CrossGov.com

CRS Report on Appropriations for Rural Development Programs, Proposals for FY2027

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Government Accountability Office report examined appropriations proposals for Rural Development programs for fiscal year 2027. These programs are administered by the Rural Business-Cooperative Service, Rural Utilities Service, and Rural Housing Service within the Department of Agriculture. Congress funds these programs through annual appropriations acts.

GAO Findings on RUS Programs

Appropriations for water and waste disposal programs administered by RUS decreased from $478.5 million in FY2025 to $445.9 million in FY2026. Loan authority for these programs rose from $910 million in FY2025 to $1.1 billion in FY2026. The President’s FY2027 budget requested lower levels for both appropriations and loan authority compared to FY2026. H.R. 8646 proposed decreasing overall appropriations for rural water programs by $385.3 million in FY2027 versus FY2026. Congress may consider the role of Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending in project selection for these programs.

$872.5 Million From DOE to Triad National Security Tops Federal Contract Actions for October 25 to 31, 2026

Wed, 04 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The ten largest federal contract actions recorded for the week of October 25 to 31, 2026 added up to $4.3 billion. The biggest was $872.5 million from the Department of Energy to Triad National Security, LLC, under modification P00262 of an existing contract.

Three agencies made the top ten: Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security and Department of Veterans Affairs. Defense Department contracts reach USAspending only after a 90-day delay, so they are not in these lists.

CRS Report on Defense Primer, US Special Operations Forces

Wed, 04 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Government Accountability Office issued a report on U.S. Special Operations Forces. The report detailed how these forces are selected, trained, and equipped for special operations in sensitive environments. Congress enacted legislation in 1986 to strengthen SOF’s position in defense planning and budgeting.

Special Operations Forces Structure

U.S. Special Operations Forces are active duty and reserve military components designated as SOF by the Secretary of Defense. These forces are selected, organized, trained, and equipped to conduct and support special operations. Special operations often occur in sensitive environments requiring unique tactics and equipment. These operations can involve time sensitivity, low visibility, or high risk. Operators undergo screening and mission-specific training to gain proficiency. Selected personnel possess regional, cultural, and linguistic expertise.

GAO Report on Tax Filing, IRS Should Enhance Ghost Preparer Identification and Compliance Efforts in a Comprehensive Preparer Strategy

Wed, 04 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Government Accountability Office looked at the IRS efforts to identify ghost preparers. The GAO found that IRS efforts were fragmented because relevant data was scattered across several databases. The IRS lacked a strategy, goals, or ways to measure the success of its efforts.

Ghost Preparers Impact IRS

Ghost preparers are tax preparers who do not identify themselves on tax returns. These individuals may leave information off to file fraudulent returns, steal refunds, and steal identities. Courts ordered individual ghost preparers to pay millions in restitution. IRS officials believe the total effect of ghost preparers is likely greater because they are difficult to detect. IRS data systems lack connections and have limitations that limit their usefulness. This prevents the IRS from knowing how many ghost preparers it has identified or addressed.

CRS Report on Israel, 2026 Elections and Government Formation

Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Government Accountability Office report examined changes to Israel’s government following the October 27, 2026, Knesset elections. These changes could affect the country’s future direction and relations with the United States. The Likud party won the most seats, but neither bloc had a clear majority to form a government.

Uncertainty about election results could lead to a power-sharing arrangement. Netanyahu could use renewed U.S.-Israel military action against Iran to pressure rivals into a unity government. Eisenkot’s bloc had influence in power-sharing talks due to potential legislation limiting Netanyahu’s time as prime minister after another election. Before the election, Eisenkot rejected a deal allowing Netanyahu to remain prime minister. The parties in Eisenkot’s bloc considered partnering with the Arab-led Ra’am party for a minority government. Eisenkot reportedly required Ra’am to recognize Hamas as a terrorist organization.

Retire through Ownership Act Signed Into Law as Public Law 119-124

Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Retire through Ownership Act (S. 2403) became law on October 15, 2026, as Public Law 119-124. Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) introduced it on July 23, 2025, with 1 cosponsor.

What the Law Does

This bill allows the fiduciary of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) to rely on a valuation provided by an independent valuation expert or business appraiser in determining the fair market value of the plan’s assets if the assets are not securities for which there is a generally recognized market and the expert or appraiser follows specified methodologies.

Export Control Pressure Index Reads 33.9 as BIS Goes a Year Without an Entity List Addition and Beijing Keeps Countering

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Export Control Pressure Index, CrossGov.com’s new gauge of how hard Washington and Beijing are leaning on each other’s technology trade, reads 33.9 at the end of October 2026, in the Steady zone. The two halves of the reading point in opposite directions. On the US side the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security has gone more than a year without adding a single company to the Entity List. On the Chinese side the Commerce Ministry has kept answering every American move, and in October it went further than it ever has with a draft list that would put large AI models under export control.

Clergy Act Signed Into Law as Public Law 119-125

Sat, 31 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Clergy Act (H.R. 227) became law on October 20, 2026, as Public Law 119-125. Rep. Vince Fong (R-California) introduced it on January 7, 2025, with 21 cosponsors.

What the Law Does

This act establishes a two-year window for members of the clergy who have opted out of Social Security and Medicare taxes (and are thus ineligible for benefits under those programs) to opt back in.

Under current law, certain ministers, members of religious orders, and Christian Science practitioners who object to participation in public insurance programs on religious or conscientious grounds may apply to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for an exemption from Social Security and Medicare taxes on ministerial earnings. Individuals who are approved for the exemption do not receive Social Security or Medicare benefits in retirement unless they have qualifying credits from other employment. The exemption is irrevocable.

Critical Infrastructure Manufacturing Feasibility Act Signed Into Law as Public Law 119-127

Sat, 31 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Critical Infrastructure Manufacturing Feasibility Act (H.R. 1721) became law on October 20, 2026, as Public Law 119-127. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) introduced it on February 27, 2025, with 2 cosponsors.

