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Weekly Roundup Archive: WR 12/14/24

Press Releases : Dec 14 - Dec 20

12/16 - CISA Publishes Draft National Cyber Incident Response Plan for Public Comment (CISA; direct to draft)

12/16 - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Seeks Public Input to Improve Access to Federal Lands (FWS)

12/16 - The 2024 Congress.gov Top 24 and Year in Review (LOC)

12/16 - NASA Finalizes Strategy for Sustaining Human Presence in Low Earth Orbit (NASA; direct to strategy)

12/16 - USDA Releases the 2023 Census of Aquaculture Results (NASS; direct to data page)

12/16 - Secretary Haaland Designates 19 New National Historic Landmarks (NPS)

12/17 - Census Bureau Releases Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates for States, Counties and School Districts (Census; direct to data page; see also, release highlights)

12/17 - CISA Directs Federal Agencies to Secure Cloud Environments (CISA; direct to guidance)

12/17 - U.S. Department of Energy Completes LNG Study Update, Announces 60-Day Comment Period (DOE; direct to report page; see also, secretary’s statement)

12/17 - EPA Report Highlights Water Affordability Challenges in the U.S. (EPA; direct to report and broader website)

12/17 - DHS, FBI, FAA & DoD Joint Statement on Ongoing Response to Reported Drone Sightings (FAA)

12/17 - Federal Trade Commission Announces Bipartisan Rule Banning Junk Ticket and Hotel Fees (FTC)

12/17 - “Can We Capture This?”: An Interview on Website Archivability (LOC)

12/17 - An Open Letter to the Society of American Archivists (NARA; see also, 12/2 SAA press release)

12/17 - Statement on the Equal Rights Amendment Ratification Process (NARA; see also, Rolling Stone article with link to source document | Sen. Gillibrand statement)

12/17 - Introducing the New NIH Public Access Policy! (NIH; direct to policy)

12/17 - World Magnetic Model 2025 Released (NOAA; direct to website)

12/17 - DHS Publishes Final Rule for the Application of Certain Mandatory Bars in Fear Screenings (USCIS; direct to rule)

12/17 - USGS: Greenhouse gas emissions from federal lands trended mostly downward since 2009 peak (USGS; direct to report and data page)

12/18 - CDC Confirms First Severe Case of H5N1 Bird Flu in the United States (CDC)

12/18 - Senior Defense Official Briefs on 2024 China Military Power Report (DOD; see also, CMPR and factsheet)

12/18 - Former Member of Congress Charged with Acting as an Unregistered Agent of a Venezuelan National (DOJ)

12/18 - Commission transmits 2024 legislative recommendations (FCC; direct to recs)

12/18 - Introducing DiscoverGov: GPO’s New Discovery Search Tool (GPO; direct to website)

12/18 - 25 Films Named to National Film Registry for Preservation (LOC)

12/19 - Net International Migration Drives Highest U.S. Population Growth in Decades (Census; direct to data page; see also, press kit page)

12/19 - DOD Releases the Annual Report on Civilian Casualties in Connection With U.S. Military Operations in 2023 (DOD; direct to report)

12/19 - Fact Sheet: National Law Enforcement Accountability Database (DOJ; direct to BJS report page)

12/19 - Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker issues statement on 2023 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (DOL; dierct to CFOI)

12/19 - FDA Updates “Healthy” Claim, Providing a Refreshed Tool for Consumers (FDA; direct to info page)

12/19 - ICE releases Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Report (ICE; direct to report; see also, CNN article)

12/19 - What’s New Online at the Library of Congress: December 2024 (LOC)

12/19 - VA releases annual Veteran suicide prevention report, analyzing 2001-2022 data (VA; direct to report page)

12/19 - Fact Sheet: President Biden Sets 2035 Climate Target Aimed at Creating Good-Paying Union Jobs, Reducing Costs for All Americans, and Securing U.S. Leadership in the Clean Energy Economy of the Future (WH; direct to 2035 NDC)

12/20 - CFPB Sues JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo for Allowing Fraud to Fester on Zelle (CFPB)

12/20 - DOE Releases New Report Evaluating Increase in Electricity Demand from Data Centers (DOE; direct to report)

12/20 - Biden-Harris Administration Approves Additional $4.28 Billion in Student Debt Relief for Nearly 55,000 Public Service Workers (ED)

12/20 - U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights Resolves Complaints against Universities within the University of California Alleging Discrimination Based on Shared Ancestry (ED; direct to resolution letter and agreement; see also, UCSD statement)

