Weekly Roundup Archive: WR 3/14/26

3/16 - Updating the Planning Database With the 2020 Census Contact Strategy and Low Response Score (Census)

3/16 - Gomez: Stop Falling for FCC Intimidation Tactics (FCC)

3/16 - SEC Announces Enforcement Division Director Judge Margaret A. Ryan Has Resigned From Agency (SEC; see also, NYT article)

3/16 - Remarks by Director Squires — U.S. Chamber of Commerce International IP Index (USPTO; see also, 2026 IP Index page)

3/17 - Department of Justice Proposes Rule to More Quickly Achieve Justice in State Death Penalty Cases (DOJ; see also, Bloomberg article)

3/17 - US Department of Labor launches data visualization tool for union reporting forms, providing valuable insight on union spending (DOL; direct to website)

3/17 - Administrator Zeldin Announces Proposal to Streamline Permitting Requirements for Incinerators Critical to Wildfire Prevention and Natural Disaster Recovery (EPA; direct to info page)

3/17 - SEC Publishes Data on Public and Private Offerings, Municipal Advisors, Transfer Agents, and Securities-Based Swap Dealers (SEC; direct to data page | report)

3/18 - DNI Gabbard Releases 2026 Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community (DNI; direct to report; see also, H and S Intelligence hearings | NextGov article)

3/18 - FDA Releases Draft Guidance on Alternatives to Animal Testing in Drug Development (FDA; direct to draft guidance; see also, STAT article)

3/18 - Federal Reserve Board and Federal Open Market Committee release economic projections from the March 17-18 FOMC meeting (Fed; direct to projections; see also, FOMC statement | NBC News article)

3/18 - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Remove Certain Homeowners Insurance Requirements That Will Reduce Costs (FMHC; direct to updates from Fannie Mae | Freddie Mac; see also, Realtor.com article)

3/18 - State Department Expands Visa Bonds to Combat Illegal Overstay Rates (State; see also, AP article)

3/19 - New USA Trade Online Data Tool Now Available (Census; direct to website; note – previous usatrade.census.gov version to be decommissioned by June)

3/19 - U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of the Treasury Announce Historic Federal Student Assistance Partnership (ED; direct to factsheet; see also, NPR article)

3/19 - FCC Empowers Local Broadcast TV Stations (FCC; see also, Gomez on Unlawful Merger Approval | CNN article)

3/19 - FDIC Board of Directors Rescinds Statement of Policy on Qualifications for Failed Bank Acquisitions (FDIC; see also, rescinded statement/Q&A page | American Banker article)

3/19 - HHS’ Office for Civil Rights Investigates Thirteen States Under Federal Conscience Law (HHS; see also, PBS article)

3/19 - OGIS Publishes Four New Ombuds Observers Clarifying FOIA Terms of Art (NARA, with links to 4 documents)

3/19 - NIST Submits Annual Report to Congress Summarizing FY 2025 Progress on National Construction Safety Team Investigations (NIST; direct to report page | transmission letter)

3/19 - U.S. Copyright Office Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Adjustments to Fee Schedule (USCO; direct to cost assessment report)

3/19 - Trademark classification goes agentic with USPTO’s announcement of “Class ACT” assistant (USPTO)

3/20 - President Donald J. Trump Unveils National AI Legislative Framework (OSTP; direct to National Policy Framework; see also, Cato article)

3/17 - Resource Requirements of Food Demand posted to ERS Data Products

3/17 - Meeting 29: Virtual – March 18-19, 2026 material, including 4 background papers, posted to Ocean Exploration Advisory Board website

3/18 - Updated State Fact Sheets posted to ERS Data Products

3/18 - Evaluation of the Methodology the Census Bureau Used to Select the Test Sites for the 2026 Census Test (DOC)

3/18 - The Office of Nuclear Energy’s Contract Award to American Centrifuge Operating, LLC (Centrus) for the High Assay Low Enriched Uranium Demonstration Project (DOE)

3/18 - Evaluation of NARA's Information Technology Inventory (NARA)

3/19 - Whistleblower Reprisal Investigation Goldbelt Integrated Logistics Services, LLC Crane, Indiana (DOD)

3/20 (identified) - Reports available on new NSF OIG website. Unclear when they were published, but most of the website had not previously been captured in IA.

3/19 -  Review of the August 2025 Constitution Annotated (CONAN) Website Display Error, February 2026 (LOC; for background, see 8/6/25 404 Media article)

3/16 - How Changes in Revenues and Outlays Would Affect Debt Service, Deficits, and Debt: 2026 to 2036 (CBO)

3/16 - Economic Forecasts and Projections: Fact Sheet (CRS)

3/16 - 2025 Tax Filing: Management of Agency Reforms and Workforce Planning Needed to Address Severe Risks to Future IRS Operations (GAO; see also, GovExec article)

3/17 - Education Department’s DEI Certification Requirement for Schools: Overview and Legal Challenges (CRS)

3/17 - U.S. Postal Service: Urgent Action Needed to Fix Unsustainable Business Model and Improve Service Performance (GAO)

3/18 - Federal Information Transparency: Action Needed to Improve Efficiency and Effectiveness and Enhance Program Integrity (GAO)

3/20 - Tickets for Live Entertainment Events (CRS)

3/18 - Wyden Sounds Alarm as DAG Blanche Intervenes to Conceal Details of Mystery Epstein Investigation (S Finance minority; direct to letter)

3/19 - Ranking Member Raskin Probes Trump’s Corrupting of Federal Trademark Office to Advance “Board of Peace” Enrichment Scheme (H Judiciary minority; direct to letter)

