Federal Executive Branch
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SEC Obtains Final Consent Judgment as to Ex-Alabama Investment Adviser
WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The Securities and Exchange Commission issued the following litigation release (No. 1:24-cv-00125; M.D. Ala. filed Sept. 28, 2022) involving ex-Alabama investment adviser:
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On May 20, 2026, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama entered a final consent judgment against James Blake Daughtry, based on Daughtry's alleged breach of fiduciary duties to his clients in connection with the sale of his investment advisory business to Jared D. Eakes.
The SEC filed its complaint against Eakes and Daughtry on September 28, 2022 in the Middle District
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WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The Securities and Exchange Commission issued the following litigation release (No. 1:24-cv-00125; M.D. Ala. filed Sept. 28, 2022) involving ex-Alabama investment adviser:
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On May 20, 2026, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama entered a final consent judgment against James Blake Daughtry, based on Daughtry's alleged breach of fiduciary duties to his clients in connection with the sale of his investment advisory business to Jared D. Eakes.
The SEC filed its complaint against Eakes and Daughtry on September 28, 2022 in the Middle Districtof Florida, but the SEC's claims against Daughtry were subsequently severed and that case was transferred to the Middle District of Alabama.
The SEC's complaint alleged that Daughtry breached his fiduciary duties to the clients that he moved and/or recruited to Eakes' investment advisory firm, GraySail Advisors, LLC. According to the complaint, Eakes misappropriated approximately $2.6 million from GraySail's clients, several of whom had previously been advisory clients of Daughtry. As alleged, Daughtry told his clients that he would monitor their accounts, and review any proposed investments with GraySail before such investments were consummated, but he failed to abide by these promises, even when several clients questioned certain investments that had been made in their accounts with GraySail. According to the complaint, Daughtry's failure to exercise the requisite care for his clients enabled Eakes to defraud these clients.
Without admitting or denying the allegations made in the SEC's complaint, Daughtry consented to the entry of the final judgment, which (a) permanently enjoins him from violating Section 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, (b) permanently enjoins him from associating with a broker, dealer or investment adviser, and (c) orders him to pay a $50,000 civil penalty. The SEC's litigation against Eakes remains pending in the Middle District of Florida.
The SEC's litigation against Daughtry was led by Paul Kim and H.B. Roback, under the supervision of M. Graham Loomis, all of the SEC's Atlanta Regional Office.
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Resources
* Final Judgment (https://www.sec.gov/files/litigation/litreleases/2026/judg26557.pdf)
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Original text here: https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases/lr-26557
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
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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
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City: Tenth District Manufacturing Activity Continued to Increase in May
KANSAS CITY, Missouri, May 22 (TNSrep) -- The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City issued the following news release on May 21, 2026:
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Tenth District Manufacturing Activity Continued to Increase in May
The Manufacturing Survey monitors manufacturing plants selected according to geographic distribution, industry mix and size.
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The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City released the May Manufacturing Survey today. According to Cortney Cowley, assistant vice president and Oklahoma City Branch executive, the survey revealed that business activity in the Tenth District manufacturing sector continued
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KANSAS CITY, Missouri, May 22 (TNSrep) -- The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City issued the following news release on May 21, 2026:
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Tenth District Manufacturing Activity Continued to Increase in May
The Manufacturing Survey monitors manufacturing plants selected according to geographic distribution, industry mix and size.
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The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City released the May Manufacturing Survey today. According to Cortney Cowley, assistant vice president and Oklahoma City Branch executive, the survey revealed that business activity in the Tenth District manufacturing sector continuedto increase, while expectations for future activity remained positive.
"District manufacturing activity rose further in May, and firms anticipate continued growth in the months ahead," said Cowley. "Firms continued to cite elevated cost pressures. Nearly two-thirds reported their input prices were changing more frequently than in 2025."
