Federal Independent Agencies
Here's a look at documents from federal independent agencies
Featured Stories
National Gallery of Art Announces Sculpture Garden Extended Summer Hours
WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The National Gallery of Art issued the following news release on May 21, 2026:
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The National Gallery of Art Announces Sculpture Garden Extended Summer Hours
The National Gallery of Art has extended hours at its Sculpture Garden this summer. Beginning June 3 through September 5, the Sculpture Garden will remain open until 8:00 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday.
Admission is free and a special happy hour menu will be available from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., except on Fridays during the Jazz in the Garden concert series.
On these concert days, the Sculpture Garden will close
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The National Gallery of Art issued the following news release on May 21, 2026:
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The National Gallery of Art Announces Sculpture Garden Extended Summer Hours
The National Gallery of Art has extended hours at its Sculpture Garden this summer. Beginning June 3 through September 5, the Sculpture Garden will remain open until 8:00 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday.
Admission is free and a special happy hour menu will be available from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., except on Fridays during the Jazz in the Garden concert series.
On these concert days, the Sculpture Garden will closefrom 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. Gates reopen at 5:00 p.m. for Jazz in the Garden attendees and the concert begins at 6:00 p.m.
Visitors attending Sculpture Garden Happy Hour may purchase refreshments from a special menu featuring sandwiches, salads, snacks, and sweets inside the Pavilion Cafe. A variety of beverages--including beer, wine, soft drinks, and the crowd-favorite sangria--will also be available for purchase.
Visitors are welcome to bring their own picnics, but outside alcoholic beverages are strictly prohibited and subject to confiscation.
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About the National Gallery Sculpture Garden
The National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden provides visitors with a lush outdoor space in which to relax and reflect on art. The landscaping and pathways are designed to highlight its 22 large-scale sculptures. The garden showcases iconic 20th-century works by artists including Alexander Calder, Joan Miro, Louise Bourgeois, Ellsworth Kelly, and Claes Oldenberg. Its central fountain, which becomes an ice rink each winter, serves as a popular gathering place for visitors.
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About the National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art welcomes all people to explore art, creativity, and our shared humanity. Millions of people come through its doors each year--with even more online--making it one of the most visited art museums in the world. The National Gallery's renowned collection includes over 160,000 works of art, from the ancient world to today. Admission to the West and East Buildings, Sculpture Garden, special exhibitions, and public programs is always free.
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Original text here: https://www.nga.gov/press/sculpture-garden-extended-hours
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics: Astronomers Uncover Why Some Solar Eruptions Die
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, May 21 (TNSjou) -- The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics issued the following news release:
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Astronomers Uncover Why Some Solar Eruptions Die
New multi-telescope observations show why a powerful blast never became a true mass ejection.
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A team of scientists has recorded one of the most detailed views ever of a failed solar eruption, a powerful blast from the Sun that never broke free.
In March 2024, the Sun produced an intense solar flare from a large, magnetically complex active region. A prominence, or an ejection of relatively cool, dense gas,
... Show Full Article
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, May 21 (TNSjou) -- The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics issued the following news release:
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Astronomers Uncover Why Some Solar Eruptions Die
New multi-telescope observations show why a powerful blast never became a true mass ejection.
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A team of scientists has recorded one of the most detailed views ever of a failed solar eruption, a powerful blast from the Sun that never broke free.
In March 2024, the Sun produced an intense solar flare from a large, magnetically complex active region. A prominence, or an ejection of relatively cool, dense gas,rose above the Sun's surface, carried by the Sun's twisting magnetic fields that can drive material outward as a coronal mass ejection (CME). Instead, the prominence suddenly slowed, halted, and fell back.
"This strong flare should have produced a big eruption," said lead author Tingyu Gou, astronomer at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO), part of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. "Instead, we saw that the eruption stalled and collapsed shortly after its initiation."
Failed eruptions are not a new discovery; astronomers have observed them, but how and why they occur remains largely a mystery. The team took advantage of a rare observing opportunity to help answer these questions, using data from multiple spacecraft viewing the same event from different angles, and at many wavelengths of light.
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory and the Hinode satellite saw the event from near Earth, while the European Space Agency's (ESA) Solar Orbiter viewed it from the side. Further radio and ultraviolet observations came from ground-based telescopes and NASA's IRIS mission.
These combined views, often called multi-messenger observations, allowed the team to track both the hot, X-ray-emitting plasma and the cooler prominence material, and to connect what they saw to a map of the Sun's underlying magnetic field.
