Federal Executive Branch
Here's a look at documents from the U.S. Executive Branch
Featured Stories
USITC Votes To Continue Investigations for Chromium Trioxide from India and Turkey Chromium Trioxide from India and Turkey
WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 -- The U.S. International Trade Commission issued the following news release:
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USITC Votes To Continue Investigations for Chromium Trioxide from India and Turkey Chromium Trioxide from India and Turkey
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Bulletin 25-080
Inv. No(s). 701-TA-779, 731-TA-1765-1766
Contact: Jennifer Andberg, 202-205-1819
The U.S. International Trade Commission has made affirmative determinations in its preliminary phase antidumping and countervailing duty investigations concerning chromium trioxide from India and Turkey.
Note to users: This bulletin will be replaced by the news
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 -- The U.S. International Trade Commission issued the following news release:
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USITC Votes To Continue Investigations for Chromium Trioxide from India and Turkey Chromium Trioxide from India and Turkey
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Bulletin 25-080
Inv. No(s). 701-TA-779, 731-TA-1765-1766
Contact: Jennifer Andberg, 202-205-1819
The U.S. International Trade Commission has made affirmative determinations in its preliminary phase antidumping and countervailing duty investigations concerning chromium trioxide from India and Turkey.
Note to users: This bulletin will be replaced by the newsrelease when the release is available. News releases are generally issued approximately three hours after a Commission vote.
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Original text here: https://www.usitc.gov/press_room/news_release/2025/er1231_67909.htm
USDA Strengthens National Security and Protects Taxpayers by Standardizing Grant and Cooperative Agreement Requirements
WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued the following news release:
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USDA Strengthens National Security and Protects Taxpayers by Standardizing Grant and Cooperative Agreement Requirements
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(Washington, D.C., December 31, 2025) Today, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins signed a Secretary's Memorandum (PDF, 87.3 KB) directing all USDA agencies and staff offices to immediately adopt and implement the first-ever set of USDA General Terms and Conditions for all future awards.
"Since Day One, the Trump Administration has been working to promote government
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued the following news release:
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USDA Strengthens National Security and Protects Taxpayers by Standardizing Grant and Cooperative Agreement Requirements
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(Washington, D.C., December 31, 2025) Today, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins signed a Secretary's Memorandum (PDF, 87.3 KB) directing all USDA agencies and staff offices to immediately adopt and implement the first-ever set of USDA General Terms and Conditions for all future awards.
"Since Day One, the Trump Administration has been working to promote governmentefficiency, streamline unnecessary regulations, and eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in all USDA programs. As we took action to eliminate radical left ideology and foreign adversaries within these programs, we quickly realized the herculean task of updating over 100 sets of terms and conditions, some of which didn't even have termination clauses, each time a new policy or priority was announced," said Secretary Brooke Rollins. "Today's action not only reduces government bureaucracy and makes it easier for USDA customers to access our programs, but it also strengthens our ability to take swift action when recipients and cooperatorsand even recipients of subawards and subcontractsare not compliant with Federal law and applicable Executive Orders."
USDA administers an expansive grant and cooperative agreement portfolio, spanning 21 agencies and staff offices. In FY2025 alone, the Department distributed over $145 billion through 287 programs, resulting in nearly 38,000 new awards to farmers, ranchers, foresters, families, rural communities, small businesses, universities, and various other entities. Currently, there are 50,979 active awards across the entire USDA enterprise, underscoring the critical need for consistent oversight and accountability.
Until now, every agency and staff office implementing these programs utilized a different version of terms and conditions when entering into arrangements with recipients and cooperators, resulting in over 2,200 pages of terms and conditions across over 100 different documents. This patchwork approach to award management at USDA has created unchecked paperwork burdens and barriers for producers and small businesses seeking financial assistance from USDA and also made it difficult to swiftly implement new policies and priorities across all programs.
Under this new directive, all USDA grant, cooperative agreement, and mutual interest agreement programs will utilize the same terms and conditions, and award recipients and cooperators will only need to navigate 50 or less pages of requirements.