A summary of the May survey is below. The May survey incorporates new seasonal adjustment factors using Census X-13 ARIMA-SEATS, so historical indexes differ slightly from previously released numbers. The new seasonal factors will be used throughout 2025. Historical data, results from past surveys, and release dates for future surveys can be found at External Linkhttps://kansascityfed.org/surveys/manufacturing-survey.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City serves the Tenth Federal Reserve District, encompassing the western third of Missouri; all of Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Wyoming; and the northern half of New Mexico.
As part of the nation's central bank, the Bank participates in setting national monetary policy, supervising and regulating numerous commercial banks and bank holding companies, and providing financial services to depository institutions. More information is available online at External Linkhttps://kansascityfed.org
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The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City or the Federal Reserve System.
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Original text here: https://www.kansascityfed.org/newsroom/2026-news-releases/tenth-district-manufacturing-activity-continued-to-increase-in-may/
Fed: CSLT - Unifying U.S. Cross-Border Securities Holdings and Transactions Data
WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The Federal Reserve issued the following Fed Notes article:
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The CSLT: Unifying U.S. Cross-Border Securities Holdings and Transactions Data/1
Andrew McCallum, Laura DeMane, Angela Garcia, Josie Gillette, Tanya Grover, Henry Haw, Hudson Hinshaw, Nyssa Kim, and Andrew Loucky
Introduction
The Treasury International Capital (TIC) system offers comprehensive data on U.S. cross-border securities holdings and transactions, facilitating a detailed understanding of U.S. capital flows. For users new to TIC data, a key fact shapes how to use these statistics: holdings data
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WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The Federal Reserve issued the following Fed Notes article:
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The CSLT: Unifying U.S. Cross-Border Securities Holdings and Transactions Data/1
Andrew McCallum, Laura DeMane, Angela Garcia, Josie Gillette, Tanya Grover, Henry Haw, Hudson Hinshaw, Nyssa Kim, and Andrew Loucky
Introduction
The Treasury International Capital (TIC) system offers comprehensive data on U.S. cross-border securities holdings and transactions, facilitating a detailed understanding of U.S. capital flows. For users new to TIC data, a key fact shapes how to use these statistics: holdings datahave been collected for a longer historical period and are measured with greater precision than transactions data. This quality gap motivated researchers using TIC data to construct and validate their own estimates of monthly holdings and transactions. While TIC researchers have published these estimates, current best practice requires users to combine three distinct estimates across different time periods--a process that is error-prone and cumbersome.
This note introduces the Continuous Securities Long-Term (CSLT) dataset, which combines the best available TIC data and estimates to deliver continuous and comparable estimates of monthly U.S. cross-border holdings, transactions, and valuation changes from 1985 to present. The CSLT's ready-to-use estimates are publicly available in a single source through the U.S. Department of the Treasury (UST) website and via Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED), which offers monthly updates, visualizations, and searchability./2
How transactions, holdings changes, and valuation changes are related
The CSLT does not introduce new estimation methods; it consolidates previously published estimates to provide a continuous, comparable dataset. Understanding the methodologies underlying the CSLT first requires an understanding of the relationships between net transactions (sales and purchases), holdings changes, and valuation changes. These relationships for liability country i, holder country h, security type j, and month t are given by the following equation:
[Text omitted]
Estimating uncollected transactions, holdings, and valuation changes
Estimating transactions, holdings, and valuation changes components of Equation (1) requires combining data from multiple TIC forms. These forms include 1) the annual survey of U.S. ownership of foreign securities (SHC), 2) the annual survey of foreign holdings of U.S. securities (SHL), 3) monthly transactions of long-term securities by foreign residents (S), and 4) monthly holdings of long-term securities by U.S. and foreign residents (SLT11)./3 The CSLT uses different underlying data and methodology in each of three distinct periods. From January 1985 to December 2011, only annual holdings surveys and monthly transactions were available, requiring estimation of monthly holdings, valuation changes, and survey-consistent transactions. From January 2012 to January 2023, monthly holdings became available through SLT11, but transactions and valuation changes still required estimation. Since February 2023, the redesigned SLT form directly collects all Equation (1) components except the residual "other changes." Table 1 summarizes the methodologies and data sources in the CSLT for each period.