3/20 - Senators Peters and Hassan Call for DHS to Fully Collect and Retain All Noem & Lewandowski Records (S Homeland minority; direct to letter)

3/20 - Ranking Member Lofgren Raises Alarm Over Terms of Commerce Department Equity Stake in USA Rare Earth, Condemns Lutnick Conflict of Interest (H Science minority; direct to letter)

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

3/17 - Oversight Hearing – National Institutes of Health (H Approps; see also, Science article | Elizabeth Ginexi article)

3/17 - U.S. Military Posture & National Security Challenges in the Western Hemisphere (H Armed; see also, chair | subcom chair | ranking member | subcom ranking member opening statements)

• 3/19 - To receive testimony on the posture of United States Northern Command and United States Southern Command in review of the Defense Authorization Request for Fiscal Year 2027 and the Future Years Defense Program (S Armed; see also, chair opening statement | Task & Purpose article)

3/17 - Protecting Patients and Safeguarding Taxpayer Dollars: The Role of CMS in Combatting Medicare and Medicaid Fraud (H Energy, via minority site; see also, subcom chair opening statement | Mother Jones article)

3/17 - Oversight of the U.S. Postal Service: The Financial Future Under Postmaster General Steiner (H Oversight; see also, subcom chair opening statement; articles from NYT | WSJ | The Verge)

3/18 - Restoring Mission Focus at the State Department: Authority, Accountability, and the Role of the Foreign Service (H Foreign; testimony available in committee repository; see also, subcom chair opening statement)

3/18 - Immigration Policy by Court Order: The Adverse Effects of Plyler v. Doe (H Judiciary; note – link for Saenz testimony is 404, but is available at this link; see also, ranking member and subcom ranking member opening statements)

3/18 - The Legal Basis for Action Against Venezuelan Drug Traffickers (H Judiciary; see also, ranking member and subcom ranking member opening statements)

3/18 - Liability or Deniability? Platform Power as Section 230 Turns 30 (S Commerce; see also, chair opening statement)

3/18 - Nomination of the Honorable Markwayne Mullin to be Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (S Homeland)

3/18 - Worldwide Threats (S Intelligence; see also, articles from Politico | NBC News | FedScoop)

• 3/19 - 2026 Worldwide Threats Hearing (H Intelligence; note – Gabbard testimony available in committee repository; see also, chair and ranking member opening statements)

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

Note: many paywalled articles are freely available via archive.today

3/15 - Hegseth’s Pentagon Is Trying to Turn a Newspaper for Troops Into Propaganda (Mother Jones, with link to 3/13 Stars & Stripes article that includes DOD memo)

3/16 - UCAR files federal lawsuit to stop dismantling of National Center for Atmospheric Research (Balanced Weather, with link to UCAR release/complaint)

3/16 - The vacations Canadians are no longer taking in the United States (CNN; see also, NTTO data/research page)

3/16 - DHS-built surveillance apparatus to surge in year ahead, documents show (FedScoop)

3/16 - When disaster strikes, census data can help show who is in harm’s way (GovExec, with link to Census OnTheMap page)

3/16 - U.S. Considers Withholding H.I.V. Aid Unless Zambia Expands Minerals Access (NYT)

3/16 - Federal judge puts RFK Jr.’s new vaccine schedule, advisers on ice (Politico)

3/16 - Justices will hear argument on Trump administration’s removal of protected status for Syrian and Haitian nationals (SCOTUSblog)

3/16 - COVID origins, Jan. 6, flushed letters - Requesters seek Trump secrets (USA Today)

3/17 - ‘Trump is aiming for dictatorship’. That’s the verdict of the world’s most credible democracy watchdog (Guardian, with link to Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Institute report)

3/17 - Judge Orders Voice of America to Restart All News Operations (NYT; see also, CourtListener docket)

3/17 - White House releases DHS funding offer (Politico, with document)

3/18 - Judge indicates he might shut down Trump’s $400m White House ballroom plan (Guardian; see also, CourtListener docket)

3/19 - Survey of 11,000 feds underscores ‘layer cake of trauma’ (GovExec, with link to survey page)

3/19 - Judge Rules That R.F.K. Jr. Overstepped on Transgender Care (NYT; see also, CourtListener docket)

3/19 - 24 States Sue the E.P.A. for Renouncing Its Power to Fight Climate Change (NYT)

3/19 - Trump’s Handpicked Arts Commission Approves Gold Coin With His Face on It (NYT; see also, CFA meeting page with coin presentation materials)

3/20 - US State Dept forms new humanitarian bureau after foreign aid overhaul (Reuters; direct to website)

3/19 - Trump Admin Wrongfully Deported More Than 100 Asylum Seekers (TPM; see also, CourtListener docket)

3/19 - Under Trump, the government’s watchdogs are losing their independence (WaPo)

3/20 - Iran War Puts Global Energy Markets on the Brink of a Worst-Case Scenario (Wired, with link to IEA report)

3/20 - ‘Significant’ staff cuts drive rising FOIA backlogs (FNN)

3/20 - Tribal leaders bash USDA's plan to relocate thousands of staff and shutter offices (GovExec, with link to document)

3/20 - Striking Down Pentagon Press Limits, Judge Vindicates Independent Journalism (NYT, with link to document)

3/20 - Trump administration waves the white flag in some ICE cases (Politico, with links to documents)

3/21 - Former FBI Director Robert Mueller, who investigated Russia-Trump campaign ties, dies (AP)

3/21 - Bags of shredded documents at NY jail after Epstein’s death, officer tells FBI (Miami Herald)