This action is an important step in the implementation of USDA's National Farm Security Action Plan (PDF, 1.2 MB) and Executive Order 14332, Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking, as well as various other Executive Orders and Secretary's Memorandums that have been signed this year to establish a return to American principles and align the Department's focus towards its original objectives.
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Original text here: https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/press-releases/2025/12/31/usda-strengthens-national-security-and-protects-taxpayers-standardizing-grant-and-cooperative
USDA Announces Commodity Payment Rates for Farmer Bridge Assistance Program
WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued the following news release:
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USDA Announces Commodity Payment Rates for Farmer Bridge Assistance Program
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(Washington, D.C., December 31, 2025) - Today, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced the next phase in the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program (FBA), the eligible commodity per-acre payment rates. As announced earlier this month by President Trump and Secretary Rollins, $12 billion will be paid to American farmers in 2026. Of that amount, $11 billion consists of one-time FBA program payments. This is
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued the following news release:
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USDA Announces Commodity Payment Rates for Farmer Bridge Assistance Program
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(Washington, D.C., December 31, 2025) - Today, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced the next phase in the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program (FBA), the eligible commodity per-acre payment rates. As announced earlier this month by President Trump and Secretary Rollins, $12 billion will be paid to American farmers in 2026. Of that amount, $11 billion consists of one-time FBA program payments. This isin response to four years of disastrous Biden administration policies that created record-high input and production costs, zero new trade deals, and a forgotten rural America.
"President Trump committed to increase certainty in the farm economy, and farmers can count on these payment rate calculations when going to the bank as they plan for the spring planting season. Putting Farmers First means delivering real relief when it matters. Farmers who qualify for the FBA Program can expect payments in their bank accounts by February 28, 2026," said Secretary Brooke Rollins. "These one-time payments give farmers the bridge to continue to feed and clothe America and the world while the Trump Administration continues opening new markets and strengthening the farm safety net. USDA is making this process as simple and seamless as possible so producers can focus on what they do best - feeding and fueling our nation."
Eligible Row Crop Commodities and Payment Rates:
Below are the payment rates for the FBA eligible commodities that triggered a payment.
Commodity, Per Acre Payment Rates
* Barley: $20.51
* Canola: $23.57
* Chickpeas (Large): $26.46
* Chickpeas (Small): $33.36
* Corn: $44.36
* Cotton: $117.35
* Flax: $8.05
* Lentils: $23.98
* Mustard: $23.21
* Oats: $81.75
* Peanuts: $55.65
* Peas: $19.60
* Rice: $132.89
* Safflower: $24.86
* Sesame: $13.68
* Sorghum: $48.11
* Soybeans: $30.88
* Sunflower: $17.32
* Wheat: $39.35
Eligibility, Program Applications, and Crop Insurance Linkage
FBA payments are based on 2025 planted acres, Economic Research Service cost of production, and the World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimate Report. Double crop acres, including all initial and subsequently planted crops, are eligible. Prevent plant acres are not eligible.
All intended row crop uses are eligible for FBA except grazing, volunteer stands, experimental, green manure, crops left standing and abandoned or cover crops.
Crop insurance linkage is not required; however, USDA strongly urges producers to take advantage of the new risk management tools provided for in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) to best protect against future price risk and volatility. The OBBBA federal crop insurance improvements include expanding benefits for beginning farmers and ranchers, increasing coverage options, and making crop insurance more affordable.
Specialty Crop Assistance
Of the $12 billion being provided by the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act, up to $11 billion is being directed to eligible row crop producers and the remaining $1 billion of the $12 billion in assistance is reserved for specialty crops and sugar. Timelines for payments to producers of these crops are still under development and require additional understanding of market impacts and economic needs. Producers, including specialty crop producers and stakeholder groups, can submit questions to farmerbridge@usda.gov.
More Information
More information FBA is available online at https://www.fsa.usda.gov/fba or you can contact your local USDA FSA county office.
