The Construction Employers of America (CEA) will be hosting this year’s legislative and regulatory virtual conference will focus on key regulatory and legislative issues affecting the union construction industry today. As with previous in-person conferences, the CEA will host both Regulators and Representatives from Congress for their expertise and insight on a variety of topics such as:

  • The regulatory landscape for Multiemployer Pension Plans based upon enactment of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021

  • Department of Labor efforts to address Employee Misclassification

  • OSHA developments of interest to the construction industry

  • Infrastructure spending in the Energy and Building Market Sectors and proposed tax measures to fund it

Don’t miss this opportunity to get the latest information that impacts your business from the nation’s Capitol!

 July 21, 2021 Virtual Conference Schedule

NOTE: All times listed are EDT. Schedule subject to change. 

11:00 AM - Welcome by CEA Moderator Earl Pomeroy

11:15 AM - PBGC Update

12:15 PM - Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division Update

1:00 PM - OSHA Update

1:30 PM - Legislative Update

2:45 PM - Closing Remarks

Confirmed Speakers

Congressman Troy Balderson (R-OH-12)

Congressman Troy Balderson represents Ohio’s 12th Congressional District, which encompasses Licking, Morrow, and Delaware counties as well as portions of Franklin, Richland, Marion, and Muskingum counties. In Washington, Troy serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the House Agriculture Committee. His priorities include: ensuring high-quality constituent services, preparing our next generation of workers to fill in-demand jobs in a modern economy, and rebuilding our nation’s crumbling infrastructure.

A lifelong Ohioan, Troy was born and raised in Muskingum County and graduated from Zanesville High School. He attended Muskingum College and The Ohio State University, and worked on his family’s farm and at his family-owned automotive dealership before pursuing a career in public service. Troy currently resides in Zanesville and has one son, Joshua.

Congressman Gerald Connolly (D-VA-11)

Congressman Gerald E. “Gerry” Connolly is serving his seventh term in the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia’s 11th District, which includes Fairfax County, Prince William County, and the City of Fairfax in Northern Virginia.

Congressman Connolly received an M.A. in Public Administration from Harvard University in 1979. He received a B.A. in Literature from Maryknoll College in Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

Congressman Connolly has worked in the non-profit sector, primarily advocating for hunger aid and international assistance. He also has strong ties to the business community having spent two decades working for organizations and companies involved in international trade, regulatory matters, technology, and research.

He resides in Fairfax with his wife Smitty and has a daughter Caitlin.

Jim Donofrio, Chief Negotiating Actuary, Negotiations & Restructuring Actuarial Department, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

Jim Donofrio is the Chief Negotiating Actuary for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. He and the talented group of actuaries he manages in the Negotiation and Restructuring Actuarial Department assist the PBGC in addressing risk to the security of pensions in the private sector.  He provides actuarial analyses in support of the agency’s review of distress terminations, proposed multiemployer mergers and transfers as well as MPRA benefit suspension, partition and facilitated merger cases.  He is currently focusing on operationalizing the Special Financial Assistance program for distressed multiemployer pension plans authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.  Prior to joining PBGC in 2010, he spent over 30 years in pension consulting, primarily to corporate plan sponsors. Jim is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, an Enrolled Actuary, and a graduate of Emory University in Atlanta GA.

Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-1)

For 14 years prior to representing his hometown of Pennsylvania's First Congressional District, Brian Fitzpatrick served our nation both as an FBI Special Agent and Federal Prosecutor, fighting both domestic and international political corruption, and supporting global counterterrorism and counterintelligence efforts – including being embedded with U.S. Special Forces as part Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Working to promote freedom and democracy at home and abroad, Brian also served as National Director for the FBI’s Campaign Finance and Election Crimes Enforcement Program and as a National Supervisor for the FBI’s Public Corruption Unit at FBI Headquarters, where he was recognized as an expert in restoring integrity to governmental institutions.

In the 117th Congress, Brian was elected Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, having previously served as Vice-Chair. Brian is the Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Energy, the Environment, and Cyber, and he was appointed by House leadership to currently serve on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) and as a Commissioner on the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission.  Additionally, Brian serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and he is the Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Addiction and Mental Health Task Force.  Brian is a licensed attorney, a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Certified Emergency Medical Technician (EMT).

Gordon Hartogensis,
Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

Gordon Hartogensis is the 16th Director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

Hartogensis left a brief career on Wall Street to build a startup software company called Petrolsoft Corporation – a supply chain software company. After the company was acquired by Aspen Technology, Hartogensis served in a leadership role until June 2002.

Shortly after his departure from Aspen Technology, Hartogensis founded Auric Technology LLC. As founder and chief executive officer, he was instrumental in the development of customer relationship management software solutions and support. He remained with the firm after it was sold to Telnorm in 2011.

Prior to joining PBGC, he managed a portfolio of private equity, venture capital, real estate, and angel investments and served as an advisor to several portfolio companies.

Hartogensis grew up in Maryland where he attended Montgomery County public schools. He holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Stanford University and an M.S. in Technology Management from Columbia University.

