News published on Federal Newswire in October 2021

News from October 2021


News Release: WAYNESVILLE, N.C. - Your house has never flooded. You have a homeowner's insurance policy. You're thinking: "I'm covered."


Repeat Felon Sentenced to Statutory Maximum Resulting from PSN Investigation

News Release: COLUMBUS, Ga. - A convicted felon with a lengthy criminal history was sentenced to ten years in federal prison for illegally possessing a firearm, the statutory maximum under federal sentencing guidelines.


News Release: Washington, D.C. -Today, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, sent a letter to National Football League (NFL) Commissioner Rodger Goodell requesting documents and information regarding the Washington Football Team’s (WFT) hostile workplace culture and NFL’s handling of this matter.


Boulder Weather Research Organization and Officers Pay Over $2 Million to Resolve Investigation into Improper Use of Federal Grants for Scientific Research

News Release: DENVER -The Center for Severe Weather Research (CSWR), a nonprofit organization in Boulder, Colorado, has paid over $2.4 million to resolve allegations that it engaged in fraud related to grants it received from three federal agencies: the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce.


News Release: The National Park Service (NPS) has posted information on the NPS COVID-19 information web site for partners regarding implementation of EO 14042, and i issued by Department of the Interior on October 8, 2021. Concessioners, commercial use authorization holders and leaseholders are encouraged to visit the site to obtain information on this topic and associated requirements.


News Release: Miami, Florida - A Highlands County, Florida tax return preparer was sentenced yesterday to 37 months imprisonment for filing fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).


Portman Highlights Upcoming Legislation to Safeguard Independence of Inspectors General

News Release: WASHINGTON, DC - Today, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, delivered opening remarks at a hearing entitled “Safeguarding Inspector General Independence and Integrity" and highlighted his upcoming bipartisan IG Independence...


Wyden Urges Federal Review of Pharmacy Closures

News Release: Washington, D.C. - Citing the recent announcement by Bi-Mart that it’s begun closing 56 pharmacies in Oregon and the Northwest, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden this week urged the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to review pharmacy closures nationwide in the last five years with a focus on how fees imposed by Medicare Part D plans and middlemen known as pharmacy benefit managers are driving those closures -- many of which are in rural communities.


News Release: COVINGTON, Ky. - A Richmond, Kentucky man, Lavone Dixon, 36, was sentenced to 312 months in prison, by U.S. District Judge David Bunning, for possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it and being a felon in possession of a firearm.


Chairwoman Wasserman Schultz Statement at the Update on VA’s Electronic Health Record Modernization Implementation Hearing

Release: Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Chair of the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, delivered the following remarks at the Update on VA’s Electronic Health Record Modernization Implementation Hearing.


News Release: The Bureau of Land Management High Desert District plans to conduct prescribed fires on land managed by the Rawlins Field Office and associated partners this fall and winter. Burns will be contingent on fuel moisture and weather. The BLM will only implement the treatments if specified prescription parameters are obtained.


Reclamation releases updated projections of Colorado River system conditions

The Bureau of Reclamation has released its October 24-Month Study and 2-year projections of major reservoir levels within the Colorado River system. These projections detail hydrologic conditions and projected operations for Colorado River system reservoirs and are used by Reclamation and water users in the basin for future water management planning.


Media alert: Low-flying airplane mapping parts of the Central Cascade Range in southern Washington and northern Oregon

Residents should not be alarmed if they see a low-flying airplane over parts of southern Washington and northern Oregon starting October 21, 2021.


News Release: Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Mission, South Dakota, man convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter and Failure to Appear was sentenced on Oct. 18, 2021, by Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court.


Release: Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry will travel to Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on October 24-25, 2021 to engage with government counterparts and private sector leaders on efforts to address the climate crisis. Secretary Kerry will participate in the Middle East Green Initiative Summit while in Riyadh.



News Release: WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo announced the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding its first local investment as part of the Coal Communities Commitment to the Morgantown Utility Board in Morgantown, W.Va. The $2 million American Rescue Plan grant will help create 300 jobs and generate $250 million in private investment to build a new beverage processing and packaging facility in the Morgantown Industrial Park.


Biden Administration takes action to complete study of Boundary Waters area watershed

Today the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture announced actions to protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and surrounding watershed in northeastern Minnesota, a unique natural wonder and one of the jewels of the National Wilderness Preservation System.


News Release: Washington, D.C. - Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) delivered the following opening statement, as prepared, during a Department of Justice oversight hearing with Attorney General Merrick Garland...


U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Tribal Wildlife Grants provide opportunities for partnerships in conservation of shared natural heritage

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is awarding more than $6.6 million in Tribal Wildlife Grants to federally recognized Native American and Alaska Native Tribes in 17 states to bolster fish and wildlife conservation and key partnerships.