Federal Independent Agencies
Here's a look at documents from federal independent agencies
Featured Stories
Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute: When Human Movement Changes, Different Animal Species Respond in Their Own Ways
WASHINGTON, May 22 (TNSjou) -- The Smithsonian Institution National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute issued the following news release:
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When Human Movement Changes, Different Animal Species Respond in Their Own Ways
Tracking Animal Adaptations During the COVID-19 Lockdown, Scientists Show How Human Presence and Habitat Modifications Affect the Way Animals Behave
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A new analysis of GPS tracking data from 37 animal species, paired with cellphone location data from across the United States, shows that not only does animal behavior change when humans modify their environment, but
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WASHINGTON, May 22 (TNSjou) -- The Smithsonian Institution National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute issued the following news release:
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When Human Movement Changes, Different Animal Species Respond in Their Own Ways
Tracking Animal Adaptations During the COVID-19 Lockdown, Scientists Show How Human Presence and Habitat Modifications Affect the Way Animals Behave
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A new analysis of GPS tracking data from 37 animal species, paired with cellphone location data from across the United States, shows that not only does animal behavior change when humans modify their environment, butthat animals respond directly to the physical presence of humans themselves. The study, an international collaboration led by the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute; UC Santa Barbara; the University of St. Andrews; and, Yale University, published today, May 21, in Science, also showed that animals' responses to landscape modification and human presence varies widely from species to species, suggesting that more nuanced approaches to wildlife management and animal conservation may be possible.
In 2020, COVID-19 lockdown policies went into effect that changed the way humans moved around. Despite the tragic circumstances that led to the lockdown, this situation gave the research team a rare opportunity to observe the effects of landscape modification and human presence on animal movements separately. During the same period in 2019 and 2020, the team analyzed GPS data on 4,581 mammals and birds across the continental United States on a weekly basis. But to measure the presence of humans, the team needed a more precise method than what is typically available.
Due to the dearth of publicly accessible human location data, scientists seeking to understand how human movement affects animals typically examine proxies for human presence such as urbanization, agriculture and, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdown status. Yet these proxies do not offer a precise measure of human movement itself. So, the research team was the first to use anonymized geolocation data from people's cell phones at neighborhood-level resolution to study the impacts of human presence on animal movement.
"The cell phone data we used was made available to researchers during the pandemic to help reveal the impacts of COVID-19 shutdowns," said Scott Yanco, a research ecologist at the Zoo and co-lead author of the study. "Typically, these data are difficult or expensive to access, which made this a rare opportunity for us to quantify how human presence impacts wildlife, and to demonstrate that there is more to consider than just land modification to create robust conservation plans."
The research team studied human impacts on the physical area covered by each individual animal and each individual animal's environmental niche, a concept that describes how animals interact with habitats and resources. Overall, the team found that for most species, the impacts of humans cannot be understood without considering human presence.
As humans restricted their movements during the pandemic, about two-thirds of the mammal and bird species studied exhibited changes in the size of either the area they occupied or their environmental niche. For the species that were impacted by both human presence and landscape modification--more than half of those studied--the degree to which one factor affected an animal largely depended on the impact of the other. Further, about two thirds of mammal species and two fifths of bird species responded to human activity by shrinking their habitat, with human presence having the greatest impact in landscapes that were less modified, such as a national park versus a city.
The impacts seen among the animals varied widely among species. Wolves, for example, unlike the other animals studied, responded to humans by expanding their habitats, possibly due to their fraught history with humans and their desire to spread out and away from human activity. White-tailed deer, meanwhile, expanded their niches as landscape modification increased but shrank them as humans increased their presence, and sandhill cranes showed the opposite response.
"These findings highlight the critical importance of species-based conservation," said Ruth Oliver, an assistant professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara and a co-lead author on the study. "Every species has different habitat requirements, has its own behavioral tendencies and faces unique threats. Effective conservation requires that we understand the particular challenges that each species faces."
This study is a part of the COVID-19 Bio-Logging Initiative, which brought together researchers from around the world to investigate how wildlife responded to COVID-19 lockdowns, a period they termed the "anthropause." Previous work by this initiative has revealed widespread behavioral changes in mammals globally, dramatic shifts in marine traffic patterns and the importance of measuring human movements in understanding wildlife responses to the Anthropocene (the time period when human activities have had an environmental impact on the Earth).