Table 1: Method and data source for each measure over different time periods
January 1985 to December 2011
The CSLT includes estimates from Bertaut and Tryon (2007) (BT) for monthly holdings and valuation changes, that are used to produce net transactions that are consistent with the annual surveys under the assumption that "other changes" are zero. During this period, monthly transactions data were available from the S form, but holdings were only collected through the SHC/SHL surveys. BT builds on two predecessor methodologies. Warnock and Cleaver (2003) (WC) pioneered the approach of estimating monthly holdings by: 1) adjusting the prior month's estimated holdings for price and exchange rate changes using country- and region-specific indexes (for example, J.P. Morgan EMBI+ or MSCI USA), and 2) adding monthly S form transactions. Thomas, Warnock, and Wongswan (2004) (TWW) refined this approach by distributing discrepancies between estimated monthly holdings and annual survey holdings proportionally across months based on transaction volumes. BT further improved the methodology by distributing discrepancies uniformly across all months, which implicitly adjusts reported transactions to align with observed annual holdings.
January 2012 to January 2023
The CSLT includes estimates from Bertaut and Judson (2022) (BJ). With monthly holdings now available from the SLT11 form (introduced in 2011), estimation shifted from constructing monthly holdings to deriving consistent transactions. BJ does not use S form transaction data because, as Bertaut and Judson (2014) document, these transactions are recorded against the first cross-border counterparty rather than the beneficial owner, creating systematic bias for major financial centers. Instead, BJ derives net transactions from Equation (1) as the change in SLT11 holdings minus valuation changes minus "other changes." During this period, "other changes" are adjustments by staff managing these data for non-transaction position shifts in the data, such as reporting coverage changes and cross-country custodian transfers. Valuation changes are estimated using country- and region-specific price indexes, consistent with prior methodologies.
February 2023 to the present
The CSLT uses data from the redesigned SLT form, which directly measures net transactions, holdings change, and valuation change. Unlike earlier periods, "other changes" are now calculated as the residual from Equation (1) rather than being separately identified or assumed to be zero.
[Text omitted]
The CSLT also incorporates aggregate and country-level data on foreign holdings of short-term U.S. Treasuries from the BL2 form since 1985 and country-level holdings from 2003./4 While Equation (1) applies to all security types, short-term U.S. Treasuries holdings are measured at face value, eliminating valuation changes. Consequently, net transactions equal the month-to-month change in holdings.
The CSLT compiles the most comprehensive monthly estimates on cross-border securities holdings, valuation changes, and net transactions that are available. However, complete coverage across all countries, dates, and security types is not available continuously back to January 1985. The lack of data occurs for a few reasons including confidentiality restrictions when too few reporters exist for a country-security combination. Also, U.S. liabilities estimates begin in January 1985 (benchmarked to the December 1984 SHL), while U.S. claims estimates begin in April 1994 (benchmarked to the March 1994 SHC).
Using the CSLT to analyze foreign holdings of U.S. Securities
U.S. Treasury securities holdings are among the most studied TIC series. Figure 1 uses the CSLT to confirm the notable trends that have been previously documented in the literature (for example, Tabova and Warnock, 2026)./5 Figure 1 shows the foreign share of U.S. Treasury holdings as a fraction of marketable government debt since 1985. CSLT holdings are measured at market value, as is total marketable U.S. Treasuries outstanding published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas./6 Foreign holdings accounted for 32 percent of total Treasury debt in December 2025, a share that has remained relatively stable since 2020 but is 20 percentage points higher than in January 1985. The foreign-owned share peaked in 2008 at 55 percent and tumbled nearly 10 percentage points at the onset of the pandemic, when foreign purchases did not keep pace with the surge in U.S. Treasuries issuance.
