WASHINGTON, D.C.  — Today, American Foundry Society CEO Doug Kurkul, AFS President Jean Bye, and Eric Meyers, chairman of the AFS Government Affairs Committee, welcomed the newly convened 116th Congress. 

“AFS looks forward to working with lawmakers to address important metalcasting legislative and regulatory issues in the coming year,” Kurkul said. “It’s important that both new and returning members of Congress understand and appreciate the unique value of the metalcasting industry to manufacturing and the U.S. economy.”

The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers unveiled their replacement to the Obama-era 2015 Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) Rule.

The proposed new rule appears to provide a much more reasonable approach to the limits of Clean Water Act jurisdiction for waters of the U.S.  However, AFS said the details of the new rule require careful review to determine how it will impact metalcasting operations. 

AFS joined a coalition of groups led by the National Association of Manufacturers and the Associated General Contractors of America to tell Congress it’s time to stop punting on funding infrastructure needs: the importance of improving roads, bridges, ports, and water infrastructure.