WASHINGTON, Aug. 10 -- The REAL LIFE Program, Richmond, Virginia, has submitted a public comment letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services advocating for extensive reforms in opioid prescription practices. The organization's founder and director has expressed deep concerns regarding the proposed rule, which pertains to the Calendar Year 2026 Outpatient Prospective Payment System and the full implementation of the NOPAIN Act. In the letter, the organization highlights the urgent nee  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 -- NASA issued the following news release: * * * NASA Selects Contractors to Supply Centers with Helium NASA has chosen a group of contractors to supply multiple agency facilities with liquid and gaseous helium for at least the next two years. The NASA Agency-wide Supply of Liquid and Gaseous Helium contract is a fixed-price indefinite-delivery requirements contract with firm-fixed-price delivery orders. The awards have a total estimated value of approximately $105.1 milli  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 -- Blue Nose Aerial Imaging, a small business franchise serving Southwest Virginia, submitted a public comment letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the Section 232 national security investigation into the importation of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and their components. The owner of the franchise articulated several issues affecting the operational viability of small businesses that rely on drones for essential services. In the letter, the franchise owner em  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued the following news release: * * * Secretary Rollins Announces USDA Presidential Appointments, Naming Full Slate of Under Secretaries * (Washington, D.C., August 9, 2025) - U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced President Trump's nominations of key USDA leadership at the Iowa State Fair. This rounds out the senior leadership of USDA. "America's farmers and ranchers have a fighter and a friend in the White Hou  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 10 -- The Service-Disabled Veteran Medical Products Group (SDV-MPG), a trade association based in Virginia representing veteran-owned businesses, has submitted a public comment letter to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) addressing issues related to the implementation of Executive Order 14265, which aims to modernize defense acquisitions. The SDV-MPG highlights a troubling 40 percent drop in the number of small businesses engaging with the DoD over the past decade, attributin  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12987) on Aug. 8, 2025, by American national government specialist R. Eric Petersen: * * * Smithsonian Institution: Selected Legislation, 119th Congress The Smithsonian Institution is a complex of museum, education, research, and revenue-generating entities primarily located in the Washington, DC, region, with additional facilities and activities across the United States and wor  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 10 -- The Virginia Association for Biological Farming (VABF) has submitted a public comment letter to the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) regarding proposed revisions to the Conservation Practice Standards identified in Federal Register Docket ID NRCS-2025-0004. VABF, noted as Virginia's leading sustainable agricultural non-governmental organization, represents a community of stakeholders invested in regenerative organic farming practices aimed at enhancing ecolog  more