What the Law Does

This bill requires the Department of Commerce to study and report on products that are in high demand across the critical infrastructure sectors. Critical infrastructure sectors are those whose assets, systems, and networks are vital to national security, the economy, public health or safety, or any combination of those matters.

Trump Executive Order 14438 on Decreasing Housing Costs for the American People

Sat, 31 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Executive Order 14438 directs the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation to establish a pilot program. The pilot program reviews single-family mortgage loans using automated valuation models to identify borrowers who satisfy requirements for cancellation of mortgage insurance. The Director shall direct the Enterprises to establish procedures for this pilot program.

Purpose

The Administration must reduce regulatory barriers to mortgage origination and costs that impede homeownership. The Administration must embrace innovative risk and value assessment technologies that incorporate Super Intelligence to drive down mortgage and homeownership costs. The Administration must promote competition and innovation throughout the housing and mortgage market.

CRS Report on Credible Fear and Defensive Asylum Processes, Frequently Asked Questions

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A Congressional Research Service report examined credible fear and defensive asylum processes for non-U.S. nationals seeking removal from the United States. The report detailed how asylum can be granted based on persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution. It also reviewed the expedited removal process and credible fear screenings used during these proceedings.

Asylum and Removal Processes

Non-U.S. nationals may seek asylum during standard or expedited removal processes. Asylum is granted to individuals unable or unwilling to return due to persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution based on specific grounds. The Department of Homeland Security charges aliens with immigration violations and processes them for removal. Aliens in removal proceedings can apply for asylum, withholding of removal, or protection from removal under the Convention Against Torture. Section 235(b) of the INA allows for an expedited removal process if an alien lacks valid documents or used fraud. During expedited removal, individuals expressing fear of persecution may undergo credible fear screenings.

CRS Report on FY2026 District of Columbia Budget and Appropriations

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Government Accountability Office report covered the FY2026 District of Columbia Budget and Appropriations. The report examined how congressional approval affects the local operating budget and legislation for the District of Columbia. This process involves federal payments and controls on DC funds through annual appropriations legislation.

District of Columbia Budget Process

The Trump Administration submitted a discretionary budget request for FY2026 on May 2, 2025. This request included a proposed $728.5 million in federal payments to the District of Columbia. The DC government passed a budget of $22 billion in gross funds on September 4, 2025. In the House, a bill providing $823.9 million for DC was reported on September 5, 2025. A continuing resolution provided funding through January 30, 2026. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 provided $879 million in federal payments for DC.

Enhancing Detection of Human Trafficking Act Signed Into Law as Public Law 119-131

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Enhancing Detection of Human Trafficking Act (H.R. 4307) became law on October 20, 2026, as Public Law 119-131. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Michigan) introduced it on July 10, 2025, with 3 cosponsors.

What the Law Does

This act requires the Department of Labor to provide training and education to its employees on how to effectively assist law enforcement in detecting human trafficking.

The act directs Labor to determine which employees should receive the training and education based on their official duties. Further, it requires the training and education to include information that is appropriate for the employees’ location or environment; that reflects current trends and best practices for the location or environment; and that is relevant to detecting human trafficking, identifying suspected victims, and referring potential cases to the Department of Justice and other appropriate authorities.

GAO Report on Critical Minerals, BLM Should Ensure Individuals and Businesses Meet Citizenship Requirements for Hardrock Mining Claims

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Government Accountability Office examined the Bureau of Land Management’s process for mining claims on federal lands. The GAO found that the BLM rarely collected information to verify if individuals and businesses met citizenship requirements for these claims. This lack of verification meant the BLM generally did not know whether claimants were qualified to extract minerals from federal lands.

Mining Claim Citizenship Issues

The Bureau of Land Management administers mining claims for hardrock minerals on federal lands. U.S. mining laws require mining claimants to be U.S. citizens or business entities incorporated in a U.S. state or territory. Foreign entities cannot hold claims, but their subsidiaries can if incorporated in the U.S. BLM does not collect citizenship information from claimants. The agency does not document whether claimants meet U.S. citizenship requirements. GAO analyzed 15 mining claimants that appeared to be business entities. The analysis found evidence that seven of these claimants were not incorporated in the U.S. BLM lacked the necessary information to verify incorporation status.

Romance Scam Prevention Act Signed Into Law as Public Law 119-129

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Romance Scam Prevention Act (H.R. 2481) became law on October 20, 2026, as Public Law 119-129. Rep. David Valadao (R-California) introduced it on March 31, 2025, with 9 cosponsors.

What the Law Does

This act requires online dating service providers (i.e., mobile applications or websites) to provide users with a fraud ban notification if the user has established an account with the service and received a message through the service from a banned user of the service.

Trump Executive Order 14436 on Implementing the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Executive Order 14436, signed by the President on September 18, 2026, implements sanctions against foreign persons and restrictions with respect to persons from Russia and other countries. The order increases duties on goods imported into the U.S. from these nations, except as waived under certain conditions, in response to national interests identified by the President.

Background

The Graham Act, signed into law on September 18, 2026, allows the President to waive certain sanctions, restrictions, and duties imposed by the act. Section 115 of the Graham Act permits the President to waive these provisions if they are deemed in the national interest after receiving a written certification from Congress explaining why such a waiver is necessary. In accordance with this authority, the President has waived the application of these measures provided for in the Graham Act and submitted a certification to Congress that the issuance of this waiver serves the nation’s interests.

Trump Executive Order 14437 on Advancing Womens Health To Improve Outcomes in All Phases of Life

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Executive Order 14437 advances women’s health to improve outcomes in all phases of life. The order directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to establish a Women’s Health Division within an appropriate institute or center within 90 days. This division shall increase scientific review, advance research, promote innovation, strengthen collaboration, support data collection methodologies, and develop accountability for grant recipients.

$372.5 Million From DOE to Fluor Marine Propulsion Tops Federal Contract Actions for October 18 to 24, 2026

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The ten largest federal contract actions recorded for the week of October 18 to 24, 2026 added up to $861.3 million. The biggest was $372.5 million from the Department of Energy to Fluor Marine Propulsion, LLC, under modification P00151 of an existing contract.

