Regulatory Roundup: December 17 - January 6
AICPA
Dec 19, 2024
Dec 18, 2024
Dec 17, 2024
CBO
This working paper extends a previous CBO analysis that estimates the relationship between federal government debt and long-term interest rates, a key parameter in the agency’s long-run projections of interest rates.
April 17, 2024
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology on September 11, 2024
This primer summarizes the practices that CBO follows when incorporating the effects of recent administrative and judicial actions in its baseline projections and cost estimates.
FAF
December 18, 2024
FASB
January 3, 2025
GAO
The U.S. helps to promote democracy in Cuba through federal agencies and grants. But nongovernmental organizations and others receiving federal funds face potential backlash from the Cuban government. Federal agencies—such as the U.S. Agency for International Development—work with awardees to identify these risks and prevent them. But we found that USAID doesn't have a process to gather and document security risk information for awardees before...
Thousands of infants are diagnosed as deaf or hard of hearing each year. The Department of Health and Human Services has a program that tracks infants' screening for and diagnosis of hearing loss. The program connects families with early intervention services to help prevent developmental delays. HHS required states to submit diversity and inclusion plans that target underserved populations to address disparities in access to...
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health supports advanced biomedical and health research. It aims to create the next generation of treatments and cures to improve Americans' health and well-being. The agency, known as ARPA-H, faces two main challenges recruiting its scientific workforce: Competing with the private sector for specialized personnel A small talent pool of diverse candidates with the requisite experience To help, ARPA-H...
DOD isn't supposed to award certain contracts to contractors that require their employees to arbitrate claims of sexual assault or civil rights violations. Arbitration resolves disputes through a neutral third party instead of allowing employees to bring cases to court. DOD correctly included a clause restricting arbitration in most contracts we reviewed. The clause was missing in two contracts due in part to a problem...
Every year, the U.S. engages in billions of dollars in defense trade. To support this trade, the Department of Defense has signed Reciprocal Defense Procurement Agreements with 28 partner countries, such as the U.K., Germany, and Japan. These agreements waive "buy national" laws, among other things, to help the partners enhance readiness and work together. DOD has skipped important steps in initiating and renewing these...
The COVID-19 pandemic and recent hurricanes have highlighted the need for federal agencies to work together during public health emergencies. This Q&A report looks at the Department of Health and Human Services' coordination role. HHS relies on national guidance and some interagency agreements to coordinate an emergency response. Officials told us this guidance has been enough, as no agency has ever refused its request to...
Most electoral campaigns are privately financed. But some states and localities offer programs through which candidates running for state or local offices can use public funds for their campaigns. We reviewed 5 public financing programs. They all required candidates to collect a specific number of contributions to qualify and then adhere to spending limits. The average amount of public funding that candidates received varied by...
Companies can lease trust or restricted land for their oil and gas wells, which then generate revenue for Tribes and tribal citizens. When the wells stop producing, companies have to plug them and restore the land to its natural state. If they don't, Tribes can face environmental, health, and safety risks. Companies buy bonds and give them to the government as a promise to finish...
The Federal Reserve authorized 13 emergency lending programs in response to COVID-19, including the Main Street Lending Program. This program made 1,830 loans to small- and mid-sized businesses and nonprofits. We found that as of August 31: Almost half of the loans have been fully repaid Less than 1% of current loans had late payments About 8% of the loans had losses that totaled about...
The Forest Service sells timber that can be used to build homes and make paper products, among other things. This Q&A report looks at how the Forest Service manages timber sales. The Forest Service manages several types of timber sales. In some sales, buyers bid on contracts that give them rights to harvest timber in certain areas. The agency may also exchange timber for services...
IRS is offering a new, free service to help taxpayers prepare and file tax returns electronically. It piloted Direct File in 2024 for taxpayers with simple tax returns in 12 states and will make it a permanent option starting in 2025. Taxpayers said it was easier to prepare and file returns. IRS plans to offer Direct File in 12 more states in 2025 but is...
Artificial intelligence is complex and evolving. It could be used to improve the systems that operate critical infrastructure, like water and energy. But it could also make them more vulnerable to cyberattacks. Federal agencies that protect critical infrastructure had to assess AI risks to infrastructure sectors. But the Department of Homeland Security's guidance for assessments didn't have agencies fully measure how much harm an attack...
The National Nuclear Security Administration plans to invest more than $60 billion in programs to modernize the nation's aging nuclear weapons stockpile. These programs face significant challenges, such as making sure that critical technologies are fully developed in time to meet production deadlines. We found that NNSA does not have a formal process to identify which technologies are most critical, which could help it keep...
This technology assessment examines systems that are implanted in the brain or worn on the head that let people control electronic devices using brain signals. In clinical trials, these brain-computer interfaces helped people with severe disabilities. Businesses are also investing in developing the technology for entertainment and other uses. We identified challenges with this fast-moving technology. These include uncertainty over: Who owns sensitive brain data...
This Q&A report examines federal assistance for farmers and ranchers who feed livestock. The money is to help them maintain operations when livestock prices are down and revenues decline. From 2018-2023, four USDA programs provided a majority of the assistance to the top 10,000 livestock feeding operations. These operations house a single species in a confined setting such as a building or a pen. We...
We reviewed U.S. Department of Agriculture programs that provide financial assistance to farmers and ranchers. We found that USDA provided $161 billion in assistance from FY2019-2023. Of that, 42% went to those affected by international trade disruptions, the pandemic, and natural disasters. Additionally, about 1 million farmers and ranchers received assistance each year. The number of those who are part of historically underserved groups—e.g., new...