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Original text here: https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/press-releases/2025/12/31/usda-announces-commodity-payment-rates-farmer-bridge-assistance-program
USDA Announces 2026 Wool and Mohair Marketing Assistance Loan Rates
WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency issued the following news release:
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USDA Announces 2026 Wool and Mohair Marketing Assistance Loan Rates
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WASHINGTON, Dec. 31, 2025 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Commodity Credit Corporation today announced Marketing Assistance Loan rates for 2026-crop graded wool by micron class. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) increased the three loan rates that are used as the basis for the program. It increased the rate of graded wool to $1.60 per pound (greasy basis). The loan rates for ungraded wool
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency issued the following news release:
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USDA Announces 2026 Wool and Mohair Marketing Assistance Loan Rates
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WASHINGTON, Dec. 31, 2025 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Commodity Credit Corporation today announced Marketing Assistance Loan rates for 2026-crop graded wool by micron class. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) increased the three loan rates that are used as the basis for the program. It increased the rate of graded wool to $1.60 per pound (greasy basis). The loan rates for ungraded woolwere moved up to $0.55 per pound (greasy basis) and the loan rate for mohair to $5.00 per pound.
Marketing Assistance Loans and Loan Deficiency Payments (LDPs) are marketing tools available to producers upon harvest or shearing and are available for graded wool, ungraded wool and mohair. Unshorn pelts are eligible for LDPs only. The unshorn pelt LDP rate is based on the ungraded wool LDP rate multiplied by the average weight of an unshorn pelt (6.865 pounds).
Marketing Assistance Loans provide producers interim financing at harvest time to meet cash flow needs without having to sell their commodities when market prices are typically at harvest-time lows. LDPs are payments made to producers who, although eligible to obtain a CCC loan, agree to forgo the loan in return for a payment on the eligible commodity.
2026 Loan Rates:
Graded Wool
Micron
Loan Rate (Per Pound, Clean Basis)
Less than 18.6
$4.67
18.6 to 19.5
$4.31
19.6 to 20.5
$4.11
20.6 to 22.0
$3.98
22.1 to 23.5
$3.81
23.6 to 25.9
$2.85
26.0 to 28.9
$1.62
29.0 and higher
$1.36
Ungraded Wool
Loan Rate (Per Pound, Greasy Basis)
$0.55
Mohair
Loan Rate (Per Pound)
$5.00
For more information, contact the FSA at your local USDA Service Center.
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Original text here: https://www.fsa.usda.gov/news-events/news/12-31-2025/usda-announces-2026-wool-mohair-marketing-assistance-loan-rates
SBA Relief Still Available to Nebraska Small Businesses and Private Nonprofits Affected by Drought
WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 -- The Small Business Administration's Office of Disaster Assistance issued the following news release:
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SBA Relief Still Available to Nebraska Small Businesses and Private Nonprofits Affected by Drought
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WASHINGTON - The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is reminding eligible small businesses and private nonprofit (PNP) organizations in Nebraska of the deadline to apply for low interest federal disaster loans to offset economic losses caused by drought.
The disaster declarations cover the counties listed below:
Declaration
Number
Primary
Counties
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 -- The Small Business Administration's Office of Disaster Assistance issued the following news release:
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SBA Relief Still Available to Nebraska Small Businesses and Private Nonprofits Affected by Drought
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WASHINGTON - The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is reminding eligible small businesses and private nonprofit (PNP) organizations in Nebraska of the deadline to apply for low interest federal disaster loans to offset economic losses caused by drought.
