Weekly Roundup Archive: WR 2/17/24

2/20 - Biden-Harris Administration announces $5.8 billion from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda for drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure upgrades (EPA; see also, WH fact sheet)

2/20 - The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC): Background, Trends, and Economic Issues, 2024 Edition (ERS)

2/21 - New Milestone: List of ‘Allies in Action’ Supporting USDOT’s Safety Push Surpasses 160 Members and includes 36 State Transportation Agencies and State Safety Offices (DOT; direct to report)

2/21 - Biden-Harris Administration Approves $1.2 Billion in Loan Forgiveness for Over 150,000 SAVE Plan Borrowers (ED; see also, WH fact sheet)

2/21 - IRS begins audits of corporate jet usage; part of larger effort to ensure high-income groups don’t fly under the radar on tax responsibilities (IRS)

2/21 - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation: A Joint Commitment to the Nation’s Water Infrastructure (USBR; direct to report)

2/21 - Fact Sheet: Biden-Harris Administration Announces Initiative to Bolster Cybersecurity of U.S. Ports (WH; see also, EO)

2/22 - False Claims Act Settlements and Judgments Exceed $2.68 Billion in Fiscal Year 2023 (DOJ)

2/22 - FTC Order Will Ban Avast from Selling Browsing Data for Advertising Purposes, Require It to Pay $16.5 Million Over Charges the Firm Sold Browsing Data After Claiming Its Products Would Block Online Tracking (FTC)

2/22 - HHS Office for Civil Rights Delivers Annual Reports to Congress on HIPAA Compliance and Breaches of Unsecured Protected Health Information (HHS; direct to HIPAA and Breach report pages)

2/22 - National Archives to Host Sunshine Week Panel on Artificial Intelligence and Government Access (NARA)

2/22 - U.S. Department of State Announces Project to Protect Ukrainian State Archives (State)

2/22 - USDA Convenes Inaugural National Equity Summit, Equity Commission Delivers Final Report (USDA; direct to report page)

2/22 - VA’s National Cemetery Administration dedicates new headstones to honor Black soldiers, correcting 1917 injustice (VA)

2/23 - FTC Takes Action Against Tax Prep Company H&R Block For Wiping Consumers’ Data, Deceptively Marketing ‘Free’ Online Filing (FTC)

2/23 - HHS Crisis Resources for Oklahoma [youth mental health and crisis resources, in response to death of Nex Benedict] (HHS)

2/23 - Statement from President Joe Biden Ahead of the Two-Year Anniversary of Russia’s Brutal Assault Against Ukraine (WH)

Information below is from congress.gov. Date listed is date signed into law, and the description is an abbreviated version of bill summary available on that website.

None this week

See full weekly list of Congressional hearings on congress.gov.

None this week

2/20 - Evaluation of Sustainment Strategies for the Patriot Air Defense Systems Transferred to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and Evaluation of the DoD's Sustainment Plan for Bradley, Stryker, and Abrams Armored Weapon Systems (DOD)

2/21 - Notification of Concerns Regarding Federal Bureau of Prisons' Policies Pertaining to Special Housing Unit Logs Used to Record Mandatory Rounds and the Retention Period for the Original Logs (DOJ)

2/22 - COVID-19 - Food and Nutrition Service’s Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer - Final Report (USDA)

2/23 - New FOIA Reading Room section/document added to OIG website (DFC)

2/20 - Oil and Gas Pipelines: Agencies Should Improve Oversight of Decommissioning (GAO; see also, Offshore Oil and Gas: Interior Needs to Improve Decommissioning Enforcement and Mitigate Related Risks and House Natural Resources ranking member statement)

2/21 - The Gender Earnings Gap (CRS)

2/21 - Presidential Authority to Suspend Entry of Aliens Under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(f) (CRS)

2/21 - Commercial Space Transportation: FAA's Oversight of Human Spaceflight (GAO)

2/22 - Ridesharing and Taxi Safety: Information on Assaults against Drivers and Passengers (GAO)

2/16 (missed last week) - Access Over 181,000 USGS Historical Topographic Maps (via ESRI; direct to website)

2/18 - A monument honors Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II by listing every name (via AP, with link to NARA roster; see also, Statement from President Joe Biden on the Day of Remembrance of Japanese American Incarceration)

2/20 - House Launches Bipartisan Task Force on Artifiical Intelligence (Congress)

2/20 - Judge threatens ex-Trump aide Navarro with contempt in records fight (via Politico, with link to source document)

2/22 - Release of OPM’s Workforce of the Future Playbook (CHCOC; direct to playbook)

2/22 - The Smithsonian’s Human Remains Task Force Calls for New Repatriation Policies (via Smithsonian Magazine, with link to source document)

2/22 - A step-by-step guide to how one debunked story fueled Republicans’ Biden impeachment effort (via CNN; note-referenced Form FD-1023 was removed 2/22 from House Oversight’s investigation website, but is available via Internet Archive; see also, NV and CA court dockets for US v. Smirnov at CourtListener)

2/22 - DLP Dispatch #13 (via Data Liberation Project)

2/23 - Native American tribes gain new authority to stop unwanted hydropower projects (via AP; see also, FERC meeting page, items H3-H6)

2/23 - White House reverses West Bank policy, calling Israeli settlements illegal (via Washington Post; see also, Sec. Blinken press remarks)