They found that the breaking and rejoining of magnetic field lines was happening at more than one site at the same time. Below the rising magnetic structure, a reconnection of swirling magnetic fields helped push the eruption upward, as is usual in solar flares.
Above it, however, a second reconnection process cut into the top of the erupting magnetic structure itself.
"That upper reconnection weakened the forces that were driving the eruption, which helped to shut it down," explained Katharine Reeves, astronomer at SAO and coauthor on the paper.
At the same time, very strong overlying magnetic fields acted like a magnetic cage. The scientists' data showed that these outer fields decayed too slowly to allow the eruption to become unstable and escape. So, the combination of erosion from above and confinement from outside ultimately stopped the eruption in its tracks.
The results help explain a long-standing puzzle in stellar astronomy: why we see many flares on other Sun-like stars, but far fewer clear signs of stellar CMEs. If complex magnetic fields frequently cause eruptions to fail, then some stellar CMEs may die close to the star, and therefore remain hidden from our telescopes, the scientists suggest.
"By watching this failed eruption on our own Sun in detail, we gain a window into how flares and eruptions may work throughout the galaxy," said Gou. "This work can, in turn, help us understand the physical mechanisms of successful eruptions and space weather environments of distant stars and planets."
Link to paper: Tingyu Gou, Katharine K. Reeves, Peter R. Young, Astrid M. Veronig, Xingyao Chen, Sijie Yu, Bin Chen & Bin Zhuang (2026) Multi-viewpoint observation of a failed prominence eruption on the Sun (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-026-02872-z), Nature
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Original text here: https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/news/astronomers-uncover-why-some-solar-eruptions-die
GSA Leads 22 Cabinet & Federal Agencies in Calling on Congress to Provide Full Access to the Federal Buildings Fund
WASHINGTON, May 21 -- The General Services Administration issued the following news release:
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GSA Leads 22 Cabinet & Federal Agencies in Calling on Congress to Provide Full Access to the Federal Buildings Fund
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22 Federal Agencies Show Unprecedented Support for GSA's Legislative Priorities
WASHINGTON - Today, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), joined by 22 Cabinet Departments and Federal Agencies, sent a letter [PDF - 1022 KB] to Congressional leaders in both chambers advocating for full access to the Federal Buildings Fund (FBF), while also requesting the authority to increase
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WASHINGTON, May 21 -- The General Services Administration issued the following news release:
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GSA Leads 22 Cabinet & Federal Agencies in Calling on Congress to Provide Full Access to the Federal Buildings Fund
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22 Federal Agencies Show Unprecedented Support for GSA's Legislative Priorities
WASHINGTON - Today, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), joined by 22 Cabinet Departments and Federal Agencies, sent a letter [PDF - 1022 KB] to Congressional leaders in both chambers advocating for full access to the Federal Buildings Fund (FBF), while also requesting the authority to increasefrom $3.96 million to $75 million. These legislative priorities will ensure GSA can have the necessary funding to successfully execute its role as the steward of the Federal real estate portfolio.
In a nearly unprecedented show of solidarity, the GSA was joined by over 20 department and agency leaders. All are calling on Congress to take action to ensure the real estate arm of the government has the necessary funds to preserve and repair our nation's assets and American icons.
"This is an overwhelming show of support among agencies for a common-sense measure that will give GSA the resources we need to deliver results for our agency partners and American taxpayers," said GSA Administrator Edward C. Forst. "President Trump wants to fortify the Federal footprint, and with full access to these funds, we will do just that."
Those who signed the letter include: Edward C. Forst, Administrator of the General Services Administration and Acting Archivist of the United States National Archives and Records Administration, Russell T. Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Brooke L. Rollins, Secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Howard W. Lutnick, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Linda E. McMahon, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, Christopher A. Wright, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, Markwayne Mullin, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Scott Turner, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Douglas J. Burgum, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior, Patrick D. Davis, Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legislative Affairs, U.S. Department of Justice, Keith E. Sonderling, Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor, Kelly Loeffler, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, Marco A. Rubio, Secretary of State for the U.S. Department of State, Sean P. Duffy, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Scott Bessent Secretary of the U.S. Department of Treasury, Douglas A. Collins, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Lee M. Zeldin, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Clinton Jones, General Counsel, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Jared Isaacman, Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Scott Kupor, Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Paul S. Atkins, Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Frank J. Bisignano, Commissioner of the U.S. Social Security Administration.