The disaster declarations cover the counties listed below:
Declaration
Number
Primary
Counties
Neighboring
Counties
Incident
Type
Incident
Date
Deadline
NE 21145
Cheyenne, Custer, Garden, Garfield, Greeley, Loup, Morrill, Sherman and Valley
Arthur, Banner, Blaine, Boone, Box Butte, Brown, Buffalo, Dawson, Deuel, Grant, Holt, Howard,
Keith, Kimball, Lincoln, Logan, Nance, Rock, Scotts Bluff, Sheridan, Wheeler in Nebraska; Logan and Sedgwick in Colorado
Drought Beginning May 13, 2025, and continuing 2/2/2026
NE 21151
Blaine, Brown, Dawson, Deuel, Hooker, Kimball, Lincoln, Logan, McPherson, Platte, Rock and Thomas
Arthur, Banner, Boone, Boyd, Buffalo, Butler, Cherry, Cheyenne, Colfax, Custer, Frontier,
Garden, Gosper, Grant, Hayes, Holt, Keith, Keya Paha, Loup, Madison, Merrick, Nance, Perkins,
Phelps, Polk and Stanton in Nebraska; Logan, Sedgwick and Weld in Colorado; Laramie in Wyoming
Drought Beginning April 1, 2025, and continuing 2/2/2026
Under this declaration, SBA's Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, nurseries, 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 not paid due to the disaster.
"Through a declaration by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, SBA provides critical financial assistance to help communities recover," said Chris Stallings, associate administrator of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the SBA. "We're pleased to offer loans to small businesses and private nonprofits impacted by these disasters."
The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates as low as 4% for small businesses and 3.625% for PNPs, with terms up to 30 years. Interest does not accrue, and payments are not due until 12 months from the date of the first loan disbursement. The SBA 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.
Submit completed loan applications to the SBA no later than Feb. 2, 2026. However, after the deadline has passed, there is a 60-day grace period in which SBA will accept applications.
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/2025/12/31/sba-relief-still-available-nebraska-small-businesses-private-nonprofits-affected-drought
EPA Announces Intent to Regulate Dozens of Uses of Five Phthalate Chemicals to Protect Workers and Environment
WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
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EPA Announces Intent to Regulate Dozens of Uses of Five Phthalate Chemicals to Protect Workers and Environment
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Agency's comprehensive risk evaluations find unreasonable risks requiring regulatory action
WASHINGTON - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that it will move to regulate dozens of applications of five widely used phthalate chemicals to address environmental and workplace risks. This decision is based on final risk evaluations, released today, for each of these
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
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EPA Announces Intent to Regulate Dozens of Uses of Five Phthalate Chemicals to Protect Workers and Environment
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Agency's comprehensive risk evaluations find unreasonable risks requiring regulatory action
WASHINGTON - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that it will move to regulate dozens of applications of five widely used phthalate chemicals to address environmental and workplace risks. This decision is based on final risk evaluations, released today, for each of thesechemicals: Butyl Benzyl Phthalate (BBP), Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP), Dicyclohexyl Phthalate (DCHP), Diethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP), and Diisobutyl Phthalate (DIBP), commonly used to make plastics more flexible in everything from building materials to industrial applications. EPA used gold standard science and tapped independent peer reviewers to reach its conclusions that all five chemicals it reviewed pose unreasonable risks to workers and to the environment. EPA's regulatory focus will target the specific uses that harm workers or threaten the environment.
"Our gold standard science delivered clear answers that these phthalates pose unreasonable risk to workers in specific industrial settings and to the environment," said Administrator Lee Zeldin. " We'll work directly with stakeholders to develop targeted protections that keep workers safe and protect our environment. This is exactly what science-based environmental protection should look like."
Phthalates have the potential to cause human health abnormalities that EPA is seriously concerned with, including hormone deficiencies and endocrine disruption. It's also important to note that gold standard science also shows that these health impacts do not occur at all exposure levels. The key factor in determining risk is whether people are exposed to amounts above levels that could cause health problems. Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) risk evaluation process, EPA focuses specifically on uses regulated under the federal chemical safety law. EPA's TSCA risk evaluation does not analyze exposures from food, food additives, food packaging, medical devices, cosmetics and other consumer products that are under the purview of the Food and Drug Administration or Consumer Product Safety Commission. For the consumer uses that are part of this TSCA risk evaluation, EPA found no products with exposure levels that are causing unreasonable risk to the general population. In pursuit of gold standard science, dermal modeling was enhanced based on peer review feedback and public comment, especially with the replacement of rodent data with actual human data.