"Through collaboration with over 600 partners around the globe, our initiative managed to collate tracking data for about 13,000 animals," said Christian Rutz, a professor at the University of St. Andrews and chair of the COVID-19 Bio-Logging Initiative. "It is inspiring how this research community pulled together during a period of crisis to learn important conservation lessons."
The findings from this study highlight the opportunity for research using emerging technologies to study the movements of both animals and people to enable more nuanced and targeted approaches towards conserving wildlife. The data let the researchers consider not just landscape modifications but also the distinct interactions between human infrastructure and the presence of humans themselves and their impact on individual species.
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About the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute
The Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) leads the Smithsonian's global effort to save species, better understand ecosystems and train future generations of conservationists. Its two campuses are home to some of the world's most critically endangered species. Always free of charge, the Zoo's 163-acre park in the heart of Washington, D.C., features 2,200 animals representing 400 species and is a popular destination for children and families. At the Conservation Biology Institute's 3,200-acre campus in Virginia, breeding and veterinary research on 264 animals representing 20 species provide critical data for the management of animals in human care and valuable insights for conservation of wild populations. NZCBI's more than 300 staff and scientists work in Washington, D.C., Virginia and with partners at field sites across the United States and in more than 30 countries to save wildlife, collaborate with communities and conserve native habitats. NZCBI is a long-standing accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
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View journal here: http://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adq3396
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Original text here: https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/when-human-movement-changes-different-animal-species-respond-their-own-ways
Small Business Administration: Administrator Loeffler Applauds Signature of Investing in All of America Act
WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The Small Business Administration issued the following news release on May 21, 2026:
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Administrator Loeffler Applauds Signature of Investing in All of America Act
H.R. 2066 strengthens the SBIC program, expanding access to capital for rural communities and critical industries
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Today, Kelly Loeffler, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), applauded President Donald J. Trump for signing H.R. 2066, the Investing in All of America Act, into law. The legislation, which was sponsored by U.S. House Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee Member
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WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The Small Business Administration issued the following news release on May 21, 2026:
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Administrator Loeffler Applauds Signature of Investing in All of America Act
H.R. 2066 strengthens the SBIC program, expanding access to capital for rural communities and critical industries
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Today, Kelly Loeffler, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), applauded President Donald J. Trump for signing H.R. 2066, the Investing in All of America Act, into law. The legislation, which was sponsored by U.S. House Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee MemberDan Meuser (R-PA), strengthens SBA's Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program by increasing existing leverage caps and expanding access to capital for investments in rural communities, manufacturing, and other critical industries.
"Powered by private investment, the Investing in All of America Act will expand the SBIC's capacity to power our nation's industrial resurgence by getting more capital to entrepreneurs and manufacturers in rural communities," said SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler. "This means faster scaling, more innovation, and the ability to compete in the critical industries that will strengthen America's economic and national security. I applaud Congressman Meuser and his colleagues for advancing this important legislation, and I am grateful to President Trump for signing it into law for America's small business owners and workers."
The SBIC program is a zero-subsidy public-private partnership that supports investment in American small businesses. Since 1958, the program's mission has been to stimulate and supplement the flow of financing that small businesses require to build, scale, and innovate. The SBA issues licenses to professionally managed equity and debt investment funds, which may access long-term capital to invest in qualifying small businesses. In FY2025, the SBIC program achieved a record $53 billion in combined private capital and SBA leverage.
H.R. 2066 will further President Trump's pro-growth economic agenda, which is unleashing business investment, by modernizing the SBIC program through updated leverage caps, stronger taxpayer protections, and reforms designed to attract long-term private investment. Those changes will help direct more capital to rural America and local businesses by ensuring investments in rural areas, manufacturing, and critical technologies do not count against an SBIC's leverage cap. In turn, the legislation will help small manufacturers and other job creators expand, innovate, and compete in the industries that are vital to America's economic strength.
To learn more about becoming an investor or partner of the SBIC program, visit https://www.sba.gov/partners/sbics.
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About the Small Business Investment Company Program
Since 1958, the mission of the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program has been to stimulate and supplement the flow of private equity capital and long-term debt financing that American small businesses need to operate, expand and modernize their businesses. SBA does this by licensing and providing capital to professionally managed equity and debt investment funds as Small Business Investment Companies. SBA capital comes in the form of a government-guaranteed loan to the fund to match privately raised capital. The SBA-guaranteed loan, paired with private capital, increases access to financing for qualifying U.S. small businesses and startups while potentially improving risk-adjusted returns for private investors.
