Regulatory Roundup - May 11-17
AICPA
Press Release
AICPA Requests Relief for Taxpayers Under Sec 473 of the IRC
AICPA requested relief under section 473 of the IRC which would permit qualified taxpayers to mitigate increases to taxable income due to involuntary liquidations of LIFO inventories.
May 11, 2021
Press Release
AICPA Supports Setting Tax Preparer Standards, Makes Recommendations
Together with two additional elements recommended by AICPA, the Taxpayer Protection and Preparer Proficiency Act of 2019 captures an appropriately defined objective as laid out by the AFP.
May 11, 2021
CBO
Cost Estimate
H.R. 1257, Homeless Veterans Credit Repair, Enhancement, and Debt Improvement for Tomorrow Act
May 14, 2021
s ordered reported by the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on May 4, 2021
Cost Estimate
H.R. 711, West Los Angeles VA Campus Improvement Act of 2021
May 14, 2021
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on May 4, 2021
Cost Estimate
H.R. 2393, No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act of 2021
May 13, 2021
As ordered reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary on
April 20, 2021
Cost Estimate
May 13, 2021
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on May 4, 2021
Cost Estimate
H.R. 2704, Improving VA Accountability to Prevent Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Act of 2021
May 13, 2021
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on May 4, 2021
Cost Estimate
H.R. 2788, VA Equal Employment Opportunity Counselor Modernization Act
May 13, 2021
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on May 4, 2021
Cost Estimate
H.R. 2878, Native VetSuccess at Tribal Colleges and Universities Pilot Program Act
May 13, 2021
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on May 4, 2021
Cost Estimate
H.R. 402, Countering Russian and Other Overseas Kleptocracy Act
May 13, 2021
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on
April 21, 2021
Cost Estimate
H.R. 587, Ocean Pollution Reduction Act II
May 13, 2021
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on March 24, 2021
Report
May 12, 2021
The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works convened a hearing at which Joseph Kile, CBO's Director of Microeconomic Analysis, testified. This document provides CBO’s answer to a question submitted for the record.
Cost Estimate
H.R. 707, Ghost Army Congressional Gold Medal Act
May 12, 2021
As introduced on February 2, 2021
Report
May 11, 2021
The Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch of the House Committee on Appropriations convened a hearing at which Director Phillip Swagel testified. This document provides CBO’s answers to questions submitted for the record.
Cost Estimate
May 11, 2021
As reported by the House Committee on Financial Services on
April 30, 2021, Including a Manager’s Amendment (Waters 9) as posted on the website of the House Committee on Rules on May 11, 2021
Cost Estimate
May 11, 2021
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on May 4, 2021
Cost Estimate
H.R. 1703, National Children’s Museum Act
May 11, 2021
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on March 24, 2021
Cost Estimate
H.R. 2441, Sgt. Ketchum Rural Veterans Mental Health Act of 2021
May 11, 2021
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on May 4, 2021
Cost Estimate
May 11, 2021
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on May 4, 202
Cost Estimate
H.R. 2911, VA Transparency and Trust Act of 2021
May 11, 2021
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on May 4, 2021
Cost Estimate
H.R. 1500, Global Learning Loss Assessment Act of 2021As ordered reported by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on March 25, 2021
Cost Estimate
H.R. 2093, Veterans and Family Information Act
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on May 4, 2021
Cost Estimate
H.R. 391, Global Health Security Act of 2021
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on March 25, 2021
Cost Estimate
H.R. 958, Protecting Moms Who Served Act
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on May 4, 2021
Report
Monthly Budget Review: April 2021
The federal budget deficit was $1.9 trillion in the first seven months of fiscal year 2021, CBO estimates—$449 billion more than the deficit recorded during the same period last year.
GAO
Department of Veterans Affairs
GAO-21-469PR
Published: May 10, 2021.
Publicly Released: May 17, 2021.
What GAO Found In April 2020, GAO identified 33 priority recommendations for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Since then, VA has implemented 13 of those recommendations by, among other things, taking actions to ensure that veterans receive evidence-based mental health treatment.
Department of Veterans Affairs
GAO-21-469PR
Published: May 10, 2021.
Publicly Released: May 17, 2021.
What GAO Found In April 2020, GAO identified 33 priority recommendations for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Since then, VA has implemented 13 of those recommendations by, among other things, taking actions to ensure that veterans receive evidence-based mental health treatment.