Four agencies made the top ten: Department of Energy, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Homeland Security and National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Defense Department contracts reach USAspending only after a 90-day delay, so they are not in these lists.

CRS Report on Decommissioning Offshore Oil and Gas Infrastructure, Issues for Congress

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

GAO found that, of roughly 1,600 platforms and 8,000 wells in the Gulf of Mexico at the time, more than 500 platforms and 2,700 wells were overdue for decommissioning under DOI regulations. Congress and successive presidential administrations have been considering how to address these offshore decommissioning needs and reduce federal financial liability.

Offshore Oil and Gas Decommissioning Challenges

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that, in 2024, over half of the platforms and wells in the Gulf of Mexico were overdue for decommissioning. Many offshore operators have not fulfilled their responsibilities to remove facilities from the seafloor or plug all wells and pipelines. This has left federal authorities responsible for decommissioning some infrastructure, which can be costly due to insufficient financial bonds provided by lessees. Congress and previous administrations are looking at ways to improve how these structures are decommissioned, including considering less expensive options like leaving some structures in place.

CRS Report on Equity and Good Conscience Debt Waiver Statutes

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Congressional Research Service report examines federal debt waiver statutes, known as equity and good conscience (EGC) authorities. These laws allow agencies to waive debts owed to the U.S. when enforcing collection would violate fairness or public policy considerations. The report covers dozens of such statutes, detailing their similarities and differences, and how they are implemented by various agencies.

Overpayments in Government Programs

The federal government spends trillions of dollars annually through various programs. This money is used for hiring staff, renting offices, buying goods or services from private firms, and providing grants, loans, and direct payments to beneficiaries. Sometimes these payments are made incorrectly, meaning the recipient was not eligible for all or part of what was paid. Overpayments can be due to fraud by recipients or errors within the government itself, such as incorrect calculations in determining payment amounts.

CRS Report on Foreign Relations Reauthorization, Background and Issues

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Congressional Research Service report on Foreign Relations Reauthorization covers the constitutional powers of Congress to provide funding and authorize programs related to foreign policy. This report highlights how Congress uses authorizing bills to address policies, make changes, and establish reporting requirements, emphasizing the role of congressional committees in budgetary decisionmaking.

Congressional Powers and Appropriations

Congress has the power to provide funding, authorize programs, and oversee foreign policy implementation as outlined in the Constitution. To manage these powers effectively, Congress passes laws requiring that appropriations for foreign affairs be authorized before spending can occur. This includes specific sections of law such as Section 504(a)(1) from the National Security Act of 1947, Section 15 from the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956, and others. These laws help Congress control how foreign affairs are funded and managed by setting guidelines for spending and oversight.

CRS Report on Military Memorials, Monuments, and Museums, Selected Resources for Federal, State, and Local Funding

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This Congressional Research Service report identifies potential funding opportunities for military-related historic preservation and commemoration projects at the federal, state, and local levels. It includes resources such as museum collections, exhibitions, monuments, and memorials to honor servicemembers and veterans, providing a guide for constituents seeking grants for these initiatives.

Military Funding Resources

This report offers resources to help constituents find potential funding for projects related to military history. It lists federal, state, and local sources for grants on historic preservation and commemoration of military-related initiatives. The report also includes private organization funding options and general grant resources to identify suitable organizations. However, it’s not meant to cover every possible funding source.

DHS Investigates Potential Breach After 41,000 ICE, CBP and CISA Staff Records Published Online

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Department of Homeland Security says it is looking into a potential breach after a searchable directory of more than 41,000 of its employees and contractors went online on October 28. The records name staff at ICE, CBP, Homeland Security Investigations, USCIS and CISA, with titles, offices, work phone numbers, email addresses, managers and the internal access groups each person belongs to. Some of those groups point to undercover and surveillance work.

FCC Votes to Bar Chinese Test Labs That Check 82 Percent of US Electronics by December 2028

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Federal Communications Commission voted on October 29 to stop recognizing test labs and certification bodies in countries that don’t give American labs the same treatment. China is the one that matters. From December 2028, a phone, laptop, router or camera that needs FCC approval before it can be sold in the United States can no longer be tested in a lab in mainland China.

That covers most of them. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr says labs in China tested 82 percent of the devices that applied for FCC authorization in 2025. Labs inside the United States tested about 4 percent. The draft order counts 609 recognized labs worldwide, a quarter of them in China, and notes that in 2007 the split ran the other way: US labs handled about 31 percent of applications, Chinese labs about 13 percent.

GAO Report on Geostationary Weather Satellites, Next Generation Program Challenges Put Vital Observations at Risk

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reviewed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) next generation Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO) program, which was restructured in 2025 to reduce lifecycle costs from $19.6 billion to $13 billion. Despite this reduction, GAO found that NOAA needs to document its new cost estimates and fully incorporate lessons learned from prior programs, including contingency planning to address potential gaps in satellite weather data.

GeoXO Program Restructuring

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) originally planned to launch six satellites for the Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO) program, expecting a lifecycle cost of $19.6 billion. In August 2025, Commerce directed NOAA to restructure the program to reduce costs. By April 2026, the new plan reduced the number of satellites from six to four and decreased the number of instruments from five to two. This change is expected to lower the total cost to $13 billion. However, if a GeoXO satellite launches in 2032 as planned, there could be a gap in weather data continuity since NOAA only has one operational spare satellite by then, which will end its life in October 2032. This situation raises concerns about the reliability of satellite data.

GAO Report on Nuclear Waste, Addressing Legal and Regulatory Barriers Could Accelerate Cleanup and Reduce Costs

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

GAO found that the Department of Energy oversees nuclear waste cleanup at U.S. sites, which could take until 2100 and cost up to $840 billion. However, inconsistent approaches due to a complex legal and regulatory framework have led to longer cleanup efforts and higher costs. GAO recommends clarifying roles and better decision-making with input from independent experts to potentially address risks decades sooner and avoid billions in additional costs.