The agency's cumulative exposure analysis, which examined exposure to multiple phthalates simultaneously, was based on available data for individuals aged four years and older. While no national-scale biomonitoring data exists for children under four, EPA used conservative modeling approaches to specifically assess toy mouthing behaviors in infants (less than one year), as well as two- and three-year-olds, ensuring that even the most vulnerable young children were included and protected in the evaluation.
EPA will next develop rules to eliminate the identified unreasonable risks to workers and the environment. The agency will conduct extensive consultation with workers, businesses, labor groups, and communities to develop targeted, practical protections that ensure worker safety and environmental protection. Personal protective equipment, engineering controls, and alternative approaches will be carefully evaluated to create effective, implementable solutions that protect those most at risk.
* BBP : Unreasonable risk to workers (2 conditions of use); environmental risks (7 conditions of use)
* DBP : Unreasonable risk to workers (5 conditions of use); environmental risks (1 condition of use)
* DCHP : Unreasonable risk to workers (2 conditions of use);
* DEHP : Unreasonable risk to workers (10 conditions of use); environmental risks (20 conditions of use)
* DIBP : Unreasonable risk to workers (4 conditions of use); environmental risks (7 conditions of use)
When EPA determines whether a chemical poses unreasonable risk, the agency must consider several key factors:
* Health impacts : How the actual, real-world level of chemical exposure is affecting people's health, including cancer risks and other negative health impacts, based on how the chemical is being used
* Environmental impacts : How the chemical is affecting the environment and how much exposure is occurring in real-world conditions
* Who gets exposed : Which groups of people are being exposed to the chemical above levels that cause health impacts, paying special attention to vulnerable populations (like children, pregnant women, or people with existing health conditions)
* How dangerous the chemical is : The severity and type of harm it can cause
* What we don't know : Any gaps or uncertainties in the scientific data
EPA considers all of these factors together when determining a chemical's risks.
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Original text here: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-announces-intent-regulate-dozens-uses-five-phthalate-chemicals-protect-workers-and
Court Approves Order Requiring Disney to Pay $10 Million to Settle FTC Allegations the Firm Enabled the Unlawful Collection of Children's Personal Data
WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 -- The Federal Trade Commission issued the following news release:
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Court Approves Order Requiring Disney to Pay $10 Million to Settle FTC Allegations the Firm Enabled the Unlawful Collection of Children's Personal Data
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A federal judge has approved an order requiring Disney to pay $10 million to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that the company allowed personal data to be collected from children who viewed kid-directed videos on YouTube without notifying parents or obtaining their consent as required by the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 -- The Federal Trade Commission issued the following news release:
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Court Approves Order Requiring Disney to Pay $10 Million to Settle FTC Allegations the Firm Enabled the Unlawful Collection of Children's Personal Data
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A federal judge has approved an order requiring Disney to pay $10 million to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that the company allowed personal data to be collected from children who viewed kid-directed videos on YouTube without notifying parents or obtaining their consent as required by the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPARule).
A complaint, filed in September by the Department of Justice upon notification and referral from the FTC, alleged that Disney Worldwide Services, Inc. and Disney Entertainment Operations LLC (Disney) violated the COPPA Rule by failing to properly label some videos that it uploaded to YouTube as "Made for Kids" (MFK). The complaint alleged that by mislabeling these videos, Disney allowed for the collection, through YouTube, of personal data from children under 13 who viewed child-directed videos and use of that data for targeted advertising to children.
Under the settlement order finalized by a federal judge last week, Disney is required to:
* Pay a $10 million civil penalty for violating the COPPA Rule;
* Comply with the COPPA Rule, including by notifying parents before collecting personal information from children under 13 and obtaining verifiable parental consent for collection and use of that data; and
* Establish and implement a program to review whether videos posted to YouTube should be designated as MFKunless YouTube implements age assurance technologies that can determine the age, age range, or age category of all YouTube users or no longer allows content creators to label videos as MFK. This forward-looking provision reflects and anticipates the growing use of age assurance technologies to protect kids online.
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Original text here: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/12/court-approves-order-requiring-disney-pay-10-million-settle-ftc-allegations-firm-enabled-unlawful
