Agency Rulemaking Highlights

Notable Actions

Carbon Pollution Standards for Fossil Fuel-Fired Power Plants

The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing actions to address greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-fired electric generating units. The proposal would revise new source performance standards, with specific criteria for new, existing, and modified plants. The proposal would also repeal the Affordable Clean Energy Rule. A virtual public hearing will be held 21 days following publication in the Federal Register. Comments due 60 days after publication date. 

Ending Federal COVID Vaccination Requirements

Following the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, the White House issued a proclamation revoking the COVID-19 vaccination requirement for international air travel entries to the U.S. Effective May 12.

The president also signed an executive order revoking executive orders that required vaccination against COVID-19 for federal workers and adequate COVID-19 safety protocols among federal contractors and subcontractors. Effective May 12.

Advancing Pay Equity in Governmentwide Pay Systems

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is proposing revisions to the criteria for making salary determinations based on salary history to advance pay equity in the General Schedule pay system, Prevailing Rate Systems, Administrative Appeals Judge pay system, and Administrative Law Judge pay system. OPM is seeking the changes after finding that setting pay based on an individual's salary history may maintain or exacerbate pay inequity a job candidate experienced in their current or previous employment. Comments due June 12.

Securing the Information and Communications Technology Supply Chain

The president extended for one year—to May 15, 2024—the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13873 with respect to securing the information and communications technology and services supply chain. The order addresses vulnerabilities that may be exploited or created by foreign adversaries through the acquisition or use of such technologies and services.

Implementing Real Estate Inspection Standards

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a final rule that establishes a new approach to defining and assessing housing quality: The National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE). The NSPIRE approach aims to strengthen HUD's physical condition standards and improve HUD oversight through the alignment and consolidation of the inspection regulations used to evaluate HUD housing across multiple programs. Effective July 1.

Catherine Rampell: After Breaking Itself, Congress Tries to Break the Rest of Government, Too

Clyde Wayne Crews: Congress Should Halt OMB’s Rewrite of Circular A-4 Guidance on Regulatory Cost-Benefit Analysis

John Stepek: Banning Short Selling is a Bad Idea

Jonathan M. Barnett: The Antitrust Assault on the Startup Economy

WSJ Editorial Board: SVB’s Greg Becker Tells His Story

Parmy Olson: Meta Faces a Big EU Fine, But Avoids the Body Blow

J. Peter Pham: How to Strategically De-risk the Push for Electric Vehicles

Michael E. Webber: Will Texas Blow Up Its Energy Miracle to Bolster Fossil Fuels?

Matthew Yglesias: America Needs Parking Freedom, Not Free Parking

Governance & Politics

• Little-Noticed Part of GOP Bill Could ‘Make It Impossible to Regulate’, New York Times (feat. RSC’s Susan Dudley)
• Number of Migrants Fell 50% at US Southern Border After Immigration Changes, Washington Post
• Immigration Policy is Uncertain Now that Title 42 Has Been Lifted, NPR
• US Agency Proposes Banning the Use of Salary History in Federal Employment Offers, Government Executive
• Feds Could Be Fired at Any Time for Any Reason, Under a Bill That Was Just Reintroduced, Government Executive
• Senators From Across the Aisle Agree: Biden Needs to Nominate 6 Watchdogs, Quickly, Government Executive

Financial Markets & Housing

• Crypto Firm Bakkt Delists Tokens Amid Growing Regulatory Pressure, Wall Street Journal
• Former Silicon Valley Bank CEO Says No Bank Could have Survived What it Faced, Washington Post
• Banks Face Regulatory Scrutiny Over Interest-Rate Risks, Bloomberg
• US Banking Regulators Open to Mergers, but Vow Tougher Rules, Reuters
• Lawmakers from Both Parties Skeptical of Legislation Over SVB, Roll Call
• Next Financial Crisis Could Come From AI, SEC Chair Says, Wall Street Journal
• Funds Sold as ‘Sustainable’ Hit by Crossborder Reality Check, Bloomberg
• Crypto Rules Get Final Approval to Make Europe a Global Leader on Regulation, Associated Press
• EU States Approve World's First Comprehensive Crypto Rules, Reuters
• Audits of Chinese Companies Are Highly Deficient, US Regulator Says, Wall Street Journal

Energy & Environment

• Manchin to Oppose EPA Nominees Over Proposal to Limit Power Plant Emissions, Washington Post
• Manchin Will Oppose EPA Nominees to Protest Climate Rule, E&E News
• The US is Taking a Giant Step Toward Meeting its Climate Goal, Washington Post
• EPA Proposes First Limits on Climate Pollution From Existing Power Plants, New York Times
• An EPA Proposal to (Almost) Eliminate Climate Pollution from Power Plants, NPR
• Power Rule’s Carve-out Could Undermine Protections, E&E News
• Gas-powered Cars Won't Die Off Any Time Soon, Nathan Bomey & Joann Muller
• Biden Guidance on Energy Tax Credits Sparks some Dem Pushback, The Hill
• Big Money Rushes Into Carbon Capture. Can It Deliver This Time?, Bloomberg
• Nuclear Power Revival Gets Snarled in Red Tape, Bloomberg

Health & Safety

• Federal Appeals Court Freezes Decision Striking Down Free Preventive Health Services, Axios
• An FDA Shortcut Has Helped Drugmakers Reap Billions, Bloomberg
• What Will -- and Won’t -- Change for Federal Agencies With the End of the COVID Health Emergency, Government Executive
• The Pandemic-era Rule that Lets You Get Telehealth Prescriptions Just Got Extended, NPR
• FTC Sues to Stop Drugmaker Amgen from Completing $27.8 Billion Deal, Washington Post
• FDA Changes Rules for Donating Blood. Some Say They're Still Discriminatory, NPR

Business & Technology

• OpenAI, IBM Urge Senate to Act on AI Regulation After Past Tech Failures, Bloomberg
• ChatGPT’s Chief Testifies Before Congress, Calls for New Agency to Regulate Artificial Intelligence, Associated Press
• Congress Wants to Regulate AI, but it has a Lot of Catching Up to Do, NPR
• AI in Washington's Crosshairs but Consensus Far from Certain, Reuters
• Bipartisan Senators Try To Regulate Social Media. Will They Succeed?, NPR
• Activision Blizzard, Microsoft $75 Billion Deal Approved by EU Regulators, Wall Street Journal

Transportation & Infrastructure

• Exploding Air Bags Prompt Feds to Demand Massive Recall: What to Know, Wall Street Journal