State Actions Exceed DOE Authority

Some states have taken actions that exceed their authority to regulate hazardous waste, as defined by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). These state actions, which focus on radiological aspects of nuclear waste at Department of Energy cleanup sites, are generally regulated under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. This has led to disagreements between DOE and states over requirements for radioactive waste management, longer cleanup schedules, and higher costs for the federal government. Courts have recognized that DOE’s authority under the Atomic Energy Act preempts certain state actions regarding nuclear waste during cleanup efforts, but statutes and case law are unclear on what types of state actions are appropriate under the law due to mixed waste at DOE sites.

GAO Report on Research Security, NIH Action Needed to Strengthen Foreign Interference Risk Management

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reviewed the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) implementation of federal research security requirements and found that NIH has implemented 14 out of 15 requirements. However, GAO noted that NIH may not identify risks when relevant information is not required to be disclosed or is left out, as it relies heavily on self-reported disclosures from researchers and institutions.

NIH Implements Most Research Security Requirements

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has implemented 14 out of the 15 federal research security requirements that help protect extramural research from foreign interference. These requirements cover areas like disclosing affiliations, preventing talent recruitment by foreign entities, training researchers, and sharing information about collaborations. NIH works with other agencies to implement one remaining requirement related to certification of research security programs. However, NIH relies mainly on self-reported information from researchers and institutions, which can miss risks if not all relevant past affiliations or collaborations are disclosed.

GAO Report on Textile Circular Economy, Policy Options for the US

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

GAO looked at policy options to support a textile circular economy, focusing on how the U.S. can create new jobs and reduce environmental harm by keeping textiles in use longer through reuse, repair, and recycling. The main finding was that current efforts lack funding and infrastructure, prompting consideration of policies such as requiring industry responsibility for waste management, removing sales tax on secondhand apparel, and using tax credits to encourage involvement.

License to Drill Act Signed Into Law as Public Law 119-134

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The License to Drill Act (H.R. 7831) became law on October 20, 2026, as Public Law 119-134. Rep. Mike Kennedy (R-Utah) introduced it on March 5, 2026, with 3 cosponsors.

What the Law Does

This act extends through FY2037 the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM’s) authority to collect oil and gas permit processing fees. For each new permit application, BLM collects a fee that is transferred to the BLM Permit Processing Improvement Fund. (Under current law, the fees are authorized through FY2026.)

Mystic Alerts Act Signed Into Law as Public Law 119-136

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Mystic Alerts Act (H.R. 7022) became law on October 22, 2026, as Public Law 119-136. Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas) introduced it on January 12, 2026, with 4 cosponsors.

What the Law Does

This bill provides for wireless emergency alerts to be transmitted to mobile devices via satellite. (Currently, wireless emergency alerts are sent via terrestrial mobile networks to individual devices in geographically targeted areas. Commercial mobile service providers are not required to participate; only devices connected to a participating service provider’s network receive alerts.)

OFAC Sanctions Rwandan Defense Ministry Over M23 and 11 Facilitators of North Korean IT Worker Fraud

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control added 13 names to the SDN list on October 28 in two separate actions. Ten people and one company tied to North Korea’s overseas IT worker schemes were designated. So were Rwanda’s Ministry of Defence and a Rwandan savings society that pays for the army backing the M23 rebels in eastern Congo.

The two cases have nothing in common on the ground. What links them is the tool. Both rest on executive orders, both block any property under US jurisdiction, and both came out of Treasury on the same afternoon without a vote in Congress.

Pentagon Inspector General Declines Bipartisan Senate Request to Investigate Starlink and Starshield Disruptions in Ukraine

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Defense Department’s inspector general has turned down a request from nine senators, four Republicans and five Democrats, to investigate this month’s disruptions to Starlink and Starshield satellite service in Ukraine. In a reply dated October 27, the watchdog said the questions were better answered by the department itself, and pointed the senators to the Air Force. A spokeswoman for the office said it could reconsider if new information comes to light.

Trump Executive Order 14435 on Emergency Tax Relief on Diesel Fuel

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Executive Order 14435 orders the Secretary of the Treasury to defer certain diesel fuel tax payment obligations and provide penalty relief for farmers, truckers, and workers affected by rising prices due to global supply restrictions. The order aims to support these essential industries with immediate financial assistance, as stated in the preamble: ‘To that end, today I am directing the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) to use his authority to defer certain diesel fuel tax payment obligations and to provide penalty relief to the extent permitted by law.’

CMS Proposes Annual Income and Citizenship Checks Before ACA Subsidies Starting With 2028 Plans

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

CMS proposed on October 23 that ACA marketplaces verify income, citizenship or lawful presence, other coverage and residence before paying any premium subsidy, starting with 2028 plans. The proposed rule, CMS-9873-P, carries out section 71303 of the July 2025 reconciliation law, Public Law 119-21. Its sharpest change hits people who renew. Enrollees who don’t come back each year to confirm their details would be re-enrolled automatically, but without financial help.

Energy Department Offers Constellation Up to $5 Billion for Nuclear Uprates at Eight Plants

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Department of Energy offered Constellation Energy a conditional loan of up to $5 billion on October 27, 2026, to raise the output of eight existing nuclear plants in Illinois, Maryland and Pennsylvania. DOE says the work will add about 1.1 gigawatts, enough for more than 930,000 homes.

The plants are Braidwood, Byron, Clinton, Dresden, LaSalle and Quad Cities in Illinois, Calvert Cliffs in Maryland and Limerick in Pennsylvania. Their power feeds two grid regions, PJM and MISO. The loan also carries an option to finance later uprates at other Constellation plants. Energy Secretary Chris Wright marked the deal with a visit to Byron the same day.