LETTER TEXT:
May 21, 2026
The Honorable Mike Johnson
Speaker of the House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable John Thune
Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Hakeem Jeffries
Minority Leader
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Chuck Schumer
Minority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Speaker Johnson, Majority Leader Thune, and Minority Leaders Jeffries and Schumer:
We write to express our unqualified support for the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to receive full annual access to the entirety of its Federal Buildings Fund (FBF), as proposed in the President's 2027 Budget. This full access is particularly important for the Major and Minor Repairs and Alterations (R&A) allocations. The FBF capital program is intended for reinvestment into GSA's federally owned facilities, but it has been chronically underfunded since 2011 by more than $15.6 billion. Furthermore, we advocate for increasing the current prospectus threshold, which is currently capped at $3.96 million in fiscal year 2026, to $75 million for routine and emergency maintenance and $10 million for all other prospectus transactions. This increase is essential for providing GSA with the necessary flexibility to invest in and execute timely repairs within our various departments' and agencies' workspaces. As we look toward America's 250th anniversary, the time is now to ensure that our Federal buildings operate with the utmost safety and efficiency to showcase America's beauty and support critically important Federal missions.
Despite the rental payments made to GSA by Federal departments and agencies, GSA is consistently unable to access requisite R&A funding due to persistent underfunding by Congress. Consequently, cyclical reinvestment to maintain federally owned facilities in a state of good repair has become a luxury-rather than a necessity. As we seek to do more with less and ensure that Americans' scarce tax dollars are spent wisely, GSA should be able to access the entirety of its FBF annual agency rent receipts to perform work that Federal tenants believe will be addressed by virtue of our providing timely rental payments. Many of the undersigned departments and agencies receive appropriations to pay operational expenses, such as rent, to ensure that critical problems are timely repaired. Providing GSA full access to FBF annual receipts will ensure timely repairs and consistent cyclical reinvestment, thereby preventing the accumulation of delinquent maintenance backlogs.
The inability to secure sufficient R&A funding has significantly impeded our efforts to reduce the Federal real estate portfolio through consolidation and optimization. Full annual FBF access and an increased prospectus threshold would facilitate routine maintenance, crucial life-safety improvements, and infrastructure upgrades. This would provide a resilient and efficient workplace environment, enabling the execution of our mission-critical work.
To move forward with expediency, we must-in tandem with full annual FBF access-raise the prospectus threshold for routine maintenance issues above $3.96 million, which many of us exceed with elevator or roof repairs, as examples. An increased GSA prospectus threshold will accelerate routine maintenance, reduce the backlog of delinquent maintenance projects, eliminate the protracted prospectus process for smaller projects, focus on larger, more complex transactions and expedite tenant relocation and space alterations that support asset disposal and optimization efforts. These improvements will also assist our Federal agencies in avoiding costly holdover actions by facilitating the timely acquisition of rightsized leased space.
GSA should be able to unlock its potential and pivot to meet the needs of its clients and ensure GSA is delivering on its mission of being good stewards of their portfolio and precious taxpayer dollars through full annual access to GSA's FBF and an increased prospectus threshold. This will help us mitigate the compounding of delinquent maintenance within the GSA's federally owned facilities, ensuring our Federal departments and agencies operate with greater efficiency and long-term cost savings.
About GSA: GSA provides centralized procurement and shared services for the federal government. GSA manages a nationwide real estate portfolio of approximately 360 million rentable square feet, oversees more than $126 billion in products and services via federal contracts, and delivers technology services to millions of people across dozens of federal agencies. GSA's mission is to deliver exceptional customer experience and value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to the government and the American people. For more information, visit GSA.gov and follow us at @USGSA.
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Original text here: https://www.gsa.gov/about-gsa/newsroom/news-releases/gsa-leads-22-cabinet-federal-agencies-in-calling-on-congress-to-provide-full-a-05212026
GSA Announces OneGov Agreement with Snowflake to Accelerate Data-Driven Technology Adoption
WASHINGTON, May 21 -- The General Services Administration issued the following news release:
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GSA Announces OneGov Agreement with Snowflake to Accelerate Data-Driven Technology Adoption
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Federal agencies can now save up to 50% on transformational tools for IT enhancement and data streamlining through this new OneGov Agreement
WASHINGTON -Today, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced a new OneGov agreement with Snowflake, the AI Data Cloud company, to empower federal workers to break down data silos, enhance mission effectiveness, and accelerate their IT modernization
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, May 21 -- The General Services Administration issued the following news release:
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GSA Announces OneGov Agreement with Snowflake to Accelerate Data-Driven Technology Adoption
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Federal agencies can now save up to 50% on transformational tools for IT enhancement and data streamlining through this new OneGov Agreement
WASHINGTON -Today, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced a new OneGov agreement with Snowflake, the AI Data Cloud company, to empower federal workers to break down data silos, enhance mission effectiveness, and accelerate their IT modernizationinitiatives.
