Weekly Roundup Archive: WR 3/15/25

3/15 - USAGM, Senior Advisor Kari Lake cancels obscenely expensive 15-year-lease that burdened the taxpayers and enforces Trump's Executive Order to drastically downsize agency (USAGM; see also, NPR article)

3/16 - Social Security Provides Update about its Death Record (SSA; see also, 3/15 Seattle Times article)

3/17 - Upgraded FOIA.gov Search Tool Delivers Improved Results (DOJ; direct to website)

3/17 - EEOC Acting Chair Andrea Lucas Sends Letters to 20 Law Firms Requesting Information About DEI-Related Employment Practices (EEOC; see also, Reuters/MSN article)

3/17 - HUD Secretary Scott Turner and DOI Secretary Doug Burgum Announce Joint Task Force To Use Federal Lands for Affordable Housing (HUD)

3/17 - 5 ways NOAA research is making your life better — right now (NOAA)

3/17 - Secretary Rollins Takes Action to Streamline U.S. Pork and Poultry Processing (USDA; see also, Reuters/MSN article and referenced January report/data)

3/17 - VA to phase out treatment for gender dysphoria (VA)

3/18 - 2024 FOIA Litigation and Compliance Report Now Available (DOJ; direct to report)

3/18 - Previously-Classified President John F. Kennedy Assassination Collection Records Now Released (ODNI; direct to website; see also, Independent article)

3/18 - Social Security Strengthens Identity Proofing Requirements and Expedites Direct Deposit Changes to One Day (SSA; see also NYT article)

3/18 - U.S. Department of the Treasury Brings Back IRS Whistleblowers Wrongly Punished in Biden Probe (Treas; see also, ABC News article)

3/18 - USDA Expediting $10 Billion in Direct Economic Assistance to Agricultural Producers (USDA)

3/19 - Justice Department Announces Actions to Combat Cost-of-Living Crisis, Including Rescinding 11 Pieces of Guidance (DOJ; see also, Guardian article)

3/19 - Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement (Fed; see also, NBC News article)

3/19 - NASS reinstates select data collection programs and reports (NASS; see also, Progressive Farmer article)

3/20 - Interior Secretary takes steps to unleash Alaska’s extraordinary resource potential (BLS; see also, WaPo/MSN article)

3/20 - Attorney General Pamela Bondi Announces Severe Charges Against Violent Tesla Arsonists (DOJ; see also, CNBC article)

3/20 - Statement on President Trump’s Executive Order to Return Power Over Education to States and Local Communities (ED; see also, EO and Guardian article)

3/20 - European Agri-Food Trade and Brexit: The First 3 Years of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (ERS)

3/20 - HHS, FDA Announce Chemical Contaminants Transparency Tool for Foods (FDA; direct to website)

3/20 - Keith E. Sonderling Sworn In as Acting Director of Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS; see also, artnet article)

3/20 - USDA Update on Progress of Five-Pronged Strategy to Combat Avian Flu and Lower Egg Prices (USDA; see also, NPR article)

3/20 - USPS Is Enhancing Service Standards (USPS; direct to info page/factsheets)

3/21 - Department of Defense Chief of Staff Joseph Kasper Statement on Efforts to Combat Unauthorized Disclosures (DOD; see also, Bloomberg/MSN article)

3/21 - Statement of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Investigation into Intelligence Leak (DOJ; see also, NYT article)

3/21 - Carr Announces Sweeping New Investigation into CCP-Aligned Entities (FCC)

3/21 - Small Business Administration Announces Agency-Wide Reorganization (SBA)

3/21 - Statement from Acting Commissioner Dudek about Temporary Restraining Order (SSA; see also, CNBC article)

3/21 - Tornado Cash Delisting (Treas; see also, Gizmodo article)

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.

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None this week

White House press releases and executive actions

Trump Trackers page

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The news/media reading lists were not getting enough use to justify continuing, so I will no longer post those. I will again very selectively include media reports in the "miscellaneous" box below, as well as post related articles elsewhere when I think they provide important context.

3/19 - GSA Is Not Effectively Managing Its Internal Space to Reflect Occupancy Changes (GSA)

3/19 - Rejection of State Death Reports (SSA)

3/19 - Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights’ Equal Employment Opportunity Complaint-Final Agency Action Process (USDA)

3/21 - SAMHSA’s FindTreatment.gov Contained Some Inaccurate Information on Substance Use and Mental Health Treatment Facilities (HHS; see also, 5/11/22 CNN article)

3/17 - U.S.-Canada Trade Relations (CRS)

3/17- Social Security Administration (SSA): Announced Restructuring and Other Changes (CRS)

3/20 - CBO Releases Infographics About the Federal Budget in Fiscal Year 2024 (CBO)

3/20 - Nationwide Injunctions Under the First Trump Administration and the Biden Administration (CRS)

3/21 - Projections of Deficits and Debt Under Alternative Scenarios for the Budget and Interest Rates (CBO; see also, Senate Budget ranking member statement)

3/17 - Temporary Presidential Designation of Acting Board Members of the Inter-American Foundation and the United States African Development Foundation (OLC Opinions)

3/18 - Wired is dropping paywalls for FOIA-based reporting. Others should follow (Wired)

3/20 - Transparency of Grants Actions to Reduce Spending (DHS; see also, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Contract Actions to Reduce Spending and 3/13 Transparency of Contract Actions to Reduce Spending)

3/20 - University of California to no longer require diversity statements in faculty hiring (EdSource)

3/18 - In FOIA Request Filing, Ranking Members Raskin and Connolly Demand DOGE Stop Lying and Come Clean (H Judiciary; direct to FOIA request and letter to DOGE)

3/18 - During Sunshine Week, Ranking Member Connolly and Committee Democrats Introduce Legislation to Protect Government Watchdogs From Trump-Musk Attacks (H Oversight)

3/20 - Oversight Democrats Expose Trump Administration for Undermining FOIA and Preventing Transparency (H Oversight; direct to letters to 24 agencies)

3/21 - Committee Democrats Take Action to Hold the President Accountable for His Effort to Dismantle the Department of Education (H Education; direct to Resolution of Inquiry)

3/21 - Cantwell, Democratic Senate Committee Leaders Demand Immediate Review by Agency Inspectors General of Trump Administration’s Mass Dismissals of Federal Employees (S Commerce)

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

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None this week.