Released on May. 13, 2021
GAO-21-561T
Published: May 13, 2021.
Publicly Released: May 13, 2021.
What GAO Found GAO's Disaster Resilience Framework serves as a guide for analysis of federal actions to facilitate and promote resilience to natural disasters and changes in the climate across many policy areas, including transportation.
Better Assessing Employees' Skill Gaps Could Help FAA Prepare for Changes in Technology
GAO-21-310
Published: May 13, 2021.
Publicly Released: May 13, 2021.
What GAO Found Through its workforce-planning initiative, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) identified critical skills needed for its workforce to respond to technology changes, such as those described in the figure below.
Improvements Needed in FDIC's Internal Control over Contract-Payment Review Processes
GAO-21-420R
Published: May 13, 2021.
Publicly Released: May 13, 2021.
What GAO Found During the audit of the 2020 and 2019 financial statements of the two funds the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) administers—the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) and the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation Resolution Fund (FRF)—GAO identified deficiencies in FDIC's...
Federal Highway Administration
Administrative Expenses Funded from the Highway Trust Fund
GAO-21-419R
Published: May 13, 2021.
Publicly Released: May 13, 2021.
What GAO Found GAO found that the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) administrative expenses funded from the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) for fiscal years 2016 through 2020 include (1) general operating expenses (salaries and benefits, equipment, travel, and other expenses); (2) transfers to the Appalachian...
Project Nearing Completion, but Work to Resolve Challenges Continues
GAO-21-406
Published: May 13, 2021.
Publicly Released: May 13, 2021.
What GAO Found Since 2019, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) project, one of the agency's most complex science missions, has made considerable progress toward launch—now planned for October 2021—by resolving technical issues, but some schedule...
EPA Should Take Additional Actions to Manage Risks from Climate Change Effects
GAO-21-555T
Published: May 13, 2021.
Publicly Released: May 13, 2021.
What GAO Found In October 2019, GAO reported that available federal data on flooding, storm surge, wildfires, and sea level rise suggested that about 60 percent (945 of 1,571) of all nonfederal Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) sites—which have serious hazardous contamination--are located in...
Released on May. 12, 2021
GAO-21-455SP
Published: May 12, 2021.
Publicly Released: May 12, 2021.
What GAO Found GAO identified 112 new actions for Congress or executive branch agencies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government.
Actions Needed to Improve Program Management
GAO-21-543T
Published: May 12, 2021.
Publicly Released: May 12, 2021.
What GAO Found In recent years, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has significantly expanded the Veterans Benefits Administration's (VBA) use of contractors to perform disability medical exams instead of relying on Veterans Health Administration (VHA) medical centers.
Key Considerations for Adopting Stricter Lead Evaluation Methods in HUD's Voucher Program
GAO-21-325
Published: May 12, 2021.
Publicly Released: May 12, 2021.
What GAO Found GAO found that the Housing Choice Voucher program had 1.1 million voucher holders living in units built before 1978, the year the U.S. banned lead paint in housing.
Government Efficiency and Effectiveness
GAO-21-544T
Published: May 12, 2021.
Publicly Released: May 12, 2021.
What GAO Found GAO’s 2021 annual report identifies 112 new actions for Congress or executive branch agencies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government.
Released on May. 11, 2021
Securities and Exchange Commission
GAO-21-504PR
Published: May 04, 2021.
Publicly Released: May 11, 2021.
What GAO Found In April 2020, GAO identified two priority recommendations for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Since then, SEC has implemented one of these recommendations, and the other remains open. The open priority recommendation relates to performance management for SEC employees.
Released on May. 10, 2021
Maternal Mortality and Morbidity
Additional Efforts Needed to Assess Program Data for Rural and Underserved Areas
GAO-21-283
Published: Apr 08, 2021.
Publicly Released: May 10, 2021.
What GAO Found Nationwide data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System from 2011-2016, the most recent data available at the time of GAO's review, indicate that deaths during pregnancy or up to 1 year postpartum due to pregnancy-related causes—are...
Defense Navigation Capabilities
DOD is Developing Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Technologies to Complement GPS
GAO-21-320SP
Published: May 10, 2021.
Publicly Released: May 10, 2021.
What GAO Found The Department of Defense (DOD) plans to keep the Global Positioning System (GPS) at the core of its positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) solution, using other PNT technology to complement GPS or as an alternative for when GPS is degraded or unavailable.