"GSA's OneGov agreement with Snowflake supports President Trump's priority to accelerate technological innovation by giving agencies streamlined access to a shared data platform that breaks down long-standing silos," said GSA Administrator Edward C. Forst. "With stronger cross-agency data capabilities, we can accelerate AI tools tailored to each agency's mission. We're already seeing promising early projects, and through OneGov, GSA is delivering a unified federal approach that saves taxpayer dollars and increases value for the American people."
All new U.S. Snowflake customers will automatically receive:
* A 20% discount on computer services.
* A 26.67% discount on storage.
* Potential eligibility for higher-tier discounts of up to 50% reduced consumption cost on compute, as overall usage increases.
The one year agreement is available until September 30, 2027 through GSA's Multiple Award Schedule under the OneGov framework.
"Federal agencies are seeking efficiency in cost, enterprise scaled performance, intuitive design driven tools for the workforce and simplicity in contracting - we are the only multi-cloud data platform that can meet this charge on day one," said Snowflake CEO, Sridhar Ramaswamy. "Our participation in the GSA OneGov program is part of our commitment to our nation's public servants. We are removing procurement barriers so agencies can focus on what truly matters: leveraging their data to make faster, more informed decisions that better serve the American people."
GSA is building on the momentum of the OneGov initiative by extending agreements, expanding access to services, deepening collaboration and laying the groundwork for more scalable AI infrastructure across the government, in alignment with the goals of the White House AI Action Plan [PDF].
About GSA: GSA provides centralized procurement and shared services for the federal government. GSA manages a nationwide real estate portfolio of approximately 360 million rentable square feet, oversees more than $126 billion in products and services via federal contracts, and delivers technology services to millions of people across dozens of federal agencies. GSA's mission is to deliver exceptional customer experience and value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to the government and the American people. For more information, visit GSA.gov and follow us at @USGSA.
Contact
press@gsa.gov
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Original text here: https://www.gsa.gov/about-gsa/newsroom/news-releases/gsa-announces-onegov-agreement-with-snowflake-to-accelerate-datadriven-technolo-05212026
FHLB Dallas and First National Bank Texas Celebrate Groundbreaking of Affordable Housing Community in Los Lunas, New Mexico
DALLAS, Texas, May 21 -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas, a district bank in the Federal Home Loan Bank System, issued the following news release:
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FHLB Dallas and First National Bank Texas Celebrate Groundbreaking of Affordable Housing Community in Los Lunas, New Mexico
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LOS LUNAS, NEW MEXICO, May 21, 2026-The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas), First National Bank Texas (FNBT), NewLife Homes Inc. and local leaders today celebrated the groundbreaking of Plaza Luna Lofts, a housing development in Los Lunas, New Mexico, that will create 57 affordable apartment homes for
... Show Full Article
DALLAS, Texas, May 21 -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas, a district bank in the Federal Home Loan Bank System, issued the following news release:
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FHLB Dallas and First National Bank Texas Celebrate Groundbreaking of Affordable Housing Community in Los Lunas, New Mexico
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LOS LUNAS, NEW MEXICO, May 21, 2026-The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas), First National Bank Texas (FNBT), NewLife Homes Inc. and local leaders today celebrated the groundbreaking of Plaza Luna Lofts, a housing development in Los Lunas, New Mexico, that will create 57 affordable apartment homes foradults 55 years and older. Supported in part by a $1.4 million Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant, the project will expand housing options in a rapidly growing community, strengthening long-term housing stability for older residents.
"Plaza Luna Lofts is a meaningful step forward in ensuring that Los Lunas residents have access to high-quality, affordable housing," said NewLife Homes Inc. Executive Director John Bloomfield. "This project was made possible through collaborative partnerships and a shared vision for supporting the long-term well-being of our older residents."
The $1.4 million AHP grant was awarded through FNBT, an FHLB Dallas member institution.
"The FHLB Dallas AHP grant allows us to expand and extend our support for impactful housing initiatives across the communities we serve," said FNBT Community Development Manager Jeremy Munden. "Developments like this ensure that residents who are 55 or older have access to affordable homes, which strengthens the long-term health of our neighborhoods."
