Congress
Senate to Consider FEC Nominees as Election Agency Remains Stalled
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has been unable to make major enforcement and policy decisions for more than a year because it lacks the four...
Government Operations
EPA Eliminates Wastewater Pollution Limit for New Plastics Plants
Owners of new polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plants will no longer have to meet a federal limit on total wastewater pollutants, as the EPA eliminates a standard...
Follow the Money
Medicare Expands Prior Authorization and Changes Hospital Payments
Hospitals and surgery centers paid by Medicare for outpatient care will receive revised 2027 payment rates, and patients receiving certain botulinum toxin...
Government Operations
Veterans Appeals Board Missed Timeliness Goals on All Dockets
The Board of Veterans' Appeals ended fiscal 2024 with 200,805 appeals pending, and all three dockets ran past goals, according to a new Congressional...
Government Operations
Patent Office Backlog Reduction Efforts Risk Examiner Retention
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is unlikely to cut its patent backlog to under 599,000 applications before 2031 unless patent examiner...
Government Operations
GAO Finds State Department Failed to Meet Aid Reporting Rules
Thirty-six of 37 State Department notifications to Congress about using legal exemptions to fund democracy assistance and other restricted aid did not...
Follow the Money
EPA Failed to Recover Half of Superfund Cleanup Costs GAO Finds
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recovered less than half of the $25.8 billion it spent on Superfund cleanup costs at nonfederal National...
Civil Rights
FCC Implements New Reporting Rules for Communications Services
Companies that provide video relay service and relay services for incarcerated people now face new reporting and registration requirements, which the...
Law and Order
Federal Labor Agency Sets New Rules for Arbitration Requests
The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) can now decline or hold requests for arbitration panels from unions and employers when providing the...
Legislation
DEA Updates Pharmacy Fraud Penalties to Match Federal Law
Pharmacies that submit false registration information to the Drug Enforcement Administration are subject to fines under the federal criminal fine provisions...
Public Lands
Federal Officials Close Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Commercial Fishery
The Commerce Department has closed the General category fishery to large Atlantic bluefin tuna, requiring affected permit holders to stop retaining them...
Government Operations
EPA Updates Nevada Underground Storage Tank Rules After 28 Years
The direct final rule the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published Oct. 22 codifies its approval of Nevada's revised underground storage tank program...
Follow the Money
Transportation Department Proposes Changes to Airport Passenger Fees
Airports and airlines would face reduced turnback amounts and revised rules on which projects passenger facility charges can pay for under a new...
Government Operations
Education Department Proposes Rewriting Grant Priorities
Applicants for federal education grants and the state and local agencies that run them would see four sets of grant priorities rewritten, under changes the...
Technology
Space Bureau Updates Spectrum Sharing Links For Satellite Firms
Geostationary satellite operators in the United States and the broadband satellite systems that share spectrum with them will work from a revised set of...
Government Operations
DC Charter Applications Drop to Two as Board Adds Hurdles
The D.C. Public Charter School Board (PCSB) denied both applications for new charters it received over the past five years, according to District of...
Government Operations
Homeland Security Imposes New Requirements On Foreign Importers
Foreign importers of record must use a security-validated customs broker or be validated themselves, and brokers must verify their clients' U.S. status, as...
Government Operations
DHS Inspection Shifts at ICE Facilities Raise Oversight Concerns
Three of the four Department of Homeland Security (DHS) entities that inspect immigration detention facilities changed how often they inspected, or stopped...
