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In another victory for equality for the District of Columbia, the office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced that the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee today passed her bill to require the Library of Congress to install the District’s seal in the stained-glass windows of the Thomas Jefferson Building’s Main Reading Room, which contains the seals of all states and territories that existed when the building was constructed, except for the District seal.

Sen. Cantwell’s Yakima Bill Will Help Restore Historic Fish Runs Blocked for More Than a Century and Support Drought Resilience for Ecosystems, Communities and Agriculture in the Yakima River Basin

HCI is seeking full-time college undergraduate students who are interested in participating in the 2016 Fall Congressional Internship Program. Selected individuals will receive an unmatched experience, learning first-hand about our nation’s legislative process while working for a member of Congress and receiving weekly leadership programming from CHCI.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Census Bureau jointly announced the following new residential construction statistics for March 2016: Privately owned housing units authorized by building permits in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,086,000. This is 7.7 percent (±1.2%) below the revised February rate of 1,177,000, but is 4.6 percent (±0.9%) above the March 2015 estimate of 1,038,000.  Single-family authorizations in March were at a rate of 727,000; this is 1.2 percent (±1.1%) below the revised February figure of 736,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 324,000 in March.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will evaluate a biennial Emergency Preparedness Exercise at the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station. The exercise will occur during the week of April 25th, 2016 to assess the ability of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of Maryland to respond to an emergency at the nuclear facility.

This week, representatives from USDA's Rural Development team will be celebrating Earth Day by visiting newly funded projects that will improve rural water quality and safety in 33 states across the country. USDA is investing $183 million in 60 water and wastewater infrastructure projects through Rural Development's Water and Environmental Program (WEP), which provides technical assistance and financing to develop drinking water and waste disposal systems for communities with fewer than 10,000 residents.

Shaun Hayes and Michael Litz were indicted on bank fraud charges relating to Excel Bank which was closed by regulators in 2012. The indictment was returned Wednesday by a federal grand jury in St. Louis. Hayes, 56 from Frontenac, was arrested late Thursday, and Litz, 61 from Ladue, is expected to turn himself in early next week. Hayes had ownership in and other associations with a number of banks in the St. Louis area. Litz was an owner of major real estate businesses in the area, Eighteen Investments and Bellington Realty.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that USDA is soliciting applications for grants to establish broadband in unserved rural communities through its Community Connect program. Community Connect is administered by USDA's Rural Utilities Service and helps to fund broadband deployment into rural communities where it is not economically viable for private sector providers to provide service

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today it is charging landlords in Beloit, Kansas with violating the Fair Housing Act after allegedly discriminating against a female tenant with disabilities by not renewing her lease, sending her a notice containing discriminatory statements about her disability, and retaliating against her for filing a previous fair housing complaint.

Freedom Mortgage Corporation has agreed to pay the United States $113 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly originating and underwriting single family mortgage loans insured by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Federal Housing Administration (FHA) that did not meet applicable requirements for the FHA insurance program, the Justice Department announced today.  Freedom Mortgage Corporation is headquartered in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in coordination with the State of Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the City of Flint, is recommending Flint residents run the water in their homes and businesses to aid in the recovery of the Flint drinking water system. There will be no associated cost to residents related to this flushing program. Residents will be compensated for the cost associated with flushing in addition to receiving water credits already awarded by the state.

Thirty-nine local public housing agencies across the country will continue to enjoy significantly greater flexibility to operate their federally funded housing programs following an announcement today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  Existing agreements under HUD’s Moving to Work (MTW) Demonstration Program for 39 public housing authorities (PHAs) will now continue in effect until 2028 (see list below).

Cox Communications today announced a major investment in its efforts to narrow the digital divide through its support of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) ConnectHome initiative. Cox Communications is extending its Connect2Compete low-cost Internet offering to any HUD-assisted household with school-age children within Cox’s 18-state service area. Cox operates 6 clustered cable systems in 18 states: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Virginia.

Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) gave the following statement following the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s principal reduction announcement: As Yogi Berra once famously said, “It's déjà vu all over again.” Memories are clearly short among Washington’s ruling elite because they continue repeating the same mistakes that caused the 2008 financial crisis in the first place.

At its Spring Business Meeting last week in Austin, Texas, the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) elected its new officers for 2016-2017. Immediate past president Judy Mozen, CR, GCP, of Handcrafted Homes, Inc., Roswell, Ga., was elevated to Chairman of the Board and H. Dale Contant, MCR, CRPM, UDCP, of Atlanta Design & Build, Marietta, Ga., was named president for the coming year. Tom Miller, CR, CKBR, of Tom Miller Remodeling, Inc., Portland, Ore., takes office as president-elect

The Federal Trade Commission will hold a workshop in Washington, DC, on June 21, 2016, to examine competition and consumer protection issues raised by consumers’ growing use of rooftop solar panels to generate their own electric power.

Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) highlighted advanced manufacturing work in the state of Washington, demonstrating how the nation can lead worldwide in advanced manufacturing

The Justice Department, along with federal and state partners, announced today a $5.06 billion settlement with Goldman Sachs related to Goldman’s conduct in the packaging, securitization, marketing, sale and issuance of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) between 2005 and 2007. The resolution announced today requires Goldman to pay $2.385 billion in a civil penalty under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) and also requires the bank to provide $1.8 billion in other relief, including relief to underwater homeowners, distressed borrowers and affected communities, in the form of loan forgiveness and financing for affordable housing.

U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro today named Donna Batch to serve as HUD’s Northwest Regional Administrator for a four-state region that includes Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.  Batch currently serves as HUD’s Acting Regional Administrator in that region.

United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, released a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that documents the dramatic growth of nonbank mortgage servicers and details the need for stronger regulatory oversight of the industry. GAO produced the report in response to a request from Cummings and Warren