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About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of entrepreneurship. As the leading voice for small businesses within the federal government, the SBA empowers job creators with the resources and support they need to start, grow, and expand their businesses or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.
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Original text here: https://www.sba.gov/article/2026/05/21/administrator-loeffler-applauds-signature-investing-all-america-act
SBA Opens Business Recovery Center in Saipan to Help Small Businesses Impacted by Super Typhoon Sinlaku
WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The Small Business Administration's Office of Disaster Assistance issued the following news release:
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SBA Opens Business Recovery Center in Saipan to Help Small Businesses Impacted by Super Typhoon Sinlaku
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WASHINGTON -The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced today the opening of a Business Recovery Center (BRC) in Saipan County to assist businesses, private nonprofit (PNP) organizations, and residents affected by Super Typhoon Sinlaku occurring April 11 - 18.
Beginning Tuesday, May 26, SBA customer service representatives will be on hand at the BRC
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WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The Small Business Administration's Office of Disaster Assistance issued the following news release:
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SBA Opens Business Recovery Center in Saipan to Help Small Businesses Impacted by Super Typhoon Sinlaku
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WASHINGTON -The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced today the opening of a Business Recovery Center (BRC) in Saipan County to assist businesses, private nonprofit (PNP) organizations, and residents affected by Super Typhoon Sinlaku occurring April 11 - 18.
Beginning Tuesday, May 26, SBA customer service representatives will be on hand at the BRCin Saipan to answer questions and assist with the disaster loan application process. Walk-ins are welcome, and you can also schedule an in-person appointment in advance at appointment.sba.gov.
The center's hours of operation are as follows:
SAIPAN MUNICIPALITY
Business Recovery Center
Marianas Business Plaza
Second Floor, Suite 201-A
Nauru Loop, Susupe
Saipan, MP 96950
Opens Tuesday, May 26 at 9:00 a.m.
Mondays - Fridays, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
"SBA's Business Recovery Centers have consistently proven their value to business owners following a disaster," said Chris Stallings, associate administrator of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the SBA. "Business owners can visit these centers to meet face-to-face with specialists who will guide them through the disaster loan application process and connect them with resources to support their recovery."
Businesses and nonprofits are eligible to apply for business physical disaster loans and may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace disaster-damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory, and other business assets.
The SBA's Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, and PNPs -including faith-based organizations -with financial losses directly related to the disaster. The SBA is unable to provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers, except for small aquaculture enterprises.
EIDLs are available for working capital needs caused by the disaster and are available even if the business or PNP did not suffer any physical damage. The loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills which could not be paid due to the disaster.
Homeowners and renters are eligible to apply for home and personal property loans and may borrow up to $100,000 to replace or repair personal property, such as clothing, furniture, cars, and appliances. Homeowners may apply for up to $500,000 to replace or repair their primary residence.
SBA representatives will also provide help to business owners and residents at disaster recovery centers when they are opened in the impacted area.
Interest rates are as low as 4% for small businesses, 3.625% for nonprofits, and 2.875% for homeowners and renters with terms of up to 30 years. Interest does not begin to accrue, and payments are not due until 12 months from the date of the first loan disbursement. The SBA determines eligibility and sets loan amounts and terms based on each applicant's financial condition.
To apply online, visit sba.gov/disaster. Applicants may also call SBA's Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is June 22. The deadline to return economic injury applications is Jan. 25, 2027.
About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.
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Original text here: https://www.sba.gov/article/2026/05/22/sba-opens-business-recovery-center-saipan-help-small-businesses-impacted-super-typhoon-sinlaku
Inter-American Development Bank: 'Global Production Networks and Imperfect Competition.'
WASHINGTON, May 22 (TNSLrpt) -- The Inter-American Development Bank issued the following white paper in May 2026 entitled "Global Production Networks and Imperfect Competition."