12/20 - Office for Civil Rights Releases Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Report (ED OCR; direct to report)

12/20 - HHS Launches Let’s Get Real Campaign to Highlight Facts About Childhood Vaccines and Share Stories from Confident Parents Who Vaccinate Their Kids (HHS; direct to website)

12/20 - HHS Launches Healthy Border 2030 Framework Highlighting Health Priorities and Actions to Support Border Communities and Populations (HHS; direct to framework)

12/20 - USTR Publishes 2024 Report on the Implementation and Enforcement of Russia’s World Trade Organization Commitments (USTR; direct to report)

12/20 - Fact Sheet: Office of the National Cyber Director Publishes an Energy Modernization Cybersecurity Implementation Plan to Secure an Ambitious Energy Future (WH/ONCD; direct to plan)

Miscellaneous : Dec 14 - Dec 20

12/16 - OPM finally issues regulations implementing 2016 administrative leave reforms (via GovExec, with link to source document)

12/17 - Redesigned House Ethics Committee website rolled out (Congress)

12/17 - December 2024 GNEB Comment Letter #1 [re: drinking water availability in the U.S.–Mexico border region] (EPA GNEB)

12/17 - Gerry Connolly Beats AOC in Race for Key Democratic Congressional Post (via Mother Jones)

12/17 - Bidenomics Was Wildly Successful (via The New Republic)

12/18 - In reversal, key House panel votes to release Matt Gaetz ethics report (via CNN)

12/18 - Elon Musk leads charge to kill spending bill meant to avert government shutdown (via NBC News)

12/18 - Congress approves 2025 NDAA with important cyber provisions (via NextGov)

12/18 - Congress Again Fails to Limit Scope of Spy Powers in New Defense Bill (via Wired)

12/18 - Judge violated code of conduct with critical Alito op-ed: Ruling (via Yahoo News/The Hill, with source document)

12/19 - Key Homeland Security Metrics (KHSMs) added to Office of Homeland Security Statistics site (DHS)

12/19 - Wyden Investigation Highlights Dangers of Post-Dobbs Emergency Medical Care for Pregnant Women (Senate Finance; direct to report)

12/19 - FAA bans drones in parts of NJ, notice threatens 'deadly force' for 'imminent security threat' (via 6abc.com; see also, FAA statements and TFR page)

12/19 - CBP Replaces Top Doctor Accused of Misconduct (via POGO)

12/19 - In rare move, Republican senators call for Hegseth’s FBI report (via Politico)

12/20 - Subcommittee Chairwoman Stephanie Bice Releases Modernization Accomplishments Subcommittee Print (House Modernization Committee; direct to committee print)

12/20 - Biden Withdraws Proposed Regulations on Student Loans and Trans Athletes (via NYT)

 

Bills Signed into Law : Dec 14 - Dec 20

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.


12/17 - S.2781, Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act of 2024 - requires the EPA to establish a pilot program, under which EPA may issue certain permits to allow “Good Samaritans” to remediate historic mine residue at abandoned hardrock mine sites

12/17 - S.3613, Improving Federal Building Security Act of 2024 - requires Facility Security Committees to respond to security recommendations issued by the Federal Protective Service (FPS) regarding facility security

12/21 - H.R.10545 - American Relief Act, 2025 - provides FY 2025 appropriations to Federal agencies through March 14, 2025 (see also, president’s statement)

Hearings : Dec 14 - Dec 20

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


12/18 - Next to Fall: The Climate-Driven Insurance Crisis is Here – And Getting Worse (Senate Budget; see also, 12/16 JEC Democrats report | 12/17 Senate Budget release with report | 12/18 Senate Budget release with staff report and data)

12/18 - Trade Wars & Higher Costs: The Case Against Trump’s Tariffs (JEC)

Trump Indictments and Transition-Related News: Dec 14 - Dec 20

Classified documents search warrant/indictment:

None this week


2020 election/January 6 indictment:

None this week


2020 election/Georgia indictment:

Docket Watch: Trump Prosecuted in Fulton County (via Lawfare; provides access to documents)

12/19 - Trump Gets Massive Win as Fani Willis Disqualified From Georgia Case (via New Republic, with link to source document)


NY criminal trial (Stormy Daniels payoff):

Court documents (via NY Courts) | Court transcripts and exhibits (full/searchable PDFs, via Law360)

12/16 - Judge rules Trump does not have presidential immunity protections in hush money conviction (via CNN)