Figure 1. Foreign Holdings of U.S. Treasuries
[Text omitted]
Figure 2. Decomposition of 12-month Change in Foreign Holdings of U.S. Treasuries
Figure 3 applies the same decomposition as Figure 2 but to total foreign holdings of U.S. equities. While net transactions dominate U.S. Treasuries holdings changes (Figure 2), valuation changes are the primary driver for equities (Figure 3). Unsurprisingly, the range of 12-month holdings changes for equities is roughly twice as large as for U.S. Treasuries, reflecting greater price volatility. Interestingly, the decomposition also reveals that foreign investors tend to increase purchases of U.S. equities following major price declines in 2000, 2007, and to a lesser extent 2015. Comparing Figures 2 and 3 underscores why distinguishing between transactions and valuation changes is essential for interpreting holdings changes. The CSLT makes these measures readily accessible.
Figure 3. Decomposition of 12-month Change in Foreign Holdings of U.S. Equities
The CSLT also enables tracking of Major Foreign Holders (MFH) of U.S. Treasuries back to 2003. Country-specific U.S. Treasuries holdings became available in 2003, whereas aggregate holdings extend back to 1985. The MFH table, published by the UST and listing the top holders of U.S. Treasuries, is among the most cited TIC publications and is now readily accessible through FRED./7 Figure 4 uses CSLT estimates to track the evolution of holdings shares for the top nine MFH countries as of December 2025. These nine countries collectively hold about 45 percent of foreign-held U.S. Treasuries, a share that has remained relatively stable since the early 2000s. However, the distribution among these holders has shifted substantially and become far less concentrated. Japan remains the largest foreign holder but has declined from over 30 percent in the early 2000s to about 12 percent in December 2025. China rose from second place in 2003 to the largest holder (holding roughly 30 percent of total foreign holdings) in 2009 before declining to about 8 percent today. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Cayman Islands, and France have risen from minor holders to the top nine./8 The increase in holdings for these countries partly reflects the growing importance of major financial and custodial centers and the globalization of financial intermediation, which are now easily traceable through the CSLT's continuous country-level holdings data.
Figure 4. Major Foreign Holders of U.S. Treasuries
Conclusion
Careful measurement of cross-border securities holdings and returns is critical to understanding the causes and consequences of capital flows, as highlighted in recent research on the foreign ownership of U.S. Treasuries and returns on non-Treasury securities (Tabova and Warnock, 2025, 2026). The CSLT enables this careful measurement by providing the best available estimates of monthly U.S. cross-border securities holdings, transactions, and valuation changes in a single, comprehensive, up-to-date, publicly available dataset spanning 1985 to present.
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References
Barth, Daniel, Daniel Beltran, Matthew Hoops, Jay Kahn, Emily Liu, and Maria Perozek (2025). "The Cross Border Trail of the Treasury Basis Trade," Finance and Economics Discussion Series. Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, October 15.
Bertaut, Carol and Ralph Tryon (2007). "Monthly Estimates of U.S. Cross-Border Securities Positions," International Finance Discussion Papers 910. Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, November.
Bertaut, Carol and Ruth Judson (2014). "Estimating U.S. Cross-Border Securities Positions: New Data and New Methods," International Finance Discussion Papers 1113. Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, August.
Bertaut, Carol and Ruth Judson (2022). "Estimating U.S. Cross-Border Securities Flows: Ten Years of the TIC SLT," Finance and Economics Discussion Series. Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, February 18 (updated September 2025).
Bertaut, Carol and Ruth Judson (2023). "Measuring U.S. Cross-Border Securities Flows: New Data and A Guide for Researchers," Finance and Economics Discussion Series. Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, October 2.
Bertaut, Carol and Ruth Judson (2025). "Measuring U.S. Cross-Border Securities Flows: Out With the Old, In with the New," Finance and Economics Discussion Series. Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, October 15.
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Market Value of Marketable Treasury Debt [MVMTD027MNFRBDAL], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MVMTD027MNFRBDAL, April 2, 2026.
McCallum, Andrew H., Laura DeMane, Nyssa Kim, Emily Liu, and Andrew Loucky (2024). "Introducing New Valuation Change Data for U.S. Cross-Border Portfolio Holdings," Finance and Economics Discussion Series. Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, April 18.
Tabova, Alexandra and Francis E. Warnock (2025). "Exorbitant changes in three parts," NBER Working Papers 34372, December.