Here are excerpts:
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Introduction
Global value chains (GVCs) have transformed economic activity, as firms today transact with buyers and suppliers worldwide (e.g., Bernard and Moxnes, 2018; Antras and Chor ' , 2022). Both trade and market reforms have contributed to this development, with the rise of China after it joined the WTO in 2001 being a prominent example. This allowed great numbers of Chinese suppliers
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WASHINGTON, May 22 (TNSLrpt) -- The Inter-American Development Bank issued the following white paper in May 2026 entitled "Global Production Networks and Imperfect Competition."
Here are excerpts:
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Introduction
Global value chains (GVCs) have transformed economic activity, as firms today transact with buyers and suppliers worldwide (e.g., Bernard and Moxnes, 2018; Antras and Chor ' , 2022). Both trade and market reforms have contributed to this development, with the rise of China after it joined the WTO in 2001 being a prominent example. This allowed great numbers of Chinese suppliersto enter and thicken otherwise highly concentrated international goods markets, which in turn prompted producers around the world to restructure their supplier base. Yet GVCs today face policy polarization: Alongside a rise in trade disintegration (e.g., Brexit, US-China trade war) and protectionist industrial policy (Juhasz et al. ' , 2024), new deep trade agreements increasingly combine tariff cuts with regulatory harmonization, trade promotion, and competition policy, to facilitate firm entry and firm-to-firm transactions (Maggi and Ossa, 2021).
We study how firm network formation and imperfect supplier competition interact to shape GVCs and the welfare effects of trade and industrial policy. Intuitively, reforms that lower the costs of supplier entry, buyer-supplier matching, or international trade can each affect firms' marginal costs and ultimately consumer prices through two channels: Firms can both match with a larger set of potentially more productive suppliers (Antras et al. ` , 2017) and benefit from lower input markups due to tougher supplier competition (Alviarez et al., 2023). While these mechanisms have typically been studied in isolation, we show that the interaction of endogenous firm linkages and strategic supplier interaction has first-order consequences for the impact of policy on consumer welfare and heterogeneous firms.
We first develop a quantifiable model with two-sided firm heterogeneity, matching frictions, and oligopolistic competition upstream. In the model, more productive buyers match with more suppliers, inducing stronger competition among them, lower input costs, and higher profits.
Entry upstream benefits primarily high-productivity buyers, while lower trade or matching costs favor mid-productivity buyers. Exploiting rich customs data, we then empirically confirm that Chilean and French firms (especially large ones) import higher quantities at lower prices as more Chinese suppliers enter, and that suppliers charge diversified buyers lower markups. Finally, we estimate the model by adapting recent methods for combinatorial, discrete-choice problems to the context of network formation with strategic pricing. Counterfactual analysis reveals that the interaction of endogenous networks and markups significantly amplifies the welfare gains from policies that facilitate supplier entry or firm matching, as well as from modern trade agreements that combine trade cost cuts with such policies.
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View full text here: https://publications.iadb.org/publications/english/document/Global-Production-Networks-and-Imperfect-Competition.pdf
[Category: IADB]
Hantavirus: What People Should Know About the Rare but Serious Virus
WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The National Academy of Medicine issued the following news:
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Hantavirus: What People Should Know About the Rare but Serious Virus
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Interview by Laura DeStefano
After several passengers aboard a cruise ship bound from South America were diagnosed with hantavirus in May 2026, public concern quickly grew around the rare but potentially deadly disease -particularly after suggestions that passengers were infected by the Andes strain of the virus. This strain is one of the few hantaviruses associated with limited human-to-human transmission.
To better understand the
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The National Academy of Medicine issued the following news:
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Hantavirus: What People Should Know About the Rare but Serious Virus
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Interview by Laura DeStefano
After several passengers aboard a cruise ship bound from South America were diagnosed with hantavirus in May 2026, public concern quickly grew around the rare but potentially deadly disease -particularly after suggestions that passengers were infected by the Andes strain of the virus. This strain is one of the few hantaviruses associated with limited human-to-human transmission.
To better understand thelevel of risk, we spoke with Carlos del Rio, MD, a distinguished professor of Medicine, Global Health and Epidemiology at Emory University and the International Secretary of the National Academy of Medicine. In this interview, del Rio explains what hantavirus is, how it spreads, why the Andes strain has drawn attention, and why experts say the average American should not panic. He also discusses what hantavirus reveals about the broader challenge of emerging infectious diseases in a changing world.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
To start at the most basic level, what is hantavirus?