Scott Ketcham, Director for the Directorate of Construction, Occupational Safety and Health Administration National Office

Scott Ketcham is the Director for the Directorate of Construction in OSHA’s National Office.  He has been in this position since September 2019.  Prior to this assignment, he was the Deputy Director of Construction and served almost 20 years in the field with OSHA in various capacities as manager and compliance officer.  Other assignments he held in his career include Area Director for OSHA in Alaska; Assistant Area Director (AAD) in the Lubbock (TX) Area Office; Acting Deputy Regional Administrator in the Seattle and Philadelphia Regional Offices; in addition to working as a compliance officer in 5 different Area Offices in Texas, Idaho, Arkansas, and Louisiana.  Before joining OSHA, he spent five years as a staff Industrial Hygienist with the U.S. Army Medical Activity at Bassett Army Hospital on Ft. Wainwright, Alaska. 

Scott holds a Master's in Public Administration from the University of Alaska, a Bachelor's of Science degree from Texas A&M University, and is a Certified Safety Professional.  He also served 24 years in the US Army Reserve as a Medical Service Corps Officer, retiring in 2012. 

Jessica Looman, Principal Deputy Administrator, U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division

Jessica Looman was appointed as the Principal Deputy Administrator for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division on January 20, 2021.  WHD enforces worker protections and provides outreach and education about federal labor laws including minimum wage, overtime, child labor, and family and medical leave for 143 million workers and nearly ten million employers nationwide. 

Before joining WHD, Jessica served as the Executive Director of the Minnesota State Building and Construction Trades Council, where she advocated to expand construction career pathways, protected the physical and financial health of union construction workers, and increased private and public investment in construction infrastructure. 

Jessica is a graduate of George Washington University and the University of Minnesota Law School.  She lives in St. Paul, Minnesota with her husband and two sons. 

Ross Marcelin, Deputy Chief of Negotiations and Restructuring; Office of Negotiations & Restructuring, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

Mr. Marcelin is the Director of Plan Compliance for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). His department’s mission is to manage PBGC’s multiemployer insurance program, standard termination activities, and ensure plan compliance with PBGC regulations and ERISA. He joined PBGC in 2014 as the associate manager of PBGC’s Multiemployer Program Division before becoming manager of the Division in 2015.  In this position, he was responsible for the administration of hundreds of millions of dollars in annual financial assistance to insolvent multiemployer plans. He has also served as Deputy Chief of Negotiations and Restructuring at the PBGC.

In his time with PBGC he has worked to protect the retirement income of Americans directly with plan participants, professionals, trustees, and collaborating with the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration to identify and resolve improper administration of multiemployer plans across the United States of America. Mr. Marcelin played an integral role in implementing the provisions of the Kline-Miller Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 at PBGC and continues to consult with stakeholders from the multiemployer pension community and the U.S. Department of Treasury.

Prior to joining PBGC, he was a Manager with KPMG in the New York Financial Services Practice focusing on audit, attestation, and consulting services. With KPMG he gained experience with employee benefit plans as lead auditor on engagements such as the Credit Suisse employee plans which maintained over $44 billion in assets. He graduated magna cum laude with a BS in accounting from St. Joseph’s College in New York City and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Congressman Tom Suozzi (D-NY-3)

Representative Tom Suozzi, trained as an attorney and CPA, is the Congressman representing the Third Congressional District in New York. He is a member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, the chief tax-writing committee of the House of Representatives, serving on both the Oversight and Tax Policy subcommittees. Congressman Suozzi is also the Vice-Chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus and Co-Chair of the bipartisan Long Island Sound Caucus. In May of 2019, he was appointed to the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. Prior to his assignment on Ways and Means, the Congressman was a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and House Armed Services Committee.

Congressman Suozzi previously served as mayor of his hometown, Glen Cove, NY from 1994-2001, and as Nassau County Executive from 2002-2009. As a reformer and a problem solver, in 2004 Suozzi created FixAlbany.com, exposing and rooting out corruption in New York state politics. In 2005, he was honored as Governing magazine’s “Public Official of the Year.”  In 2007, he was appointed by the Governor to lead a state commission that proposed the first property tax cap, which has now become law. In 2008, the New York State League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV) named him “Environmentalist of the Year.”

In 2010, Suozzi returned to the private sector as a senior advisor to investment banking firm Lazard and as of counsel at Harris Beach law firm. Prior to his time in elected office, Suozzi worked as a litigator for Shearman & Sterling, law clerk to the Chief Judge of the Eastern District, and an auditor for Arthur Andersen & Co.

Congressman Suozzi resides in Glen Cove with his wife Helene, and their three children Caroline, Joseph, and Michael. 

Moderator

Hon. Earl Pomeroy, Senior Counsel, Alston & Bird

Former Congressman Earl Pomeroy brings 26 years of regulatory and legislative experience to his present position as senior counsel at Alston & Bird.

Earl focuses his practice on matters before the legislative and executive branches of government at the federal level as well as work before financial regulators at the state government level.

Earl has been an influential participant in financial services regulation as it has evolved over the last quarter century. More than 20 years ago, as president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, he advanced reforms to strengthen solvency oversight in state insurance departments that were widely adopted, substantially improving the quality of state insurance regulation.

Earl was the only Insurance Commissioner in the House during most of his tenure. He applied this unique background as an influential leader on the Ways and Means Committee regarding tax and regulatory issues involving the financial services industry. Drawing upon his background as North Dakota Insurance Commissioner, president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, nine-term Member of Congress, and senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee, Earl’s practice areas include financial services regulation, health care policy, pensions, tax policy, energy, and agriculture.