane treatment: During their stay, the children will get health screenings, access to legal representation and housing – in some cases with the very family members they came to find.

3) What’s next: Obama tapped Johnson earlier this year to conduct a review of the nation’s immigration policies to find ways of making the system more humane. Obama later asked Johnson to refrain from making recommendations, in order to give Congress another chance to move on a big immigration bill this summer. The odds of that happening, by many accounts, just got a lot longer with the ousting of Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.). That could cause the president to turn his focus to executive action on immigration.

 

ON TAP FOR FRIDAY:

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce enters day two of its annual Small Business Summit, which will feature speeches from U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, political analyst Charlie Cook and Gen. Colin Powell (Ret.). http://j.mp/1llrNWR

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy will meet with non-profit GRID Alternatives and students in Los Angeles to discuss the future of solar energy. They will discuss ways to expand solar energy adoption around the country by making it more reliable and cost effective.

Meanwhile, the American Petroleum Institute (API) will discuss the future of offshore drilling for oil and gas during a call with reporters. API’s senior policy advisor Andy Radford will recommend steps the Interior Department should take to increase domestic offshore energy exploration and development. 

 

TOMORROW’S REGS TODAY:

The Obama administration plans to issue 176 new regulations, proposed rules, notices and other administrative actions in Friday’s edition of the Federal Register.

-The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is considering safety procedures for public transportation trains, including speed limits and other safeguards intended to protect passengers from crashes.

The FTA will encourage public transportation officials in major cities such as New York and Washington, D.C., to test their safety procedures to make sure trains travel at a safe speed, that their emergency brakes work, and that they have enough space to stop safely.

The review comes after a Chicago train crashed in March, sending 33 people to the hospital.

“To protect rail transit passengers and employees, FTA’s advisory recommends each rail transit agency immediately review the performance of its automatic signals and trip stops under the actual operating speeds and conditions present for each terminal station,” the agency wrote. http://j.mp/1xPKDLi

-The Department of Energy will discuss its new proposed energy conservation standards for automatic commercial icemakers at a public hearing later this month. The Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy proposed new rules for automatic commercial icemakers in March, which would revise the energy model the agency uses to measure efficiency. http://j.mp/1k7Nbf7

The proposed rules would apply to continuous ice-making machines and establish standards for the maximum allowable energy use per 100 pounds of ice production.

The public will get a chance to comment on the proposed rule at the hearing on June 19. http://j.mp/1oisOCM

-The Energy Department will also establish two new working groups to promulgate new energy conservation standards around the country. 

The first group will negotiate energy conservation standards at the regional level, helping local officials develop efficiency requirements. http://j.mp/1hS74uP

The second group will negotiate energy efficiency standards for mobile homes. http://j.mp/1jnbS6k

-The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) will adjust the interest rates of the pension benefit payments it makes to retirees. The new rates go into effect in July. http://j.mp/1ois5Sa

 

NEWS DUMP: Some two-dozen federal agencies are publishing their semiannual regulatory agendas Friday. The plans were first outlined in the Obama administration’s Unified Agenda, released ahead of the long Memorial Day weekend. But the links below give a snapshot of what each agency is working on.

Agriculture Department: http://j.mp/1hNASZr

Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board: http://j.mp/SRk87Q

Commerce Department: http://j.mp/1qBPVoY

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: http://j.mp/1nzbExi

Consumer Product Safety Commission: http://j.mp/1xPRJQ5

Defense Department: http://j.mp/1kRBLQd

Education Department: http://j.mp/TPhLDA

Energy Department: http://j.mp/1lraBzf

Environmental Protection Agency: http://j.mp/1s9oUOk

Federal Communications Commission: http://j.mp/1pp9W4O

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: http://j.mp/1n83Noy

Federal Reserve: http://j.mp/SRkPOG

General Services Administration: http://j.mp/SDRjeP

Health and Human Services Department: http://j.mp/1kRClgR

Homeland Security Department: http://j.mp/1oYvilN

Interior Department: http://j.mp/1ppaEyN

Justice Department: http://j.mp/1l5SVe2

Labor Department: http://j.mp/1irGYcY

NASA: http://j.mp/1ksjvIf

Nuclear Regulatory Commission: http://j.mp/1kRCDEq

Securities and Exchange Commission: http://j.mp/1v5Sja2

Small Business Administration: http://j.mp/1jneeCi

Transportation Department: http://j.mp/1xPUxwB

Treasury Department: http://j.mp/1s9qaB4

To learn more about the Obama administration’s Unified Agenda and the semi-annual regulatory agendas published by each federal agency, click here:http://j.mp/1irHNCm.

 

NEWS RIGHT NOW:

WATERFAIL: Lawmakers say the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new waters rule is a failed policy on behalf of the Obama administration. A House Republican and Democrat are introducing legislation to dam the rule. http://j.mp/1jnfPIg

WORKING OVERTIME: The Labor Department so revels in its regulatory agenda that it plans to issue a rulemaking notice in November for pending regulations on overtime pay: http://j.mp/1nziraa

COURT WATCH: The Supreme Court sided with POM, allowing the juice maker’s false advertising lawsuit against Coca-Cola to proceed: http://j.mp/1s9yyQR

DODD-FRANK: Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) urged the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to “stop procrastinating” on new financial reform rules that come from the Dodd-Frank law, writes The Hill‘s Peter Schroeder. 

“Four years after the law went on the books, the SEC still hasn’t finalized rules to stop financial firms from betting against their clients, ensure swap dealers have adequate capital, or cure the conflicts of interest undermining the reliability of credit ratings,” Levin said. “The SEC needs to stop procrastinating and get the job done.” http://j.mp/1ud2rvk

TRAIN CRASH: An industry group is calling for stronger regulations on oil train cars, after a series of high-profile crashes that led to explosions and massive oil spills, The Hill’s Keith Laing writes. http://j.mp/1ppij0d

COAL: EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy says the biggest savings from the agency’s new coal plant rule will come from being more energy efficient, writes The Hill’s Tim Cama. http://j.mp/1irKIuY

FED: The Senate confirmed Stanley Fischer as vice chairman of the Federal Reserve. He takes over as second-in-command behind Janet Yellen. http://j.mp/1oU8Fkr 

 

BY THE NUMBERS:

24,000: The estimated number of unaccompanied children who crossed into the U.S. illegally all of last year.

47,000: The estimated number that arrived illegally in the first five months of 2014.

3: The number of U.S. military bases the government has opened as processing centers to deal with the influx.

$1.9 billion: The amount that would be dedicated to confronting the issue in a deal reached this week in the Senate.

  

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

“Your child will not benefit from DACA now.” – Johnson, asked about his message for families considering sending their children over the border illegally.

  

We’ll endeavor to stay on top of these and other stories throughout the week, so check The Hill’s Regulation page early and often for the latest. And send any comments, complaints or regulatory news tips our way, via bgoad@digital-staging.thehill.com or tdevaney@digital-staging.thehill.com. And follow us at @ben_goad and@timdevaney.