Hantavirus is not a single virus, but rather a family of viruses that primarily infect rodents. Humans are considered " incidental " hosts, meaning they are not the virus's usual target. There are two broad categories of hantaviruses : the "Old World" type, which is mostly found in Europe and Asia and can cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (kidney involvement), and the "New World" type, which is found in North and South America and is associated with hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a severe respiratory illness. The Andes strain is a New World type.
Each strain of hantavirus has a specific rodent host. The primary host of the Sin Nombre Virus, which is responsible for the majority of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome cases in North America is the Deer mouse ( Peromyscus maniculatus ). The long-tailed pygmy race rat ( Oligoryzomys longicuaudatus ) is the reservoir of the Andes virus in Sou th America.
What's different about the Andes strain?
The Andes strain, found primarily in southern Chile and Argentina, is unusual because it 's the only strain of hantavirus capable of human-to-human transmission.
Researchers still do not fully understand why the Andes strain behaves differently. Evidence suggests transmission requires close or prolonged contact, but there have been outbreaks in which people with relatively limited exposure also became infected. Fortunately, these outbreaks have remained small and relatively contained.
How do people get infected?
People usually become infected after inhaling viral particles found in urine, droppings, or saliva of infected rodents. The virus enters through the lungs and begins to replicate in the body. One unusual aspect of hantavirus is that it can have a very long incubation period. While most cases develop symptoms be tween 14 - 17 days after infection, the incubation period can be as long as 8 weeks. That is why passengers from the cruise ship are being asked to quarantine for such a long time.
What are the symptoms and how is it treated?
Early symptoms can resemble the flu: fever, headaches, fatigue, and muscle aches. But in more severe cases, the illness can progress rapidly to shortness of breath and respiratory failure as the virus disrupts the barrier between the lungs and the bloodstream, allowing fluid to leak into the lungs.
The mortality rate for hantavirus pulmonary syndrome can reach up to 50 percent, depending on whether patients have access to advanced medical care like ICUs and mechanical ventilation. Part of the reason it's so dangerous is that there is no specific antiviral treatment or approved vaccine.
Should the average person in the United States be worried about catching hantavirus?
For most Americans, the risk is extremely low. Hantavirus cases in the United States are rare -generally only a few dozen cases are reported each year. Most infections occur in rural areas of the Southwest, including parts of New Mexico and Arizona.
This cruise ship outbreak will not be "the next COVID." Hantavirus is very difficult to transmit from person to person, which fundamentally limits its pandemic potential. Respiratory viruses that spread easily between humans are the ones public health experts worry about most when it comes to global pandemics.
That said, scientists are very interested in this outbreak as it offers the opportunity to better understand transmission and the natural history of the infection. Understanding how these viruses behave helps prepare us for future outbreaks.
Is there anything people can do to protect themselves?
The most important prevention strategy if you live in an endemic area is avoiding exposure to rodents and their droppings, especially in enclosed or poorly ventilated areas. People cleaning cabins, sheds, garages, or vehicles that may have rodent activity should wear gloves and masks, ventilate the area beforehand, and avoid sweeping or vacuuming dry droppings, which can aerosolize the virus.
Which viruses have greater pandemic potential?
Viruses such as avian influenza ( bird flu ) already have characteristics that make them more concerning from a pandemic perspective. They spread more efficiently, infect the respiratory tract, and have clearer pathways for human transmission. Novel respiratory viruses are always a major focus because people often have little or no preexisting immunity to them.
Is there a relationship between climate change and animal-to-human virus transmission ?
Yes. Climate change and environmental disruption are altering where animals live and how humans interact with them. Rodent populations and habitats can shift as temperatures and ecosystems change, potentially bringing disease-carrying animals into new areas.
We are likely to see more emerging infectious diseases in the future, which is why continued surveillance and research remain so important.
What is the broader lesson from hantavirus and other emerging infections?
The biggest lesson is that new infectious diseases can emerge unexpectedly. COVID-19 reminded the world how quickly a novel pathogen can spread. We had no idea that was coming.
So, even if a disease currently poses only a low risk to the general public - like hantavirus - scientists and public health officials still need to monitor it carefully, so we are prepared for whatever comes next.
Read the latest insights from the NAM community.
Laura DeStefano is the Director of Strateg ic Communications & Engagement at the National Academy of Medicine and a science communicator.