AHP funds are awarded through FHLB Dallas member institutions and assist FHLB Dallas members in financing the purchase, construction and rehabilitation of owner-occupied, rental or transitional housing and housing for homeless individuals. The funds must be used to benefit households with incomes at or below 80 percent of the median income for the area.
"This project is a clear example of how the AHP strengthens housing security for communities across our District," said Greg Hettrick, senior vice president and director of Community Investment at FHLB Dallas. "By helping to finance Plaza Luna Lofts, we're supporting the long-term resilience and stability of the Los Lunas community."
Learn more about the FHLB Dallas Affordable Housing Program.
About First National Bank Texas
First National Bank Texas (FNBT) and its divisions First Convenience Bank, First Community Mortgage and First Heroes National Bank, remain dedicated to building strong financial futures for our customers, employees and the communities that we serve. Our bank was originally founded in 1901 in the Central Texas town of Killeen, only 19 years after the city was established. From our humble beginnings, we have grown to over $4.5 billion in assets and now operate over 350 branches located throughout Texas, Arizona, Arkansas and New Mexico.
About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas is one of 11 district banks in the FHLBank System created by Congress in 1932. FHLB Dallas, with total assets of $97.1 billion as of March 31, 2026, is a member-owned cooperative that supports housing and community development by providing competitively priced loans and other credit products to approximately 780 members and associated institutions in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas. For more information, visit fhlb.com.
Contact Information:
Corporate Communications
Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas
fhlb.com
214.441.8445
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Original text here: https://www.fhlb.com/library/press-releases/2026/fhlb-dallas-and-first-national-bank-texas-celebrat
EPA Drives Next Phase of Lead Paint Safety in Maine
WASHINGTON, May 21 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
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EPA Drives Next Phase of Lead Paint Safety in Maine
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BOSTON (May 21, 2026) -Over the past year, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has helped increase awareness of and compliance with federal lead-based paint rules among communities in Maine, as part of a longstanding effort to address the risks of lead paint across New England. EPA's successes in 2025 included:
* Increased the number of RRP certified firms by over 130%
* Increased the number of RRP certified renovators over 21%
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... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, May 21 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
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EPA Drives Next Phase of Lead Paint Safety in Maine
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BOSTON (May 21, 2026) -Over the past year, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has helped increase awareness of and compliance with federal lead-based paint rules among communities in Maine, as part of a longstanding effort to address the risks of lead paint across New England. EPA's successes in 2025 included:
* Increased the number of RRP certified firms by over 130%
* Increased the number of RRP certified renovators over 21%
*Completed 72 onsite inspections, with 46 of these being within the geographic initiative area
* 4,172 outreach emails and hard copy letters sent to child occupied facilities, firms with expiring RRP certifications, contractors, realtors, and property owners.
EPA will build on these efforts in 2026 and 2027 through continued outreach, education, compliance assistance, and enforcement activities in Maine.
"The continuation of EPA New England's lead paint initiative aims to reduce lead exposure and give families peace of mind in their day-to-day," said EPA New England Regional Administrator Mark Sanborn. "By promoting lead safe practices and working closely with our local partners, we're promoting healthier futures for communities who are greatly impacted by environmental hazards, like lead."
Every year, over 300 children in Maine are poisoned by lead, with the most common cause being dust from lead paint. EPA is leading the charge to reduce childhood lead exposure through increased awareness and improved compliance with the Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Rule, and the Lead Disclosure Rule. This year, EPA will continue to focus its activities in central and northern Maine, including areas along the I-95 Corridor, such as Androscoggin, Cumberland, Kennebec, Penobscot, and Waldo counties. Outreach and education efforts in northern Maine aim to increase availability to lead safe renovation professionals in less populated areas.
These focus areas were selected in part due to the number of children with elevated blood lead levels as reported by Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Lead dust collects on floors and other surfaces where children put their hands and play with toys.
Background
Since the 1970s, EPA has worked alongside partners at the federal, state, Tribal, and local levels to protect children's health and make progress in reducing lead exposures and lead-related health risks. Despite improvements over the last 50 years, ongoing exposures to lead where our families live, work, and play present a health risk, especially to children.
To combat this issue, in 2025 the Trump EPA reestablished a committee of senior leaders across the agency's program offices and ten regions to drive success in reducing children's exposure to lead. This renewed agency-wide focus is centered around strengthening cooperative federalism, streamlining actionable risk communications, and unleashing private sector innovation to protect human health and the environment.