FBI Arrests a CIA Contractor With Top Secret Clearance on Charges of Leaking Classified Reports to a Journalist

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The FBI arrested a CIA contractor on October 23, 2026, on a charge that he passed classified national defense information to a journalist he was dating. The Justice Department named him as Ian A. Brinksman, 42, of Washington, DC, and charged him by criminal complaint with unlawfully transmitting national defense information, an Espionage Act offense.

The case started inside the agency. CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the FBI made the arrest “following a referral from the Agency.” The FBI’s Chicago Field Office led the investigation, with help from the Washington Field Office. Brinksman held a Top Secret clearance with access to sensitive compartmented information. He had worked since 2020 for a government agency in the Eastern District of Virginia and, from 2022, as a systems integration developer for a contractor to that agency.

FinCEN Finds $270 Million in Suspicious Activity Tied to Federal Student Aid Fraud

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said on October 19, 2026, that it had found about $270 million in suspicious financial activity that may be tied to fraud against federal student aid programs. It has passed the findings to federal investigators.

The number comes from banks. In July FinCEN asked financial institutions to watch for student aid fraud and report it. Since then they’ve filed nearly 100 suspicious activity reports. FinCEN’s review of those reports turned up more than 20,000 potentially suspicious transactions going back to February 2026. Treasury’s release says the reports don’t give a complete picture of the activity, and the referrals are leads for investigators, not charges.

GAO Finds HUD Cut 29 Percent of Its Workforce and Ended 21 Percent of Its Contracts, Then Did Not Answer the Auditors

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

GAO found that the Department of Housing and Urban Development cut its workforce by about 29 percent between December 2024 and December 2025, from about 8,800 employees to about 6,300. The report, GAO-26-108442, was released on October 14, 2026.

HUD also ended 144 of its 675 active contracts in 2025, about 21 percent, worth $367 million. And through most of the audit, the department didn’t answer GAO’s questions. GAO says HUD did not respond to most of its requests for information and didn’t provide documents to back up the initiatives it had announced in public. GAO had to rebuild the picture from federal personnel, contract and grant databases, and from interviews with 20 organizations that deal with HUD.

GSA and SBA Audit 689 Suspended 8a Contractors Whose Federal Contracts Carry a $5.5 Billion Ceiling

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The General Services Administration and the Small Business Administration are auditing the federal contracts of 689 firms suspended from the SBA’s 8(a) program, contracts with a combined ceiling of $5.5 billion. GSA announced the review on October 21, 2026.

The 8(a) Business Development Program lets small businesses owned by people the SBA counts as socially and economically disadvantaged compete for set-aside and sole-source federal work. To stay in, a firm has to meet tests on personal net worth, adjusted gross income, total assets, character and its potential for success. The SBA says its own assessment found hundreds of participants that hadn’t shown they met those tests and kept getting contracts and procurement priority anyway. GSA will go through those contracts one by one and send suspected fraud to its inspector general and the Justice Department.

Justice Department Charges 48 Noncitizens With Election Crimes in Five States a Week Before the Midterms

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Justice Department said on October 26 that it has charged 48 noncitizens with election-related crimes in California, Pennsylvania, Florida, New York and Nevada. The cases cover illegal voting in federal elections and false claims of US citizenship made to register or vote.

The charges sit in ten federal districts. California accounts for 28 defendants: 13 in the Central District, six in the Eastern District, five in the Northern District and four in the Southern District. Pennsylvania has nine, split between the Eastern and Middle districts. Florida has six, all in the Middle District. New York has four and Nevada one. The release quotes no official and names no investigating agency beyond “federal agents” who interviewed some defendants.

NRC Final Rule Lets Reactor Developers Use Energy and War Department Test Data in License Applications

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission finalized a rule on October 22, 2026, that lets companies applying for a commercial reactor license rely on test data and analyses from reactors already authorized by the Department of Energy or the Department of War. The NRC calls it the first major change to its reactor rules finalized under Executive Order 14300.

The rule amends 10 CFR Parts 50 and 53, the two rulebooks a developer can license a power reactor under. It takes effect 30 days after it’s published in the Federal Register, which the NRC expected the week of October 26. The proposal came out on April 2, and the agency received 136 unique comment submissions.

NSA, CISA and NIST Issue Incident Response Practices for Superintelligence Agents That Act on Their Own

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The National Security Agency, CISA and NIST published 10 practices on October 20, 2026, for handling what they call “SI control incidents”: cases where a highly capable AI agent, in the new federal vocabulary a Super Intelligence agent, takes serious actions nobody told it to take.

The guidance is titled “Key Practices for Incident Readiness and Response in Super Intelligence Training and Evaluation.” It is a Cybersecurity Information Sheet, version 1.0, cleared for public release. The authors are NSA’s Super Intelligence Security Center, NIST’s Center for Advancing Innovation and Standards for Super Intelligence and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. No foreign agencies co-signed it.

OMB and OPM Withdraw Shutdown Layoff Guidance Under a Union Settlement Ahead of the December 11 Deadline

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

OMB and OPM have formally withdrawn the 2025 guidance that let federal agencies start layoffs during a government shutdown. Memo M-27-01, dated October 23, 2026, is the notice a union settlement required, with funding set to lapse after December 11.

The memo is short. OMB Director Russell Vought and OPM Director Scott Kupor tell agency heads and chief human capital officers that three documents are rescinded in full and no longer operative: OMB’s September 24, 2025 email on the possible lapse in appropriations starting October 1, 2025, and OPM’s two shutdown documents from the same week, its “Guidance for Shutdown Furloughs” and its “Special Instructions for Agencies Affected by a Possible Lapse in Appropriations Starting on October 1, 2025.” Those documents had told agencies to consider reduction-in-force notices for employees in programs without funding, and treated the work of running layoffs as an excepted activity that could go on while most staff were furloughed.

OPM Final Rule Bars Administrative Leave for Federal Employees Serving as Poll Workers

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Office of Personnel Management has written a ban on paid administrative leave for federal employees who serve as poll workers or poll observers into federal regulation. The final rule was published on October 19, 2026, and takes effect November 18.