Tabova, Alexandra and Francis E. Warnock (2026). "Preferred habitats and timing in the world's safe asset," Journal of International Economics, vol. 161, 104233, May.
Thomas, Charles P., Francis E. Warnock, and Jon Wongswan (2004). "The Performance of International Portfolios (PDF)," International Finance Discussion Papers 817. Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, October.
Warnock, Francis E. and Chad Cleaver (2003). "Financial Centres and the Geography of Capital Flows," International Finance, vol. 6 (1), pp. 27-59, June 17, https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2362.00111.
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1. The Department of the U.S. Treasury, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System express their appreciation to all respondents whose efforts and information have made the construction of this dataset possible. We also thank the FRED Data Desk team at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Return to text
2. Treasury: https://ticdata.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/tic/Documents/cslt.zip
FRED: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/release?rid=3 Return to text
3. TIC SHC/SHCA: "Report of U.S. Ownership of Foreign Securities, Including Selected Money Market Instruments". See https://home.treasury.gov/data/treasury-international-capital-tic-system-home-page/tic-forms-instructions/forms-shc.
TIC SHL/SHLA: "Report of Foreign-residents' Holdings of U.S. Securities, Including Selected Money Market Instruments". See https://home.treasury.gov/data/treasury-international-capital-tic-system-home-page/tic-forms-instructions/forms-shl.
TIC S: "Purchases and Sales of Long-term Securities by Foreign-Residents." See https://home.treasury.gov/data/treasury-international-capital-tic-system-home-page/tic-forms-instructions/tic-s-form-and-instructions.
TIC SLT (2011): "Aggregate Holdings of Long-term Securities by U.S. and Foreign Residents (PDF)." See https://ticdata.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/tic/Documents/fslt.pdf. Return to text
4. TIC BL-2: "Report of Customers' U.S. Dollar Liabilities to Foreign Residents." Return to text
5. Tabova and Warnock (2026) study all types of investors, their behavior, and provide a detailed evaluation of cross-border flows and holdings of U.S. Treasuries. Return to text
6. The market value of U.S. Government Debt is estimated by applying current market prices to outstanding par amounts and aggregating across securities and is available in FRED: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MVMTD027MNFRBDAL and published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas: https://www.dallasfed.org/research/econdata/govdebt. Return to text
7. Table 5: Major Foreign Holders of Treasury Securities. See ticdata.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/tic/Documents/slt_table5.txt. Return to text
8. Cayman Islands' holdings of U.S. Treasuries are likely mismeasured in the CSLT and SLT as discussed in Barth, Beltran, Hoops, Kahn, Liu, and Perozek (2025). Return to text
Please cite this note as:
McCallum, Andrew, Laura DeMane, Angela Garcia, Josie Gillette, Tanya Grover, Henry Haw, Hudson Hinshaw, Nyssa Kim, and Andrew Loucky (2026). "The CSLT: Unifying U.S. Cross-Border Securities Holdings and Transactions Data," FEDS Notes. Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, May 21, 2026, https://doi.org/10.17016/2380-7172.4084.
Disclaimer: FEDS Notes are articles in which Board staff offer their own views and present analysis on a range of topics in economics and finance. These articles are shorter and less technically oriented than FEDS Working Papers and IFDP papers.
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Original text here: https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/the-cslt-unifying-u-s-cross-border-securities-holdings-and-transactions-data-20260521.html
FERC Unleashes Natural Gas Permit Reforms, Accelerating Infrastructure Upgrades for Affordable, Reliable Energy Nationwide
WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued the following news release on May 21, 2026:
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FERC Unleashes Natural Gas Permit Reforms, Accelerating Infrastructure Upgrades for Affordable, Reliable Energy Nationwide
FERC today proposed sweeping reforms to its blanket permitting process for natural gas facilities, under which companies may construct certain facilities without case-specific authorization from the Commission. These reforms will further streamline the permitting process and speed up construction of infrastructure on which Americans rely for affordable
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued the following news release on May 21, 2026:
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FERC Unleashes Natural Gas Permit Reforms, Accelerating Infrastructure Upgrades for Affordable, Reliable Energy Nationwide
FERC today proposed sweeping reforms to its blanket permitting process for natural gas facilities, under which companies may construct certain facilities without case-specific authorization from the Commission. These reforms will further streamline the permitting process and speed up construction of infrastructure on which Americans rely for affordableand reliable energy.