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Original text here: https://nam.edu/news-and-insights/hantavirus-what-people-should-know-about-the-rare-but-serious-virus/
EPA IG: Independent Audit of the EPA's Fiscal Years 2024 and 2023 Pesticides Reregistration and Expedited Processing Fund Financial Statements
WASHINGTON, May 22 (TNSLrpt) -- The Environmental Protection Agency Inspector General issued the following report (No. 26-F-0031) entitled "Independent Audit of the EPA's Fiscal Years 2024 and 2023 Pesticides Reregistration and Expedited Processing Fund Financial Statements."
Here are excerpts:
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Why We Did This Audit
To accomplish these objectives:
The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, as amended by the Food Quality Protection Act, requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General to perform an annual audit of the financial statements for
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, May 22 (TNSLrpt) -- The Environmental Protection Agency Inspector General issued the following report (No. 26-F-0031) entitled "Independent Audit of the EPA's Fiscal Years 2024 and 2023 Pesticides Reregistration and Expedited Processing Fund Financial Statements."
Here are excerpts:
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Why We Did This Audit
To accomplish these objectives:
The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, as amended by the Food Quality Protection Act, requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General to perform an annual audit of the financial statements forthe Pesticides Reregistration and Expedited Processing Fund. Our primary objectives were to determine whether:
* The financial statements were fairly stated in all material respects.
* The EPA's internal controls over financial reporting were in place.
* The EPA's management complied with applicable laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements.
Pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, the EPA is responsible for reassessing the safety of older pesticide registrations against modern health and environmental testing standards, a process known as reregistration. To expedite the reregistration process, Congress authorized the EPA to collect fees from pesticide manufacturers. The EPA deposits these fees into the Pesticides Reregistration and Expedited Processing Fund. The Act also requires the EPA to establish and publish performance measures, such as the number of pesticide products reregistered, canceled, or amended.
The EPA Received an Unmodified Opinion for Fiscal Years 2024 and 2023
We rendered an unmodified opinion on the EPA's fiscal years 2024 and 2023 Pesticides Reregistration and Expedited Processing Fund, also known as the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, or FIFRA, Fund, financial statements. This means that the statements were fairly presented and free of material misstatement.
Material Weakness Noted
We noted the following material weakness: The EPA did not appropriately allocate an expense paid to the U.S. General Services Administration for the use of government facilities.
Compliance with Applicable Laws, Regulations, Contracts, and Grant Agreements
We did not identify any instances of noncompliance with any applicable laws, regulations, contracts, or grant agreements. In addition, the Agency complied with the statutory performance measure requirements.
Recommendation and Agency Corrective Action We recommended that the chief financial officer and chief administrative officer record an adjustment to recognize a rent expense in the fiscal year 2024 FIFRA Fund financial statements. The EPA agreed with the recommendation and has completed the corrective action.
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The report is posted at: https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2026-05/_epaoig_20260519-26-f-0031_cert.pdf
Amtrak Celebrates One Million Customer Trips on NextGen Acela
WASHINGTON, May 22 -- Amtrak (National Railroad Passenger Corp.) issued the following news:
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Amtrak Celebrates One Million Customer Trips on NextGen Acela
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Amtrak hit a major milestone today: one million customer trips on its NextGen Acela fleet.
Amtrak President Roger Harris joined a team to thank customers at Washington Union Station with surprise and delights.
"Our guests are at the heart of this milestone - one million trips on NextGen Acela is a powerful signal of the demand for world-class passenger rail in America," said Amtrak President Roger Harris. "It's our joy to celebrate
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, May 22 -- Amtrak (National Railroad Passenger Corp.) issued the following news:
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Amtrak Celebrates One Million Customer Trips on NextGen Acela
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Amtrak hit a major milestone today: one million customer trips on its NextGen Acela fleet.
Amtrak President Roger Harris joined a team to thank customers at Washington Union Station with surprise and delights.
"Our guests are at the heart of this milestone - one million trips on NextGen Acela is a powerful signal of the demand for world-class passenger rail in America," said Amtrak President Roger Harris. "It's our joy to celebratewith our customers this Memorial Day Weekend, as you travel and experience the best of high-speed, premium rail."
With demand surging, we are adding even more NextGen Acela departures, giving riders more flexibility on America's busiest passenger rail line.
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Original text here: https://media.amtrak.com/2026/05/amtrak-celebrates-one-million-customer-trips-on-nextgen-acela/