That is two weeks after the November 3 midterms. For this election, federal employees who want to staff a polling place work under OPM’s current policy, which already says no. Since July 2025 OPM’s template for agency leave policies has barred administrative leave for poll work, “whether that service is partisan or nonpartisan, paid or unpaid.” Employees can still use annual leave, compensatory time, credit hours, a schedule change or leave without pay. The rule moves that position from guidance into regulation, which takes another rulemaking to undo.

Social Security Rewrites Its Records With 17 Million Death Dates and 25 Million Citizenship Entries From DHS SAVE

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Social Security Administration said on October 20 that it has added 17 million missing death dates to its Social Security number records and filled in citizenship for about 25 million more, using DHS’s SAVE service. It is correcting another 8.5 million records with wrong citizenship status. All the figures are the agency’s own. SSA released no breakdown, no error rate and no outside review.

Commissioner Frank Bisignano called the database “our country’s books and records.” SSA says it has corrected nearly 15 percent of all active Social Security numbers since the start of the administration, touching nearly 390 million records in all. It describes the work as the largest clean-up in its 91-year history. The death dates came from SSA’s own systems and from State Department data. SSA repeated the totals in an October 23 release on its fiscal 2026 performance.

Supreme Court Lets New Hampshire Reject Student IDs at the Polls Over a Jackson Dissent

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The US Supreme Court on October 22 let New Hampshire stop counting student IDs as proof of identity for the November 3 election. It stayed a federal judge’s injunction in Scanlan v. Coalition for Open Democracy, No. 26A512, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissenting.

The order is short and unsigned. It stays the preliminary injunction orders of October 2 and 5 from the US District Court for the District of New Hampshire while the state’s appeal runs in the First Circuit and through any petition for certiorari. The stated reason is timing. Citing Republican National Committee v. Democratic National Committee (2020), the Court said lower federal courts should ordinarily not alter election rules on the eve of an election, and that the district court had identified nothing that justified departing from that rule.

Treasury Proposes Barring Large Investors From Buying Single-Family Homes Starting January 7, 2027

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Treasury Department proposed rules on October 22, 2026, to bar large institutional investors from buying single-family homes from January 7, 2027. The proposal is Treasury’s first attempt to say how the ban will work in practice, and most of it is about the exceptions.

The ban itself is already law. Congress wrote it into Section 1001 of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, H.R. 6644, a broad housing bill that cleared the Senate 85 to 5 on June 22. President Trump said he wouldn’t sign it, arguing that Congress should pass the SAVE America Act first, and he didn’t. The bill became law without his signature on July 11. The ban starts 180 days later. Treasury says the rule also codifies key parts of Executive Order 14376, “Stopping Wall Street from Competing with Main Street Homebuyers,” which the President signed on January 20.

Treasury Sanctions a Greek Law Firm Behind Iran Shadow Fleet Ships as FinCEN Issues Its First Subpoena to a European Bank

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Treasury Department sanctioned a Greek and Panamanian law firm on October 21, 2026, for registering the shipping companies behind Iran’s shadow fleet. The same day it disclosed that FinCEN had used its Bank Secrecy Act subpoena power for the first time to dig into a Greek bank’s possible ties to Iran.

Both moves are part of Operation Economic Outcast, the campaign Treasury launched on August 24 to cut Iran off from the financial system. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent put the message bluntly: “if you are supporting the Iranian regime, we will find you and sanction you.”

Twenty One States Sue Treasury Over a Rule Exempting Nearly All Companies From Ownership Reporting

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Twenty-one state attorneys general sued Treasury on October 27 over a FinCEN rule that exempts every US company from the Corporate Transparency Act’s ownership reporting. The case, Oregon v. Bessent, was filed in federal court in Eugene, Oregon. It asks the court to throw out the rule and to stop FinCEN from deleting the ownership data it has already collected, a purge the complaint says is set for on or about February 10, 2027.

USDA Announces $8 Billion in Harvest Fuel Relief and $573 Million for Fertilizer Plants Weeks Before the Midterms

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

USDA announced $8 billion in one-time Harvest Fuel Relief payments to farmers on October 19 and about $573 million for eight fertilizer plants on October 22, both drawn on the Commodity Credit Corporation. Neither program comes from a new appropriation. Both use USDA’s standing authority to borrow from the Treasury through the CCC, the same route the department took for the $12 billion Farmer Bridge Assistance payments earlier this year.

USTR Warns the EU That a Record European Investment Bank Loan to Airbus Threatens the Aircraft Subsidy Truce

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on October 26, 2026, that a record European Investment Bank loan to Airbus “injects substantial uncertainty” into the US-EU aircraft truce, which has kept billions of dollars in tariffs suspended since 2021.

The statement is short. Greer said he had hoped “trade-distorting European subsidies to Airbus were a thing of the past.” He said France, Germany and Spain have long backed Airbus to give it an unfair edge over American aerospace workers. And he said USTR “still has no details about this loan” despite repeated requests. He asked for the matter to be settled “as soon as possible” so the large civil aircraft deal isn’t breached.

White Powder Letters Reach Election Offices in at Least Five States as the FBI Warns of Threats to Election Workers

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The FBI and the US Postal Inspection Service are investigating suspicious letters, most of them holding white powder, that reached state election offices in Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arizona, Wisconsin and Nebraska in mid-October. Postal inspectors stopped more before delivery. On October 15 the FBI issued a public warning about threats to election workers.

Two letters were opened on Tuesday, October 13. In Louisiana, a letter reached the elections office of Secretary of State Nancy Landry. The employee who opened it was taken to an emergency room as a precaution and the building was cleared for the rest of the day. Testing later found the powder harmless. The same afternoon in Oklahoma, a state elections employee opened a letter with white powder and the building was evacuated.

White House Press Corps Has No Legal Claim to the Brady Briefing Room as Trump Weighs a Move

Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

President Trump said on October 25, 2026, that he is thinking about moving the White House press corps to a different location. No statute gives reporters a place in the West Wing, and the courts have so far treated most of the building’s working rooms as the president’s to control. If he decides to move them, the decision is his.