The proposed reforms empower companies to build much needed critical infrastructure without the delay of case-by-case approvals. These changes should dramatically accelerate construction by cutting through red tape and driving progress for the nation's energy future.
The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) puts forth a landmark plan to permanently overhaul the Commission's blanket authorization regulations: it significantly broadens the types and sizes of projects that interstate natural gas pipelines can build without case-by-case approval, dramatically expanding the scope and scale of infrastructure covered under the Commission's natural gas blanket program. Additionally, the NOPR seeks to raise cost limits, unlocking greater investment and faster development for projects that deliver affordable, reliable energy to American communities.
The NOPR follows a Notice of Inquiry issued in June 2025 that sought comment on whether, and if so how, the Commission should modify the blanket certificate program.
Also, today, FERC extended the deadline for projects using temporary regulatory waivers on cost limits to May 31, 2028, one year beyond the previous May 31, 2027, cutoff. This extension provides regulatory certainty to the industry as the Commission finalizes its permanent policy.
Ongoing Permitting Reform Review
In addition to today's significant actions, FERC announced in November 2025 consideration of establishing blanket authorization procedures for targeted activities at liquified natural gas (LNG) plants and hydroelectric projects. The Commission is exploring making maintenance, repairs, and upgrades at these essential facilities more efficient and less burdensome to ensure America's energy infrastructure remains safe, reliable, and ready to meet growing demands without unnecessary delays from case-specific approvals.
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Original text here: https://www.ferc.gov/news-events/news/ferc-unleashes-natural-gas-permit-reforms-accelerating-infrastructure-upgrades
FCC: Enhancing Know-Your-Upstream-Provider Requirements
WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The Federal Communications Commission issued the following statement on May 21, 2026, by Chairman Brendan Carr:
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Enhancing Know-Your-Upstream-Provider Requirements
Re: Call Authentication Trust Anchor; Advanced Methods to Target and Eliminate Unlawful Robocalls, Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, WC Docket No. 17-97; CG Docket No. 17-59 (May 20, 2026).
Over the past year, the FCC has adopted new tactics in our long-running effort to end the scourge of illegal robocalls. We're focused on hardening every portion of the call path against bad actor scammers.
Today's
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WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The Federal Communications Commission issued the following statement on May 21, 2026, by Chairman Brendan Carr:
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Enhancing Know-Your-Upstream-Provider Requirements
Re: Call Authentication Trust Anchor; Advanced Methods to Target and Eliminate Unlawful Robocalls, Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, WC Docket No. 17-97; CG Docket No. 17-59 (May 20, 2026).
Over the past year, the FCC has adopted new tactics in our long-running effort to end the scourge of illegal robocalls. We're focused on hardening every portion of the call path against bad actor scammers.
Today'sitem is another example of that approach. For one, we're seeking comment on ways to ensure providers are taking reasonable steps to know their customers and upstream providers. This will prevent many bad actors from accessing the network in the first place. For another, we're proposing that carriers respond much more quickly to traceback requests. This will help us excise robocallers that gain network access.
For still another, we're seeking comment on requiring carriers to cooperate fully with law enforcement and industry efforts to stop illegal robocalls before they reach consumers. Taken together, these steps would strengthen our robocall mitigation framework by driving greater transparency and more meaningful accountability from providers.
At the end of the day, stopping illegal robocalls is going to require everyone in the voice ecosystem to do their part and be held accountable for the traffic they allow on their networks.
For their great work on this item, I want to thank Joseph Calascione, Cara Voth, Jodie May, Chris Laughlin, Mason Shefa, John Menges, Merry Wulff, Aaron Garza, Michael Scott, Dan Stepanicich, and Jonathan Lechter.
