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U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today convened the first meeting of Senate and House conferees to S. 2012, the Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2016. This meeting marks the first time since 2005 that the Senate and House have held conference on an energy bill

Two clinical psychologists pleaded guilty today for their involvement in a fraudulent psychological testing scheme that preyed upon Medicare recipients living in nursing homes throughout the Southeastern United States.

Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources CommitteeMaria Cantwell (D-Wash.) welcomed the release of a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine on innovation for clean energy.

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged two former accounting executives with overstating the financial performance of a large publicly-traded real estate investment trust (REIT) then known as American Realty Capital Properties (ARCP) by purposely inflating a key metric used by analysts and investors to assess the company

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro announced that AT&T is now a national stakeholder in HUD's ConnectHome Initiative, a public-private effort designed to help connect low-income families living in HUD-assisted housing to low-cost internet service.

The House of Representatives passed H.R. 5063, the Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act, legislation authored by House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and part of the Better Way plan to restore self-government and the separation of powers. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) issued the following statement:

USDA Rural Development Under Secretary Lisa Mensah today announced grants to preserve and repair affordable housing for very-low- and low-income families living in rural areas

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that it is charging a group of landlords in the Pittsburgh area with discriminating against prospective residents who have disabilities. HUD claims the owners and property managers of Beechwood Gardens in Pittsburgh and Southpointe Towers in West Mifflin denied housing to testers posing as prospective renters by refusing to grant them reasonable accommodations.

The principals of a mortgage relief operation and their companies are banned from the mortgage loan modification and debt relief business under court orders obtained by the Federal Trade Commission. The orders resolve charges that the scheme falsely promised financially distressed homeowners they would receive legal representation to prevent foreclosure or lower their mortgage payments and interest rates, and illegally charged thousands of dollars in advance

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), Northeast and Caribbean Region, announced the award of a construction contract at the Federico Degetau Federal Building in the amount of $11,282,056 to RB Construction Group, Inc., a small business based in Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico.

In an effort to immediately help young children with elevated blood lead levels living in federally assisted housing, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is proposing to lower the Department’s threshold of lead in the child’s blood to match the one used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). HUD’s proposed new reference level for lead in a young child’s blood would be lowered from 20 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood (µg/dL) to five, and continue to be aligned with CDC recommendations in the future. Read HUD’s proposed rule.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today awarded approximately $300 million more in grants under the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program to help thousands of very low-income Veteran families around the nation who are permanently housed or transitioning to permanent housing. The SSVF grant program provides access to crucial services to prevent homelessness for Veterans and their families.

Informa Exhibitions U.S., Construction & Real Estate and USGBC are excited to announce singer/songwriter Aloe Blacc and alternative rock band X Ambassadors will perform an outdoor concert at the 2016 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo Celebration, held in conjunction with the Plenary, scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016, from 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m

A Consumers Energy meter reading supervisor has been recognized by the U.S. Defense Department for her willingness to accommodate an employee and National Guard reservist’s military training schedule.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced today that owners of privately owned apartment buildings under Section 8 contract can now offer Family Self-Sufficiency programs to the more than one million households living in their properties. HUD will now allow owners of multifamily properties to use funding from residual receipt accounts to hire service coordinators for their own Family Self-Sufficiency program.

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a California-based company and two executives with using baseless financial projections and other misleading statements to defraud investors in a venture to manufacture environmentally-friendly building materials.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) today announced new procedures to strengthen the process mortgage servicers use to help struggling families avoid foreclosure and remain in their homes. FHA is streamlining its loss mitigation protocols that servicers must use when evaluating and deploying ‘home retention options,’ foreclosure alternatives that allow delinquent borrowers to retain their home.