The statement came in two Truth Social posts. On October 24 he denied a New York Times report from October 20 that he had discussed turning the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room back into the indoor swimming pool it covers, while saying he may move the press to a “less obnoxious location.” A day later he said he was thinking about moving the press and putting them somewhere else. He named no destination and no date. Communications director Steven Cheung had said earlier that all options remained on the table.

US Government News Digest for October 26 2026

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Eight days before the midterms, Washington spent Monday arguing about who gets the last word. The Justice Department is in federal court in Alaska and California trying to shape how ballots are handled and results certified. A judge in Manhattan told the same department it had no right to fire a career prosecutor the way it did. Two senators say the administration is sitting on a surveillance court ruling the law says it should have published six weeks ago.

Congress Needs a Verifiable Account of What the Iran Strikes Achieved

Sat, 24 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A military campaign can produce extensive destruction without producing a settled answer about what an adversary can still do. That distinction matters whenever an administration asks Congress and the public to accept a declaration of success. Targets struck, facilities damaged, weapons remaining and production capacity restored are different measurements. Treating them as interchangeable makes oversight weaker precisely when the consequences are greatest.

Government Shutdowns Turn Aviation Workers Into Washington's Financial Shock Absorbers

Sat, 24 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Washington has developed a peculiar approach to essential public services: declare the work too important to stop, then interrupt the pay of the people doing it. In aviation, that contradiction reaches well beyond federal offices. It follows passengers through security checkpoints, into departure lounges and onto aircraft waiting for clearance. A government shutdown may begin as a dispute over appropriations, but its consequences travel.

TPS Terminations Put Immigration Decision Making and Public Notice Under Scrutiny

Sat, 24 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

An immigration decision is not fully administered when an official signs it. People must be able to understand when it takes effect, employers must know what documentation remains valid, and agencies must explain how litigation changes implementation. Temporary Protected Status brings these obligations into unusually sharp focus because permission to remain and work can depend on a country designation, a government notice and the timing of a court decision.

Treasury COINS Act Rule Would Ban US Investment in Chinese and Russian Superintelligence, Supercomputing and Hypersonics

Fri, 23 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Treasury Department on October 22 proposed a rule that would stop Americans putting money into companies in China, Russia, Iran, North Korea and Cuba that build superintelligence systems, supercomputers, quantum machines, hypersonic weapons or certain biotechnology. It is the first rule written under the Comprehensive Outbound Investment National Security Act, the COINS Act, which Congress folded into the FY2026 defense bill last December. Comments close on December 7.

The proposal turns a program that started as a 2023 executive order aimed at China alone into a statute-backed regime covering five countries and six technology families. It also hardens the AI piece. Under the current rules, a US investor backing a Chinese AI developer often only had to tell Treasury about the deal. Under the new text, investing in any entity developing a “super intelligence system” is simply banned. That’s Treasury following the administration’s September decision to rename artificial intelligence, the subject of an earlier CrossGov.com column.

CBO Says Rates 1.5 Points Higher Would Add $6 Trillion to Deficits by 2036, With the 10-Year Yield Already at 5.2%

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Congressional Budget Office published two higher-interest-rate scenarios on October 8, and the bond market is already more than halfway to the worse one. CBO’s February baseline assumed the 10-year Treasury yield would average 4.3% from 2026 to 2036. The yield closed at 5.2% on October 1.

A scenario that looked like a stress test in February now sits close to where the market trades.

We covered the headline numbers when they came out, in our post on interest costs topping defense and Medicare. This post looks at how the scenarios are built, what the market has already priced, and what Treasury’s final numbers for fiscal 2026 add.

CRS Tells Congress to Weigh Icebreaker Funding and Command Coordination as Russia Rebuilds Its Arctic Forces

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A Congressional Research Service report of October 14, R49487, asks Congress to judge Russia’s Arctic build-up against what Washington is funding: icebreakers, command coordination and allied plans.

The report, “Russia’s Arctic Military Posture: Considerations for Congress”, is mostly about Russia. Its value for Washington is in what it lists as open questions for lawmakers, and in what it leaves out.

DOE Uses the Defense Production Act to Fund the Constitution Pipeline and Two Grid Projects, Up to $242 Million in Two Weeks

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Department of Energy has committed up to $242 million of Defense Production Act money to three energy projects since October 5: a gas pipeline into New York, a second power line in Alaska and grid upgrades in Virginia. A law passed in 1950 for the Korean War is now paying for permits and power lines.

The biggest award came first. On October 5 DOE offered the Alaska Energy Authority up to $150 million for the Beluga-Healy line, about 223 miles of new transmission between Southcentral and Interior Alaska. Today a single intertie, built in the 1980s, carries power between Anchorage and Fairbanks, and most of the state’s military bases draw on it. The project is priced at $418 million, a preliminary estimate, with the other $268 million to come from non-federal sources. DOE’s release cites the state’s big military installations without naming one.

GAO Finds GPS Modernization Still Behind After DOD Cancels the OCX Ground System and Army Aviation Waits to 2049 for M-Code

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

GAO reported on October 7 that the Pentagon’s GPS upgrade is still behind schedule after DOD canceled OCX, the ground control system it had funded for years. The report, GAO-27-107676, says the fix creates new risks for the next satellites and that secure M-code receivers will reach some aircraft only in 2049.

Congress asked for the review. The fiscal 2025 NDAA widened an older reporting mandate, from the fiscal 2016 NDAA, so that GAO now covers the alternatives to GPS as well as GPS itself. Those alternatives matter because GPS signals are weak and easy to jam.

GAO Finds NNSA Cut Its Federal Staff 11.9% as the Nuclear Weapons Workload Hits a Cold War High

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The National Nuclear Security Administration, the DOE agency that runs the US nuclear weapons stockpile, has lost 236 federal employees since early fiscal 2025, GAO reported on October 16. That’s 11.9% of its staff, gone in the same months its workload reached what GAO calls the highest level since the Cold War.