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Original text here: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-26-32A2.pdf
Bureau of Reclamation: Enhancing Hoover Dam's Infrastructure and Energy Reliability
WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation issued the following news release:
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Enhancing Hoover Dam's Infrastructure and Energy Reliability
The Bureau of Reclamation is investing approximately $52 million from the Hoover Dam Post Retirement Benefit fund in critical infrastructure, operations, and maintenance at Hoover Dam, including replacement of up to three older turbines with wide-head turbines designed to operate at lower lake elevations. This determination comes at a pivotal moment as prolonged drought and declining Lake Mead elevations continue
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WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation issued the following news release:
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Enhancing Hoover Dam's Infrastructure and Energy Reliability
The Bureau of Reclamation is investing approximately $52 million from the Hoover Dam Post Retirement Benefit fund in critical infrastructure, operations, and maintenance at Hoover Dam, including replacement of up to three older turbines with wide-head turbines designed to operate at lower lake elevations. This determination comes at a pivotal moment as prolonged drought and declining Lake Mead elevations continueto affect hydropower generation that supports people and industry throughout the American Southwest.
"This action ensures Hoover Dam remains a cornerstone of American energy production for decades to come," said Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Andrea Travnicek. "By investing in critical infrastructure upgrades and advanced wide-head turbine technology, we are increasing the dam's resilience to drought, protecting reliable hydropower generation for communities across the Southwest, and delivering on President Trump's commitment to strengthen America's energy security through modernized infrastructure and responsible resource management."
Reclamation's proactive review of the fund, which was previously unavailable for operational use, resulted in confirmation that these dollars can now be directed to essential Hoover Dam operation and maintenance projects. The funding will play a crucial role in strengthening the facility's reliability and supporting long-term hydropower production for customers in Nevada, Arizona and California.
"Unlocking these funds allows us to move forward with critical upgrades at one of the nation's most important hydropower facilities," said Acting Commissioner Scott Cameron. "We look forward to working with the Lower Colorado River Basin power customers on this needed upgrade."
The approximately $52 million is coming from the Post Retirement Benefit Fund, which was collected by the Western Area Power Administration from power customers to pay for unfunded retirement benefit costs for Hoover employees. After the fund was established, the employees began receiving benefits under the Federal Employees Retirement System or Civil Service Retirement System. As a result, the Post Retirement Benefit fund was not needed for this purpose.
Since it is impossible to use the funds for pension purposes, the funds may now be used for other purposes consistent with the authorization such as operation and maintenance. A notable portion of the newly available funding will be used to purchase and replace up to three older turbines with wide-head turbines, which are designed to operate effectively at lake elevations below 1035'. These turbines are expected to restore at least 160 megawatts of hydropower capacity and will help mitigate impacts caused by the ongoing drought.
Recent technical assessments show that older turbines are expected to sustain severe cavitation damage below Lake Mead's elevation of 1,035 feet, significantly reducing generation capability. Updated operational data indicated that at 1,035 feet, Hoover Dam's capacity could drop from earlier estimates of 1,302 megawatts to just 382 megawatts. Wide-head turbines, however, can continue operating to elevations near 950 feet without excessive damage, extending the dam's ability to generate power even under critically low reservoir conditions.
"Hoover Dam's power customers and Reclamation have worked collaboratively for decades," Cameron added. "We will continue that partnership as we prioritize how the remaining Post Retirement Benefits funds can best support Hoover Dam's infrastructure and operations."
As one of the nation's largest hydropower facilities, Hoover Dam historically has delivered up to 2,074 megawatts of hydropower capacity -- supplying electricity to roughly 1.3 million people across the Southwest. Due to the unprecedented drought, generation has decreased by about 30%. Without intervention, additional declines would risk the facility's long-term financial viability and could place added pressure on customer rates.
The use of the Post Retirement Benefit funds will help address these challenges, advance crucial infrastructure improvements, and support Hoover Dam's continued role as a crucial part of the region's energy system.
Reclamation will continue to coordinate closely with power customers, external partners, and regional stakeholders as the project planning and prioritization move forward.
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Original text here: https://www.usbr.gov/newsroom/news-release/5340
