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The Department of Labor (DOL) has been recognized for its procurement practices, receiving an "A" score on the Fiscal Year 2023 Small Business Procurement Scorecard. This marks the 15th consecutive year that the department has achieved this grade. The scorecard, compiled by the Small Business Administration, evaluates the contracting opportunities that federal agencies provide to small businesses, including those that are disadvantaged, women-owned, service-disabled veteran-owned, and located in Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZones).

The Federal Trade Commission will host an online compliance webinar on May 14, 2024, at 11 a.m. ET to provide an overview of the FTC’s final rule banning noncompetes, which will include information on how to comply with the rule after its effective date.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo has announced the roster of global executives, business leaders, and senior U.S. government representatives who will participate in the 2024 SelectUSA Investment Summit. The event is scheduled to take place from June 23-26 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.

The Justice Department has declared that Nebraska is in violation of federal civil rights laws, due to the unnecessary segregation of individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) in assisted living and day program facilities. This segregation breaches the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Olmstead v. L.C.

Cyberprivacy expert Alan Butler has expressed concern over the use of Social Security numbers as universal identifiers, stating, "It’s terrible from a security perspective." As the executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a nonprofit dedicated to defending privacy and identity rights, Butler has highlighted that these numbers are mandatory for any activity that triggers tax reporting. This includes employers reporting wages to the IRS.

Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero is set to participate on an AI panel at the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) at the 2024 Legislative Leadership Summit. The panel, titled "How AI is Changing the World," will take place on Monday, May 13, 2024, from 11:15 am to 12:00 pm (EDT) at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Allen Y. Lew Place, NW, Washington, DC 20001.Romero's insights on the topic will be shared alongside other experts in the field during the summit, providing valuable perspectives on the impact of artificial...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced a new initiative aimed at expediting housing assistance for individuals experiencing homelessness through the Housing Choice Voucher program. This will be achieved by allowing housing agencies to accept self-certification of income for determining program eligibility, thereby reducing the time it takes for individuals to secure stable homes.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has declared a $1.7 million research funding allocation for the establishment of a Climate Change and Transportation Research Center at the University of California, Davis. The newly formed Center for Emissions Reduction, Resiliency, and Climate Equity in Transportation will function in cooperation with DOT to support the DOT Climate Change Center and various other related departmental climate and research programs.

Robust consumer protections are crucial in enhancing the value of health insurance by ensuring that health plans are fair, transparent, and provide meaningful coverage. Recent federal legislative and regulatory actions have expanded these protections in health care, and states are implementing their own reforms to protect people from common provider and insurance industry practices. These practices include routine claims denials or charging fees unrelated to a health care service, which can compromise affordability and undermine access to care.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is set to host an online compliance webinar, aimed at providing an overview of the FTC’s final rule banning noncompetes. The session will include information on how to comply with the rule after its effective date. Members of the public are encouraged to submit questions ahead of the webinar by emailing asknoncompete@ftc.gov.

The White House Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable (LAIR), overseen by the Office for Access to Justice (ATJ), has been actively working this year to enhance collaboration among 28 federal agencies with the aim of advancing access to justice. LAIR's mission is to "improve coordination among Federal programs, so that programs are more efficient and produce better outcomes," including broadening access to legal services.

U.S. Senior Official for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ambassador Matt Murray is set to travel to Arequipa, Peru from May 13 to 18 for the Second Senior Officials’ Meeting and Related Meetings (SOM2) of the APEC Peru 2024 host year. While in Arequipa, Ambassador Murray will participate in a series of working group meetings, workshops, and stakeholder engagements. He will collaborate with senior government officials, business leaders, and other stakeholders from across the Asia-Pacific region to discuss U.S. priorities for APEC and explore alignment with Peru’s...

CLE ELUM, Wash., May 13, 2024 — Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Xochitl Torres Small announced today that the USDA Forest Service is partnering with states to conserve nearly 168,000 acres of economically and ecologically significant forestlands across the nation. This initiative is part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz recently presented the Northern Shenandoah Valley Regional Commission with a $3.9 million Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling grant. The ceremony took place in Winchester, Virginia, and marked a significant step towards new and expanded recycling infrastructure.

The U.S. Department of Labor has found that a Watertown roofing contractor repeatedly violated federal regulations for fall protections. This determination followed a workplace safety investigation into an incident where an employee suffered fatal injuries after falling approximately 27 feet while carrying materials and climbing a ladder jack scaffold at a Brighton work site in September 2023.

The Justice Department has declared its intention to monitor the upcoming elections in Prince George’s County, Maryland on May 14. The monitoring aims to ensure compliance with federal voting rights laws.

Congress has committed over $42 billion to address the "digital divide." However, a new report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) suggests that this endeavor may not reach its full potential due to the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program's tendency to push states towards high-cost fiberoptic infrastructure, thereby neglecting other digital inclusion initiatives.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), has issued a Special Emphasis Notice (SEN) under the Leading Edge Acceleration Projects (LEAP) in Health Information Technology (Health IT) funding opportunity for fiscal year 2024. The ONC is inviting applications for projects focusing on two specific areas.

The Vermont Legislature has passed a data privacy bill that is being lauded by national consumer protection groups. Organizations such as Consumer Reports and the Electronic Privacy Information Center believe this legislation could signify a "turning point" in state privacy laws.

Vermont has recently passed a data privacy law that grants consumers the right to sue companies for violations. This new legislation also imposes restrictions on how businesses can utilize geolocation data, as reported by Caitriona Fitzgerald, a privacy advocate from the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has issued an order filing and settling charges against Falcon Labs, Ltd., a Seychelles-based entity. The firm is accused of failing to register as a futures commission merchant (FCM), marking the CFTC's first action against an unregistered FCM that facilitated access to digital asset exchanges.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Region 10 has announced the Regional Pollution Prevention (P2) Award Program for 2024. The program aims to recognize companies that demonstrate leadership in innovative P2 practices within Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and businesses operating on Tribal lands.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced an allocation of $28.6 million from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to aid Puerto Rico in identifying and replacing lead service lines, thus preventing exposure to lead in drinking water. This move is part of the President's commitment to replace every lead pipe in the country, a pledge made with the aim of protecting public health and ensuring safe drinking water for all.

In the aftermath of the TikTok ban, a recent column from the Center for American Progress (CAP) has emphasized that Congress must take immediate action on privacy and children's safety to demonstrate its ability to enact substantial technology regulation.

Today, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) jointly proposed a new rule that would require SEC-registered investment advisers (RIAs) and exempt reporting advisers (ERAs) to establish, document, and maintain written customer identification programs (CIPs). The proposal aims to prevent illicit finance activity involving the customers of investment advisers by bolstering the anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) framework for the investment adviser...