The agency is small and its budget isn’t. NNSA’s federal staff oversee a $25 billion annual budget and about 70,000 contractor employees who maintain the stockpile. They also run a modernization of the weapons and their infrastructure that GAO puts at $200 billion over two decades.

GAO Finds None of 24 Agencies Ready for Post-Quantum Encryption, and 16 Say It Is Too Early to Test

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

GAO reported on October 6 that none of the 24 largest federal agencies has fully done the groundwork OMB set for moving to post-quantum encryption, and 23 haven’t tested it at all.

The report, GAO-27-108740 (reissued with revisions on October 14), is the public version of a sensitive audit GAO sent to agencies in September 2025. It took a year to clear the redactions. In that year the White House raised the stakes: an executive order in June set hard dates for the switch, and OMB followed with a migration memo. The public report shows agencies starting that clock from far behind.

GAO Finds the US Cannot Tell Who Owns the Critical Mineral Mines on Federal Land

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The federal government doesn’t know how much foreign money is behind the critical mineral mines on its own land, GAO reported on October 16. The 1872 Mining Law doesn’t ask, so the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service don’t collect it.

GAO released two reports that day, both on hardrock mining, which is where most US-mineable critical minerals come from. The first, GAO-27-108094, tried to measure foreign investment in mines on federal land. The second, GAO-27-108196, looked at whether BLM checks that mining claimants are allowed to hold claims at all. Both found the same gap. The agencies that manage the land collect almost nothing on who’s behind the claims.

GAO Sets AI and Fiscal Oversight Priorities Through 2032 With No Confirmed Comptroller General and a House Bill Cutting Its Budget 25%

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Government Accountability Office released its strategic plan for 2027 to 2032 last week, setting out how Congress’s main watchdog means to spend the next six years. It puts artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and the federal fiscal outlook near the top. It was signed by an acting head, at an agency the House wants to cut by a quarter.

GAO writes a new plan every few years. It’s the document that tells committees what kind of work to expect and tells GAO’s own staff where hiring and training will go. This one comes at an awkward moment for the agency.

OFAC Hits Iran Offshore Banks, a Cartel del Noreste Racetrack and Chinese Firms Tied to Google Trade Secret Theft in One Week

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control packed a wide spread of actions into October 13 to 19: Iranian offshore banks, a Mexican cartel’s racetrack, a Bank of America settlement and a fresh use of a 2023 law against trade secret theft.

Together they show how many separate legal authorities Washington now runs at once. Every designation below rests on an executive order or an existing statute. None needed a vote.

Pentagon Acts as Investor and Bulk Buyer With 25,000 APKWS Kits a Year and Supplier Stakes, but Congress Holds the Money

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Pentagon signed a framework with BAE Systems on October 19 for up to 25,000 APKWS guidance kits a year for up to seven years, but Congress still has to approve and fund it. The same week, the department’s technology chief talked up loans and equity stakes in suppliers. The Pentagon wants to be a long-term customer and a shareholder at once. Both roles run through Capitol Hill.

The APKWS kit turns an unguided 2.75-inch rocket into a laser-guided one. All four services use it, and it has become a cheap way to shoot down drones. BAE builds the kits in Hudson, New Hampshire, and Austin, Texas, and delivered its 100,000th in February. The framework also sets out a path to 35,000 kits a year if allies place orders through Foreign Military Sales.

Pentagon Invites Governors to Bid for the First New US Military Base Since 1985, With Congress Still to Approve the Money

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Pentagon has asked every governor to compete to host a new joint base for 15,000 to 25,000 troops, the first since 1985. States must offer land and fast permits. Congress must still authorize and fund it, and three weeks on no plan for picking a site has been published.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the “Next Great American Base” in a speech at Marine Corps Base Quantico on September 30 and in a memo the same day. The memo describes a hardened joint installation within the homeland, shared by more than one service, on hundreds of thousands of acres. Hegseth called it a self-sustaining power projection platform. It would run off the commercial grid on its own power, with modern air defenses, new housing, health care and child care, and classical architecture.

Social Security Sets a 3.6% COLA for 2027, the Largest Since 2023, as CBO Puts the Retirement Fund Out of Money in 2032

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Social Security Administration announced on October 14 that benefits will rise 3.6% in 2027, the largest cost-of-living adjustment since 2023. The increase applies to about 72 million Social Security beneficiaries from January and to about 7.3 million people on Supplemental Security Income from December 31. Counting people who get both, SSA puts the total at about 76 million Americans.

For the average retired worker, the monthly check goes from $2,095 to $2,170, a rise of $75. An aged couple both receiving benefits goes from $3,238 to $3,355. The SSI federal payment standard rises from $994 to $1,029 a month for an individual and from $1,491 to $1,544 for a couple.

Russian Sanctions Relief Exposes a Collision Between Energy Policy and Congressional Intent

Mon, 19 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

President Donald Trump’s decision to waive key new restrictions on Russia has turned a dispute over diesel supplies into a broader confrontation over how American foreign policy is made. Congress approved legislation intended to increase pressure on Moscow, and Trump signed it last month. He has now waived important sanctions and tariff provisions before their implementation, while separately pursuing additional Russian diesel supplies. The backlash crosses party lines because the reversal raises an uncomfortable question: how much practical force does a congressional sanctions policy retain when the executive immediately chooses to suspend its central measures?

The Iran War Cost Dispute Is Becoming a Test of Congressional Oversight

Mon, 19 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The fight over the cost of the Iran war has reached a basic question of government accountability: should Americans be allowed to see the financial damage from a military campaign they are paying for? Five Democratic senators have written to CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper demanding public disclosure of estimated damage to American military bases and facilities. Their intervention follows a classified briefing in which Cooper supplied damage estimates to lawmakers. The information exists, in other words. The dispute is over why the public cannot see an unclassified accounting of it.

Census Bureau Proposes Excluding Noncitizens From the 2030 Apportionment Count and Dropping Race and Ethnicity Questions