Please see epa.gov/lead for additional information.
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Original text here: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-drives-next-phase-lead-paint-safety-maine
EPA Cuts Biden-Era Refrigerant Rules, Saving Americans Over $2.4 Billion and Lowering Food Costs
WASHINGTON, May 21 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
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EPA Cuts Biden-Era Refrigerant Rules, Saving Americans Over $2.4 Billion and Lowering Food Costs
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WASHINGTON -Alongside President Trump in the Oval Office, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin today announced two actions that together are estimated to save American families and businesses more than $2.4 billion, with savings expected to flow directly to consumers. The actions, a final rule revising the Biden-Harris Administration's 2023 Technology Transitions Rule
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, May 21 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
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EPA Cuts Biden-Era Refrigerant Rules, Saving Americans Over $2.4 Billion and Lowering Food Costs
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WASHINGTON -Alongside President Trump in the Oval Office, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin today announced two actions that together are estimated to save American families and businesses more than $2.4 billion, with savings expected to flow directly to consumers. The actions, a final rule revising the Biden-Harris Administration's 2023 Technology Transitions Ruleand a proposed technical fix to the 2024 Emissions Reduction and Reclamation (ER&R), address costly overreaching restrictions limiting the type of refrigerants American businesses and families can use. Together, the Biden-era rules significantly increased grocery prices and the transportation of refrigerated goods to grocery stores and restaurants, among other essential items. The savings delivered by the Trump EPA's actions add to the extensive other regulatory relief EPA has already delivered under Administrator Zeldin's leadership.
The Trump EPA's final revisions to the 2023 Technology Transitions Rule extend compliance deadlines for the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), making a wider variety of refrigerants available to businesses while still meeting statutory requirements under the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act. This added flexibility will be felt by supermarkets, in home AC systems, the manufacturing of semiconductor chips, and in the transportation of medical supplies. This will lower food prices across the nation and ensure the U.S. remains competitive on the world stage, while following the law and prioritizing human health and the environment.
"Americans were right to be frustrated with the Biden-era refrigerant rules. They didn't protect human health or the environment and instead piled on costly, unattainable restrictions beyond what the law requires," said EPA Administrator Zeldin. "Today, the Trump EPA is fulfilling President Trump's promise to lower costs and is fixing every problem we can under the authority Congress gave us. Our actions allow businesses to choose the refrigeration systems that work best for them, saving them billions of dollars. This will be felt directly by American families in lower grocery prices."
EPA is also proposing to exempt all road refrigerant transport appliances from HFC leak repair requirements established in the 2024 ER&R Rule, removing burdens for owners and major U.S. operators of these appliances. The Biden Administration made an error in its final 2024 rule, subjecting the refrigerant transport sector to these leak requirements, even though it presents a low risk to human health. The agency will also be reconsidering the rest of the 2024 ER&R Rule in the future. EPA is committed to fulfilling its statutory obligations pursuant to the AIM Act, which must be met unless and until Congress amends federal law.
The savings at a glance include:
* Over $900 million from revisions to the 2023 Technology Transitions Rule, including more than $800 million at the supermarket
* Up to $1.5 billion in projected savings for transporters of refrigerated goods under the proposed ER&R technical fix if finalized
* More than 350,000 high-skilled American jobs safeguarded
For more information, please visit EPA's website.
Background
On March 12, 2025, Administrator Zeldin announced that the agency was reconsidering the 2023 Technology Transitions Rule. In August 2025, Administrator Zeldin joined Vice President J.D. Vance to tour Alta Refrigeration in Peachtree City, Georgia. Shortly following that trip, in September 2025, EPA issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to reform the 2023 Technology Transitions Rule.
The Biden Administration finalized the 2023 Technology Transitions Rule to force companies to change to specific refrigerants. With insufficient time to safely meet the new costly compliance deadlines and a narrow scope of options, the rule posed a grave risk to human health and the ability for Americans to afford everyday essentials. Had the 2023 Technology Transitions Rule been fully implemented, grocery stores would not have been able to afford equipment to store perishable foods, semiconductor manufacturing would have come to a halt, and families would have been left without AC in the summer.
The 2024 ER&R rule established, among other provisions, leak repair requirements for appliances that contain at least 15 pounds of HFC refrigerants used to transport perishable goods, despite most appliances in the transportation sector utilizing over 15 pounds of refrigerant.
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Original text here: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-cuts-biden-era-refrigerant-rules-saving-americans-over-24-billion-and-lowering