The Navy spent billions to modernize its cruisers to extend their service lives rather than retire them. But the effort has been plagued with problems like schedule delays, wasted costs, and poor-quality work. Only 3 of 11 cruisers will complete the modernization process and won't spend as much time at sea as intended. Weak oversight is also contributing to this issue. Navy leadership discouraged the...
Recently, federal agencies have been buying more zero emission vehicles for their fleets. We examined the costs and benefits of using zero emission vehicles in the federal fleet. The autos and charging stations generally cost more than gas vehicles, but they emit fewer greenhouse gases. As of last year, most agencies were still buying gas vehicles. Three federal agencies are leading the fleet transition—providing training.
Nearly 100,000 people in the U.S. died of drug overdoses from July 2023-June 2024. A vast majority of those deaths—about 75%—involved opioids. Since FY 2018, the lead federal health agency for the opioid crisis awarded about $8.1 billion to states and $307.5 million to tribes to address it. Grant recipients funded prevention, treatment, and other services. But: The agency hasn't collected data on subrecipients that...
GASB
18 Dec 2024
17 Dec 2024
IRS
IR-2025-01, Jan. 3, 2025 — The Internal Revenue Service today reminded disaster-area taxpayers who received extensions to file their 2023 returns that, depending upon their location, their returns are due by Feb. 3 or May 1, 2025.
IR-2024-315, Dec. 20, 2024 — The Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service today issued proposed regulations to update the rules for certain tax professionals who can practice before the IRS; these rules are contained in Treasury Department Circular 230.
IR-2024-314, Dec. 20, 2024 — As part of continuing efforts to help taxpayers, the Internal Revenue Service today announced plans to issue automatic payments later this month to eligible people who did not claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2021 tax returns.
IR-2024-313, Dec. 20, 2024 — The Internal Revenue Service today announced the release of draft Instructions for Form 6765, Credit for Increasing Research Activities, also known as the research credit.
IR-2024-312, Dec. 19, 2024 — The Internal Revenue Service today announced that the optional standard mileage rate for automobiles driven for business will increase by 3 cents in 2025, while the mileage rates for vehicles used for other purposes will remain unchanged from 2024.
IR-2024-311, Dec. 19, 2024 — With the 2025 filing season quickly approaching, the Internal Revenue Service encouraged taxpayers to take key steps now to prepare for filing their 2024 federal income tax returns next year.
NYC
December 20th, 2024
NYS
January 3, 2025
PCAOB
Washington D.C., Dec. 20, 2024 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Tai Mo Shan Limited with misleading investors about the stability of Terra USD (UST), a purported “algorithmic stablecoin” issued by Terraform Labs PTE Ltd. (Terraform), when UST dropped from its purportedly fixed exchange rate of 1 UST to $1, known as a peg.
Washington D.C., Dec. 20, 2024 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today adopted amendments to Rule 15c3-3 (the customer protection rule) to require certain broker-dealers to increase the frequency with which they perform computations of the net cash they owe to customers and other broker-dealers (known as PAB account holders) from weekly to daily.
Washington D.C., Dec. 20, 2024 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against two private companies and one registered investment adviser for failing to timely file Forms D for several unregistered securities offerings in violation of Rule 503 of Regulation D.
Washington D.C., Dec. 20, 2024 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged registered investment adviser Silver Point Capital L.P. with failing to establish, implement, and enforce written policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent the misuse of material nonpublic information (MNPI) relating to its participation on creditors’ committees.
Washington D.C., Dec. 20, 2024 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged registered broker-dealer Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., a subsidiary of Deutsche Bank AG, for failing to file certain Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) in a timely manner. Deutsche Bank Securities has agreed to pay a $4 million civil penalty to settle the SEC’s charges.
Washington D.C., Dec. 20, 2024 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against Wells Fargo Clearing Services LLC and LPL Financial LLC for failing to provide complete and accurate securities trading information, known as blue sheet data, to the SEC. Wells Fargo and LPL each agreed to pay a $900,000 civil penalty to resolve the SEC's charges.
Washington D.C., Dec. 20, 2024 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Entergy Corporation, a Louisiana-based utility company, agreed to pay a $12 million civil penalty to settle charges that it failed to maintain internal accounting controls to ensure that its surplus materials and supplies were accurately recorded in its books and financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).
Washington D.C., Dec. 19, 2024 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Illinois-based AAR CORP., a global provider of aviation services and products, agreed to resolve Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) charges in connection with two bribery schemes. AAR agreed to pay approximately $30 million to settle the SEC’s charges. Deepak Sharma, a former executive of a wholly owned AAR subsidiary, also settled SEC charges related to the same bribery schemes.
Washington D.C., Dec. 18, 2024 — The Securities and Exchange Commission voted today to approve the 2025 budget of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and the related annual accounting support fee.
Washington D.C., Dec. 17, 2024 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against Ohio-based Express, Inc., a multi-brand American fashion retailer, for failing to disclose executive compensation it paid to its now former CEO.
Washington D.C., Dec. 16, 2024 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today adopted amendments to require the electronic filing, submission, or posting of certain forms, filings, and other submissions that national securities exchanges, national securities associations, clearing agencies, broker-dealers, security-based swap dealers, and major security-based swap participants make with the Commission.
Washington D.C., Dec. 16, 2024 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against Becton, Dickinson and Company, a New Jersey-based medical device manufacturer known as BD, for repeatedly misleading investors about risks associated with its continued sales of its Alaris infusion pump and for overstating its income by failing to record the costs of fixing multiple software flaws with the pump. BD agreed to pay a $175 million civil penalty.
TIGTA
December 23, 2024
December 20, 2024