Foreign Assistance
State Department Should Better Assess Results of Efforts to Improve Financial and Some Program Data
GAO-21-373
Published: May 10, 2021.
Publicly Released: May 10, 2021.
What GAO Found The Department of State has implemented most of the Foreign Assistance Data Review (FADR) plan to improve the tracking and reporting of its foreign assistance data.
IASB
May 2021 International Accounting Standards Board agenda and meeting papers available
May 2021 Emerging Economies Group agenda and meeting papers available
Join the IFRS Foundation—Communications Manager
Join the IFRS Foundation—IASB Technical Staff (Taxonomy/Digital Reporting)
IR-2021-113, May 17, 2021 — The Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced today that the first monthly payment of the expanded and newly-advanceable Child Tax Credit (CTC) from the American Rescue Plan will be made on July 15.
IR-2021-112, May 14, 2021 — Victims of this spring’s storms and tornadoes in Tennessee will have until August 2, 2021, to file various individual and business tax returns and make tax payments, the Internal Revenue Service announced today.
IR-2021-111, May 14, 2021 — The Internal Revenue Service will begin issuing refunds this week to eligible taxpayers who paid taxes on 2020 unemployment compensation that the recently-enacted American Rescue Plan later excluded from taxable income.
Facing a surprise tax bill? Be sure to still file by May 17
IR-2021-110, May 14, 2021 ― The Internal Revenue Service today reminded taxpayers who owe 2020 taxes that there are different ways to pay through IRS.gov, including payment options for many people who can’t pay in full.
IRS extends deadline to apply for the 2022-2024 volunteer Taxpayer Advocacy Panel
IR-2021-109, May 13, 2021 — The Internal Revenue Service has extended the deadline for civic-minded volunteers to apply for membership on the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP) for 2022.
IRS grants dyed diesel fuel penalty relief due to disruptions of the fuel supply chain
IR-2021-108, May 13, 2021 — The Internal Revenue Service, in response to disruptions of the fuel supply chain, will not impose a penalty when dyed diesel fuel is sold for use or used on the highway in the states of Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
IR-2021-107, May 12, 2021 — Today, the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the Bureau of the Fiscal Service announced they are disbursing nearly 1 million payments in the ninth batch of Economic Impact Payments from the American Rescue Plan.
IR-2021-106, May 11, 2021 — The Internal Revenue Service today provided an overview of some of the key tax provisions in the American Rescue Plan Act.
IRS issues guidance on taxability of dependent care assistance programs for 2021, 2022
NYS
Tax Hotline to Extend Hours on Tax Day, May 17
May 14, 2021
DFS Investigation Uncovers First Unum Life Insurance Company of America and Paul Revere Life Insurance Company
May 13, 2021
Governor Cuomo Signs Legislation Protecting New Yorkers' COVID-19 Stimulus Payment from Debt Collectors
May 13, 2021
Get Your Tax Return Filing Questions Answered Online
May 12, 2021
Tax Preparer Arrested For Stealing From His Clients And Filing False Tax Returns
May 12, 2021
SEC
SEC Charges S&P Dow Jones Indices for Failures Relating to Volatility-Related Index
2021-84, May 17, 2021 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC for failures relating to a previously undisclosed quality control feature of one of its volatility-related indices, which led S&P DJI to publish and disseminate stale index values during a period of unprecedented volatility.
SEC Awards Approximately $3.6 Million to Whistleblower
2021-83, May 12, 2021 —The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced an award of approximately $3.6 million to a whistleblower whose information and assistance led to a successful SEC enforcement action.
SEC Charges Broker-Dealer for Failures Related to Filing Suspicious Activity Reports
2021-82, May 12, 2021 —The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against GWFS Equities Inc. (GWFS), a Colorado-based registered broker-dealer and affiliate of Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company, for violating the federal securities laws governing the filing of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs). GWFS provides services to employer-sponsored retirement plans.
SEC Awards $22 Million to Two Whistleblowers
2021-81, May 10, 2021 —The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced awards totaling approximately $22 million to two whistleblowers whose information and assistance were of crucial importance to successful SEC enforcement actions brought against a financial services firm. The first whistleblower received an award of $18 million, while the second whistleblower received a $4 million award. The larger award was in recognition of the fact that, among other things, the first whistleblower was the initial source of the investigation while the second whistleblower submitted information much later after the investigation was already underway.