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Senators Introduce Bill to Modernize America’s Electric Grid

William Attardi on March 9, 2026

A new bipartisan legislation to modernize the nation’s electric grid and meet America’s growing energy demand. This bill cuts permitting delays, incentivizes advanced transmission upgrades, strengthens state grid planning, and accelerates the deployment of innovative grid technologies to lower costs and improve grid reliability for American families and businesses. The REWIRE Act provides a commonsense path forward: rather than building new infrastructure from scratch, it upgrades existing transmission lines with advanced conductors that can double capacity (a process known as “reconductoring”). By reducing congestion and bypassing lengthy permitting requirements, reconductoring could reduce grid costs by $85 billion by 2035 and $180 billion by 2050. Senators Introduce Bill to Modernize America’s Electric Grid – electrifiED

A ‘Crypto Week’ Win: Congress Passes 1st Major Crypto Legislation in the U.S.

William Attardi on July 18, 2025

The House approved the GENIUS Bill with a 308-122 vote with significant Democratic support, adopting regulations for a type of cryptocurrency known as stablecoins that proponents believe will fundamentally change the world of commerce. It was a remarkable win for the crypto industry — and for President Trump, who campaigned on making the U.S. “the crypto capital of the planet.” The GENIUS Bill, which stands for “Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoin” now heads to the president’s desk for his signature, since the Senate had already approved it last month. The new legislation will put more formal regulations around stablecoins, which is viewed by many as a safer type of cryptocurrency. That’s because companies selling stablecoins have to hold the equivalent dollars in reserve. So if you buy $1 in stablecoin, the issuer that provided you with one has to keep $1 in reserve. That means that when you want to cash it, you can get paid back promptly. Stablecoins are a hot emerging part of the crypto sector. Key industry players believe stablecoins will allow people and companies the ability to transfer money as digital currency anywhere in the world instantaneously, regardless of borders, without onerous and expensive bank or money transfer fees. They believe that the world of credit cards or wire transfers will be completely upended once they are adopted widely. More crypto legislation is expected to follow the GENIUS Act. A ‘Crypto Week’ win: Congress passes 1st major crypto legislation in the U.S. | WBHM 90.3

NEMA Urges Passage of Critical Mineral Legislation

William Attardi on May 2, 2025

A Senate committee unanimously approved the Critical Mineral Consistency Act, legislation aimed at boosting the development of reliable critical mineral supply chains. NEMA Senior Vice President of Public Affairs Spencer Pederson thanked the committee for quickly advancing the legislation and urged lawmakers and President Trump to turn the bill into law. “The advancement of [the bill] through Committee brings us one step closer to reaching our goals by removing dependence on unreliable foreign sources like China for the raw materials that are essential to the electroindustry and will help bolster supply chains,” Pederson said. NEMA urges passage of critical mineral legislation

Remembering the Solemn Purpose of Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States observed on the last Monday in May to honor and mourn U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the armed forces. The holiday traces its roots to the years immediately following the American Civil War (1861–1865), which caused massive casualties—roughly 620,000 soldiers dead, about 2% of the U.S. population at the time. Communities across the North and South began spontaneously decorating the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers, wreaths, and flags, a practice that gave rise to the original name: Decoration Day. On May 5, 1868, Major General John A. Logan, commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR)—a powerful Union veterans’ organization—issued General Order No. 11. This proclaimed May 30, 1868, as a nationwide “Decoration Day” to honor those who died in the Civil War. After World War I, the holiday expanded to honor all American service members who died in any war, not just the Civil War.  In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act to create more three-day weekends for federal employees. This moved Memorial Day to the last Monday in May, effective in 1971, when it was also officially named “Memorial Day.” As one 1868 quote put it: “That Nation which respects and honors its dead, shall ever be respected and honored itself.”